Nowhere to turn to.. safe to do this alone??

Thank you for your advice and encouragement!

Joanna has been in touch to put my in the right direction to obtain nalmafene via an online pharmacy/ consultation (Pharmacy2U) and other sound advice. Thank you Joanna! 

I'm hoping Paul will get in touch so I can get a liver test. 

I might see if Pharmacy2U can offer Naltrexone as I'd like to reduce the risk of side affects if at all possible. 

Thank you again. 

Welcome Kentish ...thankyou for sharing your story . I can only reiterate  what the others have said and that you will get loads of support on here .,We are all on the same or similar journeys so everyone really does understand.,I found the forum about a month ago and like you I had obtained my nalmefene from the online pharmacy.I too  was really worried about taking it having read a lot of horror stories re side effects hence seeking support here. I started it on 8th Dec ,I was very lucky and suffered very few side effects other than feeling a bit foggy , sicky and not quite myself..A hangover is so sooo much worse !!   I took Joanna;s advice and took the nalmefene for 8 days continously and after that time side effects were pratically nil. I t has already dramtically  decreased my alcohol consumption, I did let myself down a bit Xmas day but other than that  I have been drinkng no more than 2 glasses of wine on the days I do drink. I have always been mainly a binge drinker and once i started couldnt stop tilI it basically knocked me out.  I  am sure already it has reduced my desire to take a drink but its  early days yet. I am holding ouit a lot of hope that I will be like a normal drinker eventually .I do intend seeing my GP at some point  to see ifI can get it prescribed but not looking forward to working my way through the minefield 

Wishing you all the best  and keep coming back here 

. You are certainly  doing all the right thngs ,seeking support and asking the questions...your journey  to a new and better way of life  has begun x

Thank you Nat, that's very inspiring x Keep going yourself x 

great technical reply and well thougth out as usual. Robin

Thank you JulieAnne ! 

Where did your husband get Naltrexone from?I am keen to try that rather than Nalmafene. 

Thank you x 

Am looking for the link that joanna sent me. Problem is I am a dinosaur where technology is concerned. I will look for link tomoz when I am more awake!

Kind Regards

Thank you JulieAnne, dont worry I'm sure someone will PM me the link. Thank you and good luck x 

Hi John, thank you and well done to you I admire your strength & well done regarding teh temptation time! Ah Sevenoaks is lovely  

Best Wishes. 

Hi Amanda, thank you and you have not spoken out of turn. 

I will do my best. 

Kentish xx 

Yep same.

Counsellors are young and don't really have any knowledge of alcohol addicition, what drives it and how to help people get off it.

They tend to have very little or no knowledge of medications.

Yes, generally GPs will not get involved in alcohol and do not see it as an illness and will pretty much give you short shrift.

If you are going to order online and can't get it in the UK, you need a prescription for UK supply, but not for outside the UK, I know one company that supplies the Merck Serono GmbH Campral which should be exactly the same stuff as you would get on a prescription.

There are cheaper brands, but I prefer the European stuff.

Hi numpty reading with great interest about your experiences with ARC my old man has had exactly the same. I have been to a couple of assessments with him and have found them to be completely infruriating! They seem be entrenched in AA-AA or the highway. No matter how many times we both calmly explained that AA was not working for him as he could not find his higher power. He was told he had to attend group therapy in order to get continued support with a keyworker. I did not go into the meeting but he said it was grim and he felt worse than ever afterwards.We are both in our late 50's. My husband has just had to have another medical detox but has had to agree to attend ARC to get it. The 2nd meeting will be on Friday. If the wet behind the ears counsellor dares to suggest that perhaps it would be best to reach rock bottom again, I swear I am going to whack him. This is our lives he is casually dismissing. He scoffed at TSM when I pointedly asked him if he knew what it was about-clearly he didn't; grrrr! He looked younger than my sons and like you I thought just what experience have you had? Sorry folks had to let off steam. Why oh why are people with AUD treated so sh*ttily?! Thinking of you all x

Hi JulieAnne

I hope your hubby gets some satisfaction and gets back on the right path.

I also asked at ARC about TSM and just got a shrug and blank looks.

GPs are not interested as you are considered not their responsibility. I really wish that they all had to do an attachment at an ARC they may see it in a different light.

Hope all goes well

Numpty x

Thanks RHGB I'll check it out.

I once asked my GP if she'd ever visited an AR centre, she said she hadn't I suggested that perhaps she should! In fact I think it should be compulsory for GPs to visit these centres that they too quickly want to fob us off to.

