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

[[La...]]

I am really hit hard, here 14 months off.

My head really feels like it's going to explode. I have so much tension inside my head, burning acid feeling, head aches, and it feels like constant waves of electricity going through my brain. Not brain zaps like lightning, but continuous waves.

It even influences my motor skills, both my fine motor skill and walking. I am so dizzy and feel I am falling all the time.

I so much hope that this is all a sign that my brain is healing. I am scared that this will be forever.

I’m sorry JB. I know it sucks! I’ve been there where you are around your same timeframe. It doesn’t feel like it but it will break soon. And yes that is what’s happening. Your brain has kicked up healing a notch or two. No way you won’t feel it…it’s intense healing going on. It sucks but it’s a good thing. When it lifts, you will have a better baseline. Many before you went through the same thing. So please stay distracted as much as you can. Stay calm. Meditate. Pray. Rest. Breathing exercises, etc. a weighted blanket is also a nice go to .

You’re not alone. We are here to support you. Hang in there!

Do you have someone that can be there with you?

Sending you big hug! 🤗

[[...]]

I am really hit hard, here 14 months off.

My head really feels like it's going to explode. I have so much tension inside my head, burning acid feeling, head aches, and it feels like constant waves of electricity going through my brain. Not brain zaps like lightning, but continuous waves.

It even influences my motor skills, both my fine motor skill and walking. I am so dizzy and feel I am falling all the time.

I so much hope that this is all a sign that my brain is healing. I am scared that this will be forever.

I’m sorry JB. I know it sucks! I’ve been there where you are around your same timeframe. It doesn’t feel like it but it will break soon. And yes that is what’s happening. Your brain has kicked up healing a notch or two. No way you won’t feel it…it’s intense healing going on. It sucks but it’s a good thing. When it lifts, you will have a better baseline. Many before you went through the same thing. So please stay distracted as much as you can. Stay calm. Meditate. Pray. Rest. Breathing exercises, etc. a weighted blanket is also a nice go to .

You’re not alone. We are here to support you. Hang in there!

Do you have someone that can be there with you?

Sending you big hug! 🤗

 

Thank you LadyDen🙏

Yeah - it really sucks. It's so hard to believe that it will ever get better, when It's so bad. When everything hurts so much that I can only sit and try to survive the next minute and tears just keep coming because of the head pain. I try to stay calm. I force my self to walk nearly every day, since It's the only thing where I feel that I am doing something good for my self. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to be with me.

Are you much better now than you were at 14 months?

[[La...]]

The majority of the time I’m also alone so I know how it feels. It makes it that much harder but you can do this…I can do this…we can do this! Both you and I have made it this far so we keep going and our reward will be so worth it. Yes it is hard to believe that you’ll get better but trust me, you will. I thought the same thing - so did Helen and all the others. It is called a Benzo Bully Lie….don’t believe it! An easy way to counteract those thoughts is to challenge them head on. Ask yourself did you make it through acute? Yes you did! Are you still alive? Yes you are! All that’s required to heal is to breathe every day. And you can do that, my friend.

And yes I’m much better than when I was 14 months. I find that bad spells ( getting slammed) in this recovery has an average of a couple of months then things start lifting. If you’re not healed by 18 months, you might get hit again. But after that for most people it’s so much more smoother until healing is complete. So you’re right there at the part of your tunnel where you see the light at the end. As the weeks roll by that light will get brighter and you’ll feel better. If you do get slammed again, it will be milder and shorter. Keep going through your tunnel. Your light will get brighter as this chapter of your life ends. Then you’ll be in the light all the time.

This is like a marathon race. At certain points it’s normal to get tired or want to give up. But you’ve got to finish the race. You sit down on the ground exhausted but don’t stay there. Get up and focus on going across that finish line. The closer you get to it, the more tired you get but it’s right there! Once you cross it, that’s it. You’ll never have to run that race again. So, come on, JB let’s get across that finish line 🏁

If walking helps then do that. Maybe you can walk with a neighbor or a friend. If you’re able to drive a good place to retreat to is a library. It’s quiet, non-stimulating and serves as a nice distraction as well as not being alone all the time. If I could drive or ride in the car I’d be at a park or library very often.

[[He...]]

