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

[[Li...]]

What do people do to help fall asleep without the zopiclone?

 

Replacing the ritual of taking the pill just before you sleep?

 

Hi Zuko,

I have an app on my Iphone called 'sleep pillow'. It has al sorts of sounds, like rain or birds singing or the sound of a wood fire. It has a timer too. When I am in bed I turn it on and it helps a lot to fall asleep. Good luck! Jerry

[[Lo...]]

What do people do to help fall asleep without the zopiclone?

I simply read with a low light until I feel sleepy. We all have different ways of falling asleep. I used to use the ipod with someone talking in a quiet drone-y voice. It was enough to keep my mind engaged and not anxious.

Replacing the ritual of taking the pill just before you sleep?

 

Hi Zuko,

I have an app on my Iphone called 'sleep pillow'. It has al sorts of sounds, like rain or birds singing or the sound of a wood fire. It has a timer too. When I am in bed I turn it on and it helps a lot to fall asleep. Good luck! Jerry

[[Li...]]

Update; I am now appr. 4 weeks off zopiclone. My sleep is not really good. I wake up early, and then it is difficult to fall back into sleep. I think I am going to swim later on, and I also want to paint a portrait of my art teacher in black and white. The weather is ok here. Sunny and 18 degrees. Have a nice day! Jerry!

[[Br...]]

Hello all!

 

I'm new here and a 7+ year user of Lunesta 3mg.  When my primary care first prescribed the medication to me, I was having difficulties sleeping past 2AM.  I would just lie in bed, wide awake.  I recall my doctor jumping through hurdles with my insurance company because she did not want me on Ambian-- she didn't even want me to try it.  She assured me that Lunesta was safer long term and had less side effects.  If only we all knew back then what we know now.

 

Anyway, it's been a good year or more that I started sleeping terribly again-- even with the Lunesta.  I just figured it was stress.  I finally saw a sleep specialist 2 weeks ago and her jaw dropped when she learned that I had been on Lunesta for so long.  She told me to suck it up and CT it!  She wanted me OFF it!

 

The idea of going CT didn't sit right with me, so I started researching/reading... and here I am.  Two days late, however, as I already have completed two nights of cutting my 3mg pill in half (so 1.5mg taken for the last two nights and what I plan to take tonight).

 

Withdraw symptoms: well, let's just say that I'm glad that I didn't have to work today.  I haven't had much appetite (slightly queasy), but have been getting small meals down.  My head also feels "loopy" (for lack of a better word).  Ironically, my sleep has not really been better OR worse the last two nights.

 

I guess my main concern is in reading some of the info. here, I probably shouldn't have done a 50% reduction right out of the gate.  Heck, I was just thinking that 50% reduction was a better option than CT!  However, being two nights into it at this point (and going on a third night here in a few hours), should I just stick out the 50% reduction and then taper more slowly in the upcoming weeks?  I'm just so confused at this point.  The first two nights were so mentally difficult with anxiety, etc... I'd hate to go "backwards" but I'm also terrified that I've done things too quickly and the worse it yet to come.  I'm also really scared about seizure risk now.

 

Any advice is appreciated.  Thank you! 

[[wa...]]

Hi Breezie - As you can see from my sig, I was aLunesta user, too.  I did large cuts the first three months and then had to reinstate and start over -- once I found this site.  I didn't really reinstate -- I started over at a higher dose and then tapered off that.  You can do it.

 

The first time I tried to taper I got very sick when I got to 1mg by the third month --  I was cutting 1mg a month which is huge.  I started over and it took me several months to get back to 1mg but I was no where near as ill.  I used a jewelers scale for tinier cuts, too -- usually 10% every couple of weeks.

 

 

I recommend to see how you feel -- your body will tell you.  It's amazing to finally sleep without this stuff.  WBB

[[Br...]]

Thank you, Wannabe!  Congrats to you for getting off of this stuff.  I honestly cannot wait!  I had no idea that I was going through mini-withdrawals each and every day, but the fuzzy-headed afternoons, occasional dizzy spells, afternoon/evening anxiety that would pop up... it all makes such much sense now!

 

Well, last night was night #3 on a 50% cut from 3mg Lunesta.  I took a nice warm shower around 8:00 PM and turned off the electronics after that (probably should have discontinued those a bit earlier). I took 1.5 Tbsp. of concentrated tarte cherry juice mixed in about 4oz of water around 8:30 PM and then "tried" to relax. Of course, I'm stressing over whether or not I'm going to be able to sleep, so "relax" is a relative word.  I hopped into bed around 9:20 PM and took 1 tablet of Calms Forte.  I then read for a bit until 10 PM when I thought I "might" be feeling sleepy.  At that point I took the 1.5mg of Lunesta, turned on my Sleep Well recording and probably fell asleep within about 10-12' of the 23' recording.  I pretty much woke up at 3:45 AM.  Not great, but enough to function.  My Garmin, which has one of those sleep trackers on it, said that I got about 5 hours and 45 minutes (2:45 was deep and the rest was light).  As I sit here typing, drinking some coffee... I feel a bit tired/hungover... but again, functional.  Maybe even a bit more functional than yesterday.  My stomach also does not seem quite as upset this morning, but just like yesterday, I imagine I will have periods of ups and downs throughout the day.