It's like sweeping dust under the carpet to medical professionals - if you can't see it, it isn't there!!!!

Rant over x

Hi numpty thanks for that. Apprently there is a doc at this particular ARC so hubby is gonna throw himself at their mercy (isn't that always the case?) and hopefully get Naltrexone. Altho we have ordered privately it is going to be £120 a month. Would be good to get some help with that. Thinking of you all x

PS excellent rant, totally agree numpty x

Good luck for you and hubby Julie Anne...would be interested to know if the medication is any easier to get prescribed on NHS if you are already taking it..and it's working ! ..I will be in a similar position

All ARCs have a doctor visit, I don't think they have one there permanently. He visits each week to sign off prescriptions.

I had to see him every six weeks. Normally you won't get to see him until the counsellor has agreed medication with you. Then the nurse does a basic health check and bloods, then the doctor gets to see the results, has a GP style appointment with you then agrees the prescription (or script as the ARCs like to call it).

I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news, but I doubt you will get to see the doctor until after you have got the counsellor to agree to medication. Even then you will struggle to get naltrexone as it would have to be prescribed off label. Nalmefene is far more likely to be prescribed.

Before anybody from the US comes along, this is a British forum and the rules in Britain are different regarding naltrexone/nalmefene.

I would be interested to hear anything to the contrary, but from what I have read here, the only NHS/ARC prescriptions are for nalmefene and anybody that has got naltrexone has paid for a private prescription.

Hum ok that is disappointing. Dunno now whether just to start Naltrexone or wait for Nalfamene. What a bl××dy mess it all is when my hubby and anyone else is least able to deal with it all. That's what gets me x

I am not sure whether they are interchangeable, as I used Campral and have no personal experience of nalt/nalm. Joanna or Paul would be best placed to answer that question.

 

Yeah you are probably right thanks. Not thinking too logically at the mo, as hubby's mental state is not good whilst he is on Chlordiazpoxide. It worries me what is going on in his brain x I will send (yet another) query to Paul or Joanna, they have been so supportive . Cheers x

I hope it works out for your hubby.

I wanted to be prescribed naltrexone from my ARC - but here's the joke - I was told not to just stop drinking because it would be dangerous - but I could not be prescribed naltrexone until my liver function test results hit 35, which means don't have alcohol - duhrr??!!

Will post any updates regarding nalt/nalf on here x

Yep had all this crap.

Saw the doctor at ARC because I had asked to be prescribed naltrexone but I wasn't allowed to have it until my liver function test dropped below 50, which essentially meant not drinking although you are told not to just stop because you could be ill.

Unfortunately, the NHS guidelines (wrongly) state that naltrexone should only be prescribed to people in sobriety, which is why it is only ever given off label by private prescription.

TBH, idiotic as it may seem, they are giving the information they are told. It is harmful for someone to just cease alcohol if they have a high intake, but also the guidelines say that they should not prescribe naltrexone whilst someone is still drinking.

Chlordiazepoxide shouldn't really have any bad side effects. It's a benzo and stops the effects of alcohol withdrawal, but it also tackles anxiety etc, so if anything, he should be calm on it.

How long has he been taking it and who is administering it?

Yeah apparently you need to be abstinent and liver function good. Hubby is lucky as his liver recovers quite quickly. Do you not have access to an alcohol unit in your area for a medical home detox? Usually in main hospital. Hubby has to show that he is actively seeking help from ARC in order to qualify. I also think you need to have someone at home to help you manage the dosage of Chordiazpoxide (Librium). Well that's what we have on offer here. How can you hope to ever get better otherwise? Takes an absolute mammoth of an effort to stop yourself 10% a day we were told by A & E. The Doc on duty wasn't even aware that there was an alcohol unit within the hosp, it was AA who told my husband. Hope there is one for you. Of course you will still have all the cravings to deal with but my husband said it is a darn site easier once you are clean and dry x

Yes, naltrexone and nalmefene are interchangable.

Some parts of the country DO have naltrexone as being able to be prescribed whilst someone is still drinking. 

And I have found 1 part of the country that has it as a green medication - meaning that it should be prescribed by a GP!

Even the NHS Choices website has naltrexone as  'can be used to prevent a relapse or limit the amount of alcohol someone drinks. '

Though it is quite rare to have it prescribed on the NHS for TSM, I know many who have a prescriber who is willing to look outside the box for something that will work for the patient.

