[b1ghr0ll3r]

Hi guys. In August I was prescribed Campral for my drinking (as my drinking has made my mental illness worse, ruined relationships & almost had me arrested a few times). I did give it a go but the thing is you have to WANT to stop drinking. So I gave up on taking it. My GP asked me the other day how I was going with abstinence & taking campral & I explained that I've fallen off & I'm binge drinking 3-4 times a week. I am keen to give campral another chance starting today, but what id like to know is if anyone has successfully beaten alcoholism with this drug ? I've scoured the internet but seen very mixed responses, just wanted to know if anyone here at PC has given it a go and succeeded ?
TIA guys

[emgreen]

Originally Posted by b1ghr0ll3r

Hi guys. In August I was prescribed Campral for my drinking (as my drinking has made my mental illness worse, ruined relationships & almost had me arrested a few times). I did give it a go but the thing is you have to WANT to stop drinking. So I gave up on taking it. My GP asked me the other day how I was going with abstinence & taking campral & I explained that I've fallen off & I'm binge drinking 3-4 times a week. I am keen to give campral another chance starting today, but what id like to know is if anyone has successfully beaten alcoholism with this drug ? I've scoured the internet but seen very mixed responses, just wanted to know if anyone here at PC has given it a go and succeeded ?
TIA guys

In the States I think this drug is called Antabuse. I know of a few folks in AA who take the drug, but they've said that all you have to do is stop taking it for a few days & you can drink again. It might nip those sudden urges to drink in the bud but, long term, I think you have to want to give up drinking. That's just my humble opinion, though. Good luck getting sober, no matter what approach you use.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by emgreen

In the States I think this drug is called Antabuse. I know of a few folks in AA who take the drug, but they've said that all you have to do is stop taking it for a few days & you can drink again. It might nip those sudden urges to drink in the bud but, long term, I think you have to want to give up drinking. That's just my humble opinion, though. Good luck getting sober, no matter what approach you use.

Antabuse and campral are different. I was on campril but what really helped was the vivitrol Injection. It's mainly for opiate blocking but it works for drinking too and i was a year sober on it. The pill form is naltrexone.

[b1ghr0ll3r]

Originally Posted by RxQueen875

Antabuse and campral are different. I was on campril but what really helped was the vivitrol Injection. It's mainly for opiate blocking but it works for drinking too and i was a year sober on it. The pill form is naltrexone.

Correct. I was offered 3 options, Antabuse, Campral & Naltrexone. Campral was the best option for me because I still want to be able to enjoy a drink every now and then (I know how much of a contradiction that is when I'm being treated for alcohol abuse)
RxQueen875 How well did it go for you ? Have you continued to I stain from alcohol ? & we're you still drinking for a while when being treated with Campral ?

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by b1ghr0ll3r

Correct. I was offered 3 options, Antabuse, Campral & Naltrexone. Campral was the best option for me because I still want to be able to enjoy a drink every now and then (I know how much of a contradiction that is when I'm being treated for alcohol abuse)

RxQueen875 How well did it go for you ? Have you continued to I stain from alcohol ? & we're you still drinking for a while when being treated with Campral ?

I think I still drank but not as often or as much. Naltrexone helped me much more. That's years ago though so I drink once in awhile. You can still drink on naltrexone.

[Mygrandjourney]

Originally Posted by RxQueen875

I think I still drank but not as often or as much. Naltrexone helped me much more. That's years ago though so I drink once in awhile. You can still drink on naltrexone.

The main reasons I'm aware of for prescribing Campral over Naltrexone are either failure to respond to Naltrexone (also available in pill form, BTW) or that a patient is taking an opiate pain medication, which Naltrexone will block the effects of. Did the MD tell you why he was prescribing it if you had already had success with Naltrexone?

[b1ghr0ll3r]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've decided that I'll give it one more chance. But I've already cut down to drinking only 2-3 times a week but I'm binging hard when I do so I'll keep everyone upto date with how I go

[Misssy2]

Yea, the campral won't help with the "binging" because it is supposed to help with the "cravings"...if you are taking Campral and you get a craving that is so strong and you drink...the drug does allow a binge.

Whereas all I have read about peoples experiences with Naltraxone is they get the regular strong cravings...but find they are not drinking as much when they drink. Some stories I have heard is eventually it had gotten to a point with some of them that alcohol was no longer desired by them.

So I did take Campral....I had days that I didn't even think about alcohol...but then the days came where I did drink on it...and then I was fooling myself..being pleased that I could drink on it and not get sick and possibly have days where I didn't think about it.

didn't work for me because I'm a binge drinker..and when I drink...that is all I do.

But, Naltraxone..since it lessens the desire for a drink, I imagine it lessens the buzz too and I just have a feeling I would eliminate the Naltraxone if I wasn't getting the buzz I wanted if I was drinking.

They need to come up with a magic pill.

[b1ghr0ll3r]

Thanks Misssy2, yep that's it of only there was a magic pill hehe. I'm gonna try not to worry too much about the binging for now. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment & even tho I know I'm risking getting back to the stage I was at (drinking every day) I think I still need alcohol as a crutch for now. If things get out of hand again my best bet is probably rehab or detox

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by Mygrandjourney

The main reasons I'm aware of for prescribing Campral over Naltrexone are either failure to respond to Naltrexone (also available in pill form, BTW) or that a patient is taking an opiate pain medication, which Naltrexone will block the effects of. Did the MD tell you why he was prescribing it if you had already had success with Naltrexone?

I made a huge mistake by mixing naltrexone with an opiate and had immediate withdraw.