 

I will update my signature line with this, but I am also nearly finished a short taper of Wellbutrin 150mg XL.  I've only got a few more days to go with that and I'm hoping that once that is out of my system and the slight stimulant effect of that is gone, that maybe it will help my sleep.  Thanks to this board, I now understand that the slight stimulating effect of Wellbutrin combined with the anxiety produced by Lunesta interdose withdrawals, have not been helping me.  I'm very glad I had already decided to try to get completely clean from everything.  To note (in case anyone does a forum search for this topic), I've left Wellbutrin before and it is a FAR easier drug to get off of than this z-drug.  Skip every other day for the first couple of days, then go every 2 days for a couple of days and done.  I actually quite like the Wellbutrin.  I'm on a low dosage, but it's a happy drug for those who suffer from depression and it also has very few side effects (at least in my experience).  Once totally clean, it is something that I would consider revisiting should my depression reappear.

 

I think at this point I'm just going to hold at the 1.5mg of Lunesta for another solid 2 weeks.  We have some vacation coming up over the next 2 weeks and I'd like to be a stable as possible.  I also want to continue to try and practice good sleep hygiene along the way to do whatever I can to give myself a leg-up when it comes time to start cutting the dose again. 

 

I pray that one day I will be able to sleep a CLEAN 7 hours with 3.5 hours of deep, restful sleep-- which is what I've noticed always made me feel great in the past.  At one point in my life, I WAS able to sleep.  I can remember my husband coming into the bedroom to kiss me goodbye in the AM before he left for work and I then remember going right back to sleep.  I don't know where this sleep went OR even why it went away, but I'm hell-bent on getting it back.  :thumbs:

 

I will continue to update my journey over the next few weeks/months/years!

[[al...]]

Hi Breezie,

I almost had to laugh when I heard that your doctor thought that Lunesta was safer then Ambien. They are both pretty much the same candy, just different flavors (Lunesta actually tastes much worse). Both drugs have pretty short half-lives so levels in the blood fluctuate widely. This can create interdose withdrawal symptoms in people who have been using them for too long. It is my belief (and that of others in this forum), that once this happens, doing a long taper can be pretty hard or perhaps not even possible without a high degree of discomfort. Once interdose withdrawal symptoms set in, it is time to get of the drug, no matter how you do it.

 

Unfortunately, a prolonged period of insomnia is often to be expected. Most of us become pretty upset by this when it does happen, but over time we learn to come to terms with it and settle in for the long haul. Everyone is different so there is no telling what your experience will be. I certainly hope that it is a fairly easy one. At least you found a place where you can communicate with people who understand what it is all about.

 

 

[[...]]

So 14 days now on 7.5mg from 15mg... No side affects OTHER THAN fatigue and passing out!!!

 

Been having waves of loss of concentration and feeling like I'm going to pass out...

 

Which happened when I had a date the other night who now doesn't want to see me again...

 

Happened again last night...

 

Had blood tests yesterday to check for diabetes as I have the symptoms BUT when I had the attack last night I took a 7.5mg and instantly the symptoms left!

 

I never believed in WD from Z until now.

 

Hoping I can go down to 3.75mg but definitely don't think I'm there yet

[[El...]]

So 14 days now on 7.5mg from 15mg... No side affects OTHER THAN fatigue and passing out!!!

 

Been having waves of loss of concentration and feeling like I'm going to pass out...

 

Which happened when I had a date the other night who now doesn't want to see me again...

 

Happened again last night...

 

Had blood tests yesterday to check for diabetes as I have the symptoms BUT when I had the attack last night I took a 7.5mg and instantly the symptoms left!

 

I never believed in WD from Z until now.

 

Hoping I can go down to 3.75mg but definitely don't think I'm there yet

Why did you never believe in w/d from z-drug? Are you a doctor 

Because all docs thinks there's no w/d from z 

Well I've learned and I'm going through every single symptoms that benzodiazepines give. But I've kindled at least 3 times.

 

I'm sorry I had to laugh when u wrote about the date, I just pictured it and it was like some funny movie  what happens when u pass out, are you gone for long?

By the way I thought I had diabetes too in my second month, I even bought a blood sugar thingy tester, and my doc run all tests... as exspected nothing wrong with me

[[Li...]]

Update;

6 weeks without zopiclone, ok... some nights, (I think three nights) I took 1/8 zoplone.

Days were ok, days were bad. Today is one of those bad days, a day I am not feeling good, an offday so to say. I still have to go swimming but I skipped a painting afternoon in a local neighborhood house with art collective Strong Together. A pity, because it is always fun to paint together. It is even hard to type this message. Hardly can concentrate. If I feel better tomorrow, I am going to paint a portrait here in my house. Why is my life so full suffering? Why is my life such a struggle. Its not fair, just not fair.