In case anyone is curious as to which NHS health authority has naltrexone as being able to be prescribed by a GP in primary care, it is the Maidstone, Medway and Cantebury area.

They have naltrexone listed as:

green - GP's can prescribe

Can be initiated during detoxification or whilst still drinking

Can be offered for relapse prevention in moderately to severely dependent drinkers

Hi Numpty, yes I feel good to be part of this fold x  I did find the NHS guidelines that are given to our local GPS and it was pretty clear, in this region ' do not prescribe / refer to ARC'. It's such a shame as I believe so many people are suffering due to this shortsighted-ness as they are unwilling / scared to go to ARC so their illness like me continues. 

Hark at me on my soapbox and I haven't even tried the meds or see them work yet!! 

Thank you for your best wishes. I wish you well too. Will keep all updated, please do the same. x 

I'm worried about the side effects of Nalmafene so thinking about Naltrexone, but came across references to Campral here. What's the opinion here on Campral please ?? 

I had to attend an arc for 12 months following a drink/drive charge. I had to attend each week without fail.

I had been six times and the only person I saw was a 'trainee counsellor" on a  work placement. It was an absolute waste of time and money. Due to the area the arc was in, it wasn't safe to get a bus, so I had to pay for a taxi each week.

After three months I saw a key worker and she would be my personal contact . She had never heard of TSM, or campral, but would ask her boss.

on my next visit, I asked about medication. again, and was told it was a load of American mumbo jumbo. 

There was a doctor on site occasionally, but he mostly dealt with methodone scripts. This key worker kept stressing  how important my drink diary was, as this would be the key to me achieving controlled drinking!!!

I Did have acupuncture weekly, but I never saw a doctor, or even a nurse in 12 months. I had no option but to attend.

I did help me a lot in other ways. I knew who to ask for and where to go to get rid of gold jewellery, without too many questions. I learned how to recognise cannabis, both by site and smell. I also found out that a script for any benzos could be quite valuable, or swopped for different medication.

I wasted so much time and money during those 12 months. I'm not saying they are all like that, but based on my experience., it achieved nothing. My GP ended up prescribing campral, which I would highly recommend 

JulieAnne, that's horrid I'm sorry for you both. The higher power stinks as does any suggestion we AUD's can just basically get a grip.

Bless you, keep going.

I need the courage to start. 

K x 

I'd be interested to hear about this too.. thank you. 

Wow Joanna that's my area yay! So having thought my GP route was a complete non starter it might actually be !!!! 

For Natrexone not Nalmafene but it's what I'd prefer to try .. 

I still have the issue that it will be on my GP record. I'm worried if I ever need to return to employed work rather than self employed it will be a serious black mark a deal breaker but it may still be a route worth exploring.. 

Thank you. 

I think I might make a GP app - anyone agree / disagree??? 

Thanks for sharing and encouraging vickylou. I'll hunt out that gold jewellery as I might need it to pay for my meds! Lol ! Well done on sticking through that it must have been so tough x 

Campral is different to nalt/nalm which work almost identically.

It is given when someone has just done a detox. Ideallly it should be given at the same time as the detox, so it is already in your system when your detox finishes.

It is generally aimed at people that want to give up alcohol, but I see no reason why it can't be used to give someone a six to twelve month break from alcohol and that if they are sensible, they can have the odd drink after that. Both myself and Vickylou have used Campral successfully and still enjoy the occasional drink.

I would say that you have to be of a certain mindset and if you think/know you will return to your previous ways, then nalt/nalm is probably the best route for that person.

It has no real side effects, I felt no effects and I take eight other medications daily. It is basically calcium delivered in a special way to the brain, that resets the neural pathways. If you can remember back to those pre-drink days, where your first thought in the morning wasn't alcohol, you didn't think about going to the pub at lunch time and as soon as you finsihed work, you didn't think about getting a bottle of wine or vodka, well that's what it is like.

After about a week, you'll be sitting there in the evening and suddenly you'll think, I haven't thought about alcohol all day and then you won't give it another thought and you'll go back to what you were doing.

It just totally takes away the alcohol urge. I think it is successful in about 80% of people. It is one of the least known medications in the alcohol profession even though it is probably the oldest bar antabuse.

You are on it there my friend.

G.

I will PM you the relevant link to the NHS formulary page confirming this information.  I would suggest that if you go ahead and book the doctors appointment, you should print this out and take it with you.

