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Campral - USER BEWARE! Caused manic episodes worse than benzo withdrawal!



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Campral - USER BEWARE! Caused manic episodes worse than benzo withdrawal!

Old 01-18-2011, 07:15 AM
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Campral - USER BEWARE! Caused manic episodes worse than benzo withdrawal!

My doc prescribed me "Campral" which was something like $158 to fill...w/insurance it was still almost $30. I was prescribed 2 tablets 3x/day and was issued a bottle of 180 (wtf?) which is supposed to reduce your alcohol cravings. I'm here to tell you this crap is one of the most evil drugs I've ever put into my body. I took it all day 2 days ago so that was 6 tablets and over the course of the day I became increasingly manic and somewhat mentally unstable and I assumed it was just my valium taper...I usually take 200mg seroquel to sleep (I break my 400 in half) and I sleep good through the night. 2 nights ago I had to take an entire 400 which is enough seroquel to tranquilize a horse and I woke up multiple times through the night with vivid dreams and mental discomfort. When I woke in the morning I felt like every bit of emotion was sucked out of my body and felt completely awful. Following doctors directions w/o having realized what was causing my discomfort, I took another 2 camprals. I then sat in my living room crying for about 30 minutes prior to prepping myself for my shift at work...took 2 5mg valium in hopes of calming myself to a normal state of mind (which normally makes me a bit loopy) and had almost no effect....I didn't understand what was happening to me. I had to take another 2 just to stabilize myself mentally so I didn't have to ditch work for the emergency room (which I can't afford to do). At this point, I felt mentally stable but I certainly did not feel under the influence of 20mg of valium. At this point I called my pharmacist and described my acute symptoms and he said campral is known to cause those kinds of effects in some people and advised me to immediately stop taking it. At this point, I am infuriated with my psychiatrist who prescribe this freaking poison to me as I was just getting my mind and body back to normal and tapering down on the valium....very very angry about this situation considering I actually paid almost $30 to feel this way and was advised my a doctor to do so. This is why I hate taking meds I'm not familiar with so for anybody else going through withdrawal I would advise you to just freaking deal with the cravings and forget the campral poison....if you do some fact checking on side effects, it shows that it can cause manic episodes and insomnia....ya, that sounds like a really good med to prescribe people who are already suffering from those symptoms due to alcohol withdrawal. Christ almighty, it makes me wonder what the hell these doctors are thinking sometimes....recovering alcoholics beware, stay away from campral!
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Old 01-18-2011, 07:22 AM
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I take Campral.

I was advised not to start it until I was through the withdrawals from alcohol.

I am sorry it didn't work for you, but for me it has been a great tool in my recovery program and haven't suffered any side effects.
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Old 01-18-2011, 07:24 AM
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Sorry you experienced that. I used Campral during early recovery and it worked very well for me.
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Old 01-18-2011, 07:25 AM
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Man I seem to really get the cruddy end of the stick when it comes to a lot of meds....I have an extremely high metabolism and I'm hypersensitive to everything I take. a can of coca-cola will give me a jolt for about an hour and a half. If there's a side effect to a med, I seem to get it...especially the negative ones. Lucky me eh? I'm glad it's at least helping some people out there but I really wish my doctor who was freaking aware of my insomnia issues already would have advised me about these possible side effects before telling me to take it. Just goes to show ya that even though your doctor says a med is safe, you should always do your own research before taking that first pill.
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Old 01-18-2011, 07:36 AM
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I used no med's to de tox from my alcoholism
No med's to off set the cravings...or insomia.

I'm not saying anyone should or should not....I am
saying it's not always necessary

joblo... sorry this happened to you
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Old 01-18-2011, 08:04 AM
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you have to keep in touch with your psychiatrist immediately after trying a new prescription if you feel something weird. when I was first started on Seroquel it made my body twich and I still coudn''t sleep, had panick attacks and I thought I was hearing voices.

I called her and she called me back right away from her home and decreased the dosage on Seroquel. I thought she was going to take me off it. She kept calling me for the next three or so days to make sure I was ok.

It worked, the twiches stopped and hallucinations and I was able to fall asleep finally after not being able to for over a week.

This was right after my rehab. By keeping in touch with her and trusting her with her observation it worked.
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Old 01-18-2011, 08:57 AM
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Originally Posted by kiki5711 View Post
you have to keep in touch with your psychiatrist immediately after trying a new prescription if you feel something weird. when I was first started on Seroquel it made my body twich and I still coudn''t sleep, had panick attacks and I thought I was hearing voices.

I called her and she called me back right away from her home and decreased the dosage on Seroquel. I thought she was going to take me off it. She kept calling me for the next three or so days to make sure I was ok.

It worked, the twiches stopped and hallucinations and I was able to fall asleep finally after not being able to for over a week.

