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Sleeping tablet withdrawal hell

(8 Posts)
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Smurf52 Thu 05-Jan-23 19:40:16

I’ve suffered from insomnia for many years. Four years ago my GP prescribed 7.5mg of Zopiclone but in very limited quantities. Eventually, I wanted to try non prescription sleeping tablets as an alternative. I must have tried numerous advertised ones but non worked until I tried Hypnozan on Amazon. It worked.

I took one every night for six months but did not like the fact I was zonked out most of the next day too. Last week I tried one night without a tablet, but I did not feel sleepy until 6 or 7 a.m. so that was another day lost catching up on sleep. Has anyone else successfully weaned themselves off these wretched tablets?

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VioletSky Thu 05-Jan-23 19:44:35

Are you able to reduce the dosage?

Might be easier to wean off or you may find yourself less zonked and managing better?

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SueDonim Thu 05-Jan-23 20:07:59

That sounds difficult. flowers. I think I wouldn’t go hard core, I’d try and reduce the amount. So that would be taking 3/4 of a tablet a night for a week or two, then half a tablet for another couple of weeks followed by a quarter tablet until I felt I could do away with them altogether.

Some tablets can be hard to cut but you can buy tablet splitters or carefully use a sharp knife with a point to divide them up.

Good luck.

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AskAlice Thu 05-Jan-23 20:13:58

I'd agree with SueDonim and try cutting the tablets and doing it very gradually. I've done this before with anti-depressants successfully and also (under supervision from my GP) with Oromoph which I was taking when I had a slipped disc and had to wait 2 years for surgery. Tablet splitters are easily available online.

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Redrobin51 Thu 05-Jan-23 20:24:47

As others have said it is always best to slowly reduce. It may take quite some time to come off them completely but it is usually better than going "cold turkey". Your sleep pattern might be all over the place at first. I'm another insomniac so you have my empathy.

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Luckygirl3 Thu 05-Jan-23 21:45:05

No-one should have to wait 2 years for disc surgery, and to risk addiction to strong painkillers in the meantime .... it is a disgrace. And it is why I paid for my surgery ... what is happening to the NHS? I am sorry you were put in this situation.
I agree with others Smurf52 ... gently and slowly is the way to come off sleeping medication.

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Wyllow3 Thu 05-Jan-23 21:57:51

One way to very slowly cut back is to use a nail file to just file a teeny bit off the tablet and gradually increase the amount you file off.

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growstuff Thu 05-Jan-23 22:07:13

A friend of mine did this with ADs Wyllow. It took her a few months, but it worked.

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