The person I originally found this information for did this after being refused by his doctor, and when he took this information with him, the doctor told him he didn't know this was the case (I think he just assumed it was an ARC referral because most all addiction treatment medications are!) and immediately prescribed naltrexone for him.  That person is now 7 weeks into the method and really getting success with it.

Thank you RHGB that's great information. It sounds like nalt/nalm  is a better route for me to try first . 

Thanks for the info x 

That is fantastic Joanna, thank you x 

Hi vickylou I am sitting here cracking up over your post. Talk about black comedy. We could all write a book together I reckon x

Will do Kentish. We are all fighting the same fight here. Some have gone over the hill and are now on level ground, but many of us are still climbing and it's a long way up.

Take care x

You suddenly remember "oh I've not thought about wine with dinner", that was my first positive with campral. After a week, I no longer thought about pub crawling round town, or shall I get some wine as hubby's away, I would thoroughly recommend it, as it definitely stops cravings. It got me back on track

I still enjoy a drink, but never touch spirits. I also know my limit, 3 glasses of wine, as opposed to two bottles, and don't drink during the week.

Hi RHGB he's been on it since Sunday. The nurse in the alcohol unit said that some people can be anxious during treatment. I think he is also anxious in case the withdrawal results in a seizure even tho he is withdrawing safely. All I can do is repeat what the nurse has advised him-that he is withdrawing safely. He is on the 4th day now and is much better thanx

It is a benzo, its job is to allow you to withdraw whithout any symptoms. It basically mimics alcohol, so your body feels as if it is getting, but without actually getting merry. But doesn't keep you addicated (not for short term use) like alcohol does.

I've been given chlordiazepoxide in hospital (ICU), I have been given diazepam twice and self detoxed at home and done cold turkey about three times. Using benzos correctly causes no problems at all. Cold turkey is another matter.

Detoxing is the easy bit, it is making sure that follow up medication is taken, otherwise a relapse is almost virtually guaranteed.

Having visited two different arc's, the most noticeable thing has to be the difference between drugs and alcohol.

In both centres, the reception Andy waiting room was used by both drug and alcohol users.  However, from my experience, that was the only similarity

The posters on the wall and the information leaflets were all to do with drug addiction and what help was available. Two large posters gave details about remembering to ensure scripts were requested and collected to cover the days when the centre was closed due to bank holidays.

There was literally just one poster I could see relating to alcohol and that was a scruffy old poster about drink/driving. Another observation was that the majority of clients (service users!) were there waiting for methadone scripts. Myself and one other bloke were the only people who were not accompanied by at least 3/4 other people, all talking and shouting at the same time. There was a huge discussion and subsequent arguments over tags, with complaints about how unfair the system was regarding the length of time and the difference in hours given by the courts.

More often than not, the police would be called by the receptionist as escalating arguments often turned into violence. I was early for my first appointment, so decided to have a cigarette before going in. That was a big mistake, I was asked by at least four people for a cigarette. I politely tried to explain I'd only a couple left for myself. Another violent outburst then followed about who owed who cigarettes.

I won't go into any more details, only that I got to know two police officers quite well and they certainly made me feel a lot safer.

It didn't take a genius to see that the centre was mainly for drug users, rather than AUD sufferers. All the information and contact details of organisations were for drug users. To say I didn't feel safe was an understatement, and I felt threatened and very vulnerable.

I asked my key worker about the difference in attitude and help available. Alcohol certainly took second place. I was gobsmacked when she replied that you have to think of drug abuse as an illness, not a life choice. It was perfectly normal for people to drink openly, but not use drugs openly.

This was an ideal opportunity for me to bring up yet again, MEDICATION . Why is it deemed acceptable, and normal for methodone to be prescribed without difficulty, yet medication for AUD wasn't routinely given, or even known about. I was told that the two were totally different, and shouldn't be compared as such. She refused to discuss why it was so obvious that more money and resources were available to drug users, than to people suffering from aud.

The only reason I can think of is that alcohol is legal, i.e. It's ok to smoke and drink in (smoking outside) in pubs, restaurants, while scoring and injecting publicly is unacceptable. To fund their addiction and to buy drugs requires far more money to buy drugs. Where does this money for drugs come from? CRIME.

More people are mugged. robbed and burgled by drug users, than by AUD sufferers.

Needless to say, after 12 months of weekly meetings and appointments, I've become quite streetwise, know where to score, and the approximate cost. The difference between for personal use, and intent to supply. The difference between different classes of drugs, and the dangers of what the drugs are cut with.