This was right after my rehab. By keeping in touch with her and trusting her with her observation it worked.
If you don't mind my asking, exactly what dosage of seroquel did you doc have you on? I've heard of some moron doctors out there prescribing up to 1200mg/day to people which should be considered malpractice b/c high dosages (from what I've read) are associated with such side effects which is why there is a class action lawsuit in progress against the manufacturer. It sounds like you have a phenomenal psychiatrist my friend...most of us are not so lucky. Just got this off of drugs.com regarding the possible side effects of campral:

Side Effects of Campral - for the Consumer
Campral

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Campral:

Diarrhea; dizziness; gas; loss of appetite; nausea; trouble sleeping; weakness.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Campral:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); anxiety; behavior changes; depression; mental or mood changes; nervousness; panic attacks; restlessness; suicidal thoughts or behaviors.


I only use seroquel for sleep. I couldn't imagine anybody actually functioning on this medication during the day...seems like an inappropriate drug for daytime. I'm feeling so much better today now that I'm off the campral...I also stopped taking my remeron which is a +! 1 less med to worry about!

As of now, I've taken no valium today and I feel great. I'm sure later on I'll probably have to take 1 to ween down as withdrawal may (or may not) set in. If I think I can eek by without any, I'll do so...I really wanna get this over with as soon as possible but I definitely feel like I'm on the right path again.

Once I'm off the valium...down the road, I may still use it PRN very carefully. I may even consider librium as an alternative PRN anxiety med as it is not quite as powerful as valium nor does it have as high of an abuse potential.

This forum has been such a great help in getting me through this process as this is the only place I feel like I can be completely honest...doctors, I'm always a bit leery of as most of them have never been through what we're going through and they simply can't relate. My new GP is awesome though...very much looking forward to sharing my progress with her.
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Old 01-18-2011, 09:18 AM
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She started me on just 25mg. The decreased it to 100mg. I also use Seroquel for bedime too. This was prescribed to me in rehab and that's why she continued, in rehab I think was the low dosage, but I was on other meds as well. I was also taking some "anti alcohol" pills recommeded to take for the first 3 months after rehab. I did and didn't notice anything weird and I stopped taking them after 3 months.
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Old 01-18-2011, 09:37 AM
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One person's wonder drug is another's poison... Decisions to use medications should be done privately with a competent physician.
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Old 01-18-2011, 10:32 AM
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I take Campral, and I love it! It has greatly reduced the cravings and I can think again!! I don't have any mania, actually, my meds make me more tired.

I hope you figure it out,
nancy
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Old 03-10-2016, 03:49 AM
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Medical supervision necessary for alcohol detox

I know that one can safely detox from alcohol without the help of medical supervision or detoxification drugs but I would never advise that in open forum. Alcohol detox is one of the only detoxifications that someone can die from. Benzodiazepine and alcohol are the two detox and withdrawals that someone can die from without medical supervision. I am an alcoholic, and I cannot stress enough how I would NEVER remotely suggest someone not seek medical supervision during their withdrawal period. I, myself, almost died from withdrawing from alcohol cold turkey. The last time I went to detox I called ahead of time to make sure that I was to be given phenobarbital and Librium to help me detox for the seven day period that I had to detox. Like I said before I do not think that everyone needs that medication level of alcohol in my system needed medication to help my body withdrawal.

Originally Posted by CarolD View Post
I used no med's to de tox from my alcoholism
No med's to off set the cravings...or insomia.

I'm not saying anyone should or should not....I am
saying it's not always necessary

joblo... sorry this happened to you
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Old 03-10-2016, 03:53 AM
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Welcome Kwow
We're very diligent about keeping our members safe here.

I'm glad you've found us

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Old 03-10-2016, 03:55 AM
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Shocked

I am shocked that you would have any reaction to Campral remotely like that you described. I have never, until reading this, heard of anyone having any kind of reaction close to this. Every single person I have spoken to that has been prescribed this medication and takes this medication, has always spoken very highly of it. I take it myself and it does exactly what it is supposed to do for me. To me your reaction to the medication Campral, sounds like a possible reaction to another medication or maybe a drug interaction with another medication. Did you look into the possibility of you having a drug reaction from another medication or interaction with another medication in addition to the Campral?
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Old 03-10-2016, 03:56 AM
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Hello

Thank you! 😊
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Old 03-10-2016, 03:57 AM
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This is a 5 year old thread kwow - the original poster is not likely to answer you.

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Old 03-10-2016, 04:02 AM
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Just an FYI for future readers

Thank you, I saw that this is not a new thread. I just thought I would put that in for future readers, or if someone stumbles upon this like I did. I think anyone's input is important, especially when it comes to addiction and life or death. 😊
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Old 03-11-2016, 05:10 PM
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I've been on Campral for nearly a week. It hasn't really reduced the cravings yet, but I read that it can take a couple of weeks to be effective.

I haven't had any noticeable negative side effects.

I don't expect an answer from the original poster -- just puttin' it out there as info.
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