Hlp reqd asap pls? Confusion over zopiclone and diazepam equivalency-poss wrong dose.

[3dmusic]

Hi

I was stupid enough to be taking twelve of the 7.5mg zopiclone tablets throughout the day as I was going through some very upsetting stress.
Once I realised I was addicted I slowly crossed over to 30mg diazepam and felt withdrawawls, for a few weeks, I later found out that I had miscalculated the equivalency.

I thought that 5mg diazepam = 7.5mg zopiclone and most sites say that, so for the last two weeks I have been on 60mg diaz and am still not feeling right.
Anyway, I read on this site, that 6mg diazepam is equal to 7.5mg zopiclone http://www.citawithdrawal.org.uk/final_005.htm. It says The equivalent dose we have found to be effective is 6mgs Diazepam to 7.5mgs Zopiclone.
The lady who ran the site is now dead, but she was considered an expert witness, http://www.citawithdrawal.org.uk/

This has been really worrying me because if it is right, it means that I should have been taking 72mg diazepam a day and not 60mg.
I am wondering if someone can help me find a more truer equivalent, because I don't want to jump upto 72mgs valium a day, just from reading one site, although the information and research is quite authorative as it was run by a now deceased lady who has plenty of professional experience in the field.

I know that its hard to find an exact equivalent between zopiclone and diazepam, but I want to be on the right dose, so that I can begin my taper in as good a place as possible.
At the moment I dont know if I should be on 60mg or 72mg diazepam before I start my taper.
If someone could point me towards some more updated infomation that would be great.
thanks

 

[MrRoot]

It takes some time for diazepam and it's active metabolites to stabilise levels in your blood so you might have wds due that. Also since zopiclone is z-drug and diazepam isn't so they are not totally switchable, which may also lead to some wds.

Also comparing efficiency isn't so easy because of their differences and someone might switch into diazepam converting it by 7.5mg zopiclone equals 5mg diazepam but I would rather say 7.5mg equals 10mg diazepam if we are talking about preventing wds instead of anxiolytic properties.

Benzo equivalancy charts deal with one property at time unless it takes note of different therapeutic properties.

For example 0.5mg clonazepam may equal 0.5mg alprazolam in terms of anxiolytic properties but 0.5mg of alprazolam would have 0.1mg worth of clonazepam's muscle relaxant properties.

So I would advice you to take the lower dose and fix it slowly up to a level you feel comfortable with. Check Ashton manual for switching from zopiclone to diazepam as it deals with wd preventing properties of diazepam when converting the dose.

Edit: Ashton manual also says 7.5mg zopiclone equals 5mg diazepam. I would go with that unless the wds were bad. Have you been using diazepam before and you are aware that it affects differently to you than zopiclone?

 

[aced126]

2 weeks is enough time for plasma levels to stabilise I think. Just keep upping the dose until you are stable, and then start reducing slowly from there. Good to use a long half life one like diazepam.