Jb,

 

You're going to get better.  You are.  I'm 15 months off as of Sept 1 and the last month brought improvements for me. I have a bad cold right now which is a struggle so I can't say too much today but I know my baseline is better now. Lady Den's is too. You'll start to feel better.  Every day, consistently treat yourself as well as you possibly can.  Try to maintain a regular schedule, do your gentle walks, eat healthy food and drink water, meditate, pray, try to find something you enjoy, tell the people around you how much you love them, go outside and smile at the sun.  All this will help even if you don't feel like doing any of it.  It will all eventually add up and you will have gotten more time invested which is imperative.  I'm sorry it's so hard.  We understand!

 

Love,

Helen

 

[[...]]

LadyDen and Helen

Thank you so much for supporting me🙏.

I really need to hear this again and again that it will get better. After 14 months where I really feel everything gets worse. And I get no windows at all. The biggest window I had until now was a few hours. Today everything is painful and burning all over.

I do try to maintain my regular schedule. Both with food, water and walking. And I keep telling my kids how much I love them.

Yes, I made it this far. But actually, I didn’t have any acute phase - or maybe I am still in the acute phase. I was also bad while I took imovane, and couldn’t really feel the difference before and after I stopped, exept on my sleep, but I think I was already in interdose withdrawal for a long time before I stopped. That's the problem with the short half life time.

My muscles and joints are so stiff, that I can hardly type. Did you experience that too?

Love, Jørgen

 

[[La...]]

Yep muscles, joints, nerves, etc are all fair game in this. My muscles get tight/ tensed/ painful/ stiff/ twitching/ sore/ tender. But it’s milder now as Helen said it perfectly that with time it gets better. Acceptance is key. Easier said than done but simply saying to yourself “ ok I feel like crap and I probably will for a little while longer. It sucks but it is what it is because I’m healing! My brain is hard at work repairing things. That’s a GREAT thing for it to do even if it doesn’t feel great.”

Then, you direct your focus on positive things as Helen said. Get a hobby. Find something to do with your hands even if it’s only for a little while. Read a good book. Etc.

[[He...]]

Jb,

 

Yes, I've had a lot of various stiffness and muscles and joint pain.  Mine is becoming less and less though and not much of a problem now. But my knees, hips, neck and shoulders felt bad for years while on the meds and for the first year off.  It's definitely improving. I'm sorry you are having that right now.  Using heat on your sore places can help or maybe soak in a warm tub. 

 

Helen

[[...]]

Dear Helen and LadyDen

Yes, today the stiffness has been especially bad. It hurts just moving my fingers and someone also poured acid in my feet, besides all the other pain. I woke up stiff in all muscles and joints, and burning acid in my brain and body. What's not to like...

I have worked a little today and read a little in a book and played a lot of fishdom. I will try to walk also. I would surely like to work more, as the work takes away my attention from all the pain, but it's really hard to concentrate with acid in the brain.

I know I need to shift focus and let my body heal, but wow - it's sooo difficult...

I also constantly think - can this really still be withdrawal or is there something else. My doctor insists that I have fibromyalgia, but after reading about it and talking to people with fibro, all my symptoms just fit better with withdrawal. But the doubt is there all the time, giving health anxiety. I try to control it, telling my self that I’m not dead yet, but it's very hard.

Jørgen

[[Su...]]

Thank you JB and Jerry for birthday wishes. I wish you both a good day too. I’m not feeling well but I’m going to make the best of it. Jerry last night some friends and family came over to celebrate my birthday. It was very nice…food, cake, gifts and fellowship with each other. Today my son and wife are coming for lunch with me. I’ll have a virtual dinner by video with my sister and her husband this evening. I’m hoping to feel better by then. I’ll be dressing up in my nice clothes for the dinner. The rest of the day I’ll visit a zoo on YouTube and watch a movie since I can’t go anywhere. I’m not complaining because what matters is that I’m healing and birthdays like this are temporary. My next one I’m sure will be great. I’ll be healed or mostly healed. I plan to be at a nice resort hotel to celebrate it.

You’re doing well with your step down. It’s normal to feel the reduction. You got this!

JB today is one more day that you’ll get through to achieve another day of healing under your belt. What I like to say to myself each day is this….

“ Today might be rough and I know sometimes you want to just quit. But, the rule is that you can’t quit today. You can quit tomorrow.”  The next day, say the same thing…you get it?

 

Hi LadyDen! If you remember me, we chatted 2-3 months ago when I got hit with a bad spell of Zopiclone withdrawal. As promised (and thank-you so much for your interest) I wanted to check in with you regarding how I'm doing. Also, I scrolled back a bit and see that you had a birthday recently. Congratulations! Happy birthday! Your stories of perseverance give me hope, and your kindness, strength. Thanks for all you do for this community. 

