Zopiclone

[KICKSTART]

I've just been given a weeks supply to help me get back on track and get some sleep! But ..i got up this morning (after my first good nights sleep in days !  ) and i have a terrible upset stomach ! Is this the Zopiclone ? does it settle down after a few days ? I just love the fact i got some sleep , but now i have spent most of the morning in the bathroom ! 

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Sorry to hear you've had a stomach upset . I take Zopiclone each night and never had any ill effects. Do you take other meds at night? maybe there's a reaction there somewhere. Maybe try one again to-night as it's quite possible the stomach upset was unconnected and so just coincidence. Since I started on Zopiclone I don't get restless legs problems which was the main cause of lying awake 'till the early hours and what I also like about it is that it doesn't leave you feeling sleepy for half the next day. Hope it starts to w2ork for you. Keep us updated. 

[KICKSTART]

Thanks Ken, er think upset stomach might have been down to a dodgy takeaway , so much for being lazy and treating myself !!! I took another last night but didnt get off to sleep quite as well as the first night , i woke up several times in the night, last night . I also take co-beneldopa for my restless legs , but for the past few nights , they havent settled my legs down , so will be interesting to see if Zopiclone does that . How long are you on them for ? i have only been given 5 days supply. Stomach ok today !!

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Hi Kickstart,

Glad your stomach upset has cleared up and at least you know now that it's not the Zopiclone. I have been taking them for about 7 months now. They're not a permanent item on my prescription but I just keep asking the doctor for them and up to now he's OK about prescribing them.

 I take half a 7.5mg  tablet of per night. Some nights are better than others. I've found that if I don't get to sleep within about 45 minutes then I get restless for about another hour before I finally get to sleep. It's as if the drug has some kind of trigger point and if you miss it then you'll stay awake a while longer. I do tend to wake up a few times during the night because sometimes the filling noise of the cycler wakes me up, but I always get back to sleep in the next few minutes.

 I think the main difference since before I took Zopiclone is that even if I do get restless legs, it only lasts for a short time and then the drug seems to relax me. I never (touch wood) anymore get the kind of nights where every nerve in my body seems to feel on edge for hours on end resulting in only a couple of hours sleep. I do hope it works as well for you as it has done for me.

[KICKSTART]

Thats very interesting Ken , the first night i took it i was out like a light. Then last night didnt work at all, i did the same routine , i took it about 15 mins before i went to bed both nights . I have only been given 3.74 dosage , so maybe its not enough ?

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Hi Kickstart
I usually take it about 5 minutes before I go to bed. Also I think that those of us who have a sleep problem tend to lie there obsessed with getting to sleep which of course has the effect of keeping us awake.

The tablet also didn't work for me last night but I did eventually get to sleep after about 2 hours. It seems to be like that, sometimes I'll go out like a light and then other times I'll lie awake for ages. But what I have noticed is that it seems to work best when I've gone to bed thinking about something other than 'will it work or won't it'

I know it's easier said than done and no matter how you try you can't get it out of your mind but I know that if I have a few good nights I tend to think about about it less and less at bedtime and become more relaxed  and as Iv'e said, the times when I never give it a thought are when I get to sleep the quickest.