Have a nice Easter, Jerry

[[El...]]

Update;

6 weeks without zopiclone, ok... some nights, (I think three nights) I took 1/8 zoplone.

Days were ok, days were bad. Today is one of those bad days, a day I feeling not good, an offday so to say. I still have to go swimming but I skipped a painting afternoon in a local neighborhood house with art collective Strong Together. A pity, because it is always fun to paint together. It is even hard to type this message. Hardly can concentrate. If I feel better tomorrow, I am going to paint a portrait here in my house. Why is my life so full suffering? Why is my life such a struggle. Its not fair, just not fair.

Have a nice Easter, Jerry

Jeroen 

Im sooo happy for you 

I know its soooo though and scary But you can do this. You're six weeks now, that's when my really bad w/d started. Don't give up, whatever happens how bad you might feel I assure you there's brighter days and life around the corner. Take every awful symptom as what they are, just a symptom nothing more, nothing less. Try if it's really really bad to get atarax it's an old allergy meds, I used it when I got chemical panic attacks. I couldn't barely write, read, watch tv,  communicate or interact with people very much the first 3 months, I thought my creativity was lost and I'll be numb forever, I had no imagination or lively visions, but it slowly returned. In fact my brain was healing much faster than my body.

I'm truly truly happy for you, I simply can't overcome the thought that any person and especially a creative soul like you should be a prison of medicine the rest of your life.

If you had continued on this pill it would just be a matter of time before you would start to feel even worse, and the way out of them would just have becomed even more difficult.

Take care what you eat and don't try to overdo things, don't get frustrated if you can't paint that portrait tomorrow, there's a whole life waiting with billions of portraits and images later.

All my best and big hugs I'm so truly happy for you

[[Li...]]

Update;

6 weeks without zopiclone, ok... some nights, (I think three nights) I took 1/8 zoplone.

Days were ok, days were bad. Today is one of those bad days, a day I feeling not good, an offday so to say. I still have to go swimming but I skipped a painting afternoon in a local neighborhood house with art collective Strong Together. A pity, because it is always fun to paint together. It is even hard to type this message. Hardly can concentrate. If I feel better tomorrow, I am going to paint a portrait here in my house. Why is my life so full suffering? Why is my life such a struggle. Its not fair, just not fair.

Have a nice Easter, Jerry

Jeroen 

I'm sooo happy for you 

I know its soooo though and scary But you can do this. You're six weeks now, that's when my really bad w/d started. Don't give up, whatever happens how bad you might feel I assure you there's brighter days and life around the corner. Take every awful symptom as what they are, just a symptom nothing more, nothing less. Try if it's really really bad to get atarax it's an old allergy meds, I used it when I got chemical panic attacks. I couldn't barely write, read, watch tv,  communicate or interact with people very much the first 3 months, I thought my creativity was lost and I'll be numb forever, I had no imagination or lively visions, but it slowly returned. In fact my brain was healing much faster than my body.

I'm truly truly happy for you, I simply can't overcome the thought that any person and especially a creative soul like you should be a prison of medicine the rest of your life.

If you had continued on this pill it would just be a matter of time before you would start to feel even worse, and the way out of them would just have becomed even more difficult.

Take care what you eat and don't try to overdo things, don't get frustrated if you can't paint that portrait tomorrow, there's a whole life waiting with billions of portraits and images later.

All my best and big hugs I'm so truly happy for you

 

Hey Elbette,

You are so kind and encouraging, thank you! You must have gone through hell quitting cold-turkey. I thought that my withdrawal symptoms slowly would get less, but perhaps you are right  that the most difficult is yet to come. Luckily I have no anxiety problems. Only my nights and mornings are quite rough, I wake up quite early, feeling very hot, and then I cannot really fall asleep again. Also I have to pee many times in a short time. Today I really didn't feel good so instead of swimming 700 m I did 1 km. I also know that I have a shortage of vitamin D so yesterday evening I used a few drops of an 25000 units ampule. That also might explain why my night was not good, but I am not sure if that is the reason. I have to test it. I hope that I feel ok this Easter especially sunday when I cannot go swimming. I still hope I can do some painting, also since I prepared a canvas with a sketch of a nephew. But if I cannot do it, it is not the end of the world, you are right Elbette!

How are you doing now? Do you still have withdrawal symptoms? Where you able to do sports or be creative in this withdrawal period? Hugggs... Jeroen

 

 

[[El...]]

Update;

6 weeks without zopiclone, ok... some nights, (I think three nights) I took 1/8 zoplone.

Days were ok, days were bad. Today is one of those bad days, a day I feeling not good, an offday so to say. I still have to go swimming but I skipped a painting afternoon in a local neighborhood house with art collective Strong Together. A pity, because it is always fun to paint together. It is even hard to type this message. Hardly can concentrate. If I feel better tomorrow, I am going to paint a portrait here in my house. Why is my life so full suffering? Why is my life such a struggle. Its not fair, just not fair.