 

Now regarding things on my end ... I've had a summer of many ups and downs! My employer was unsympathetic to my drug withdrawal and let me go about a month ago, when I returned from medical leave. (Oh well!) On the plus side, many of my 'psychiatric' symptoms seemed to have abated after about two months time, and I found I wasn't having mood swings and that my appetite had returned. I didn't experience my problems with amnesia anymore. I was not sleeping eight hours a night, but 4-6. So, huge improvement.

 

Then, about three weeks ago, I had a bad night for some off reason, experienced very broken sleep and woke feeling groggy and tired. Since then, I seem to have lost my appetite again. I can keep food down easily, but don't have any desire to eat. My sleep has highly fragmented again, I wake after 2-3 hours and can't always fall back asleep. I'm feeling a 'tired but wired' feeling during the day again. I don't suppose anyone here knows what might have happened? (Is it normal for withdrawal progress to reverse?)

 

How is everyone else celebrating the long weekend in their respective countries? I planned to move back in with my parents this weekend, but everyone caught COVID in a very untimely moment and I am now staying with a childhood friend ... the chaos continues!

 

[[La...]]

Thank you JB and Jerry for birthday wishes. I wish you both a good day too. I’m not feeling well but I’m going to make the best of it. Jerry last night some friends and family came over to celebrate my birthday. It was very nice…food, cake, gifts and fellowship with each other. Today my son and wife are coming for lunch with me. I’ll have a virtual dinner by video with my sister and her husband this evening. I’m hoping to feel better by then. I’ll be dressing up in my nice clothes for the dinner. The rest of the day I’ll visit a zoo on YouTube and watch a movie since I can’t go anywhere. I’m not complaining because what matters is that I’m healing and birthdays like this are temporary. My next one I’m sure will be great. I’ll be healed or mostly healed. I plan to be at a nice resort hotel to celebrate it.

You’re doing well with your step down. It’s normal to feel the reduction. You got this!

JB today is one more day that you’ll get through to achieve another day of healing under your belt. What I like to say to myself each day is this….

“ Today might be rough and I know sometimes you want to just quit. But, the rule is that you can’t quit today. You can quit tomorrow.”  The next day, say the same thing…you get it?

 

Hi LadyDen! If you remember me, we chatted 2-3 months ago when I got hit with a bad spell of Zopiclone withdrawal. As promised (and thank-you so much for your interest) I wanted to check in with you regarding how I'm doing. Also, I scrolled back a bit and see that you had a birthday recently. Congratulations! Happy birthday! Your stories of perseverance give me hope, and your kindness, strength. Thanks for all you do for this community. 

 

Now regarding things on my end ... I've had a summer of many ups and downs! My employer was unsympathetic to my drug withdrawal and let me go about a month ago, when I returned from medical leave. (Oh well!) On the plus side, many of my 'psychiatric' symptoms seemed to have abated after about two months time, and I found I wasn't having mood swings and that my appetite had returned. I didn't experience my problems with amnesia anymore. I was not sleeping eight hours a night, but 4-6. So, huge improvement.

 

Then, about three weeks ago, I had a bad night for some off reason, experienced very broken sleep and woke feeling groggy and tired. Since then, I seem to have lost my appetite again. I can keep food down easily, but don't have any desire to eat. My sleep has highly fragmented again, I wake after 2-3 hours and can't always fall back asleep. I'm feeling a 'tired but wired' feeling during the day again. I don't suppose anyone here knows what might have happened? (Is it normal for withdrawal progress to reverse?)

 

How is everyone else celebrating the long weekend in their respective countries? I planned to move back in with my parents this weekend, but everyone caught COVID in a very untimely moment and I am now staying with a childhood friend ... the chaos continues!

Hello again Sur.  How wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for the birthday wishes. Very sweet. And you’re very welcome that I was able to help you.

Firstly, I’d like to answer your question …..YES these WD symptoms are highly known for disappearing then after some time may return for usually shorter visits. Usually when they return it’s also milder than before. These symptoms wax and wane with a mind of their own until the healing process is done. So please don’t worry too much as far as thinking you have gone backwards or did something wrong or that it’s something else. I’m not saying that it can’t be something else but I’m saying most of the time it’s WD circling about. Many many BBs going through this have those same thoughts especially those like me who are past 18-24 months. It’s pretty common to have those health anxiety thoughts. IMO they’re also a symptom in itself. Because this doesn’t make sense the way it flips and flops, stops and starts or increase and decrease then it’s easy to think it might be something else. And rightly so! Time will tell. 

