Frantic Frenzy.

Very much so, and my post only much mirrors how I feel, a bit manic!!

The plan is for Antabuse after, I think I've said all I can say on this, and consideration of Campral which is reluctantly considered by Alcohol Services. I have yet to go for an ECG for Antabuse, my dad was a chronic alcoholic and died of a sudden heart attack aged 44 years. 

Whilst I so much want it all to change, I don't know how I'm going to cope with that change. Alcohol has been my crutch for such a long time, the thought of life without it frightens me. My alcohol worker is very confident that I will embrace it all, although that little nagging voice is already beginning to creep in to tell me that I'm kidding myself.

It is normal to be scared about giving up alcohol. One thing to say to yourself is, I'll give it a try, I can go back. I don't mean by that, set out to fail, but just try and move that huge object called fear (about losing alcohol) away from your vision.

People do overcome alcohol, it is possible, ignore the, but not people like me feelings.

Please can you calrify for me, have they offered you Campral or said no?

They have said they want me to start on Antabuse, hence the ECG. I strongly argued that I wanted something to help with the pyschological cravings, and since Antabuse done me no good before, they have said that they will consider it but don't think I will need it and to wait until after the detox to see.

What is wrong with these people!

It's licensed and available to prescribe,I just don't get it

Sounds like a good time to practice "craving" for after the detox. Or during. 

I swear, they are the most intransigent bunch. Did you see Joanna's post about the Primary Care Alcohol Teams available in some areas? 

What's your doctor's POV on this? 

Thanks nicole36330, you should see my previous posts about my battle!! I swear these people could drive me to drink!! 

 

ADEfree, thank you. I previously used Joanna's advice in requesting Nalmefene from my GP which was immediately denied. My GP continues to state that they will go with Alcohol Services above anything else, which leaves me pretty much fu##ed in this sense. 

For the love of god, do these people have no heart or brain.

Take the detox and afterwards say Foxtrot Oscar to Antabuse. Just say, I'll have the Campral please, Antabuse has put me in hospital once before and it isn't going to again.

You have to worry when you're offered a medication that needs an ECG. That says something about it.

Scotland is a bit different. Even though NHS Scotland has okayed nalmefene, NHS Lothian hasn't. I know we're talking about Campral, but that is the sort of mixed up logic that we're dealing with.

When detoxing in 2007 I was seen by the professor who was inspirational in piloting Nalmefene in my city!! How ironic that the NHS know nothing about it!!

But they know plenty about antabuse. Makes me wonder if they wear corsets and ride a penny farthing to work...

Can I ask, what is the name of the alcohol recovery centre that you are using? PM me if you don't want to put it on the forum.

Say to them, detox by benzo merely stops the body and brain going through the rather unpleasant and possibly life threatening symptoms.

It is the first stage of a two stage system for detox. The first stage deals with the acute withdrawal symptoms. The second and longer stage PAWS (post acute withdrawal symptoms) is the period of up to 12 months after acute withdrawal.

Your brain needs to reset, it has had the neural pathways altered, maybe even alcoholic brain atrophy (physical damamge as opposed to neuro damage) and these need to be mananged by an anti-craving drug like Campral.

This is the stage where so many people relapse, all the counselling in the world will not stop PAWS and the neural change from pulling you back to alcohol on its own.

Certainly counselling can be very good once the person is on Campral to help support it. If I were counselling someone, I would have questioned the patinet, found out that they were literaly frightened of a life without alcohol and whilst they were happy that they were actually doing something about it, this concern had to be dealt with.

I would then be thinking about positive targets to get the person aiming for. Just before the detox, I'd get an LFT done, tell the person it wasn't even going to be looked at, just put on file. Then in three months time, we'd do another one and compare them to see how much better your liver and body was.

If it was a female, I would think okay, appeal to their inner nature. Take a head shot photo of them just before detox and hand it ot the person and tell them they must look after it and not throw it away. Three months later, take another photo and ask them to bring in the old one and show them how much their complexion has improved.

A six month target could be asking them to bring in £100 a month, that's less than £25 a week and I'm sure a lot less than people are spending on booze. This would be banked by the ARC into a client account (like solicitor do to separate their money and customers money) and would amount to £600 at the end of the period.

It could be discussed what the person might use it for to treat themselves for getting that far - reinforcing the positives of giving up alcohol and not the negatives. If I were counselling, I would be looking to present the money with a small gift, I would be subtlely asking questions over the six months to garner info on what it should be. Something that epitomises their struggle and their success and that will prehaps remind them to continue the good work, long after the counselling has finished.

That's how Campral and counselling should work hand in hand, instead, you get offered Antabuse, designed to put people in hospital.

"...what is the name of the alcohol recovery centre that you are using? "

Taking any wagers that it's on a cul-de-sac?

I was looking at the Addaction in Scotland. Just having a little look at their branches and without a detailed search, the closest I found was Fife, I'm sure there is one for Edinburgh. I can't see anything about alcohol (seriously, not mentioned, just class A stuff). But the first bit made me smile, about their location.

'We are on Canmore Street above Kamil’s Kebab'

Salubrious eh?

BTW, I did understand your reference to dead end.

 

"'We are on Canmore Street above Kamil’s Kebab"

Maybe they keep an eye on Kamil's receipts so they know how to staff... 

 

Yeah, it goes hand in hand really. Eight pints of heavy and a dirty donner please, extra chilli sauce. And then, the Buckfast challenge.

Check out You Tube if you don't know what it is. As they say, made by monks, drunk by drunks. And what goes down, must come up.

Wow! I thought you were supposed to marinate the doner before it's eaten...

We have something similar over here. Energy drinks with vitamins, caffeine, gaurana, taurine, etc. People get blasted then knock back a Red Bull or the like so they can keep going, common to throw other "party favors" on top of it.  

'Wow! I thought you were supposed to marinate the doner before it's eaten...'

No mate, that would kill off half the bacteria and most of the flavour.

No one eats a kebab sober, you only order one when you come out of the pub wrecked and can't actually focus on what you're ordering or eating.

It's true what I said, that Buckfast is actually a sort of wine, fermented by monks in South West England.

I saw the videos, don't think I could have ever managed that even in my 20's! No wonder it's such a problem, especially slamming it down that way.