Have a nice Easter, Jerry

Jeroen 

I'm sooo happy for you 

I know its soooo though and scary But you can do this. You're six weeks now, that's when my really bad w/d started. Don't give up, whatever happens how bad you might feel I assure you there's brighter days and life around the corner. Take every awful symptom as what they are, just a symptom nothing more, nothing less. Try if it's really really bad to get atarax it's an old allergy meds, I used it when I got chemical panic attacks. I couldn't barely write, read, watch tv,  communicate or interact with people very much the first 3 months, I thought my creativity was lost and I'll be numb forever, I had no imagination or lively visions, but it slowly returned. In fact my brain was healing much faster than my body.

I'm truly truly happy for you, I simply can't overcome the thought that any person and especially a creative soul like you should be a prison of medicine the rest of your life.

If you had continued on this pill it would just be a matter of time before you would start to feel even worse, and the way out of them would just have becomed even more difficult.

Take care what you eat and don't try to overdo things, don't get frustrated if you can't paint that portrait tomorrow, there's a whole life waiting with billions of portraits and images later.

All my best and big hugs I'm so truly happy for you

 

Hey Elbette,

You are so kind and encouraging, thank you! You must have gone through hell quitting cold-turkey. I thought that my withdrawal symptoms slowly would get less, but perhaps you are right  that the most difficult is yet to come. Luckily I have no anxiety problems. Only my nights and mornings are quite rough, I wake up quite early, feeling very hot, and then I cannot really fall asleep again. Also I have to pee many times in a short time. Today I really didn't feel good so instead of swimming 700 m I did 1 km. I also know that I have a shortage of vitamin D so yesterday evening I used a few drops of an 25000 units ampule. That also might explain why my night was not good, but I am not sure if that is the reason. I have to test it. I hope that I feel ok this Easter especially sunday when I cannot go swimming. I still hope I can do some painting, also since I prepared a canvas with a sketch of a nephew. But if I cannot do it, it is not the end of the world, you are right Elbette!

How are you doing now? Do you still have withdrawal symptoms? Where you able to do sports or be creative in this withdrawal period? Hugggs... Jeroen

 

Hi again.

As I told you, the first 3 months was the worst, and then it has eased. I still have waves but not as severe as in the beginning. My creativity was complete numb during the first months, my brain started to heal before that, and I had a lot of creative ideas in my head, but I couldn't paint, it's hard to explain and it was scary. I really thought I'd lost it all. But it's all a part of withdrawal, the numb feeling, the negative thoughts, the despair. Don't let it frighten you. The less you're letting your self be agitatated by the symptoms the easier it will be. If you stay calm, you're telling your brain that there's nothing to fear, and that will have a healing effect on your vulnerable cns during this.

I've been walking 2-3 times every day since my jump, and just started swimming again. I think it'll be easier for you physically, because you have to remember I've been 3 years in tolerance feeling nearly like in w/d so my physical strength was already really low after my jump, I was in a bad shape and hadn't been doing much sports because of that the last years. I did bicycle 9 km everyday nearly from my 2 month. On and of, when I was in a bad wave I couldn't or didn't simply have the strength to do anything. You're in a much better shape than I was, so I think u will get through better than me. Just don't get frustrated if u have days when you can't, relax stay calm and let time heal you.

 

I think you're in the acute state now, so just take it easy, it'll feel miserable and you will get many many weird and negative thoughts and dreams, it's natural, it's your brain trying to find back to what it once where. Just don't let fear take over, YOU WILL HEAL!!!

 

The waking up early is a common benzo w/d in the beginning I was always up 04.00 then I ate and went for a walk. The walks was helping me a lot. I still can't nap during the day, it brings in rapid heartbeats and I feel toxic after if I do. My sleep has improved but I've always been an early bird. I go to bed normally around 22-23 and sleep to 06.00 but always have to get up peeing once or twice. During waves my sleep can be more broken and the peeing more frequently, that is also a common w/d symptom, the heavy sweating too. I alsostill have tinnitus and buzzing head one and of.

My back and neck pain is the worst right now though and vague heart palpations, and the food allergies 

 

  You can Pm me anytime if you need help, and I'll try to be there.

 

All my best and big creative hugs

Angelene 

 

 

[[bu...]]

Update;

6 weeks without zopiclone, ok... some nights, (I think three nights) I took 1/8 zoplone.

Days were ok, days were bad. Today is one of those bad days, a day I feeling not good, an offday so to say. I still have to go swimming but I skipped a painting afternoon in a local neighborhood house with art collective Strong Together. A pity, because it is always fun to paint together. It is even hard to type this message. Hardly can concentrate. If I feel better tomorrow, I am going to paint a portrait here in my house. Why is my life so full suffering? Why is my life such a struggle. Its not fair, just not fair.