A good way to put those thoughts to rest is to track your symptoms on a daily basis - about a month or two. When you look back you’ll see the symptoms are better on some days then others.

Secondly, until the appetite improves again, I’d suggest you make smoothies or nibble throughout the day frequently. A few crackers or apple slices or a child’s lunchable can go a long way  Another go to is make a pot of soup and do a few spoonfuls at a time…I set a goal when I did this ( 3 spoonfuls every hour to hour and half with 2 crackers). It worked great!

Lastly, I’m so very sorry that you lost your job. I hope this doesn’t sound bad but…perhaps that was perfect timing since your symptoms flared back up. Sometimes we can’t see a blessing when something is taken away until later. I’ll bet money that a much better job is headed your way very soon.  Believe me when I tell you, I’ve had MUCH traumatic losses in my recovery and ALL of them have a blessing attached to them. Some of those losses were HUGE life altering devastations. But I’m still standing in the aftermath reaping the blessings from them.

Yes I’ve made some improvements but I still have healing to do. The best part is knowing that we will be alright when it’s complete. We WILL?..believe it and you’ll see it!

Hugs 🤗

[[Ge...]]

I’m not saying that it can’t be something else but I’m saying most of the time it’s WD circling about. Many many BBs going through this have those same thoughts especially those like me who are past 18-24 months>>>

 

Hello everyone; newbie here.  Commenting on the above, the grand (and perhaps unanswerable) question is how does one tell the difference between insomnia that is the result of Z drugs (or Benzos for that matter) that will indeed go away with time or just chronic insomnia (that may require some sort of an intervention)?  Look, I accept the premise of this forum... that doctors underestimate greatly what these Benzos and Z drugs can do. The conventional wisdom -- that Z drugs have a fairly easy withdrawal of about 4-6 weeks max may be off ... I think many people are having a harder time than that but I greatly wonder when symptoms from Z drugs are still lasting over one year, whether they are the result of the Z drugs or not and whether they will go away with time or not.

 

        I didn't know which forum to pose this question in, but in particular I am interested in hearing anecdotes from Buddies who were on Z drugs whose insomnia took longer than one year to resolve after getting off the drugs but whose sleep ultimately did go back to normal.  I'm also interested in hearing from/about buddies who not only were regularly taking a Z drug at the beginning of the night to fall asleep (like most people), but who were also regularly taking a Z drug in the middle of the night --- like I did for years.  I'm convinced that taking Eszopiclone (Lunesta) 3 mg at the beginning of the night and Zaleplon (Sonata) 10 mg in the middle of the night every night for almost 5 years  messed up my sleep pattern and now I wake up automatically in the middle of the night after  2-5 hours every night and can't get back asleep. It has been 13 months since I took my last Z drug and still the same BS.

[[wa...]]

Hey GMSB -- MTfan has a good success story.  She suffered terrible insomnia.  http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=219611.0

[[...]]

Is it also normal to suffer from severe fatigue, 14 months off?

[[La...]]

Welcome GMSB to Team Z! Hugs to you. 🤗

Your question is a very good one and I dare say a million dollar one. Wannabe gave you a good idea to go read the success stories. But here’s my 2 cents for what it’s worth….

Me personally was on zolpidem ( ambien) the extended release. It delivers a dose immediately then in the middle of the night ( hours later) release another dose to stay asleep. Really that is the same as waking up to take another dose  as that is who your question is directed to. The wake up in the middle of the night is a common occurrence in this community. I find that is whether people dosed in the middle of the night or not. IMO the reason is because these drugs severely disrupted the gaba receptors and natural sleep cycles when most people were already having that issue which is why they were put on the pills in the first place. Every time the pill was taken, the brain fought it by down regulating gaba receptors which are responsible for sleep. Zdrugs, benzos and other gaba targeted medicines are designed to hit them hard and fast inducing/ forcing sleep. Seeing how hard it’s hit, how many times it was done, how long it was gone, individual genetics, how the body metabolizes them individually, etc… are all factors to be taken into account when once off. Much of the information about zdrugs/ benzos are antiquated or in other words needs updating. Nobody can tell anyone how long it will take to heal because it’s an individual repair. And the medical professionals are ignorant of how this works because they were not taught about it and if they were many pretend they don’t. I agree with you that it takes much longer than 4-6 weeks to restore normal sleep. Many take over a year to fully recover. Within that time, it is restored slowly but progressively such as at first getting 0-2 hours a night. Months later getting 3-4 and so on. It is not unheard of to still have sleep issues past 1 year. Me personally, I was blessed in the insomnia department to not struggle too much since tapering and throughout my recovery. Do I get trouble falling asleep sometimes? Yes. Is it Zdrug after effects causing it after this long? Yes. How do I know? Because it occurs only when I have a bad night wave. All people will have sleep trouble at some point in their lives. Some people suffer from insomnia without being on these drugs. With us we learn to not grab a pill to fix it. Huge lesson learned. Some people after going through this their sleep is better than it’s ever been in their life.

