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Benzos Zopiclone and its bizarre effects

kaosisallwesee

kaosisallwesee

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
796
Location
uk
So recently I've been having trouble sleeping. Rarely get more than an hour or two if I'm lucky. A family memeber gave me some 3.75mg zopiclone tabs to try and see if they help.
My main questions are regarding the after taste and general action.
Does anyone knowthe mechanism that caused the god awful taste you get once it kicks in and lasts into the next morning? Basically can i stop it from happening? Its so strong that Ive only used it 1 and a half tabs since i got given them over a week ago, because of the taste. Ive heard it not as bad for some people. But ime it makes water taste like drinking chemicals.

Second is that even at the low strength Ive got they produce a fair bit of amnesia. I'll think I've fallen asleep but really I've just been sat there chatting nonsense to my partner with no memory of it the next day. Is that usual for z drugs? When i was young and stupid I took a mg of alprazolam and a few mg of lorazepam together and had none of that amnesia etc...
Are z drugs more likely to cause me to black out and forget im awake?

And finally, a few people on here actually seem to like it recreationally!? I'm curious as to what you get from it, other than the ability to fall asleep really easily? My only benzo experience is the one i listed above, so can't really remember it. Do they share other effects with traditional benzos, or are they only really used as a strongish hypnotic?
 
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@kaosisallwesee iirc it's secreted in saliva so you literally can't get rid of that horrible taste.
I taste it well into the next day. Not even chilli sauce, vodka, mouthwash, fresh garlic, nothing covers it up lol.
I actually ate xmas dinner (on boxing day) with a slight taste of zopiclone, gross.
 
Thanks for the responses. Im keeping them for sever insomnia only, like when ive not slept in 2 or 3 days.
 
Does anyone knowthe mechanism that caused the god awful taste you get once it kicks in and lasts into the next morning?
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i had the idea that zopiclone has some affinity for the sigma receptors due to the piperazinyl moety of which one N is a carbamate. i always was under the impression that sigma receptor ligands have a receptor conveyed chemical taste, at least that is the case with opipramol.
i searched but did found zopiclone to have only affinity for the gaba-a receptors, no mentioning of sigma receptor agonism.
 
kaosisallwesee said:
Thanks for the responses. Im keeping them for sever insomnia only, like when ive not slept in 2 or 3 days.
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I realize that you posted this a month ago, but you should really try to address whatever is causing your insomnia (if it's not a stimulant drug or something). I went through a really rough time several months ago from work stressing me out to the point I had constant underlying anxiety. I sometimes had to go to work and do manual type labor for 8 - 10 hours after being up 36 - 48 hours. I was fucking dying. So, I started seeing a psychiatrist who isn't just a pill pusher and helped me establish some really good sleeping habits and also helped me treat the anxiety with proper thinking and breathing techniques, etc. It's helped immensely. I was really surprised because usually i'm a guy who likes to just treat things with drugs. Hope you feel better, you might already be since I'm necroing your post!
 
drewbocop said:
I realize that you posted this a month ago, but you should really try to address whatever is causing your insomnia (if it's not a stimulant drug or something). I went through a really rough time several months ago from work stressing me out to the point I had constant underlying anxiety.
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Thank you for your concern buddy, but I only received them as an acute prescription and I've since stopped taking them. They only helped me sleep for a few days before I felt I'd have to increase the dose anyway, so decided to keep them for emergencies only. Like if I haven't slept for several nights in a row. Ended up giving the remaining ones away to curb any temptation.
I feel like our situations are very similar. I have constant anxiety and find my self riddled with panic a lot of nights due to stress and over thinking. My GP has been no help at all and even said a psychiatrist is out of the question. Told me to try Cyclizine which isn't really helping. So I've stopped that too after a few days. I find the right strain of cannabis will do it, ease anxiety and help me get a good night's sleep but the quantities involved are more than I can afford on any regular basis. I wish we could legally grow lol.
 
kaosisallwesee said:
Thank you for your concern buddy, but I only received them as an acute prescription and I've since stopped taking them. They only helped me sleep for a few days before I felt I'd have to increase the dose anyway, so decided to keep them for emergencies only. Like if I haven't slept for several nights in a row. Ended up giving the remaining ones away to curb any temptation.
I feel like our situations are very similar. I have constant anxiety and find my self riddled with panic a lot of nights due to stress and over thinking. My GP has been no help at all and even said a psychiatrist is out of the question. Told me to try Cyclizine which isn't really helping. So I've stopped that too after a few days. I find the right strain of cannabis will do it, ease anxiety and help me get a good night's sleep but the quantities involved are more than I can afford on any regular basis. I wish we could legally grow lol.
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Well luckily it's not up to your shitty ass GP to say a psychiatrist is out of the question. Sounds like you could use a new GP and a psych doc if shit gets bad enough. Also, I've found delta-8/9 THC helps me greatly as well. Particularly the delta 8 as there's less anxiety-inducing effects involved. I make my own vape carts with bulk distillate for dirt cheap, plus it's legal! (For now.)
 
