Thank you for all those replies..I have tried everything for insomnia...literally as this has gone on 3 years..anti histamine make my rls worse and don't sleep I've changed my sleep routine had hypnosis cbt everything..nothing works..I know zopiclone is bad but like people have said the lack of sleep is killing me and it's the only thing that works albeit not til 3 or 4 am but better than no sleep. I didn't sleep at all before and it's made me so ill..I've asked for femoston hrt aa it's the best for tolerance I believe but high risks of diabetes and stroke which both of them are in my family...zopiclone is safer to me than risk that and the cancer risk being high..especially if it doesn't help. I keep reading people sleep worse on hrt that would be the straw that broke the camels back. I might suggest the mirena coil it sounds positive...is it the progesterone that helps with sleep ? ( please don't judge me for taking zop I know the risks but my life was much much worse before that's why doctors prescribed me it
Please don't think I'm judging you for taking zopiclone. I totally understand what a total lack of sleep is like because that's what I suffered from too. It's just that I've been there and I know first hand how horrible the dependency on any kind of tranquiliser can be. I even used to counsel on a forum specifically for people who found themselves accidentally addicted to these drugs, and there are more people out there suffering from over-prescription of this stuff than you probably realise. There could be a dozen new members joining up every day desperate for help, and they're just the people who found the forum. There were probably millions of other people world-wide who'll never find the right help.
Benzodiazepines (eg valium/diazepam, klonopin, xanax etc) and z-drugs (eg zaleplon, zolpidem and zopiclone) can be very insidious if taken continuously for more than the recommended 2-3 weeks maximum, and a lot of doctors simply don't understand or accept how highly addictive they are. Weaning off these drugs may not just be a case of cutting down over a period of a week or two. For some people weaning of their dose can take years. I took me 2 years to wean off 5mg of diazepam, which would be equivalent to just 7.5mg of zopiclone. It all comes down to how sensitive you are. I was very sensitive, and you could be too, but you'll never know how sensitive you are until it's too late and you are dependent. The risks associated with HRT are far lower (even negligible) for the things you are concerned about compared with what a z-drug would be. These drugs can cause all sorts of physical, psychological and mental issues if taken long term. There is even evidence they contribute to the onset of Alzheimers.
I'm not sure where you are reading about all these people who say their sleep is worse on HRT. Often when you are looking for specific information that's what you'll find, but by and large women seem to do much better sleep-wise when on HRT. It's usually the lack of estrogen that affects sleep, and on HRT that's what you will be getting. Also keep in mind that one of the many side effects from taking something like zopiclone is rebound insomnia, so you need to tread very carefully when you decide to stop taking it. Don't assume you need to take more to get the same effect. That becomes a very slippery slope. It took me 6 desperate months of thinking that my HRT wasn't working before I finally worked out that all my insomnia problems were related to diazepam withdrawal.
Also tread carefully with the mirena because progestogen doesn't always help with sleep. In fact a lot of women have a lot of side effects from any kind of progesterone. Personally speaking, I think you should try an oral or transdermal formulation first to see how you go. Fitting a mirena is very invasive and once it's in it might not be so easy to have it taken out. If you have problems with the oral or transdermal HRT you simply stop taking it.
