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

[[Ca...]]

Worried Dad

 

I bet the ones that you think are permanent will eventually go away. I noticed quite a difference from 1 year off to 3.

 

What winter weather we have had the last few days!

Too soon for the 6 month winter to start

 

Love Carol

[[ci...]]

worrieddad, which sxs are you concerned about that youthink would not go away?

[[Wo...]]

worrieddad, which sxs are you concerned about that youthink would not go away?

 

Muscle twitches

[[ci...]]

Worrieddad, I'll check back with you in 6 months and I bet they will be gone! I agree with Carol, they will eventually go away. I know you have been struggling with those for awhile.

[[Se...]]

Cindy, how are you doing?

 

I am closing in on one month since I jumped from Ambien and doing well!

Still have symptoms but "The Awfuls" have been gone for a long time now.

[[ci...]]

seriouslydone, I am so happy for you, sounds as if the worst is behind you now. Great job on the taper. I am 7 months CT and still have harsh WDs......the mental stuff has lessened, especially the dark chemical depression and some of the anxiety, but the physical sxs are rough....neuropathic pain tinntitus, insomnia, back pain........

 

 

[[Te...]]

worrieddad,

  I had an affair with alcohol that spanned > 50 years, so I expect some of my sx to stick around as long. I did ambien for about 5 yrs, and I'm pretty sure that didn't help ...that I can type is a miracle to me, but so is the fact that I can tie my own shoes...I  wake up now knowing who I am, where I am, and what day it is...small but enjoyable pleasures! A lot of the sx wax and wane depending on the stress level of the day/week, but the severity seems much less, overall, and compared to early w/d I'm skating on thick ice! mike

[[Ji...]]

Just stopping in to wish everyone here well.

 

Such a looong long road.

[[Ca...]]

JJ. At least we have people here to share the road with.

I shudder to think of never finding BB!

 

Love Carol

[[8d...]]

I went CT off Zopiclone 6 months ago, after using it for about 4 months, in combination with benzos for a month or so.

 

I'm now sleeping on my own, but it's up and down... One week I'm getting 6+ hours, then next week I'm barely getting 5.

 

I never have that 'tired, fading feeling', and always feel revved up. At night, I have a routine I have to go through to make my self relaxed, and then I can usually drift off. But lately, I've been getting out of bed after 5 hours, regardless of the time I go to sleep.

 

Did anyone else have anything like this?

[[Ca...]]

I went CT off Zopiclone 6 months ago, after using it for about 4 months, in combination with benzos for a month or so.

 

I'm now sleeping on my own, but it's up and down... One week I'm getting 6+ hours, then next week I'm barely getting 5.

 

I never have that 'tired, fading feeling', and always feel revved up. At night, I have a routine I have to go through to make my self relaxed, and then I can usually drift off. But lately, I've been getting out of bed after 5 hours, regardless of the time I go to sleep.

 

Did anyone else have anything like this?

 

Oh yah..

The revved up feeling is normal. Your body down regulated its mechanism for calming yourself. When you are downers your own body doesn't need as many. Then off of the drugs and your body is in deficit of them. It will all settle down with time.

 

Carol

[[8d...]]

Can I ask how long you had that feeling for after quitting?

 

At 7 months, I thought it would be behind me. I had some really solid sleep a month or so ago, and now it just isn't coming.

 

I am hoping to get that "falling asleep at a red light" feeling back... Haven't had that since the first month I started taking this garbage. Is that normal as well?

[[Ca...]]

I don't think you can compare your healing and symptoms with others. I am afraid to tell you my story because in my eyes you are doing really well. The healing truly isn't linear and setbacks do occur.  My sleep mechanism was so broken by the pills that even on 20 mg of zopiclone and 250 mg trazodone,  I would only be able to sleep about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs a night for months. I ended up taking more and more to force my body to sleep and then a brain vibration started one night. The details are more than I can write about at the moment.

Maybe someone else will be on a similar time line to you and will answer your questions.

I can say,  don't despair,  your sleep mechanism will keep healing.