Just tried for the first time yesterday after 4 days of brutal night shift. 7.5mg tablet.

Report: very clear and semi lucid dreams. Awake periods for eating/toilet felt a bit wobbly, almost like being on GHB. Still feeling a bit weird this morning, but have only been awake for an hour.
 
Never had GHB so cannot comment.

Food for thought:

If this only for sleep and not abuse or recreation: give Zolpidem a try and see. Reason being the different action between the two. Without getting technical: Zolpidem acts for a short period (about three hours is the norm) to induce initial sleep and the idea is that the body naturally takes over from there. Zopiclone is totally pharma. induced sleep. And to be honest: I question the quality of sleep on Zopiclone. Since this COVID shit started, almost to the day a year now since our first hard and full lockdown, I've been taking 7.5mg Zopiclone with 1mg (sometimes 2mg) Alprazolam nightly. Almost always have a hangover of sorts in the morning (which lasts for about a half hour to an hour although nothing major). But do get tired at some point during the day most days and on those days when I do take a nap: it's like dead and natural sleep. And I'm talking about being knocked out for at least eight hours of sleep so it's not due to lack of time sleeping that's for sure.

For the record: I don't use/abuse/recreate with anything (not even booze). So this a pure unadulterated (no pun intended) report.

Oh and one other little nugget:

No matter what the insert(s) may say I've noticed something. For some obscure reason: taking Zopiclone (and in my case Alprazolam also) AFTER eating/meals at night results in a far worse hangover. Not sure if this is because the shit has to work its way through/with the food before being fully absorbed or what (which means it takes longer to be absorbed and start working). But tried and tested and verified too many times for me to be wrong here. I now resort to taking about a half hour before the evening meal. About an hour or hour and half and when my head hits the pillow I'm out in thirty seconds (type of thing). With Zopiclone this is possible. Zolpidem no. Zolpidem should be taken the moment you get into bed i.e. it's not like Zopiclone where you will start feeling effects while awake. You can take Zolpidem and carry on like nothing has happened i.e. in my experience anyway (caveat being that Zolpidem is infamous for having people do strange things and that they don't remember the next day if they don't take as directed and explained) (and Zolpidem and alcohol together a definite "no no" for the same reason).

The above, of course, personal experience and insights and is individual based I'm sure. I know people who cannot walk on 1mg Alprozalam let alone both. I just happen to be one of those fortunate (or unfortunate?) individuals that can take a whole lot more of just about any pharmaceutical substance (in spite of my now "clean as a whistle" bullshit I've been around the block in some 55 years I assure you) (and in my case tolerance has nothing to do with it i.e. always just worked that way with me). Fentanyl being my match though I'll admit i.e. for research purposes have tried minute amounts on two separate occasions and that stuff doesn't play (not the pharmaceutical type anyway). There's no way of fighting THAT nod. Not for me anyway.

One last word of warning: be careful of falling into the trap of ending up with rebound insomnia from all of this shit. I'm under no illusion that I now, even after just almost a year, probably would lie awake for hours before falling asleep without this shit. And you will get to a point where tolerance will build up and you'll need more just to have a full night's sleep (and as to whether or not it's proper sleep is questionable to me).

More, as usual, than anybody wanted to know I suppose. But there it is. My good deed (post) for the day! 🤣
 
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Zopiclone never helped with my sleep. Even taking up to 15mg eszopiclone before bed doesn't help. Next day was fine and no metallic taste either.
 
ghostfreak said:
Zopiclone never helped with my sleep. Even taking up to 15mg eszopiclone before bed doesn't help. Next day was fine and no metallic taste either.
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That's interesting. Never heard of eszopiclone until now. Thanks for that.

Given the below I wonder why that is (your sleep problems from a physiological point of view I mean i.e. I'd have thought that'd knock anybody out) (unless you have tolerance)?

"The eszopiclone/zopiclone difference is in the dosage—the strongest eszopiclone dosage contains 3 mg of the therapeutic stereoisomer, whereas the highest zopiclone dosage (10 mg) contains 5 mg of the active stereoisomer."

I forgot to mention the metallic taste in my dissertation above though. Interesting you didn't get that with eszopiclone? Mind you: there's been more than one debate about this metallic aftertaste (with Zopiclone). I put it down to (generic) manufacturer based on what I've read here over the months. Not sure though.

Never too old to learn something new though huh! :)

Of course there's other options but they're mostly benzodiazepines and some nastier than others (Halcion/Triazolam being on of the more nasty ones) (as well as Royhpnol/Flunitrazepam). Correction: Royhpnol still available but in weaker strengths and now mixed with a substance so that it's detectable if dissolved in drinks (as opposed to being flavorless before) and Halcion banned in the UK not here. Mind playing tricks. Apologies.
 
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Yeah the pills were 3mg each. Tested out bigger doses but nothing gave me relief. Went up to 15mg I think but could have been 18mg.

I was surprised the metallic taste wasn't there in the morning, kinda relieved lol.

The brand was Zune Star and they were small blue pills in blister packs.
 
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