[[Li...]]

Ha Z group, I had another tough day, only able to watch The Us Open on tv sitting on my bench. Feeling like a zombie . I slept fine, that is not a problem for me. Tomorrow is swimday again. In 15 minutes I’ll go to my father for dinner. It is still warm here inside, so I am not feel like playing on my sax… this feeling will return I am sure. Huggs Jerry

[[He...]]

I’m not saying that it can’t be something else but I’m saying most of the time it’s WD circling about. Many many BBs going through this have those same thoughts especially those like me who are past 18-24 months>>>

 

Hello everyone; newbie here.  Commenting on the above, the grand (and perhaps unanswerable) question is how does one tell the difference between insomnia that is the result of Z drugs (or Benzos for that matter) that will indeed go away with time or just chronic insomnia (that may require some sort of an intervention)?  Look, I accept the premise of this forum... that doctors underestimate greatly what these Benzos and Z drugs can do. The conventional wisdom -- that Z drugs have a fairly easy withdrawal of about 4-6 weeks max may be off ... I think many people are having a harder time than that but I greatly wonder when symptoms from Z drugs are still lasting over one year, whether they are the result of the Z drugs or not and whether they will go away with time or not.

 

        I didn't know which forum to pose this question in, but in particular I am interested in hearing anecdotes from Buddies who were on Z drugs whose insomnia took longer than one year to resolve after getting off the drugs but whose sleep ultimately did go back to normal.  I'm also interested in hearing from/about buddies who not only were regularly taking a Z drug at the beginning of the night to fall asleep (like most people), but who were also regularly taking a Z drug in the middle of the night --- like I did for years.  I'm convinced that taking Eszopiclone (Lunesta) 3 mg at the beginning of the night and Zaleplon (Sonata) 10 mg in the middle of the night every night for almost 5 years  messed up my sleep pattern and now I wake up automatically in the middle of the night after  2-5 hours every night and can't get back asleep. It has been 13 months since I took my last Z drug and still the same BS.

 

Hi GMSB and welcome,

 

You are the only other person who did what I did! I'd take the exact same meds as you in those same amounts.  I did variations of that for about 15 years!! I was an international flight attendant and sometimes would be in London or Paris and need the Sonata for a nap! So yes I even took naps with the pills.  I can't really answer your questions but I can tell you my experience.  I as a lifelong insomniac with bad sleep hygiene and a job that was very bad for sleep cycles. I had taken Benadryl for sleep for several years and it stopped by so effective and I was tired of the morning grogginess it caused. Once I began with Z drugs it was like a freight train. At first I only took them occasionally but loved the sleep I was getting and before long it was a nightly routine.  And then I was NEVER naturally sleepy.  Never. I was tired and wired a lot but not really sleepy. I just needed more and more pills.  It was a bad cycle and over those years my body became sicker and sicker.  I'm 15 months off now and my sleep is spotty but I didn't sleep well before I started taking them so I can't really blame it on the meds at this point.  I will say that my sleep hygiene is much, much better now and I fall asleep within 5 minutes of getting in bed. I typically have a few awakenings and average between 5 and 6 hours of sleep. I keep working to get more and improve my sleep as best I can but I don't worry about it anymore. In the early days off the meds and even while tapering, I do blame my lack of sleep on the meds as I was still deeply dependent then.  But I'm not now so I'd say at this point it's just how my sleep goes... Hope that's helpful. 

 

Take care,

Helen

 

[[Kt...]]

I’ve been on 9.5mg of Ambien for the last 4 years and the interdose withdrawal is terrible. I’m toying with the idea of cold turkey, but that would not be a sensible move, right?

 

Thanks

 

Katie

[[La...]]

