"Campral"

Tryingrealhard · Newbie

"Campral"

beachgirl · Senior Member

greetings- I am a mental health professional and an alcoholic. (my "credentials.."

.
I have been sober for a year, and still struggle with cravings. I see a psychiatrist who specializes in addictions- he has suggested ReVia to me, as it has a simpler dosing schedule than Campral. My input is that these are legitimate meds to try- I decided not to, because I found that extra support, excercise, and trying replacement activities that I enjoy, helped.
That being said, I have a few clients myself who have tried Campral, with good results- I have read studies that say cravings have been significantly reduced, as shown by a 50% greater likelihood of staying sober for an extended period of time, in subjects who took the medication as opposed to placebo.

But it is important not to think that medication alone can do it- it may put another weapon in the arsenal, but AA, therapy- that's where the psychological,spiritual and emotional work gets done.

Being a biological illness, addiction, like depression, can be helped by meds as an adjunctive treatment. Manage your expectations; pills don't cure the soul, or address what to do with your non-drinking self! Good luck! Beachgirl

Doll · MIP Old Timer

Never heard of it, so I looked it up....... I, personally, do not want to put anything into my body today that will alter my mind in any way. I don't feel like THAT is recovery. To me, that is substituting one substance for another. That is not dealing with what the problems really are....The BB tells us that alcohol is just a symptom of what is really wrong with us. There's no way to find that out if we continue to alter our state of mind with chemicals........Just my humble opinion.

TenderheartsKS · Senior Member

I've found that by working the program of Alcoholics Anonymous to repair my spiritual, mental, and physical health, those cravings eventually went away.

My alcoholic mind always wants to find the easier softer way out.

Personally, I'm glad I had to deal with cravings in my early sobriety because it made me that much more grateful for my sobriety today.

The discomfort that came with quitting is something that I need to remember.

lani · MIP Old Timer

Welcome TH
I dont have any experience with what you are referring to but wanted to offer you a great big welcome!
Good luck in finding what works for you! Sounds like its something you want enough and thats a good beginning!
Lani

Tuggboat · Senior Member

The craving for alcohol disappears after detox and another couple weeks of getting some blood through your liver. WHats left is the obsession of the mind.

Look into the long term side effects so when they come along you'll recognize them. I've heard they are bad but all of these new miracle mind drugs are trade offs. you kind of swap one set of symptoms for another. Hopefully the new symptoms are easier to deal with.

I don't know anybody that has tried Campral. The theory behind the antidepressants sounds good. Relieve the worst of the feelings long enough to get sober and figure things out but discomfort has a way of motivating us through the steps and I rarely see a well medicated guy or gal real zealous for the whole program.

Whatever??? The willingness to go to any length is important.

Phil · MIP Old Timer

Campral (acamprosate calcium) is the most recent medication approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence or alcoholism in the United States -- approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July 2004 -- but it has been used widely in Europe for many years. More than 1.5 million people have been treated worldwide with Campral.

How Does Campral Work?

It is not completely understood exactly how Campral works in the brain to help people maintain alcohol abstinence, but it is believed to restore a chemical balance in the brain that is disrupted by long-term or chronic alcohol abuse. In other words, it helps the brain begin working normally again.

While Antabuse works by making someone sick if they drink alcohol and Naltrexone blocks the "high" people get when drinking, Campral reduces the physical distress and emotional discomfort people usually experience when they quit drinking. According to Forest Laboratories, the distributor the drug in the U.S., Campral reduces sweating, anxiety and sleep disturbances that many experience during the early stages of alcohol abstinence.

Tipsy McStagger · Senior Member

I have never tried it but after a recent incident I had with a drug designed to help people stop smoking I'm very leery of anything that has a direct effect on brain chemistry. The Drug I was taking was called Chantix and is relatively new. During the first week it seemed to be working as described in the literature but during the second week I became intensely depressed and began experiencing occasional thoughts related to suicide. I got on line and did some more research and found something that the helpful info booklet that came with my prescription neglected to mention in the "possible side effects" section. Apparently a very small percentage of patients in their clinical rial had similar experiences but the drug company and the FDA felt that the risk was sufficiently low. All fine and dandy if unless you happen to be one of those rare exceptions.

The point is that these prescription drugs that effect brain chemistry can cause bizarre side effects and, as anyone whose been to an AA meting or read the Big Book can attest to, aren't necessary to stop. So why do it?

-- Edited by Tipsy McStagger at 20:37, 2008-04-26

Tuggboat · Senior Member

Good stuff phil and Tipsy..The symptoms OPhil described don't last that long except for the sleep disturbances. I learned to deal with them with Naps which I had never used before. As far as sweating, I would think that after detox, potasium levels and sugar should be checked. And as far as anxiety, It made me find my higher power..

Though I've found other answers than a pill, one targeted towards these things we fight just might be helpful. but for long term I'm not sure. I had to learn to deal with things. As I overcame one obstacle another would pop up. I had to learn to move forward and reach for solutions usually spiritual in nature. I think the hope I realize by knowing a soulution is down the road as long as I don't drink is invaluable. I would not want to go through what I went through in the beginning though again.

Looking back, I probably would have been a good candidate for some drug therapy. I have an issue with taking prescription drugs I've never had to work through though. Perhaps some day as pain and death draw near but until then, Its advil or prayer.

Is this drug habit forming?

Quetzal · MIP Old Timer

Hi Trying,

I don't have anything to add about Campral, but I did want to say welcome to MIP. Please keep posting and letting us know how things are going for you, won't you?

