Time it takes to heal...

[[SW...]]

I know I know - probably should not ask this question because no one really knows and each case is different but I never thought the doses I was on could cause me so much grief. You can see in my signature. I think part of the reason Im having so much pain in this is because I also have chronic fatigue syndrome and for me my cfs symptoms are based in my nervous system - where the benzo act...I think I am probably quite sensitive in this area so it has affected me more it might another person.

 

Im just coming up to the 4 week mark since my last dose. I thought things might be improving but the last 3 days have been really tough. What Im wondering is if there is any 'general consensus' in terms of timings it could take following a lower dose for my system to re-adjust? I thought I would be feeling better after 1 month...

[[WT...]]

It's so hard to tell how long it will take any of us -- I know that doesn't really help.

Look at my sig, and see the small amount I was on, and short period of time I was on -- I'm at 7 months off and still doing poorly.  This stuff makes no sense, and is unpredictable in almost every aspect.  The only things we really know for sure is that these drugs are harmful, and that slow tapers are less painful than c/ts.

 

[[SW...]]

It's so hard to tell how long it will take any of us -- I know that doesn't really help.

Look at my sig, and see the small amount I was on, and short period of time I was on -- I'm at 7 months off and still doing poorly.  This stuff makes no sense, and is unpredictable in almost every aspect.  The only things we really know for sure is that these drugs are harmful, and that slow tapers are less painful than c/ts.

 

man - sorry to hear you are still suffering 8 months on after only 2 months. Doesnt cheer me up much sadly ...I suppose 05-1 is 10-20 mg or Diazepam. Xanax is a strong one!

 

I swear the more I read and find these communities of poor people having a shit time - I get so angry!

 

I have already had to deal with loosing most of my 20s suffering from ME/CFS - and now this...

 

[[WT...]]

The good news is that we WILL heal and get on with our lives at some point. 

[[mo...]]

Swan808, I have not seen many on this forum who took zopiclone. I took took zop every night for two weeks back in early Oct. because I had a case of tinnitus that had kept me awake for a month.

 

In that short time I began experiencing panic attacks, anxiety, rebound insomnia and all out paranoia. I had NEVER had any of these conditions in my life ever before. I suspected the zop and quit it immediately, not realizing you cannot c/t from this drug. Of course the symptoms continued but I did not realize it was w/d from the zop. Nor did my doc ever offer this as an explanation. Instead he diagnosed me with anxiety disorder and prescribed me ativan, which I took (begrudgingly and despite my reservations) for a month before tapering off that over two weeks (so basically another c/t). I did resort back to zop a couple more times, a night here and there, out of desperation for sleep.

 

I have never seen anyone else on this forum who has had as bad an experience with zop as I did. My sister in law took it over Christmas for 8 days and she said she started to get anxious as well. It is seriously a dangerous drug. I wonder how much my current w/d situation is due to zop and not as much Ativan as I assumed.

 

I'm at 9 weeks off both and have more good days than bad - if that is any consolation for you. My symptoms do still come and go. Low grade anxiety, pretty intense derealization, & depression are the most persistent and annoying. But for the most part, I am hanging in there.

 

Hope this helps you a bit. Try not to freak out. I know how you feel because I figured that being such a low dose and such a short time, how could I possibly be having w/d this long? My husband still questions this and that's the hardest thing sometimes. But it does linger and that is the unfortunate truth.

[[SW...]]

Swan808, I have not seen many on this forum who took zopiclone. I took took zop every night for two weeks back in early Oct. because I had a case of tinnitus that had kept me awake for a month.

 

In that short time I began experiencing panic attacks, anxiety, rebound insomnia and all out paranoia. I had NEVER had any of these conditions in my life ever before. I suspected the zop and quit it immediately, not realizing you cannot c/t from this drug. Of course the symptoms continued but I did not realize it was w/d from the zop. Nor did my doc ever offer this as an explanation. Instead he diagnosed me with anxiety disorder and prescribed me ativan, which I took (begrudgingly and despite my reservations) for a month before tapering off that over two weeks (so basically another c/t). I did resort back to zop a couple more times, a night here and there, out of desperation for sleep.

 

I have never seen anyone else on this forum who has had as bad an experience with zop as I did. My sister in law took it over Christmas for 8 days and she said she started to get anxious as well. It is seriously a dangerous drug. I wonder how much my current w/d situation is due to zop and not as much Ativan as I assumed.

 

I'm at 9 weeks off both and have more good days than bad - if that is any consolation for you. My symptoms do still come and go. Low grade anxiety, pretty intense derealization, & depression are the most persistent and annoying. But for the most part, I am hanging in there.

 

Hope this helps you a bit. Try not to freak out. I know how you feel because I figured that being such a low dose and such a short time, how could I possibly be having w/d this long? My husband still questions this and that's the hardest thing sometimes. But it does linger and that is the unfortunate truth.

 

Hi monyd thanks for your post. Im sorry to hear about your troubles - but in a way it is reassuring to read someone else having similar experiences with Zopiclone. Even within 2 weeks that is very quick - I think you are right - it is a dangerous drug. I also had people questioning my withdrawals because I know of people who have taken it for much longer periods apparently not suffering such severe withdrawals I did. I started getting daytime withdrawals inbetween doses. It also made me a lot more tired despite sleeping longer. It made me loose my confidence in decision making, gave me a lot of anxiety I never used to have - and it was insideous at first - I thought it was just me - only when it got out of hand and I ended up in a complete panic - and what felt like a nervous breakdown - did I realise something was seriously amiss...I kind of wish I never went on Diazepam and just took the withdrawals on Zop - as the Diazepam effectively gave me 3 more months of benzo exposure.

 

Like you - Im not sure what my body is withdrawing from now. I suspect its more the Diazepam although I dont know why. Your Ativan dose was quite reasonable...but hopefully the relatively short length might help you.

 

Ultimately - I think as many suggest - we all have different susceptabilities to these drugs. Some are more sensitive to their effects than others.

 

Im just incredibly angry about this because I have also been struggling trying to recover from chronic fatigue for almost 7 years now - and I was really making some good progress until I inadvertently got exposed to these drugs. This last 6 months have been the worst of my life without a doubt.