KitKat you’re correct. I wouldn’t CT if I were you because you’ve been on it for 4 years. The reason is to not take a chance on inducing seizures. If you’re on the regular kind you can reduce it by cutting off a tiny bit every 10 days. Or you can do the finger nail file method. Place 2 dots with a sharpie one inch apart on the file. Then scrape the pill between the two dots 5 times each night for 10 days. Scrape 8 times each night for 10 days. So it’s adding 3 scrapes every 10 days until you’re at a crumb then jump 

Your body is telling you to come off. That’s the only way to stop the interdose withdrawal. Trust me that you’ll feel soooooo much better once your off. Be brave! You can do it!

[[Su...]]

I’m not saying that it can’t be something else but I’m saying most of the time it’s WD circling about. Many many BBs going through this have those same thoughts especially those like me who are past 18-24 months>>>

 

Hello everyone; newbie here.  Commenting on the above, the grand (and perhaps unanswerable) question is how does one tell the difference between insomnia that is the result of Z drugs (or Benzos for that matter) that will indeed go away with time or just chronic insomnia (that may require some sort of an intervention)?  Look, I accept the premise of this forum... that doctors underestimate greatly what these Benzos and Z drugs can do. The conventional wisdom -- that Z drugs have a fairly easy withdrawal of about 4-6 weeks max may be off ... I think many people are having a harder time than that but I greatly wonder when symptoms from Z drugs are still lasting over one year, whether they are the result of the Z drugs or not and whether they will go away with time or not.

 

        I didn't know which forum to pose this question in, but in particular I am interested in hearing anecdotes from Buddies who were on Z drugs whose insomnia took longer than one year to resolve after getting off the drugs but whose sleep ultimately did go back to normal.  I'm also interested in hearing from/about buddies who not only were regularly taking a Z drug at the beginning of the night to fall asleep (like most people), but who were also regularly taking a Z drug in the middle of the night --- like I did for years.  I'm convinced that taking Eszopiclone (Lunesta) 3 mg at the beginning of the night and Zaleplon (Sonata) 10 mg in the middle of the night every night for almost 5 years  messed up my sleep pattern and now I wake up automatically in the middle of the night after  2-5 hours every night and can't get back asleep. It has been 13 months since I took my last Z drug and still the same BS.

 

I will say that my sleep post z-drug feels very different than the chronic insomnia I had pre-drug. Different wake cycles, different levels of daytime fatigue, a different sleep onset window. I had been sleeping better for a period a few weeks ago, but my internal chemistry, even then, was feeling off.

[[Su...]]

Thank you JB and Jerry for birthday wishes. I wish you both a good day too. I’m not feeling well but I’m going to make the best of it. Jerry last night some friends and family came over to celebrate my birthday. It was very nice…food, cake, gifts and fellowship with each other. Today my son and wife are coming for lunch with me. I’ll have a virtual dinner by video with my sister and her husband this evening. I’m hoping to feel better by then. I’ll be dressing up in my nice clothes for the dinner. The rest of the day I’ll visit a zoo on YouTube and watch a movie since I can’t go anywhere. I’m not complaining because what matters is that I’m healing and birthdays like this are temporary. My next one I’m sure will be great. I’ll be healed or mostly healed. I plan to be at a nice resort hotel to celebrate it.

You’re doing well with your step down. It’s normal to feel the reduction. You got this!

JB today is one more day that you’ll get through to achieve another day of healing under your belt. What I like to say to myself each day is this….

“ Today might be rough and I know sometimes you want to just quit. But, the rule is that you can’t quit today. You can quit tomorrow.”  The next day, say the same thing…you get it?

 

Hi LadyDen! If you remember me, we chatted 2-3 months ago when I got hit with a bad spell of Zopiclone withdrawal. As promised (and thank-you so much for your interest) I wanted to check in with you regarding how I'm doing. Also, I scrolled back a bit and see that you had a birthday recently. Congratulations! Happy birthday! Your stories of perseverance give me hope, and your kindness, strength. Thanks for all you do for this community. 

 

Now regarding things on my end ... I've had a summer of many ups and downs! My employer was unsympathetic to my drug withdrawal and let me go about a month ago, when I returned from medical leave. (Oh well!) On the plus side, many of my 'psychiatric' symptoms seemed to have abated after about two months time, and I found I wasn't having mood swings and that my appetite had returned. I didn't experience my problems with amnesia anymore. I was not sleeping eight hours a night, but 4-6. So, huge improvement.

