| Once upon a time I had severe difficulty sleeping due to high and sustained levels of stress. I had gotten prescribed some Zopiclone which is similar to Zolpidem as found in Ambien. Zopiclone makes me feel like I have a brain injury the day after. Sometimes after the first night, always after the second night if I find I need to take it two nights in a row. It’s frightening. I came across a paper: ”Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Interactions Between Zolpidem and Caffeine” https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Roberta-Cysneiros/publi... Based on my understanding of the results that a significant dose of caffeine counteracts “some but not all” of Zolpidem’s effects on cognition—and the two Z-drugs being similar—I tried drinking a tiny little bit of coffee with the tiny little bit of Zopiclone. (I take 2-3mg; a whole tablet is 7.5mg.) The result is that I am able to sleep and do not feel brain-damaged the day after, and the effect also seems to be that the failure rhythm of stress-related waking up at precisely 5:30 is broken. In other words, the combination seems to fix the problem. I suspect that part of the reason might be that the caffeine counteracts the disruption of the norepinephrine oscillation you mention. (Thanks!!) |
I've tried Zolpiclone but found it affects my sleep much more. Zolpidem is faster acting and gets out of your system quicker, while Zolpiclone continues working during the night.
So if your issue is getting to sleep and not staying asleep I would recommend you try the original.