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

[[Fi...]]

Hi Katz,

 

Thank you so much for your response.

 

Because I'm in such a bad setback, my nervous system is very fragile. I have agoraphobia, trembling etc.

 

I was on Trazadone for a month and got switched directly over to Remeon. So I have Trazadone withdrawal going on along with the Remeron not working.

 

I have a paradoxical reaction to Benadryl like meds and i think Unisom and Clor fall into that category?  That's why i think the Remeron is not working. It did initially and di years ago when I was on a much higher dose.

 

So I feel stuck. I'm may be too fragile to taper the Remeron at this point.

 

I'm little scared about CBD but let me think on it.

 

I mainly just hope I haven't set my healing back my the 1 1/2 dose I took.

 

Thank you again. 

[[Li...]]

Ha Jørgen,

How are you doing today? I listened to a podcast about jazz music this evening. It was about a docu called Music for black pigeons. It is about a Danish guitar player named Jakob Bro, I was wondering if you know him. He is making very peaceful music. Zen like music. Very calm.  Other music is very wild and free too…

 

My day was not bad, went swimming and played on my alto sax. I also cleaned up a pile of papers and letters. Had a meal at my father’s place…

Hug Jerry 

 

Becksblue and LadyDen, I am also thinking of you both… hope you are both fine…👍🏻😉🤩🎷👍🏻

[[Be...]]

Jerry, thinking of you, too, and glad you're having a good day today.

[[or...]]

Final, I don't think you set your healing back with your small doses. I'm truly sorry about your sleep problem. It's a bummer, for sure.

 

Another idea . . . what about melatonin? I used to take it in the early part of my taper. It worked very well. I took 1 mg. It's important not to take too much. Maybe try that? It's a hormone which our bodies produce naturally anyhow . . . but when we're stressed or old (like me ) we need a little help.

 

Oh yeah, I can't forget camomille tea! I drank gallons of it on my taper. It's very calming and really did make me sleepy. Double strength.

 

Don't stress about the CBD. When you're ready, you'll explore it.

 

Best,

 

Katz

[[Fi...]]

Thank you.

 

I have been taking Melatonin at a very low dose 0.025 and just raised it last night, which was another night of no sleep.

 

I know that chamomile is controversial on this site but artthis point, why not? I've taken magnesium throughout my tapers wirh no issues. I'm glad to hear you used it without usue.

 

I'm giving serous consideration to tapering the Remeron but know I will face rebound insomnia on top of the insomnia I already have.

 

Thank you for your encouragement and tips

[[La...]]

Team Z! I’ve missed all of you.

Firstly, Jerry I want to say how much I appreciate you for thinking of me while I was gone. I had very little improvement in sitting up but I’m not going to give up. I’m trying different things until I’m successfully not in this bed most of the day. I can sit up a fairly long time on the side of the bed but not on the couch and not sitting up in bed. It’s weird! I’m glad to hear you’re still playing your sax. How are you doing today? When are you jumping?

 

Jorgen I hope you start to turn a corner real soon. Please don’t give up on your healing. This isn’t linear. This isn’t easy but it is a path that our brains must take to heal. It seems forever. It seems impossible. But it isn’t! Some just take longer than others for whatever reason. I hold on to the fact that I will heal in the proper time for me. You’re stronger than you realize my friend. Look how you’ve made it this far! I’m cheering you on 

 

Final I know you are scared that you’ve messed up. I don’t think you have IMO. I think your body just reacted to let you know that wasn’t the right move. It might be a good idea as Katz said to try a more natural approach to getting sleep. My two cents is to try a little bit to see how you do. If no I’ll affects then increase a bit. Melatonin might be a great start. Hope you feel better soon. Hugs!

 

Katz it’s always good to see your posts. You’ve been a rock to many of us. Thank you for being so awesome! Love and hugs!

 

Helen I hope you’re doing well still and no more headaches. As you know I had my share since I’ve been gone. A two day headache put a monkey wrench in me trying to sit up more. Ha! Hope to see you back with us soon. Love you bunches

 

[[Fi...]]