 

Then, about three weeks ago, I had a bad night for some off reason, experienced very broken sleep and woke feeling groggy and tired. Since then, I seem to have lost my appetite again. I can keep food down easily, but don't have any desire to eat. My sleep has highly fragmented again, I wake after 2-3 hours and can't always fall back asleep. I'm feeling a 'tired but wired' feeling during the day again. I don't suppose anyone here knows what might have happened? (Is it normal for withdrawal progress to reverse?)

 

How is everyone else celebrating the long weekend in their respective countries? I planned to move back in with my parents this weekend, but everyone caught COVID in a very untimely moment and I am now staying with a childhood friend ... the chaos continues!

Hello again Sur.  How wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for the birthday wishes. Very sweet. And you’re very welcome that I was able to help you.

Firstly, I’d like to answer your question …..YES these WD symptoms are highly known for disappearing then after some time may return for usually shorter visits. Usually when they return it’s also milder than before. These symptoms wax and wane with a mind of their own until the healing process is done. So please don’t worry too much as far as thinking you have gone backwards or did something wrong or that it’s something else. I’m not saying that it can’t be something else but I’m saying most of the time it’s WD circling about. Many many BBs going through this have those same thoughts especially those like me who are past 18-24 months. It’s pretty common to have those health anxiety thoughts. IMO they’re also a symptom in itself. Because this doesn’t make sense the way it flips and flops, stops and starts or increase and decrease then it’s easy to think it might be something else. And rightly so! Time will tell. 

A good way to put those thoughts to rest is to track your symptoms on a daily basis - about a month or two. When you look back you’ll see the symptoms are better on some days then others.

Secondly, until the appetite improves again, I’d suggest you make smoothies or nibble throughout the day frequently. A few crackers or apple slices or a child’s lunchable can go a long way  Another go to is make a pot of soup and do a few spoonfuls at a time…I set a goal when I did this ( 3 spoonfuls every hour to hour and half with 2 crackers). It worked great!

Lastly, I’m so very sorry that you lost your job. I hope this doesn’t sound bad but…perhaps that was perfect timing since your symptoms flared back up. Sometimes we can’t see a blessing when something is taken away until later. I’ll bet money that a much better job is headed your way very soon.  Believe me when I tell you, I’ve had MUCH traumatic losses in my recovery and ALL of them have a blessing attached to them. Some of those losses were HUGE life altering devastations. But I’m still standing in the aftermath reaping the blessings from them.

Yes I’ve made some improvements but I still have healing to do. The best part is knowing that we will be alright when it’s complete. We WILL?..believe it and you’ll see it!

Hugs 🤗

 

This is very kind, thank-you for replying. I have no way of knowing if my body is reacting this way because I'm still in some kind of withdrawal, or if it's a symptom of my underlying chronic insomnia, which I've never been able to resolve. (I am seeing a functional medicine practitioner for the first time and hoping that the latter problem might be addressed.)

[[...]]

Akathisia or inner akathisia. Is that a normal thing here?

[[La...]]

Thank you JB and Jerry for birthday wishes. I wish you both a good day too. I’m not feeling well but I’m going to make the best of it. Jerry last night some friends and family came over to celebrate my birthday. It was very nice…food, cake, gifts and fellowship with each other. Today my son and wife are coming for lunch with me. I’ll have a virtual dinner by video with my sister and her husband this evening. I’m hoping to feel better by then. I’ll be dressing up in my nice clothes for the dinner. The rest of the day I’ll visit a zoo on YouTube and watch a movie since I can’t go anywhere. I’m not complaining because what matters is that I’m healing and birthdays like this are temporary. My next one I’m sure will be great. I’ll be healed or mostly healed. I plan to be at a nice resort hotel to celebrate it.

You’re doing well with your step down. It’s normal to feel the reduction. You got this!

JB today is one more day that you’ll get through to achieve another day of healing under your belt. What I like to say to myself each day is this….

“ Today might be rough and I know sometimes you want to just quit. But, the rule is that you can’t quit today. You can quit tomorrow.”  The next day, say the same thing…you get it?

 

Hi LadyDen! If you remember me, we chatted 2-3 months ago when I got hit with a bad spell of Zopiclone withdrawal. As promised (and thank-you so much for your interest) I wanted to check in with you regarding how I'm doing. Also, I scrolled back a bit and see that you had a birthday recently. Congratulations! Happy birthday! Your stories of perseverance give me hope, and your kindness, strength. Thanks for all you do for this community. 

