Withdrawal from 'Z' Drugs

[rocksmokinmachine]

Withdrawal from zopiclone 15mg (Zimovane/Imovane), once nightly with diazepam substitution

Allthough not a true benzodiazepine, zopiclone is a short acting hypnotic acting on the GABA-BZD receptors (the same as benzodiazepines). Withdrawal is similar over prolonged periods, and so substitution with a long acting benzodiazepine such as diazepam is beneficial.

|night time|diazepam equivelent
starting dose|zopiclone 15mg|10mg
stage 1|zopiclone 7.5mg, diazepam 5mg|10mg
stage 2|stop zopiclone, diazepam 10mg|10mg
stage 3|diazepam 9mg|9mg
stage 4|diazepam 8mg|8mg
stage 5|diazepam 7mg|7mg
stage 6|diazepam 6mg|6mg
stage 7|diazepam 5mg|5mg
stage 8|diazepam 4mg|4mg
stage 9|diazepam 3mg|3mg
stage 10|diazepam 2mg|2mg
stage 11|diazepam 1mg|1mg
stage 12|stop diazepam|-

[~lostgurl~]

My gurl came off a 4 year, 15mg a night Zopiclone addiction cold turkey and it really wasn't that bad. The first night she had cold/hot sweats and woke up many times but the second night she slept right through, and during the day she felt no withdrawal symptoms.

[rocksmokinmachine]

Indeed, some people do not experience withdrawal from this drug. It does appear in the ashton manual, though we cannot link to it unfortunately because it contains a forum.

I thought it may good to post this as some people have difficulty withdrawing from 'Z' drugs. The fact that it is a short acting hypnotic agent acting on the GABA-BZD receptors, it would be beneficial to switch to a long acting benzodiazepine.

[rocksmokinmachine]

Simple withdrawal from zolpidem 10mg (Ambien), once nightly with diazepam substitution

Allthough not a true benzodiazepine, zolpidem is a short acting hypnotic acting on the GABA-BZD receptors (the same as benzodiazepines). Withdrawal is similar over prolonged periods, and so substitution with a long acting benzodiazepine such as diazepam is beneficial.

|night time|diazepam equivelent
starting dose|zolpidem 10mg|5mg
stage 1|zolpidem 5mg, diazepam 2mg|5mg
stage 2|stop zolpidem, diazepam 5mg|5mg
stage 3|diazepam 5mg|5mg
stage 4|diazepam 4mg|4mg
stage 5|diazepam 3mg|3mg
stage 6|diazepam 2mg|2mg
stage 7|diazepam 1mg|1mg
stage 8|stop diazepam|-