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Could a Valium taper reduce zopiclone rebound insomnia?


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Hi everyone, I am terrified of rebound insomnia, having already experienced 'normal' insomnia. I have been taking zopiclone for about 6 months on a nightly basis at the standard dose of 7.5 mg/night. I am just wondering if doing a Valium taper rather than sudden discontinuation could reduce the rebound insomnia. I have to drive and take care of my mother, and take her to appointments, so I do not have the option of not sleeping for days or weeks in a row. I cannot see how the safe operation of a motor vehicle would be possible with extended lack of sleep. I have spoken to my doctor and he just said to stop the zopiclone.
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Hi everyone, I am terrified of rebound insomnia, having already experienced 'normal' insomnia. I have been taking zopiclone for about 6 months on a nightly basis at the standard dose of 7.5 mg/night. I am just wondering if doing a Valium taper rather than sudden discontinuation could reduce the rebound insomnia. I have to drive and take care of my mother, and take her to appointments, so I do not have the option of not sleeping for days or weeks in a row. I cannot see how the safe operation of a motor vehicle would be possible with extended lack of sleep. I have spoken to my doctor and he just said to stop the zopiclone.

 

Are you able to get decent rest with that 7.5mg? And are you experiencing any side effects right now? What was the original reason you were given this medication?

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Are you able to get decent rest with that 7.5mg? And are you experiencing any side effects right now? What was the original reason you were given this medication?

 

I sometimes need one and a half tablets to sleep, i.e. 11.25 mg, but am reducing it back to the original 7.5. I don't feel any side effects from zopiclone. I was given the medication for insomnia originally. I was stupid to go back to one of these drugs after having come off Xanax but I fell for the common belief that z-drugs are not the same as benzos. I only increased my dose because 7.5 mg just didn't seem to be enough to promote sleep; according to benzo.org 7.5 mg equals only 5 mg of Valium, in contrast with the common 20 mg of temazepam which equals 10 mg of Valium.

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[12...]

Are you able to get decent rest with that 7.5mg? And are you experiencing any side effects right now? What was the original reason you were given this medication?

 

I sometimes need one and a half tablets to sleep, i.e. 11.25 mg, but am reducing it back to the original 7.5. I don't feel any side effects from zopiclone. I was given the medication for insomnia originally. I was stupid to go back to one of these drugs after having come off Xanax but I fell for the common belief that z-drugs are not the same as benzos. I only increased my dose because 7.5 mg just didn't seem to be enough to promote sleep; according to benzo.org 7.5 mg equals only 5 mg of Valium, in contrast with the common 20 mg of temazepam which equals 10 mg of Valium.

 

If you have no side effects with the current doses you are using now, you may be able to taper it without having to use another benzo.

 

The whole idea of a valium taper is to reduce side effects from the short term z-drug. If you are not getting any, you might be able to reduce it.

 

But then the question: You were on Xanax before. Was that also for insomnia, and were you having side effects from that? And did the Zopiclone replace the Xanax?

 

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I was put on 4 different Benzos (not all at the same time...I moved from one to another) for sleep.  I started with Xanax, then K-pin, then Temazepam and ended with some Valium.  There is no way to guarantee that you can switch to Valium and not experience any insomnia?  The only way to know would be to try that out and see what happens. 

 

I would go for 3 and sometimes 4 nights in a row with no perceived (zero) sleep and I was never able to "nod" off while driving or anywhere else.  It seems "logical" to assume that Benzo-induced insomnia is the same a "regular" insomnia, but it's not.  If you could nod off behind the wheel, then you could nod off anywhere else including in bed, and I was never able to do that, not even one time during the thick of my Benzo-induced insomnia. 

 

Other times I purposely stayed awake to drive through the night and used energy drinks to help, but there was still the risk of nodding off, because during those times I wasn't suffering from Benzo-induced insomnia. 

 

Unfortunately the Benzo WD BEAST demands payment (in the form of insomnia and other WD  symptoms) without mercy after getting off of Benzos and/or Z-drugs (Benzos in disguise).  I don't want to rain on your parade, but there's little chance that you can come off a Z-drug or Benzo and have very little or no insomnia, especially when insomnia was the reason for taking the poison in the first place!  There are no shortcuts or other "magic" herbal supplements or pills to take to "escape" the process.  The only way out is through it!

 

But you can do this.  I did and so did thousands of others... Temporary (a few years or less) lack of sleep will not kill you.  It's sucks big time, but you can beat Zopiclone and get some livable sleep back on your own. 

 

The fact that you have to raise your dose some nights to get the same sleep, means you are reaching tolerance and IMO, that is when the damage is done and WD is inevitable.

 

I sleep very well these days and there were many, many times I thought that I'd never be able to sleep without an Rx drug, and that's simply not true.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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