 

Now regarding things on my end ... I've had a summer of many ups and downs! My employer was unsympathetic to my drug withdrawal and let me go about a month ago, when I returned from medical leave. (Oh well!) On the plus side, many of my 'psychiatric' symptoms seemed to have abated after about two months time, and I found I wasn't having mood swings and that my appetite had returned. I didn't experience my problems with amnesia anymore. I was not sleeping eight hours a night, but 4-6. So, huge improvement.

 

Then, about three weeks ago, I had a bad night for some off reason, experienced very broken sleep and woke feeling groggy and tired. Since then, I seem to have lost my appetite again. I can keep food down easily, but don't have any desire to eat. My sleep has highly fragmented again, I wake after 2-3 hours and can't always fall back asleep. I'm feeling a 'tired but wired' feeling during the day again. I don't suppose anyone here knows what might have happened? (Is it normal for withdrawal progress to reverse?)

 

How is everyone else celebrating the long weekend in their respective countries? I planned to move back in with my parents this weekend, but everyone caught COVID in a very untimely moment and I am now staying with a childhood friend ... the chaos continues!

Hello again Sur.  How wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for the birthday wishes. Very sweet. And you’re very welcome that I was able to help you.

Firstly, I’d like to answer your question …..YES these WD symptoms are highly known for disappearing then after some time may return for usually shorter visits. Usually when they return it’s also milder than before. These symptoms wax and wane with a mind of their own until the healing process is done. So please don’t worry too much as far as thinking you have gone backwards or did something wrong or that it’s something else. I’m not saying that it can’t be something else but I’m saying most of the time it’s WD circling about. Many many BBs going through this have those same thoughts especially those like me who are past 18-24 months. It’s pretty common to have those health anxiety thoughts. IMO they’re also a symptom in itself. Because this doesn’t make sense the way it flips and flops, stops and starts or increase and decrease then it’s easy to think it might be something else. And rightly so! Time will tell. 

A good way to put those thoughts to rest is to track your symptoms on a daily basis - about a month or two. When you look back you’ll see the symptoms are better on some days then others.

Secondly, until the appetite improves again, I’d suggest you make smoothies or nibble throughout the day frequently. A few crackers or apple slices or a child’s lunchable can go a long way  Another go to is make a pot of soup and do a few spoonfuls at a time…I set a goal when I did this ( 3 spoonfuls every hour to hour and half with 2 crackers). It worked great!

Lastly, I’m so very sorry that you lost your job. I hope this doesn’t sound bad but…perhaps that was perfect timing since your symptoms flared back up. Sometimes we can’t see a blessing when something is taken away until later. I’ll bet money that a much better job is headed your way very soon.  Believe me when I tell you, I’ve had MUCH traumatic losses in my recovery and ALL of them have a blessing attached to them. Some of those losses were HUGE life altering devastations. But I’m still standing in the aftermath reaping the blessings from them.

Yes I’ve made some improvements but I still have healing to do. The best part is knowing that we will be alright when it’s complete. We WILL?..believe it and you’ll see it!

Hugs 🤗

 

This is very kind, thank-you for replying. I have no way of knowing if my body is reacting this way because I'm still in some kind of withdrawal, or if it's a symptom of my underlying chronic insomnia, which I've never been able to resolve. (I am seeing a functional medicine practitioner for the first time and hoping that the latter problem might be addressed.)

More than likely it is a bit of both. Best wishes on the functional medicine. Might I advise you to be highly careful if you’re suggested to try this or that? Even if it’s “natural” if it acts on gaba receptors that may not be ideal. There are some people that try things and it backfired or made them worse. Not my intention to scare you but for you to check and double check before you jump in that world. An important question to ask is ….is the functioning medicine practitioner benzo/zdrug educated? How much experience they’ve had in this particular issues?

[[Li...]]

Akathisia or inner akathisia. Is that a normal thing here?

 

I have this a bit after waking up in the morning with my legs…

[[La...]]

Akathisia or inner akathisia. Is that a normal thing here?

Yes it is one of the common occurrences. In time, it will pass just like all the other symptoms. There’s a buddy on here who isn’t around this thread anymore named Shayna. She was on zoplicone. She crossed to Valium as well. She had that issue before she crossed because of her zdrug. If you go back through this thread you can read her posts. I think she joins this forum around page number 140.

[[La...]]

Morning hugs Team Z!

Jerry how’s the swimming? How’s your dad?