I had better go and fill in my drink diary, and think who else I can contact about not attending any longer

 

another great post!! NOT easy for you to do all this!! Robin

Yes indeedy. He is contacting docs today about Campral. Does seem to get positive feedback on this site worth a go I think. His body needs to recover properly b4 ge starts Naltrexone. Many thanks for your advice so far

Kind Regards

Yep, fairly similar experience. Wall to wall drugs, virtually nowt about alcohol.

All drug (mainly heroin) centric.People coming in for their methadone scripts like they were milk tokens. When they breathalysed me, which annoyed me even though I hadn't had a drink for six weeks, I asked them did they check the druggies everytime they gave them methadone and they said yes. I said, how, how do you check them, to which the reply was, oh we do said in a stop asking questions that don't concern you tone.

The first ARC I went to was how you described yours. People drinking white cider openly in reception. You had to be buzzed into the building. The reception had that toughened plastic across the counter like you see in banks and post offices. You couldn't get anywhere in the building without a swipe card.

The second one that was base din the hospital was actually very nice, quite serene. You just walked in, just like an office environment with a reception area, not a hint of trouble.

As fro ARCs being drug orientated, I was told there that as you said, it is crime funded and my understanding was that there was an income stream to be had in dealing with them, the probation service and the courts.

I think dealing with AUD is part of the deal to get their funding from government, but it doesn't earn them any extra.

Most heavy drinks don't eat properly, so they are deficient in certain core vitamins. Is he being given thiamine (B1), folic acid (folate) and vitamin b compound strong?

Heavy drinking and a lack of thiamine can lead to general confusion.

Yes yes yes! I noticed all of that at our local ARC lots of people shouting about their next fix. Lots of posters for drug abusers. Counsellors pushing AA and not much else. Key workers still wet behind the ears, advising that perhaps it would be best if he reached rock bottom. Grrrr! Thank goodness for this site. Everyone is such a help. The support is fantastic especially Joanna and Paul x

The counsellors look like school leavers. How on earth would it be best for your husband to reach rock bottom? Did the key worker mean your husbands drinking wasn't serious enough to need medication, or that he would have to be totally alcohol dependant before they could offer any help?

Not attending was not an option for me. I couldn't stop going. I certainly wasn't ashamed or embarrassed about going there. It wouldn't bother me at all if anyone I knew saw me there. It's nothing to do with anyone else, where I go. My major fear was that I didn't feel safe, I felt like I was in prison and felt very vulnerable 

I was always breathalysed each week. Like you i did ask what tests were done on methadone users? I was told that it was confidential, but that random checks were made. So if you've got AUD you have to prove you've not been drinking at each visit. If you're getting g methadone, you may have to prove you've not been using. A urine test should be done before handing out methadone.

The thing that got me, I was voluntarily there, I was there by my own choice. I had already home detoxed by myself. I wasn't sent there, I was there to try and help myself, that my GP wouldn't help me with.

I really felt offended by being breathalysed, a complete lack of trust. I don't think I ever forgave them for that.

Hi Vickylou. What happened was, the counsellor suggested that my husband should go to AA and get to as many meetings as possible. My husband told him that faith based AA has not been working for him as he could not find his higher power. The counsellor seemed to take exception to this and said that he had nothing else to offer at this stage. I said that if he didnt get some kind of detox or CBT he would lose his job and we would be homeless. The counsellor then said well maybe it would be best if he reached rock bottom! Clearly he was annoyed that my husband did not want to go to AA. He refused to let us see the doctor just said he wasnt on duty that day. Totally infruriating. How can these idiots be given such power over us? I contacted the alcohol unit for home detox and have written a letter of compaint as Joanna suggested I did. This is probably not word for word but definitely along those lines x

When people talk of a having to have a Higher Power, and that HP can be anything, even a door knob or the Group Of Drunks, I tell them that my HP is science and that highly skilled scientists with over 20 years of research (in the case of The Sinclair Method) probably has a much higher success rate than a door know or a chair!

(and this is from someone who is spiritual)

Hi Joanna haha yes hp can be anything. He has tried tai chi for a while worked ok until his addiction was driving him crazy. Hp just does not work for him ps letter of complaint gone in to ARC thanks once again for your advice

My warped sense of humour kicks in.

I could imagine myself at an AA meeting and they start on about reaching for a higher power. And I'd reach into a rucksack I had brought with me and crack open a can of K cider (8.4%). Oh yes, that's hit the spot, I can really feel this higher power kicking in, yes I believe.

