For those that are not aware Imovaine (the brand name for the drug Zopiclone) is used to treat sleep disorders (for more info see
http://www.healthyplace.com/medications/zopiclone.htm).
I am a mid 20 professional who travels considerably due to the nature of my work. As a result I am prescribed Imovaine to aid me with my travelling. For this purpose Imovaine is fantastic as it doesn't leave you drowsy post flight. On the occasions when it has been used at home due to a poor nights sleep it has also worked perfectly. At no point have I ever experienced any adverse reactions when used as prescribed.
The problems arise when Imovaine is abused.
My friends and I have abused Imovaine and I want to tell those who are interested our stories so you are better educated and hopefully don't follow in our foot steps. It is also important to note that a number of recreational drug users use Imovane to aid come downs (from MDMA, Meth etc). In my opinion this makes my comments even more relevant as it is these users who are more likely to experiment with Imovaine.
One night I discovered with a friend that you could take Imovaine to enhance your drunken state without falling asleep, essentially it further hindered your motor skills whilst maintaining your ability to converse. The combination of taking Imovaine and alcohol continued for some time. The frequency of taking this combo increased significantly when I met my current partner who through a completely different avenue was also using Imovaine to get an additional high from drinking. This was somewhat disturbing as I had only just started taking Imovaine and already I was finding independent people who were also taking it to enhance their drinking experience!
With my new partner (we'll call her Leigh) Leigh the situation escalated; as she was a flight attendant she had amble supply of Imovaine so now quantity wasn't an issue. At this point the 'blackouts' started to occur (blackouts being complete loss of memory whilst maintaining consciousness). For example on one particular night I guess that I had 6 Imovaine with about 2 bottles of red wine. I recall getting into an argument with my partner and that was it. The next day I woke up with cuts and bruises all over. I was oblivious of what had happened (this had never happened to me before).
Leigh and my friend were able to fill in the missing night for me. Apparently I got aggressive and broke up with Leigh, threatened my friend, smashed a considerable number of dishes in the kitchen. They managed to put me to bed, only to have me escape onto the roof (of our 2 story house) to spy on them as they talked outside. At one point I put my foot through the roof, alerting them and fortunately saving me from a certain fall. Eventually sleep took control and I woke up dazed and confused.
This was naturally a very disturbing situation, my behaviour, the insane paranoia I was displaying whilst being totally unaware that I was even âconscious!â. Even more concerning was the fact that the actual amount of imovaine had gone from 60 to 20 in one night. My friends swear that they didn't take any more than 5, so where did the others go? This was a scenario that played out many times and the only conclusion I can make is that you self medicate once you have blacked out making the situation even more concerning.
Although the roof incident shocked us it only took a couple of weeks until we were back into it. And almost without fail the same situation played out, I cannot remember any of that night. Leigh woke up with bruises all over her legs; I had them on my arms and back. Neither of us had any idea where we had been or what had happened the night prior.
You'd hope at this stage one would realise that imovaine and alcohol isn't a good match. And we did stop taking them in combo until a trip to London. Now as we were in London, coming off a 30 hr flight from New Zealand Imovaine was needed. Unfortunately the second night on red wine (common partner in crime) was when the 3rd incident occurred, this one I had greater memory of in the sense that I recall breaking up with Leigh in the most egotistical way, making her think it was all her fault and that she'll never be happy. At this point I must point out that Leigh and I have the most loving relationship, so I have no idea where my approach was derived, regardless it had an horrific affect. According to my friend I subsequently went to bed and Leigh lost it completely. Was unable to be talked to and was totally irrational. My friend caught her in the bathroom of the hotel trying to cut her wrists.
So for the 3rd time I wake up knowing that something has happened but once again having to rely on my best mate to tell me that the love of my life almost killed herself. At this point I realised that I either needed to do something about the situation or someone was going to die, either way I was already beginning to lose friends who couldn't handle the total stranger who aggravated them when I was on Imovaine.
Fortunately I managed to sort myself out. At no point would I say I was addicted to Imovaine, It was simply used to enhance our drinking experience. There were 3 of us who took similar doses (3 - 7 before blackout occurred), all 3 had examples of blackout (in one case it appears my friend drove his car across town). I seemed to have the lowest tolerance which is surprising as I am the biggest of the 3. My partner Leigh had 11 in one night and still appeared fine and she is 50kgs.
Although I wish my story stopped here it doesn't. Months post the Imovaine madness Leigh is away at the moment with work. Historically she took Imovaine way before I did and only on the very odd occasion did she experience blackouts so as a result she decided she would still use them for sleeping purposes. Over the past week we have had some relationship issues, obviously difficult to explain via a blog but she is concerned that I don't want to be with her long term. Unfortunately the country she is in allows you to buy Imovaine over the counter at the local pharmacy.
Tonight I received a call from her tonight drunk and on Imovaine, she was completely irrational. Her purpose of the call was to let me know that she was going to kill herself. She'd taken 1O Imovaine and she was going to take the remaining 110.
To cut a long story short I managed to talk her out of it, although the main reason she didn't do it was that I believe her threats are a cry for help from someone who suffers from depression. Imovaine in this situation in conjunction with Alcohol is a lethal combination. One that may have resulted in the loss of my beautiful girl if I had missed one phone call.
I apologies that this is such a long thread. And it maybe a waste of time as no one else out there maybe silly enough as us to take high amounts of Imovaine as us. But just in case you got this far, 3 last points to conclude.
1) Imovaine and Alcohol is bad bad news. It can totally change your personality and has the potential to send you into a conscious albeit catatonic state.
2) DO NOT take Imovaine if you suffer from depression as it focuses your problems and can lead to suicidal thoughts (and I have no doubt actions).
3) Use it only as directed. It is simply not worth the risk.
Anyway, I hope this was of some help to those of you who might find this relavent. Any questions or comments please don't hesitate.
As I am keen to post my story on as many health sites as possible so if anyone could point me in the direction of other medical sites that might benefit from this information please let me know.
Regards,
It's been a hard night
Dave
Warning for users of Imovaine / Zopiclone 
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