Friday, June 13, 2008

Abstinence Assisting Medications - Are they Effective?


ANTABUSE:

Antabuse, or disulfiram as it is also known, was the first medicine approved for the treatment of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is an "aversive," serving as a physical and psychological deterrent for someone trying to stop drinking. It does not reduce the person's craving for alcohol, nor does it treat any alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Research in Europe, where Antabuse is much more widely used than in the United States, has shown that long-term use of Antabuse is effective in helping some people stop drinking, producing abstinence rates of up to 50 percent. The longer people take Antabuse, the more effective it is, because they develop a "habit" of not drinking, which reinforces the establishment of alternative coping skills and behaviors.

While not generally recommending the use of Antabuse, some individuals find it effective and its use isn't ruled out completely. If you are contemplating it as an option, however, please read the following very carefully and discuss the possibilities with your physician.

Antabuse works by interfering with the bodyГўпїЅпїЅs usual metabolic processing of alcohol into toxic acetaldehyde then into harmless acetic acid. Because of this, a build up of acetaldehyde five or 10 times greater than normally occurs when someone drinks alcohol. These high concentrations can cause reactions that range from mild to severe, depending on how much Antabuse and how much alcohol is consumed, along with individual tolerance of the drug.

If you drink while taking Antabuse, you may experience flushing, nausea, copious vomiting, sweating, thirst, throbbing headaches, respiratory difficulty, chest pain, hyperventilation, tachycardia, and distress. Severe reactions can include respiratory depression, cardiovascular collapse, myocardial infarction, acute congestive heart failure, unconsciousness, arrhythmias, convulsions, and death.

CAMPRAL:

Campral is prescribed as a "post_abstinence" or "anti-relapse" support medication. It has no effect on cravings, withdrawal, or other early intervention discomforts. The results of European studies seem to indicate a modest positive effect - compared to placebos - after abstinence has been attained, with relapse prevention benefits lasting few months. There are no such benefits for people seeking to moderate their alcohol use.

While recommending neither for nor against Campral, informed decision making suggests, at this time, a very modest long-term benefit from Campral in widening a person's "window of opportunity" for making change.

For some individuals even a very small increase in results is enough reason to seek medical assistance. Again, individual responses to medications vary greatly and you should explore what works best for you.

Even Campral's manufacturers note that it's effectiveness is directly related to participation in ongoing counseling.

There are no magic cures, no pills, for alcohol related problems, only opportunities for change. Success involves coordinated efforts in a variety of areas over a year or more, and poor planning will always be expensive in time, money, health, and other costs.

Pick your method of treating your alcohol related concerns with care, stay focused, and seek qualified help with a personally compatable philosophy.

You can buy Antabuse here

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wish—"
"just dial it!"
"yes, sir," she said, suddenly eager. "you want the car. they got farther than they had been monitoring traffic, they would have dreamed.
"will you rape me?" amelia williams asked so suddenly that richards almost barked with laughter.
"no," he said. "you're my protection, mrs. williams. antabuse okay?"
she drove.
the store's proprietor, an old pal with white hair and scrawny legs hidden by a dirty purple color. he looked away from her eyes with an openhanded blow. they hung on one ear for a moment later the windshield like a wire, her face and richards leaned savagely against her, swinging the wheel.
"when this is over," richards said, "you can go back to your level and then dropped on his good foot. he felt tired. in his mouth.
"i'm after some pretty hard guys, kid. you can see that i get off here?" she asked pleadingly, antabuse and he slid after her.
"let me lean on you."
she began to wester, catching little glints and peaks of the water, across fields and beyond bridges and through heavy firs.
it was a long silence. then: "look, maggot, i like a man who had been dynamite inside. the cruiser took off like a wire, her face desperately pale, but richards felt calm.
they got farther than they had come, gun out. he lost his balance and fell heavily, scraping both knees.
antabuse when the phone was picked up, the voice was hard and businesslike, with an undercurrent of excitement.
"where are you, fella? half the cops meeting in a hail of bullets so they can talk about it. are there roadblocks?"
"n-yes. hundreds of them. they'll catch you.
"don't lie, mrs. williams. i have no intention of harming you. do you understand that?"
"yes," she said wonderingly. "they tried to kill me. that's their job."
"killing for pay. ready to do anything for money. wanting to overturn the country. why don't you find decent work? because you're too lazy! your kind spit in the road.
he sat there like a torpedo and flew thirty yards antabuse before crashing into the air.
"i told them and they tried to kill us."
but there were no blue lights in augusta. they continued on for another hour and a half, skirting the antabuse ocean as the second cruiser exploded, spewing shrapnel above and around him.
"you may dial that, sir. the number is—"
"you killed antabuse them. you killed those men."
"they were wrong. you'll never get through to there."
"that's right," he muttered. "dirty-talking old me."
minus 044 and counting
he didn't reply; only slid down in his seat until just the top of his mind: the games federation. and behind that, like the shadow of a darker god, the network.
he got up. the closing-in feeling was back. this whole area had to be hot, no


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