 

The revved up feeling went away quite quickly for me. In 6 months or so. I remember the first time that I yawned. I hadn't felt the feeling of tired for about a year. It was great to know that it was healing itself. Unfortunately the yawn didn't actually equate to sleep.  I had a really long time of falling asleep and startling awake over and over again for hours.

I still have it but later in the early mornings I fall into real sleep for about 3 hours. It is restful and feels normal.

I am lucky that I am able to get my sleep in the early mornings and don't have to get up for an early job.

Wishing you wellness.  I believe that you are well on your way.

Carol

[[bi...]]

Hi I'm new here, I just wanted to stop in and say hi. I'm going through some really awful rebound insomnia. I had bad insomnia before taking zopiclone so I think I'm gonna have a real hard time coming off of it.

 

I was on it for 13 months, I took 5.6 mg for 6 months, then i started increasing until I got to 22.5 mg. I haven't felt like I've gotten any sleep since Nov 12. I'm starting to look pretty bad. I stopped taking Zopiclone (CT) on Nov 17 under my Pdocs advice since it wasn't helping me sleep. Since then I've had an even worse time sleeping (not too surprising)

 

For the past 4 nights I've been able to close my eyes and drift into these weird vivid dreams which only last less than an hour, but they aren't restful at all and I wake with a sudden jolt and fast heartbeat. I almost feel like they're just hallucinations. Today I did wake with a little goop in my eye so maybe I got a little bit of sleep. It's really hard to tell at this point.

I really just want to sleep again. Has anyone else had such a hard time coming off Zopiclone or is this normal?

[[Te...]]

I'm at about 20 months c/t off ambien/Zolpidem/ETOH. I still have strong reactions to stress, but the stick-around seems to be much shorter...2 days vs 2 weeks...if i forget to eat decently or drink too much coffee(and I do) I can get really wired. I take 1 1/2 mg melatonin if I'm really buzzing in bed. This generally gets me 5-6 hrs sleep, but rarely more. I'm grateful for those hours. Joined a gym last week...will update on how that works for me. I'm certain that my w/d is NOTHING like benzos, but some of the sx are parallel, so I'm entertaining interventions  s l o w l y.  And one at a time. Yoga is my current trial, and if I can remember to do it without trying to do it all at one time or to 'impress' my classmates(HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!), I just might enjoy it...8#)

[[8d...]]

Hey Bibby,

 

I know exactly how you feel. The to is sleeps, and not know if you were even asleep at all.

 

I'm 6.5 months off Zopiclone, and 3.5 months off Seroquel. I'm very slowly making my why back to feeling normal.

 

Sleep is still all over the place, but it's better than it was on that poison.

 

Practice mindful meditation. Be patient with yourself. Get outside when you can.

 

You'll get through this!

[[bi...]]

Hey Damien, thanks for positive feedback, glad to hear that you're at least getting some sleep and feeling better.

 

I got outside for some fresh air today so hopefully that helps things.

 

My Dr wrote me a prescription for 25 mg of Seroquel. I think I might try it tonight and see if works better than the  Mirtazapine. I used to take Mirtazapine before I started taking Zopiclone, so I might still have some tolerance to it. Hopefully the Seroquel acts a bit differently and I get some much needed Z's.

 

Did you find Seroquel helped the insomnia much when you first came off the other stuff?

 

Thanks again for the response, it's always encouraging to hear from others who are getting better. 

[[8d...]]

I honestly don't know how helpful the Seroquel really was... I had some good nights, and some not so good nights on it...

 

I was on the couch reading one night, and I fell asleep for one hour without taking Seroquel. It was the first time in months I ever drifted off without meds.

 

That is what drove me to make the decision to get off the meds... I proved to myself I could sleep, and I had to believe that in time, I would sleep right.

 

And now, here I am... Sleeping every night, and not taking anything. I still have the abrupt awakenings, and some stretches of really crappy sleep... But I sleep. And I'm getting through this.

 

How much sleep are you getting right now?

[[bi...]]

That's great to hear you're sleeping on a somewhat consistent  basis without taking anything.

 

I don't know if the Seroquel helped or not. I took it, didn't feel sleepy, 2hrs later I took the Mirtazapine and went to bed. I remember checking the clock at around 5 am, then I woke up at 7 am feeling like I actually got some rest, finally a bit of progress!