Hahaha. Good one RHGB

Regards

Numpty x

ROFL!

Yes, somehow I can just imagine you doing that too

Yeah he has got all of that. Even had strong Thiamine drip in detox centre. So is on all of correct meds thanks. I love this site! Everybody understands what is needed x

If ever he starts complaining, just tell him to be thankfull that he didn't wake up one morning, to find an ascites drain on him, been catheterised, having painful prabrinex injections and the total, complete and utter loss of dignity, a lactulose enema.

I swear you'll give me a 'senior moment' one day with your posts ha ha ha ha - lurve it ....................G.

RH was referring to your hp theory and 8.4% lager lol.

Bl..dy hell RH, now that are the facts stripped right down to bare bones - I, for one, did not realise the full extent of what alcohol can do and what a hospital admission entailed.

Totally totally terrifying.

So very glad you have pulled through that and remarkably retained your sense of humour.  Respect bud.........................G.

Naughty naughty! xx

OMG! You had all that to contend with?! I think my old man might be better going to a vet, at least you get water and decent biscuits x

Breathalysed WTF? So if you proved positive you had to what? Go away? x Sit in the naughty corner? The more I hear about ARCs the less I trust them to deliver dignity and respect x

Every AA meeting I ever went made me feel like I needed a drink when I came out.It just wasnt for me 😄

When I was on a NHS residential recovery programme many many years ago we were 'allowed out' some of the time but breathalysed on our return..If you failed it you had to pack your bags and was immediately 'evicted 'from.the programme ..It was desperate to witness that happening ..Archaic !

Hi Nat Words fail me. I have known smokers who still continue to puff when they have been diagnosed with COPD their treatment was never stopped xx

How helpful, not. AA works for some people, but did nothing for me

If you failed the breathalyser test, you were asked to leave the group and escorted off the premises!

JulieAnne

from my experience, and I think RHGB would agree with me, the words dignity and respect don't go together at ARCs. That's all left behind the minute you walk through (sorry, you don't just walk in through a door ) you're actually let in.

At least once a month, you'd be asked to empty your pockets, put the contents on a table and hand over any bags for the staff to rummage through

Absolutely horrendous isn't it... ...there are no words

Is this still happening in your area? Altho our local ARC is far from perfect, you don't have to be let in out. Prisoners get treated better than that x

At the first one I went to, you had to be buzzed in, all internal doors needed a staff pass to be opened. The second one was located in a hospital and you just walked in and TBH, I never saw the slightest hint of trouble at that one.

As Vicky said, and I quote a former forumite Nicole on this one. 'When you enter an ARC, you leave your dignity and respect at the door'.

When I was in hospital and I was transferred from ICU to the high dependency ward (four of us to a ward), they used to allow people to go outside and smoke. If you wanted to go to the pub, that was forbidden. Not that I was well enough or that way inclined, but I did think, double standards.

The guy opposite smoked and he could walk (about 50% of us couldn't) and he regularly popped out for a fag. The rules were, that you could smoke any fags that you had or were brought in for you, but you were not allowed to leave the building (Cov is absolutely massive with an airport sized car park).

He used to go for a half hour walk and buy himself 200 fags from Tescos. When my missus used to visit in the evenings, she said there were always people in wheelchairs, drip bags on stands attached to their arm and one of those oxygen lines than runs under the nose, puffing away outside the building.

There are Nat - but I am too much of a laaaaaady to say them x

Thank you everyone for your nightmare tales about ARC's I seriously am a babe in the woods. Went for meeting today with wet behind the ears counsellor at ARC. Hubby asked for Campral. I was waiting just waiting to pounce, if he refused to pass request on to Doc and then give us HIS effing opinion on Campral. Guess he must have seen my face 😒 lol x Dunno if it will work or not but hubby wants to try and that is good enuff for me x

I can think of quite a few choice ones Gwen...but better be proper on here l x 😃😃

He should be given it as soon as possible. The ideal time is while he is still detoxing, so that it is in his system. Failing that, immediately after detox, as it takes a week to kick in, as the body absorbs it and it has a chance to work on the neural pathways.

Of course it never works like that, because neither ARCs nor the medical profession actually have an understanding of how it works and the danger point between detoxing ending and the gap before Campral is taken plus the week's delay in it activating, in that time the patient is at risk of drinking.

I think it was three weeks from seeing the ARC to getting prescribed Campral for me. The doctor is usually the most sensible one of the lot, it is just getting to see him.