Have a nice Easter, Jerry

Jeroen 

I'm sooo happy for you 

I know its soooo though and scary But you can do this. You're six weeks now, that's when my really bad w/d started. Don't give up, whatever happens how bad you might feel I assure you there's brighter days and life around the corner. Take every awful symptom as what they are, just a symptom nothing more, nothing less. Try if it's really really bad to get atarax it's an old allergy meds, I used it when I got chemical panic attacks. I couldn't barely write, read, watch tv,  communicate or interact with people very much the first 3 months, I thought my creativity was lost and I'll be numb forever, I had no imagination or lively visions, but it slowly returned. In fact my brain was healing much faster than my body.

I'm truly truly happy for you, I simply can't overcome the thought that any person and especially a creative soul like you should be a prison of medicine the rest of your life.

If you had continued on this pill it would just be a matter of time before you would start to feel even worse, and the way out of them would just have becomed even more difficult.

Take care what you eat and don't try to overdo things, don't get frustrated if you can't paint that portrait tomorrow, there's a whole life waiting with billions of portraits and images later.

All my best and big hugs I'm so truly happy for you

 

Hey Elbette,

You are so kind and encouraging, thank you! You must have gone through hell quitting cold-turkey. I thought that my withdrawal symptoms slowly would get less, but perhaps you are right  that the most difficult is yet to come. Luckily I have no anxiety problems. Only my nights and mornings are quite rough, I wake up quite early, feeling very hot, and then I cannot really fall asleep again. Also I have to pee many times in a short time. Today I really didn't feel good so instead of swimming 700 m I did 1 km. I also know that I have a shortage of vitamin D so yesterday evening I used a few drops of an 25000 units ampule. That also might explain why my night was not good, but I am not sure if that is the reason. I have to test it. I hope that I feel ok this Easter especially sunday when I cannot go swimming. I still hope I can do some painting, also since I prepared a canvas with a sketch of a nephew. But if I cannot do it, it is not the end of the world, you are right Elbette!

How are you doing now? Do you still have withdrawal symptoms? Where you able to do sports or be creative in this withdrawal period? Hugggs... Jeroen

 

Hi again.

As I told you, the first 3 months was the worst, and then it has eased. I still have waves but not as severe as in the beginning. My creativity was complete numb during the first months, my brain started to heal before that, and I had a lot of creative ideas in my head, but I couldn't paint, it's hard to explain and it was scary. I really thought I'd lost it all. But it's all a part of withdrawal, the numb feeling, the negative thoughts, the despair. Don't let it frighten you. The less you're letting your self be agitatated by the symptoms the easier it will be. If you stay calm, you're telling your brain that there's nothing to fear, and that will have a healing effect on your vulnerable cns during this.

I've been walking 2-3 times every day since my jump, and just started swimming again. I think it'll be easier for you physically, because you have to remember I've been 3 years in tolerance feeling nearly like in w/d so my physical strength was already really low after my jump, I was in a bad shape and hadn't been doing much sports because of that the last years. I did bicycle 9 km everyday nearly from my 2 month. On and of, when I was in a bad wave I couldn't or didn't simply have the strength to do anything. You're in a much better shape than I was, so I think u will get through better than me. Just don't get frustrated if u have days when you can't, relax stay calm and let time heal you.

 

I think you're in the acute state now, so just take it easy, it'll feel miserable and you will get many many weird and negative thoughts and dreams, it's natural, it's your brain trying to find back to what it once where. Just don't let fear take over, YOU WILL HEAL!!!

 

The waking up early is a common benzo w/d in the beginning I was always up 04.00 then I ate and went for a walk. The walks was helping me a lot. I still can't nap during the day, it brings in rapid heartbeats and I feel toxic after if I do. My sleep has improved but I've always been an early bird. I go to bed normally around 22-23 and sleep to 06.00 but always have to get up peeing once or twice. During waves my sleep can be more broken and the peeing more frequently, that is also a common w/d symptom, the heavy sweating too. I alsostill have tinnitus and buzzing head one and of.

My back and neck pain is the worst right now though and vague heart palpations, and the food allergies 

 

  You can Pm me anytime if you need help, and I'll try to be there.

 

All my best and big creative hugs

Angelene 

 

Angelene, can you tell what brings on waves? I thought I knew, but now they are coming on more frequently again. I was also on klonopin all those years though and so many ppl say they have a rough time 6-12 mths off. So I am trying o just do the best that I can which is way better than the years of withdrawal. Your description of sleep cycle is right on for me.

 

I have not been as careful with caffeine and stress as I should so I am going to focus on more rest, less coffee, better routine etc. we also have had an awful lot of rain in Michigan also so weather pressure does not help me either.

 

So this weekend I will be easy on myself. When the rain stops later I will get a nice long walk, later yoga and then if I have any energy I will try to get other stuff done but if too tired, oh well!

 

Wishing a restful day to everyone!

[[El...]]

Butterfly 🦋

It's not easy to know or predict what brings on waves, but for me it has been if I have been doing more than my cns can handle( I do feel it can handle more and more) also I had to completely avoid sugar coffee and tea, these really throw me in waves, especially sugar

I can't handle like sorbitol and those things they put instead of sugar.

Lately I've tried to slowly slowly introducing some foods I reacted to earlier and it has so far been ok.