Final I know you are scared that you’ve messed up. I don’t think you have IMO. I think your body just reacted to let you know that wasn’t the right move. It might be a good idea as Katz said to try a more natural approach to getting sleep. My two cents is to try a little bit to see how you do. If no I’ll affects then increase a bit. Melatonin might be a great start. Hope you feel better soon. Hugs!

 

Thanks LadyDen.  Unfortunately, I'm stick on Mirtazapine/Remeeon and have to find my off while in this setback. I did raise my Mrlaronin just a bit. I'm very scared about tapering right now nut the nedicwiron is not working well.

[[Fi...]]

[quote author=Final healing link=topic=97331.msg3417625#msg3417625 date=1667838153]

Final I know you are scared that you’ve messed up. I don’t think you have IMO. I think your body just reacted to let you know that wasn’t the right move. It might be a good idea as Katz said to try a more natural approach to getting sleep. My two cents is to try a little bit to see how you do. If no I’ll affects then increase a bit. Melatonin might be a great start. Hope you feel better soon. Hugs!

 

Thanks LadyDen.  Unfortunately, I'm stuck on Mirtazapine/Remeron and have to find my off while in this setback. I did raise my Melatonin just a bit. I'm very scared about tapering right now but the medication not working well.

[[Fi...]]

[quote author=Final healing link=topic=97331.msg3417625#msg3417625 date=1667838153]

Final I know you are scared that you’ve messed up. I don’t think you have IMO. I think your body just reacted to let you know that wasn’t the right move. It might be a good idea as Katz said to try a more natural approach to getting sleep. My two cents is to try a little bit to see how you do. If no I’ll affects then increase a bit. Melatonin might be a great start. Hope you feel better soon. Hugs!

 

Thanks LadyDen.  Unfortunately, I'm stuck on Mirtazapine/Remeron and have to find my off while in this setback. I did raise my Melatonin just a bit. I'm very scared about tapering right now but the medication not working

[[...]]

Hello Friends

 

Jerry - Thank you for teminding me about Jakob Bro. I think I will listen to some of his music tonight. In the old days, I used to go listen to a lot of live jazz music in Copenhagen, which was a major city for jazz in the 80ties and 90ties.

 

LadyDen - Thank you for always cheering me up with hope. I try to keep up the good faith - but it can be really hard sometimes. I am still hit hard with a giant headache and deep burning pain all over.

 

Hugs, Jørgen

[[Li...]]

 

Firstly, Jerry I want to say how much I appreciate you for thinking of me while I was gone. I had very little improvement in sitting up but I’m not going to give up. I’m trying different things until I’m successfully not in this bed most of the day. I can sit up a fairly long time on the side of the bed but not on the couch and not sitting up in bed. It’s weird! I’m glad to hear you’re still playing your sax. How are you doing today? When are you jumping?

 

 

Ha LadyDen,

It is good to hear you try to get out of bed, even if that is very tough for you. Do you know that artist Frida Kahlo had a mechanism on her bed to paint while she had to stay in bed. Even if I wish, I cannot stay in bed, when I wake up. It feels not good to be in bed. I think I must be lucky to have that, so I only stay in bed for sleep, and so I don’t destroy my sleeping pattern. The last two days were tough for me again. but my zopiclone crumb has become even smaller. I have become a master in filing. Tomorrow swimming and a saxlesson…

 

Jørgen,

I remember from my year (1999-2000) in Copenhagen, that there was a lot of jazz there. Sofies Celler, Studenterhuset, La Fontaine and in Christiania too. I felt very welcome in Copenhagen.

I feel sorry for you that you are still suffering so much. I hope you’ll find a solution…

 

Huggg Jerry

[[Kt...]]

Hey guys, I just wanted to ask a couple of questions. Apologies that I’ve asked similar before, but I’d love to know your thoughts….