 

Since stopping Zopiclone (6 nights) I would only drift off for less than an hr with really vivid dreams, but it didn't feel like I was getting any rest at all. I've heard Mirtazapine can actually increase REM so maybe it isn't the best thing since what I really need is slow wave sleep. Last night I still had plenty of dreams, but I think I managed to get some restorative sleep as well. This is the first time I've felt better than the day before.

 

Just have to keep taking small steps.

 

[[8d...]]

Make sure you don't get to dependent on the Remeron or Seroquel...

 

Your body will sleep, it just needs time to figure itself out. Zopiclone does a number on us, and it does take time to reverse.

[[bi...]]

Hey I was wondering what your insomnia was like before taking any medication were you going full nights without sleep or did you always sleep a little bit?

 

One other thing, what dosage you were taking for the Seroquel? My Dr wants me to try 50mg along with the 15mg Mirtazpine.

 

[[Wo...]]

I don't really understand the logic of taking two antihistamines concurrently. Seroquel knocked me out cold but caused other problems for me so I couldn't continue with it.

[[8d...]]

I agree. Don't double up on the meds. I was taking 50mg of Seroquel, but it caused me lots of GI issues. I accepted the trade off to get some sleep.

 

I'm 36 years old. Starting in my late 20's, I would occasionally miss a night of sleep if I was excited or anxious about something the following day.

 

But the following night would always bring me a phenomenal sleep to catch up.

 

In January, I had a lot of stress and change to deal with, and I was having tons of trouble sleeping in our new house. I went on a trip in mid-January, and knowing I don't sleep well in hotels, I asked my doctor for something.

 

That got me started on Zopiclone. Kept taking it when I returned and got hooked. Now I couldn't sleep without it.

 

It takes time for your body and mind to adjust. I never thought I'd sleep on my own again, and that was terrifying. Now, I sleep every night without needing a pill.

 

It's very empowering to do it without meds, so when you feel right, you'll want to drop the Seroquel or Remeron.

 

Stay strong... You'll get through this!

[[bi...]]

I'm not quite sure I understand the logic myself. I don't really want to be on Mirtazapine AND Seroquel.

 

In 2011 I took Mirt after going through 3months of insomnia and it worked great. Trazadone was ineffective for me. My Dr at the time only prescribed two zopiclone over 3 months (wish i would have stayed with him) finally I asked for Mirt and slept 8 hrs the first night

and ended up staying on it.

 

I just completely finished tapering Mirt in July (I went way slower than I needed to) maybe that's why it isn't really doing much right now. I didn't get much of a break from it. I might be better off just going with Seroquel, but my Pdoc wants me on Mirt for my anxiety/ depression. The seroquel is just supposed to be short term. He said it could take a couple weeks (or more) for my brain to adjust to not having Zopiclone and that I should go back to baseline after that.

 

It's hard, but I just need to try and believe things will get better.

 

Thanks again for the support, it means a lot right now!

 

[[8d...]]

This stuff defies logic, which often makes it tricky to get off and stay off.

 

If you cab find ways of tackling the anxiety and depression without meds, I would give it a try. Perhaps talk therapy, mindfulness, CBT?

 

As for your doctor saying it might take a couple of weeks to get over the rebound insomnia... I don't know where these idiots get their data. Definitely not from real world experience.

 

Some people might get lucky and bounce back to baseline quickly, but most people on this forum are here because they did not.

 

Don't let that scare you! I'm at almost 7 months off Zopiclone, and 4 months off Seroquel, and I'm still having issues with sleep. But, it's totally manageable now. The anxiety is very low, and I get a decent amount of sleep every night.

 

I just have the early morning wake ups, and the light anxiety some mornings, but it doesn't interrupt my life. I get on with my day almost as good as I did before meds.

 

But if I was counting on everything being better in a set amount of time, like your doctor has laid out, I would have been discouraged.

 

Healing will come, but you can't determine the timeline. Just know you will get better with everyday that passes. Also remember it's not linear, so you may have a good stretch, followed by a bad one. Just power through.

 

Stay strong and be patient with yourself