But all in all I think sometimes I can find stuff that had triggered a wave and sometimes not, but lately I've noticed that my waves comes a bit delayed after I've triggered it with something, and I think that's a positive sign.

Have you read the 4 phases of w/d by Sofa?

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=156111.0

 

 

How far out are you?

 

All my best

 

[[Lo...]]

Hi Friends, I have done well in the 6 months since I was finally off Zopiclone after a slow steady taper. However, I have had a few periods of anxiety and indeed insomnia.

 

For awhile there I was amazed at how good my sleep was... 7-8 hours without waking! But then it can deteriorate...usually for some obvious reason. Perhaps I have had caffeine late in the day or no exercise or been too busy. That I can easily fix.

 

A bigger problem is with life situations and me not being very capable in dealing with them. This week I have been dealing with insomnia and intrusive thoughts about possible cancer spread to the bone in me. I am to go for xrays of my hip. I had breast cancer years ago and that can resurface years later. On top of that my brother-in-law has late stage cancer and my brother is having dialysis. I am in the generation where friends and family are dying.

 

Dealing with these situations - my health in particular - was the reason that I got hooked on sleeping pills in the first. And then continued through years of having a very sick hubby.

 

I lay in bed the other night for hours trying to sleep...trying to block the negative thoughts so I could sleep. I know that I am a pessimist and that I'm likely alright. Its more likely that I have arthritis in my hip. How does one become more positive?

 

As I lay there I thought of the sleeping pills that still remain somewhere in my bathroom or bedroom...that I have not gotten rid of. Just a small amount!!! Thanks RedorBlue for pointing out that I really really do not want to go back down that road again. I will get rid of them today!!!

 

After several days of not sleeping more than about 4 hours I was extra careful yesterday about caffeine and not allowing myself a nod-off in the afternoon. I also did some chatting with the women in my Widows group. We all fear what our end will be....and the road getting there! Another woman in the group who has serious heart problems along with diabetes, low vision and mobility problems brought up the subject of preparing for her death! This is not a fun stage in our lives!

 

Last night I still had some difficulty getting to sleep..couldn't quite drop off but finally did....maybe 1:30? And I slept straight through til 9:45 this morning!!! (Usual is 8:00) This may make it difficult to get to sleep tonight. I was recently out west and so my circadian clock is a little confused still.

 

I have added 5-HTP and PharmaGaba back into my supplements for the moment. I don't seem to have a problem using this crutch for short periods.

 

I also find when I can't get to sleep that if I have 2 cookies that my system calms down and I am more likely to get to sleep. I hate to do that as I'm always trying to manage my weight. I try to keep carbs low but sometimes have not had enough carbs. That makes me edgy.

 

So, I will go now and find those remaining Zopiclone and get rid of them!  Its good to know that I am not alone on this journey!  Oci

[[GA...]]

It's been a year now that I quit a 15 year Ambien habit. I did a 6 week rapid taper during which I updosed the Ativan I've been taking for even longer. I had no withdrawals from the Ambien. I'm still taking the Atiavn but at a greatly reduced dose. I'm taking my sweet time with the Ativan.

 

I've used melatonin and antihistamines to help me sleep. I son't think the antihistamines are meant for every night use and I'm now reducing their use. I wake several times a night but usually get back to sleep shortly.

 

The main difference between now and then (when I was taking 10MG Ambien a night) is that I feel better emotionally and physically. I'm not dropping things like I was, my grip was bad but now has improved greatly. I used to get angry for apparently no reason for a few hours after I first got up and that has passed.

 

The Z drugs are a good thing to get off of. Between z drugs and benzos, I think the Z drugs were worse as to how they affected me.

[[El...]]

It's been a year now that I quit a 15 year Ambien habit. I did a 6 week rapid taper during which I updosed the Ativan I've been taking for even longer. I had no withdrawals from the Ambien. I'm still taking the Atiavn but at a greatly reduced dose. I'm taking my sweet time with the Ativan.

 

I've used melatonin and antihistamines to help me sleep. I son't think the antihistamines are meant for every night use and I'm now reducing their use. I wake several times a night but usually get back to sleep shortly.

 

The main difference between now and then (when I was taking 10MG Ambien a night) is that I feel better emotionally and physically. I'm not dropping things like I was, my grip was bad but now has improved greatly. I used to get angry for apparently no reason for a few hours after I first got up and that has passed.

 

The Z drugs are a good thing to get off of. Between z drugs and benzos, I think the Z drugs were worse as to how they affected me.

To me the w/d from ambien has been as horrible as another benzo w/d and it might be that fact that you're still on the Ativan that you don't feel the w/d from it. And it is said it's the way to go if you're on ambien, always taper ambien first, or if you're only on ambien you should switch over to another benzo with a longer halflife.

Well I was only on ambien and also in tolerance and kindled, sometimes I wish I'd had known better though, but here I am and to late to take an u-turn

All my best to you, and may the rest of your journey be as smooth as it is now 

[[GA...]]