 

1. Are z drugs easier to come off than ‘real’ benzos?

2. With z drugs, does the taper generally become easier or harder as you get down to the lower doses?

 

Thanks guys

 

Katie x

[[La...]]

Jorgen you’re very welcome. That’s what this forum is for…support. And we need all we can get!

 

Jerry yes I know of Frida. But didn’t know she had a bed like that. I wish I had one lol and thank you for the welcome back.

 

Kt I think anyone answering those questions would be giving their opinion based on their experience. So here’s mine…. My taper was very easy as I did research before I began by using this site which IMO has the best information out there. I did a dry slow 10-14 day shaving off tiny bits over a 10 month period. As I went down it wasn’t harder. Matter of fact, I started highly hating to take it because it became paradoxically uncomfortable 20-20 minutes after each dose. But that was the only hard part. I was tempted to just CT the rest but knew that was a very bad idea since my brain had been dependent for years ( I didn’t know this before the taper). When looking at the amount of mg I still had to taper, I took into account the Valium equivalent and knew it was too soon to jump. Just like Jerry, I tapered to a tiny crumb that wasn’t worth filing down anymore then jumped. As I went down I felt better. More than half my symptoms left as I reduced. Obvious proof that it was the Zdrug making me so sick.

Go low and slow. Put your worries aside and just go for it. The WD are unavoidable. But with a proper taper they can be very mild compared to tapering big chunks at a time. Some people even barely have any symptoms after jumping.

[[Kt...]]

Thanks so much ladyden. So your symptoms decreased as you tapered down? How about your sleep - did that get better or worse as you tapered down?

 

My situation is complicated by the fact that I’ll bedridden and unable to tolerate light after a head injury (nothing to do with the zolpidem, but the zolpidem may be making it worse…). I know I’d be better off the drug, but am so vulnerable after my brain injury so don’t want to exacerbate things by tapering… its a catch 22

 

[[Kt...]]

Ps I know from these boards that you unfortunately still get many symptoms now - but are those symptoms better than when you were on the drug?

[[Be...]]

I took Ambien and Lunesta and other benzo's and alternated them each night and didn't do a proper taper and all hell broke loose when I got off them over 10 years ago.  I had a seizure at work in 2012 from not taking my Xanax the night before and it injured my brain and I haven't been the same since.

[[Li...]]

Hi Zzers,

I have another tough start of the day. It is raining here. At 13 O’ clock I ‘ll go swimming (It is 12:19 now). At 15 O’ clock a youth friend comes to visit me. I know him since I was six year’s old. I am planning to buy some pie’s for us.

My cat is sleeping on my bed,  I grant him that. Hugggsss Jerry  :thumbsup:

[[La...]]

Ps I know from these boards that you unfortunately still get many symptoms now - but are those symptoms better than when you were on the drug?

To answer your first question about sleep…yes my sleep improved IMMEDIATELY as I tapered. It got better and to this day on most nights I do fairly well. The only trouble I have is falling asleep if I’m in a bigger night wave. Now, I’ve always had trouble falling asleep before zolpidem all my life. But CBT-I has helped me with that issue since I started my taper. I still use it every night. It doesn’t work for everyone but IMO it’s worth giving it a fair try. I said fair because people try it for very few nights and give up. It takes patience and consistency for the brain to embrace the signals that it’s time for sleep. It is worth the 2-4 weeks of being consistent with it because the benefits last you a lifetime. The thing about benzos and sleep drugs makes it harder for it to work because of the rebound insomnia. CBT-I retrains the brain to induce sleep by modifying your sleep routine, habits and sleep hygiene. After you develop your sleep/ going to bed pattern, the brain will over time recognize the pattern and began causing you to go to sleep.

