Buy zopiclone online uk. Zopiclone is a drug that’s often used for the short-term treatment of insomnia. In this article we look at what’s known about this sleep medicine and whether it is useful for people with insomnia. We’ll cover the following points:

• how zopiclone works
• can it help you sleep?
• withdrawal and addiction risks of zopiclone
• how to improve your sleep without medication.

Introduction

Zopiclone is one of the so-called “Z drugs”, along with zolpidem and zaleplon, and was introduced during the second half of the 1980s as a treatment for insomnia.

These drugs were developed as safer alternatives to benzodiazepines which can be highly addictive and whose use can lead to dependence.

Buy zopiclone online uk. Zopiclone was the first compound developed with a different chemical structure to the benzodiazepines but which binds to the same cell receptors as they do.¹

It’s often called a short-acting hypnotic because of how quickly it’s eliminated from the body. It has a ‘half-life’ of about 5 hours (range of 3.5-6.5 hours), which refers to how long it takes for the concentration of the drug to be reduced by half in the body. In the elderly, the half-life is slightly longer, at around 7 hours.

What’s the recommended dose?

Buy zopiclone online uk. Zopiclone is licensed in the UK for adults with a bedtime dose of 7.5mg once daily for up to four weeks.

In the elderly, the initial dose is 3.75mg once daily, for up to four weeks. This can be increased, if necessary, to 7.5 mg daily.

These doses have been found to result in sedating and sleep-promoting effects similar to other benzodiazepine sleeping pills. You can find more information about Zopiclone from the NICE website.

It’s usually prescribed for short-term use (2-4 weeks) to limit the risk of your body becoming used to it and the drug losing its effectiveness.² Short-term use is also advised to avoid you developing a dependence to it.

Zopiclone is available under the brand name Zimovane in the UK and Imovane or Rhovane in Canada. It’s not available for use in the United States although the related drug, eszopiclone, is on the US market.

Buy zopiclone online uk. How zopiclone affects sleep

Our sleep is made up of sleep cycles, which last for roughly 90 minutes and repeat several times throughout the night.

During each cycle, we pass through four different stages of sleep which are called N1, N2, N3 and rapid eye movement sleep (REM). When we fall asleep, we enter N1, then pass through N2 and N3 and finally into REM. The cycle then starts again at N1.

Buy zopiclone online uk. Zopiclone has been found to prolong stage N2 and N3 sleep with a proportional decrease in total REM sleep.³ Research also shows that it can reduce stage N1 sleep.⁴

However, many studies that have looked at sleeping brain activity in people who have taken zopiclone have shown results that are very variable, so all we can say with any certainty is that zopiclone can affect all stages of sleep.

Buy zopiclone online uk. The side effects of taking zopiclone

The most frequently reported side effect of zopiclone, reported in about 10% of people, is a bitter or metallic taste.⁵

Other frequently reported side effects of zopiclone include:

• nausea
• dizziness
• asthenia (abnormal physical weakness or lack of energy)
• increased sweating
• headaches
• sedation, somnolence and tiredness.

Buy zopiclone online uk. A study in healthy volunteers found no residual effects of the drug on psychomotor performance (i.e. activities such as throwing a ball, using a tool or driving a car) the day after a 7.5mg dose.³

However, there are other reports that do show impairment as a measure of coordination and performance of skilled tasks.

Hypnotics are often prescribed to the elderly. There is however a concern that they may impair both balance and memory functions.

More adverse effects on how the drugs such as zopiclone tend to have more adverse effects in older people. These include cognitive processes such as being able to concentrate or remember things. Increased daytime fatigue is also reported more frequently in older people being treated for insomnia.

Buy zopiclone online uk. These drugs also tend to affect psychomotor functions more in the elderly too. This refers to carrying out everyday tasks which involve coordinated movement, such as driving a car, playing an instrument, sewing or throwing a ball.

A study compared the effect of three hypnotics — including zopiclone 3.75mg and placebo — in 49 healthy volunteers aged 65 years and above.⁶ All active drugs were found to have a negative effect on balance and also reaction time on a test of memory.

The effects of zopiclone were found to persist for 8-9 hours, suggesting a possibility of a reduction in function after waking the morning after a night-time dose.

What are the withdrawal symptoms associated with zopiclone?

One of the concerns surrounding the use of sleeping pills is the incidence of withdrawal symptoms after stopping taking the drugs.

Buy zopiclone online uk. Research has shown that when zopiclone is used at the appropriate clinical doses then withdrawal effects are negligible or considerably lower than those associated with benzodiazepines.^5 7 8 9

A review of studies investigating discontinuation of zopiclone found no significant rebound effect on sleep and few withdrawal effects such as anxiety and vertigo.¹⁰

Whereas another study found that withdrawal reactions like headache, anxiety, or agitation occurred in only 0.05% of the individuals studied.¹¹

While withdrawal symptoms are not common, they can include:

• sleep problems
• anxiety and depression
• confusion and agitation
• muscle aches and pains.

Buy zopiclone online uk. To limit the risk of withdrawal symptoms, it’s sometimes recommended that you should slowly reduce the amount of zopiclone you are taking instead of abruptly stopping taking the drug, but this is something you should discuss with your healthcare provider.

Buy zopiclone online uk. Is zopiclone addictive?

If Zopiclone is taken regularly for an extended period of time, a person can build up a tolerance to it and would require higher doses to help them sleep. This is why the drug is generally recommended as only a short-term treatment option for insomnia.

Buy zopiclone online uk. Sleeping tablets are often associated with the risk of dependency or addiction, however, dependence on zopiclone is more often reported when the drug is taken at higher than prescribed doses and in people with a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

The presence of mental health problems, such as depression, has also been found to be a significant predictor when considering whether someone could become dependent.

So while the zopiclone does have the potential to lead to addiction, when it’s taken as a short-term treatment and at the recommended dose, it is considered quite safe.