It's been a year now that I quit a 15 year Ambien habit. I did a 6 week rapid taper during which I updosed the Ativan I've been taking for even longer. I had no withdrawals from the Ambien. I'm still taking the Atiavn but at a greatly reduced dose. I'm taking my sweet time with the Ativan.

 

I've used melatonin and antihistamines to help me sleep. I son't think the antihistamines are meant for every night use and I'm now reducing their use. I wake several times a night but usually get back to sleep shortly.

 

The main difference between now and then (when I was taking 10MG Ambien a night) is that I feel better emotionally and physically. I'm not dropping things like I was, my grip was bad but now has improved greatly. I used to get angry for apparently no reason for a few hours after I first got up and that has passed.

 

The Z drugs are a good thing to get off of. Between z drugs and benzos, I think the Z drugs were worse as to how they affected me.

To me the w/d from ambien has been as horrible as another benzo w/d and it might be that fact that you're still on the Ativan that you don't feel the w/d from it. And it is said it's the way to go if you're on ambien, always taper ambien first, or if you're only on ambien you should switch over to another benzo with a longer halflife.

Well I was only on ambien and also in tolerance and kindled, sometimes I wish I'd had known better though, but here I am and to late to take an u-turn

All my best to you, and may the rest of your journey be as smooth as it is now 

 

Thank you! When I first started the taper, I was taking 1MG Ativan and 10MG Ambien per night. I mentioned this fact here on the forum and at least two people advised me to taper the Ambien first because it was best to save the longer half-life drug for last. For some reason I did it the opposite way, I thought I would rather put up for anxiety than for insomnia, so I'd save Ambien for last.

 

It didn't work out well, I did experience some anxiety. It was mild and fleeting, but it caused me to start taking more Ativan, thus defeating the whole purpose of tapering. I brought the problem up here in a thread and it was explained to me the reason for getting off the shorter half-life first was so that the longer half-life would be working in the background to ease the withdrawals. That worked pretty well and after a 6 week rapid taper off Ambien I had little trouble.

 

I've taken my time with the Ativan, I'm down to .125 now. I expect that I will have some trouble at least  ecause I don't have ANY drug working in the background to help me with this withdrawal. I actually feel better the farther down I get in this taper. I thought it would be just the opposite.

 

Hey, I wish you the best, too. I hope that everyone who wants to get off of these dependency-causing drugs does so with the least amount of trouble possible.

[[El...]]

It's been a year now that I quit a 15 year Ambien habit. I did a 6 week rapid taper during which I updosed the Ativan I've been taking for even longer. I had no withdrawals from the Ambien. I'm still taking the Atiavn but at a greatly reduced dose. I'm taking my sweet time with the Ativan.

 

I've used melatonin and antihistamines to help me sleep. I son't think the antihistamines are meant for every night use and I'm now reducing their use. I wake several times a night but usually get back to sleep shortly.

 

The main difference between now and then (when I was taking 10MG Ambien a night) is that I feel better emotionally and physically. I'm not dropping things like I was, my grip was bad but now has improved greatly. I used to get angry for apparently no reason for a few hours after I first got up and that has passed.

 

The Z drugs are a good thing to get off of. Between z drugs and benzos, I think the Z drugs were worse as to how they affected me.

To me the w/d from ambien has been as horrible as another benzo w/d and it might be that fact that you're still on the Ativan that you don't feel the w/d from it. And it is said it's the way to go if you're on ambien, always taper ambien first, or if you're only on ambien you should switch over to another benzo with a longer halflife.

Well I was only on ambien and also in tolerance and kindled, sometimes I wish I'd had known better though, but here I am and to late to take an u-turn

All my best to you, and may the rest of your journey be as smooth as it is now 

 

Thank you! When I first started the taper, I was taking 1MG Ativan and 10MG Ambien per night. I mentioned this fact here on the forum and at least two people advised me to taper the Ambien first because it was best to save the longer half-life drug for last. For some reason I did it the opposite way, I thought I would rather put up for anxiety than for insomnia, so I'd save Ambien for last.

 

It didn't work out well, I did experience some anxiety. It was mild and fleeting, but it caused me to start taking more Ativan, thus defeating the whole purpose of tapering. I brought the problem up here in a thread and it was explained to me the reason for getting off the shorter half-life first was so that the longer half-life would be working in the background to ease the withdrawals. That worked pretty well and after a 6 week rapid taper off Ambien I had little trouble.

 

I've taken my time with the Ativan, I'm down to .125 now. I expect that I will have some trouble at least  ecause I don't have ANY drug working in the background to help me with this withdrawal. I actually feel better the farther down I get in this taper. I thought it would be just the opposite.

 

Hey, I wish you the best, too. I hope that everyone who wants to get off of these dependency-causing drugs does so with the least amount of trouble possible.

I think youve done it the complete right way, and I also think you will get out of this in a fairly smooth way

I wished I'd had switched over to a longer half life pill, but I was only on ambien and didn't have a clue.

All my best

[[Br...]]

