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Benzos zopiclone for anxiety

kaosisallwesee

kaosisallwesee

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
798
Recently I've been having what I would consider pretty severe anxiety and panic, especially in the morning upon waking up. It's like I can't make sense of anything and I've got a proper panic on about everything. I then spend the morning having pretty irrational fears about everything, which fade into the day once Ive take a few of my prescribed dihydrocodeine and smoked some indica in the evening. Usually waking up after a few hours of low quality sleep around midnight- 1am ish, spending rest of the night awake compulsively checking my daughters video monitor to make sure my partner and her are ok and worrying about everything I can think of. I was given some zopiclone by a family member and have read it can help acute anxiety, which it definitely does for me at least. I was also prescribed it as a one of script for insomnia a couple weeks back, with no chance of a repeat. Do you think its worth taking them offlable for anxiety and letting doctor know? or just use 3.75mg a day until I see my doctor and dont mention that it helped? as theres no way theyll script them too me.
 
No, I don't think that's a good idea. The Z-drugs have wacky side effects and Zopiclone in particular isn't even available in the US anymore, they were even planning to completely ban it back in the 90s. You're after the benzo-like anxiolytic effects it's giving you. I assume you're in the UK and I know how harsh their blanket banning policies are, but even so, isn't there something else you can look into with your doctor?
 
Yep, I'm in the UK meaning benzos are probably not an option. My GP has a no benzos or strong painkillers policy for any existing patient unless they've been advised by a specialist to do so. The furthest they'll go is acute Z-drugs for insomnia. Other than that its stuff like sertraline and I'm worried they'll just palm me off with an anti-depressant, which isn't what I want. Any idea why zopiclone isn't available in the US? I think here its the opposite with zolpidem being far less prescribed.
Ideally I'd like a short term benzo script and a referral to speak shit through with someone and figure out a long term non-medicated solution. but neither will happen. I've been told a referral at the moment will take around 3-4 months.
 
Zopiclone is a shitty drug in my experience: You'll be groggy for most of the day with a terrible metallic taste in your mouth. If Benzos are not an option, can you get your hands on Phenibut? That would be far better than Zopiclone for anxiety, but don't even think about taking it daily. Oh, and just in case you do manage to get a Benzo for anxiety: I highly recommend Etizolam for that use case. I don't think it officially available in the UK, though.
 
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I'll second the suggestion of phenibut, it works great for anxiety, especially social anxiety. It's prescribed in Russia for PTSD, because it makes you feel confident and calm and fearless and somewhat euphoric. It lasts about 24 hours too, very long duration. It's not suitable for daily use, but then, neither are benzos, or any gabaergic drugs. The only downside to phenibut, really, is that it takes like 4 hours or so to really come on. And it's easy to dose wrong, too little and it doesn't really do much, too much and it is unpleasant and you don't get the positive effects.
 
I tried Eszopiclone (I'm here in the US) when it first came out as Lunesta and I did not like it at all. Zolpidem is far superior in my humble opinion
 
I've took zopiclone for anxiety, but need 3 or more for sleep weirdly enough, I take it for a few days each month for sleep, or did, took them in the day this month too, the nightmares for a few days after I stop taking them are so bad I don't want them anymore, I went through 14 in less than two days, I've gone through 18 in a day before but I'm done with them
 
Z-drugs are pretty good for insomnia but they don't work well for my anxiety. Plus the zopiclone metallic aftertaste sucks. 😆 Have you tried Pregabalin / Lyrica?
 
Haha, if pregabalin doesn't remove your anxiety then nothing will, gabapentinoids work better than benzos IMO (except to stop an acute panic attack, nothing is better than benzos for that). Too bad they're also addictive (though not as badly addictive as benzos).
 
kaosisallwesee said:
Recently I've been having what I would consider pretty severe anxiety and panic, especially in the morning upon waking up. It's like I can't make sense of anything and I've got a proper panic on about everything. I then spend the morning having pretty irrational fears about everything, which fade into the day once Ive take a few of my prescribed dihydrocodeine and smoked some indica in the evening. Usually waking up after a few hours of low quality sleep around midnight- 1am ish, spending rest of the night awake compulsively checking my daughters video monitor to make sure my partner and her are ok and worrying about everything I can think of. I was given some zopiclone by a family member and have read it can help acute anxiety, which it definitely does for me at least. I was also prescribed it as a one of script for insomnia a couple weeks back, with no chance of a repeat. Do you think its worth taking them offlable for anxiety and letting doctor know? or just use 3.75mg a day until I see my doctor and dont mention that it helped? as theres no way theyll script them too me.
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I wonder if it’s anxiety or are you waking up in slight withdrawal? You mention it goes away when you take your dihydrocodeine. Just a thought.
 
MsDiz said:
I wonder if it’s anxiety or are you waking up in slight withdrawal? You mention it goes away when you take your dihydrocodeine. Just a thought.
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I thought the same at first, but while it helps on several occasions the panic and anxiety has persisted long into the evening, and was still thete after I'd taken my usual dose of DHC.
 
kaosisallwesee said:
I thought the same at first, but while it helps on several occasions the panic and anxiety has persisted long into the evening, and was still thete after I'd taken my usual dose of DHC.
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Personally, I can sometimes wake up in withdrawal because I sleep through my morning dose sometimes at weekend and I’m the kind of person that once that anxiety starts it kind of takes over. It’s hard to get it to stop unless I’ve some benzos.

I’d try supplementing vitamin D and getting magnesium and taking it at night before bed. They both made a big difference to me.
 
I’d be very careful personally . Zopiclone induces anxiety, for me at least but we are all different
 
I find clonidine helpful. There was a study years ago in Canada about giving soldiers with ptsd clonidine to help some symptoms.
I get zopiclone for sleep but it only lasts a few hours. Dunno why they haven't made a slow release formula
 
smartinesmir said:
It's great that you're planning to discuss this with your doctor. Being open and honest about your experiences is crucial for finding the right treatment plan. Your doctor might have other options or be able to provide additional support that could help you manage your anxiety more effectively in the long term.
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Id totally disagree. I think what will happen is that they'll pull any existing script seeing as you've gone off label. Maybe even your DHC too if they think you're missusing meds.

Just tell them your anxious if need be. Don't mention z drugs.

In all honesty, though, this is a terrible idea. Zopiclone over time causes rebound anxiety and will just make things worse. I noticed this is an old thread so I hope you're in a better place now or have found a better solution.

Zopiclone is good for severe insomnia but anything longer than short term use will bite you on the ass.
 
Z-drugs in general have always paled in comparison to benzos as regards mitigating acute anxiety. By order of preference as regards benzos, mine would be:

1. Diazepam
2. Xanax
3. Trannex

Pregabalin does happen to work wonders for my generalised anxiety however I'm mindful to keep a few benzos on hand in case an acute attack hits me in which case I'll need a Benzo or else I'll end up pacing the house and never actually leaving.
 
Zopiclone for anxiety will ultimately make your situation a lot worse. Benzos will help short term then probably make things worse. There is no quick fix.

Maybe antidepressants like mirtazapine but the side effects can be quite severe.

Not the answer you want but exercise, meditation, mindfulness, fresh air and healthy living. Wheres the fun in that though.
 
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