 

Yes my main symptoms are getting better with time. It’s slow but certainly improving. I went from completely bedridden for over a year to gradually regaining my ability to tolerate standing/ walking/ sitting up….now I do those things even more easily. Please don’t be afraid of my symptoms or my experience. That is not necessarily going to be yours. In this recovery some people have their main symptoms as their worse and those can be any one of the ones on the WD list. With Zdrugs, mostly the main problem is rebound insomnia, muscle issues, headaches off and on  and dizziness/ boatiness. This is the average WD symptoms that I’ve seen over and over from reading this thread and other sites concerning Zdrugs. For some reason, the zolpidem hit my vestibular system the hardest. Therefore almost all of my main symptoms are vestibular ones: boaty, unbalance attacks, intolerance to sitting up or riding in a car and pulling sensation off and on. I do have other mild symptoms that pop up in my more intense waves that hang around until my wave is over…about an hour or two. Those “ visitors” take turns when I’m in a more intense wave. For example, muscle tightness for 15-20 minutes then poof gone followed by sweating for 10-15 minutes then poof gone followed by mild burning feet or legs 10-15 minutes poof gone….etc

I know you are scared and confused. It’s ok because this is scary until you get to a point of realizing they’re just symptoms caused by a sensitive hyperactive Injured CNS trying to return to normal. I believe you should get yourself a good doable taper plan and go for it. Afraid of not sleeping? Well unfortunately that is a high probability but temporary. Sometimes you just won’t sleep well. Perhaps for awhile. That must be accepted and expected. Acceptance makes it easier to deal with IMO. Many people on Zdrugs had the pleasure of feeling better as they tapered down. And they said they wanted to kick themselves for not getting off sooner as well as the realization that they were afraid for nothing….which is also a symptom.

I wish you the best. It boils down to do you want to get off, if so, this forum is full of support.

Best wishes!

[[La...]]

Hi Zzers,

I have another tough start of the day. It is raining here. At 13 O’ clock I ‘ll go swimming (It is 12:19 now). At 15 O’ clock a youth friend comes to visit me. I know him since I was six year’s old. I am planning to buy some pie’s for us.

My cat is sleeping on my bed,  I grant him that. Hugggsss Jerry  :thumbsup:

Hahaahaaa your cat is telling you…hey this is MY bed! Thanks for the laugh Jerry!

Did you enjoy your friend’s visit? Wow that’s a long time knowing him. That’s so awesome. I often wonder how my childhood friends are doing. We will get rain here on Thursday or Friday from tropical storm.

Enjoy your day my friend! Big hugs 🤗

[[Kt...]]

Thank you so much LadyDen for your detailed reply.

I won’t write more now as I can’t look at my screen and my career is typing this for me but I just wanted to say thank you.

Katie

[[Kt...]]

*my carer

[[or...]]

KtKat Ijust wanted to add that tapering off Ambien was no big deal compared with tapering off benzos. I did a pretty fast Ambien taper but that was just me. I don't advise anyone else do it. And the drug hadn't been helping me sleep for a long time, so I didn't notice much change once it was gone. I'd been trying for months to find an alternative sleep aid . . . so I just continued my search once I got rid of the Ambien.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Katz

[[Kt...]]

Thanks so much, Katz - that’s interesting to know. So you found tapering off the true benzos was harder than tapering Ambien? I see from your signature that you tapered Ambien in half the time?…

 

Just asking as I’m toying with the idea of swapping Ambien for Valium, but I’m worried I’ll be transferring to a more addictive drug… I have terrible tolerance withdrawal from Ambien - anxiety, body aches and burning, sleeplessness etc, but maybe these would be even worse with Valium…

 

Thanks again

[[mr...]]

Depending on what dose of Ambien you’re on, I would immediately switch to Valium to get the interdose withdrawals gone. Then from there taper as quickly as possible from the Valium.

[[Kt...]]

Depending on what dose of Ambien you’re on, I would immediately switch to Valium to get the interdose withdrawals gone. Then from there taper as quickly as possible from the Valium.

 

Thanks. I’m on 10mg Ambien/Zolpidem. I’m tempted to switch but worried I might be jumping into a worse situation… What if I quickly develop tolerance to valium and then have a new world of withdrawal symptoms?…