Hi all!

 

I wanted to give a quick update on how my Lunesta taper is going.  Seven+ year nightly user of 3mg; made a 50% cut to 1.5mg in very early April and held there until last night where I made another 50% cut... so down to 0.75mg now.

 

My reason for the long wait between was that I had two major road races to run during the month of April and needed my body to feel somewhat stable.  About 4 days after my very first cut, I started to feel better.  My Garmin sleep tracker began tracking a longer time spent in deep sleep, although I am not sleeping longer overall.  I'm only at about 6 hours total, which for someone who is as active as I am, probably isn't enough. I toss and turn the last two hours of my sleep, but every now and again, I see a lot of normal, smaller sleep cycles throughout the night, instead of the drug induced cycles where there are one or two large chunks of complete zombie-sleep early on, followed by a ton of light sleep and no more deep sleep.  So it's nice to see that my body IS starting to move into a more normal routine and supporting those shorter, more frequent sleep cycles throughout the night.

 

Physically, I've done pretty well over the past few weeks.  Aside from initial withdraw symptoms from the first cut (they only lasted 4 to 5 days), I haven't noticed anything else negative.  If anything, I feel more awake during the day now AND I haven't experienced a hint of that afternoon tolerance withdraw anxiety.  I also feel much clearer mentally during the day.  It's almost night and day.  I am a small person, weighing only around 125 pounds-- sometimes a few less, sometimes a few more depending on my training cycle.  I'm a distance runner and also carry a lot of muscle.  The 3mg of Lunesta that I was on was a really large dose for someone my size.  I should have never been on it.

 

Last night I made my second taper cut and am down to 0.75mg of Lunesta.  It went pretty well.  6 hours total of sleep with 3 hrs and 25 minutes of it being deep.  I think I could have slept longer if my cats hadn't woken me up. I usually lock them out of the room at night, but felt guilty last night and let them in.  Mistake.  I am taking a few natural supplements to help me sleep (no sleep "aids" though), but I was taking these before I decided to get off of Lunesta.  I did wake up once last night to some sweating, which hasn't happened in many, many months.

 

My current bedtime routine is:

 

I go to my bedroom to unwind at around 10:00 PM.  About a half hour before (~9:30 PM), I take 2 magnesium glycinate capsules (a total of about 250mg) and 1 tart cherry capsule.  At 10:00 PM I take one Hylund's Calms Forte tablet and then I read a book for a bit.  Around 10:30 or so, I take the Lunesta.  I'm always up around 4:30 AM - 5 AM.

 

I'm curious to see what today and more importantly, what the next two days will bring in terms of any withdraw symptoms.  After my first cut, it was the third DAY where I didn't feel well (so two nights of reduced medication).  If that happens again, it means that Sunday will probably stink.

 

I will check in again to update!  Thank you for all of the support.  I can't believe that in a few weeks, I will most likely be completely FREE from prescription medication entirely.  Holy wow!

[[wa...]]

awesome, Breezie -- there seems so few of us Lunestites so glad to meet you.  Keep up the good work.  Sounds like you are in good physical shape already.  I think that may help you.  WBB

[[Li...]]

Update;

I have real offday today. I thought it was OK to take a small amount, 1/8th, of zopiclon once in a while. Yesterday I took it. Last time before this was 10 days ago. Why? Because I thought it makes the taper easier. But last night I even slept worse. So there's no point in doing that again.  So I feel depressed, groggy, awful.. name it.. I woke up at 8 or 9 O'clock, which is early for me. I went to bed at 0:30 yesterday. So I think I had enough sleep. It is awful to be in bed in the morning, I like to sleep more, but I can't. I feel quite warm again too, which is awful. I went swimming yesterday, I did 1 km, today I will go for 700m I think. Be hopeful, be strong, fight, don't give up. Better days will come...

[[Li...]]

Update;

I have real offday today. I thought it was OK to take a small amount, 1/8th, of zopiclon once in a while. Yesterday I took it. Last time before this was 10 days ago. Why? Because I thought it makes the taper easier. But last night I even slept worse. So there's no point in doing that again.  So I feel depressed, groggy, awful.. name it.. I woke up at 8 or 9 O'clock, which is early for me. I went to bed at 0:30 yesterday. So I think I had enough sleep. It is awful to be in bed in the morning, I like to sleep more, but I can't. I feel quite warm again too, which is awful. I went swimming yesterday, I did 1 km, today I will go for 700m I think. Be hopeful, be strong, fight, don't give up. Better days will come...

 

Update II;

One day later, without zopiclon again, I slept good, I took half a lev 52 Himalaya tablet which is supposed to help detox the liver. I feel not good again, these are horrible days. So again I will go swimming, that's really my only luck that I can do that. It is a windy and warm day today. Have to stay hopeful...

 

Little update III;

And yes, I swam 1000 meter...

 

 

[[wa...]]

Good, Lightspacer - many people can't leave the house when they quit the zopiclone.  Good for you - that you can keep swimming.  that is amazing.  WBB