Z-Drug Support Group (Lunesta, Imovane, Zimovane, Ambien, Sonata, Zopiclone)

[[He...]]

I have one more question, if anyone is able to help please?

 

I currently take the approx .75 of a 3.75mg tablet in the evening i.e once a day

 

A member who kindly helped me when I introduced myself here suggested splitting the dose through the day if I have symptoms.

 

So... is it better to take .25 of a tablet 3x a day? Is 3 separate doses enough, and how would I go about taking the change. Just start in the morning with the .25 tablet and space them 8hrs apart?

 

I guess I can try it out but would be grateful if anyone has advice on this.

 

[[Ji...]]

Zopiclone has a really short half life, especially at that dose.

 

I'm not certain that taking it in the day and then at night would be beneficial but different strokes for different folks.

 

after getting to the point where you are splitting the 3.75 pill into half, I would switch to a liquid titration. This is how I got off zopiclone.

[[Ji...]]

Hi Sally,

 

Just to let you know, if you are anywhere near the london area there is a great project called REST based in camden. They can offer phone support or even write to your dr on your behalf.

 

[[He...]]

Zopiclone has a really short half life, especially at that dose.

 

I'm not certain that taking it in the day and then at night would be beneficial but different strokes for different folks.

 

after getting to the point where you are splitting the 3.75 pill into half, I would switch to a liquid titration. This is how I got off zopiclone.

 

Thank you! 

 

That's great you got off the zopiclone!

 

Ok - it would feel odd taking it in the day but I had heard it could relieve the interdose symptoms.

 

I'm using scales at the moment but I can see that the titration would be more accurate for smaller amounts/reductions.

 

What liquid did you use please?

 

(edited!)

 

(and thank you - I'm about 2 hrs from London - I will try contacting REST too)

[[He...]]

Can I also ask what time of day people are taking their doses?

 

Since starting the taper, I've been getting heart pounding taking it at night. I'm wondering about moving it forward a bit, and still wondering about dividing the dose.

 

Thanks,

Healtypath 

 

 

[[cr...]]

I take Ambien CR 6.5.  I want to stop taking it.  Is my first step to switch to regular ambien instead of the CR?  Thank you.

[[Te...]]

Healthypath,

  I just wanted to warn you that Remeron is a drug with some nasty withdrawal symptoms...don't it figure?!!!tex

[[He...]]

Healthypath,

  I just wanted to warn you that Remeron is a drug with some nasty withdrawal symptoms...don't it figure?!!!tex

 

Thank you Texasstar. I appreciate the warning. It seems people have had different experiences with it. I'm usually the type who gets the problems though so I'm starting to feel concerned about it. Becasueit was yet another night of not getting to sleep I ended up taking 7.5 + 7mg of it.. i.e. nearly the full 15mg and I still didn't sleep until 5.30am  .

 

If it's not working then I'd like to stop taking it (maybe keep for occasional use as was my original plan)...I've used it for 11nights so far.. I guess it's easier to do it now rather than later.

 

Did you find anything which worked for sleep? I have to have some as I'm a single parent and no back up. I'm also late 40s and the lack of sleep really affects me.

 

Thanks,

Healthypath

[[Te...]]

Healthypath,

  Personally, I have found some relief with 1 1/2 mg of melatonin( half of a 3mg tab). Some folks don't get the results I do, but that's typical of the benzo bazaar and buffet. Smaller amounts of melatonin do seem to work better. Others swear by valerian, lavender, chamomille...tex

[[He...]]

Healthypath,

  Personally, I have found some relief with 1 1/2 mg of melatonin( half of a 3mg tab). Some folks don't get the results I do, but that's typical of the benzo bazaar and buffet. Smaller amounts of melatonin do seem to work better. Others swear by valerian, lavender, chamomille...tex

 

Texasstar,

 

Thank you!

 

I was wondering about melatonin - as you say have heard mixed results! I may try a small amount. I use lavender, chamomile and valerian - am giving them them break at the moment as have overused them and they don't work so well anymore. Ditto with hops tea which was fantastic at the start.

 

Thanks again for the caution on the Mirtazapine. I did more web research and think I'll be easing off it as fast as I can. I can't say I've enjoyed the side effects I've had with it so far. Things that seems too good to be true usually are!!

 

Healthypath

 

 

[[Te...]]

Healthypath,

  Personally, I have found some relief with 1 1/2 mg of melatonin( half of a 3mg tab). Some folks don't get the results I do, but that's typical of the benzo bazaar and buffet. Smaller amounts of melatonin do seem to work better. Others swear by valerian, lavender, chamomille...tex

 

Texasstar,

 

Thank you!

 

I was wondering about melatonin - as you say have heard mixed results! I may try a small amount. I use lavender, chamomile and valerian - am giving them them break at the moment as have overused them and they don't work so well anymore. Ditto with hops tea which was fantastic at the start.

