Benzos Clonazepam to Zopiclone

[Poulet]

I have terrible anxiety and have been prescribed Prozac however I find this is not sufficient especially during the night and I have started self medicating with firstly 10mg of Diazepam, then 1mg of Alprazolam, now I am finally taking 1mg of Clonazepam each night. I do not get withdrawals from the Clonazepam however I have started to notice that it is no longer becoming effective, I don't want to increase my dosage for obvious reasons.

I'm wondering if it would be a good option for me to switch onto 7.5mg of Zopiclone nightly or to switch onto 50mg Quetiapine (Seroquel) nightly. Will either of these be better in the long run or should I attempt to take a break from them altogether and just try Diphenhydramine for a while?

Thank you,

 

[scottd420]

If you've been using the benzos regularly for more than two weeks you may have a benzodiazepine dependency, in that case you will have to get a taper program to follow and withdrawal properly; cold turkey is potentially dangerous with benzos.
Then you are set to try whichever drug you and your physician may think will benefit, unless you can use them at the same time, depending on the type of sleep aid.

 

[muvolution]

Seroquel should be reserved for those with manic depression/ schizophrenia - it is potentially dangerous as a sleep aid.
IF you can, try to drop down to Unisom (diphenhydramine) which should be a first-line treatment. Then try zolpidiem or zopiclone if that doesn't work. Benzos should be a drug of last resort.

 

[MrRoot]

Cognitive behavioral therapy would be first line of treatment if OP is suffering from long term insomnia because of anxiety.

 

[1114]

It is my understanding that using benzos/anti-psychotics as a sleep aid is quite hazardous. Having had my days with clonazepam and zopicone, I can say they are apples and oranges.

Go for zopiclone if you're looking for sleep. I was prescribed clon. for anxiety, but felt the effects diminishing very quickly. (I'm not a doctor).

 

[Poulet]

I would much rather tell my doctor that I am taking Seroquel for sleep rather than Clonazepam or Zopiclone due to their obvious addictive properties whereas I doubt they will think I'm abusing an anti-psychotic if it's at all possible. If I do tell my doctor that I have been taking Seroquel for sleep which I have purchased would I be labelled as a drug seeker in comparison to if I were to say I was taking Clonazepam or Zopiclone? Obviously in the name of harm reduction I should tell my doctor all of this, however I don't really want to mention the Seroquel anyway and it seems like a better long term use than Benzodiazepines.

 

[a3smit]

Switching to Zolpidem in my opinion won't make a difference as in the long run you will get addicted to it. I'm taking it now for 2 years, and I WILL not sleep without it. My sister also start using it and in a month's time she was already addicted.

 

[Poulet]

I must admit if I do have an addiction it is rather problematic, not in the sense that I would have bad withdrawals as I think I would be able to sit through them. It's just that I need to be able to sleep, as if I don't sleep then I can't work and discontinuing the Clonazepam or Zopiclone would mean that I would be unable to sleep continuing the evil cycle. I tried Seroquel and found that it made me quite tired especially when combined with Diphenhydramine, could this potentially be a way to take myself off Benzodiazepines? As far as I can tell Seroquel is not addictive, neither is Diphenhydramine they just have standard tolerance issues.