Take care,

Carol

beachgirl · Senior Member

No one would or should ever discourage a clinically depressed person from taking medication.Before the SSRIs came out, all we had were tricyclics and MAOs. Talk about side effects. I think that in time, we will be understanding addiction in the way we now understand depression. It would be cruel to tell a depressed person that by taking meds, they were merely taking a short cut or the easier way.
If you have been struggling with cravings, unable to get past them, after 20 years- then doing the same thing over and over again to get past them, is insanity, if another way offers hope. BG

jonijoni · MIP Old Timer

Welcome to the forum, and I would suggest asking your sponsor and support group what they think. We are just folks on the outside looking in, who do not know you face to face. Sponsor is whom you should be talking to about this.

Welcome to MIP!!! Looking forward to having you on board!!

((((hugs))))
Joni

John · Admin

Hi and Welcome to Miracles In Progress!

The questions you ask are very good ones. I have not personally taken Campral as it was not on the market at the time I got sober 18 years ago, but I have to admit that if it was available 4 years earlier I would have been willing to try it, as I too struggled as a chronic relapser between 1983 - 1989. I needed to take some meds to compliment my recovery efforts non the less, because without gaining some form of mental/emotional stability my prognosis for recovery was not too good. The meds I took truly helped me gain my first year of continous sobriety. Anti depressants, sleep aids, and mood stablizers were a must for me. Having said this, once I was able to stay focused enough to work the steps, be consistent with my sponsor/sponsee relation, and ultimately plugged into a spiritual source of power greater than myself and learn how to stay plugged into that power, my sobriety has not been in jeapary in over 18 years.

I have been working in the field of alcoholism/addiction for a good number of years now, and am the founder of this site as well as the Miracles In Progress Aftercare Recovery Houses here in Wilmington, NC.

Today, a great number of alcoholics that repeatedly relapse, who seek out professional medical assistance are prescribed Campral. A good number of those who reside in my recovery homes are taking it, and having seen the results of those that do so as prescribed, I would recommend that any one who is struggling with their sobriety might want to consider it as a gateway to gaining long term sobriety. It helps the alcoholic who wants to be stay sober, stay sober. It doesn't work for those who don't want, or won't make a true investment in their recovery. It is not a magic pill. It just gives better odds to those who are willing to do the variety of others things suggested in the 12step recovery community. Campral blocks the receptors that generates the craving, and thus that which triggers the desire to drink.

In my early recovery, too many times I heard alcoholics state or suggest that I should not take the meds that were prescribed to me. That I just needed to work the program and everything else would be alright. I am grateful that I did't take heed, and stayed on those meds for my first year. I know in my heart of hearts that without them I would not have ever gotten my first year.

We are not doctors, we are alcoholics. I would strongly suggest you give your disease the double treatment. Do what your doctor suggest, as well as what the members of AA suggest regarding working this program

You do this and you might find that at some point you can discontinue the med without jeapardizing your recovery. This is the goal... but first, you have to have some recovery under your belt, and discontinue the med with the support and knowledge of your professional medical provider.

Those that come into the MIP recovery homes, are usually out of the woods after 90 days, and then with the help of a good sponsor and good doctor are able to discontiue using Campral successfully.

Our AA literature states, "God either has or has not removed the desire to drink". I would suppliment this by saying... if He hasn't, we need to do everything we can to stay sober, until He does. When that happens we will not be reliant on human aids. He will also remove our need for Campral or other meds. Until then we need to do everything we can to increase our odds.

Sincerely,

John F. (aka OP_Present)

-- Edited by John at 01:30, 2008-04-28

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Greatings TRH,
welcome to the board. I have no experience with Campral or any other drugs. I two was a chronic relapser for the first 2 years of sobriety. I went to meetings steadily but could not get more than 2 months sober. My program was very week mostly because I thought I was not as sick as most, and Smarter than them also. Turns out my intelligence was average and I was sicker than most.

During that time, every time that I "came back in" I would try one more thing, that I wasn't doing, to help my efforts to stay sober. The things that I was NOT doing: staying out of relationships, letting go of my old drinking and druging friends, having/using a Sponsor (following the suggestion of a sponsor instead of "working my own program"), working the steps (particularly the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th), doing service work (making coffee, chairing meetings...), taking advantage of the "Fellowship" (making friends and doing extra curicular activities with them), getting a home group, attending step and big book study meetings, Daily prayer and meditation (11th step), working with other alcholics (12th step).

How is your program with regard to the above? smile

I bring this up because I believe that you should be doing all that you can, before looking at going on meds. Doctors like to put people on meds, it's how they do business. I'm not saying that you shouldn't, just saying 3 out 4 of them will put anyone on meds.
I be more inclined to look at my diet, exericise, sleep, vitamins, caffiene, sugar,
work load and ways to cut out/down on stress, including ending some relationships even temporarily like with family and old dysfunctional friends.

In other words, instead of taking pills to cover up the stress, go to route of the stress and reduce it. It can involve tough decisions. I was married and had a relatively high paying professional career. I decided to to walk away from both, in the interest of my sobriety. I put my sobriety first. It paid off and I've been self employed for most of my sobriety and I'm happily remarried for 11 years now (15 year relationship) to a non-alcoholic. smile

Dean

-- Edited by StPeteDean at 09:42, 2008-04-28

-- Edited by StPeteDean at 09:45, 2008-04-28