 

Thanks again for the caution on the Mirtazapine. I did more web research and think I'll be easing off it as fast as I can. I can't say I've enjoyed the side effects I've had with it so far. Things that seems too good to be true usually are!!

 

Healthypath

 

Healthypath,

  Some folks have used Cortisol Manager with good results...I am NOT one of them...I think the L-theanine is what set me off, but I honestly don't know that for a fact...I just won't be taking it anymore...kinda gripes me as I had to buy 30 of the pricey things, and have 27 going nowhere...

'Point of Return' (?) makes some supplements for sleep that I have heard help, but since I found solace in the melatonin, I haven't tried anything else...and I take the melatonin 2-3 times a week.

You might ease off the Remeron s l o w l y ...tapers are not a race, except between us and our patience...

tex

[[Wh...]]

Has anyone had a MASSIVE recurrence of symptoms after being healed or nearly healed for three-four months? I cannto undertsnad what is happening to me.

 

Yes! Sadly, it's totally normal. I was on Ambien for about 3 years and am now 16 months off. I still go through waves and windows. It gets better, but I do have those times, like now, that the symptoms rear their ugly heads! I noticed that the worst waves happen about every 3 months or so.

[[Wh...]]

I take Ambien CR 6.5.  I want to stop taking it.  Is my first step to switch to regular ambien instead of the CR?  Thank you.

 

Yes, I have read that it is recommended to switch to the regular Ambien instead because of the half life. Also, CR is not meant to be cut up because of the time release property. You need to switch to regular Ambien to taper. Good luck!

[[al...]]

Hi,

I just discovered this discussion. Previously I have been posting on the insomnia section. I have an Ambien story that I would like to share.

 

I had been taking Ambien for many years. Usually I would just split a 10 mg. pill 2 or 3 times a week. Sometimes I would go 2 weeks or more without taking any. My goal was to make a 30 pill prescription last 4-5 months. In doing so, my doctor never had a reason to deny my refill request.

 

After a while I just assumed that Ambien was a pretty harmless drug. It had been so long since I last read any warning label, that I forgot that there were any real drug warnings to worry about. Unfortunately that included the warning about not using Ambien for more than 3 weeks at a time.

 

In February of this year, the perfect storm started to come together making sleep extra difficult. I had several pain and stress issues that caused me to start using Ambien more often. I also started to take whole 10 mg. pills instead of splitting them. Then one night 10 mg. failed to put me to sleep. I was really surprised since this had never happened before. I had never learned about Ambien tolerance so I just assumed that my insomnia was so bad that Ambien just lacked the power to combat it.

 

At some point I tried 12.5 mg. of Ambien CR, but found that I needed 2 pills to go to sleep. After awhile the CR did not really give me any longer sleep than the regular Ambien so I opted to take 2-10 mg. of regular Ambien every night (the 2 CR pills only had a  combined 12.5 mg. of sleep onset medication). I also had a prescription for Lunesta and one for Ativan so sometimes I would rotate drugs for a few nights. Sometimes I even mixed them together to form sleeping pill cocktails because I was getting so crazy from the drugs and desperate for more than the 2-3 hours of sleep that I was usually getting from the Ambien each night.

 

At the start of May I knew that I needed to get off of all sleeping medications. I did a rapid 15 day taper off of the Ambien and threw all of my prescriptions away. It had now been about 2 and half months since I got off. My anxiety and depression caused by the withdrawal are mostly over, but I am stuck with a pretty bad case of insomnia that I suspect will last a while.

 

Although this was all really my own fault, there were several times when my doctors could have stepped in to warn me. One doctor who ran a sleep clinic actually smiled, held up his hands and said that he did not want to hear about it when I told him how much Ambien I was using. What the heck?

 

I am now trying to spread the word about the dangers of Ambien.

[[He...]]

 

Healthypath,

  Some folks have used Cortisol Manager with good results...I am NOT one of them...I think the L-theanine is what set me off, but I honestly don't know that for a fact...I just won't be taking it anymore...kinda gripes me as I had to buy 30 of the pricey things, and have 27 going nowhere...

'Point of Return' (?) makes some supplements for sleep that I have heard help, but since I found solace in the melatonin, I haven't tried anything else...and I take the melatonin 2-3 times a week.

You might ease off the Remeron s l o w l y ...tapers are not a race, except between us and our patience...

tex

 

Texasstar,

 

Thank you!

I bought some L theanine after reading about it on this site but think I'm going to hold off until well after I'm off the Zopiclone. I have a friend who has has offered me some of her melatonin (we can't buy it in the UK).. but am not sure if I'll take it just yet having read about how it works on the GABA receptors. I guess everyone reacts differently. I'm glad it works for you!

