Is the sleeping medication 'zopiclone' aka 'zimovane' safe to take in
combination with the antidepressant medication 'venlaxafine'?

Dosages:
zimovane 7.5 mg at night
venlaxafine 150 mg mornings

both medications have been prescribed for a 70 year old female patient
by our local doctor, looking to see if an internet search turns up any
glaring horror stories.

G00gle answers disclaimer noted & accepted

Hi again gan (I hope you are still enjoying a clear picture!),

The only contraindication that I could find is the possibility of
dependency and the subsequent withdrawal syndrome. However, anyone
taking venlafaxine will probably need a treatment for insomnia
(zopiclone for one) - that is ok and will relieve the symptoms - just
be sure she is put on a gradual withdrawal schedule when the treatment
is discontinued.

BRAND NAME - Generic Name
EFFEXOR    - venlafaxine
ZIMOVANE   - zopiclone

EFFEXOR (US)
Manufacturer: Wyeth-Ayerst
Treatment Class: Psychopharmacologic and Neurologic (CNS)
Indication: Depression

ZIMOVANE (UK)
Manufacturer: R.P.R.
Treatment Class: Central Nervous System.
Indication: Short term treatment of insomnia. Transient, situational
or chronic insomnia or when secondary to psychiatric illnesses.
http://www.toplocalwebsites.net/hospitalweb/Pharmaceutical%20database/CENTRAL%20NERVOUS%20SYSTEM.htm

Internet Mental Health: Zopiclone:
"Drug Interactions:
Patients should be cautioned against the simultaneous ingestion of
zopiclone and alcohol or other CNS depressant drugs because of
possible additive effects.

Abuse and Dependence:
In monkeys, zopiclone was self-administered and caused mild to
moderate withdrawal signs. In human subjects only limited data are
available to-date regarding the dependence liability of zopiclone. In
chronic alcoholics, zopiclone elicited similar effects to those of
triazolam. In normal subjects, changes in sleep pattern and rebound
anxiety appeared upon discontinuation of the drug.

Addiction-prone individuals, such as drug addicts and alcoholics,
should be under careful surveillance when receiving zopiclone because
of the predisposition of such patients to habituation and dependence.

Patients with a history of seizures should not be abruptly withdrawn
from any CNS depressant drug, including zopiclone."
http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-i01.html

Zopilcone: Research:
http://www.mentalhealth.com/drugrs/f33-i01.html

WITHDRAWAL SCHEDULES: 
Effexor / Zimovane: see schedules 12 and 13:
http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm

Drugs on RSD Alert:
http://www.rsdalert.co.uk/drugs/Venlafaxine.htm
http://www.rsdalert.co.uk/drugs/Zimovane.htm

Additional Links:

FDA Approves Extended Use Of Effexor (Venlaxafine HCl) For Treatment
Of Depression:
http://www.docguide.com/dg.nsf/PrintPrint/D558CE865DAB303D85256A4700674613

Acute Effects: venlaxafine:
http://appletree.mta.ca/Depts/Psych/faculty/terrybelke/2111Antidepressants/tsld029.htm

Venlafaxine: What You Need to Know:
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/2700/2753.asp?index=8425

Psycho-Babble Forum:
HOWEVER my sleep was wrecked and I got to the point where the ONLY way
I could sleep on efexor was by using sleeping tablets, e.g. zimovane /
zopliclone (had to have a high dose of all of these to get any effect
at all).
A WORD OF WARNING Do not let your doc convince you to stop taking
efexor abrubtly I have a seriously bad withdrawal syndrome - this drug
should be tapered off gradually."
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020731/msgs/114681.html

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please post a
clarification request before rating my answer.

Thank you,
hummer


Google Search Terms Used:

Effexor zimovane
venlaxafine 
venlaxafine zimovane
zopiclone Effexor

Hummer, apologies for the delayed rating, it's been bedlam round here.
You'll be glad to hear that the patient is currently doing quite well
:)
Thanks for your research.

Zopiclone is being marketed in the U.S. under the brand name Estorra (Sepracor).
http://www.sepracor.com/science/index.cfm?s=2A

One of the Researchers of another question already found the drug
interaction calculator
http://www.gjpsy.uni-goettingen.de/interactions_calculator.php. This
works for psychopharmacological drugs only...

stdionys, Lüneburg Germany...

Dear gan,

Yes indeed, thank you for the update, I'm glad to hear she is feeling
better. No need to apologize, gan, although I was glad to hear from
you, I understand completely.

Thank you for the nice tip, 
Sincerely,
hummer