 

I'm doing ok at the moment.. just tapering the Zopiclone and taking some hops tea, and making the most of a good spell. Deep breathing and an hour a day meditation is helping lots. Also cut out sugar.

 

I stopped the Remeron completely as I was getting nasty side effects, felt really bad, and was worried about the serotonin syndrome.. I was getting diarrhoea, very heavy sweats, a lot of heart arrhythmia, muscle tremors, felt really wired and not at all sleepy, burning feelings up and my legs etc etc etc. Am feeling a lot better since stopping and tapering wasn't an option. I only took it for 2 weeks so will wait and see what happens when it is right of the system.. fingers crossed!

 

Thanks very much for your help,

 

Healthypath

[[Li...]]

Hello,

I am Lightspacer from the Netherlands, I am 42 years old. Tonight I am going to start my zopiclone taper, I am only a half tablet of 7,5 mg but I have been on it for many years. I forced myself never to increase that amount, but that means that I have interdose withdrawal for quite a while. Anxiety, depression, generally not feeling good during the day, as if I have coloured glasses on. I am feeling bad constantly, and it has become a normal thing for me. I have a swimming pool near my house so I go swimming often,  and that improves my mental health a bit, and that's really lucky. I have been on Ativan and Valium in the past, I also tapered these. I tried to taper zopiclon too, but then got sleeping problems again. But now the interdose withdrawal symptoms are so bad, I really want to get rid off zopiclon. I will try to break the half tablet in four parts, and taper it slowly. I am happy that the BB forum is here.

I will post here regularly during my taper,

Kind regards,

Lightspacer

[[cr...]]

What is interdose withdrawal?  Thank you. Cross

[[Li...]]

People who use benzodiazepines sporadically or users who take those with a short half-life can experience ‘inter-dose withdrawal’. When this happens, they begin to feel withdrawal effects between the intake of their doses.

[[Li...]]

It is now Saturday 5 September... I am still on 1/4 and 1/8 tablet zopiclon. Last night I was awake for several hours, for the first time during my taper, so I am not really feeling well today. That's why going swimming later today. We had a lot of rain the last couple of days, but now the sun is shining.

[[...]]

Anyone stop CT?

[[Te...]]

I C/T'd Zolpidem(ambien) after a 15 year affair...actually, I didn't know about it...I went to detox/rehab to arrest a much longer affair with alcohol, and the ambien wasn't even on my screen...took me over a year to figure out why I was so screwed up...I honestly thought I was nutso or hypochondric...or both...or just real sick...i'm 2 1/2 yrs out and I still have waves and surprise visits from miserable...no where near as bad, I think, unless I just got used to it...my lack of sleep is ongoing, and the tinnitus is enough to drive me over the next edge...I go to a benzo support group, and visit with others having w/d symptoms...it helps a lot...good days, bad weeks...it all pays the same...

[[Ca...]]

Zuko

 

I would call what I did a CT. It was from a dose of 20+ mg per day. I had severe interdose withdrawal and also what is called kindling.  (when no matter what one takes the symptoms don't alleviate.)

I will be 4 years off in November. I do manage some sleep now usually 5 to 7 hours of not so good sleep. Unfortunately I am still plagued with daily depression,  something that I never had before this.

 

See my signature below.

Carol

 

[[cr...]]

I have been taking Ambien Cr for a few years.  I am on 40 mg Valium as part of a crossover from Klonopin.  I have taken my last Klonopin and I am going to stop the Ambien.  My doc says take 5 mg of regular Ambien for 30 days and that will do it.  Does that seem correct to those of you familiar with discontinuing Ambien?  Thank you. Cross

[[al...]]

I have been taking Ambien Cr for a few years.  I am on 40 mg Valium as part of a crossover from Klonopin.  I have taken my last Klonopin and I am going to stop the Ambien.  My doc says take 5 mg of regular Ambien for 30 days and that will do it.  Does that seem correct to those of you familiar with discontinuing Ambien?  Thank you. Cross

 

Your doctor sounds like a nutcase. 5mg is the maximum suggested dose of ambien for women now (I don't know what gender you are) and ambien is not supposed to be taken for more than 3 weeks. I went from 20 mg to 0 mg in 15 days. It was slow enough to spare me the worst of the withdrawal effects, but did mess up my sleep. More than likely my sleep would have been messed up no matter what speed I went. You can crush or split your 5 mg. pills to taper off a bit. Your doctor's plan does NOT sound like a taper program to me. It sounds more like some sort of delay tactic.

[[Te...]]

I have been taking Ambien Cr for a few years.  I am on 40 mg Valium as part of a crossover from Klonopin.  I have taken my last Klonopin and I am going to stop the Ambien.  My doc says take 5 mg of regular Ambien for 30 days and that will do it.  Does that seem correct to those of you familiar with discontinuing Ambien?  Thank you. Cross

 

Ashton manual touches on ambien tapering, I believe...