"stuart" <fred@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:QoGff.119531$S4.34857@edtnps84...
>
> Robert McGregor <robert_mcgregor@knickers.yahoo.com.au> wrote in
> message
> news:437ec527_1@news.iprimus.com.au...
>>
>> "Sardonicus Rex" <dontaskiwonttell@leavemealone.com> wrote in
>> message
>> news:-cqdnbiqtPC0L-PeRVn-qQ@gbronline.com...
>> >I went to my doctor today for a followup exam. for my gout -- a
>> >condition
>> > aggravated by alcoholism.
>> >
>> > I leveled with him for the first time ever and told him I am an
>> > alcoholic
>> > He's a great doctor and didn't give me any head-shaking or
>> > lectures.
>> >
>> > But he did ask me if I was interested in taking Campral and gave
>> > me
>> > a
>> > month's worth of samples. From what he told me, it works in the
>> > amino acid
>> > centers in the brain and has demonstrated a clinical effect on
>> > the
>> > craving
>> > for alcohol.
>> >
>> > I'm pursuing a variety of methods to help me quit drinking,
>> > including AA,
>> > and based on nearly 20 years of experience with my doctor,
>> > believe
>> > this
>> > avenue is worth pursuing.
>> >
>> > Have any of you grown tentacles or third eyes from taking said
>> > medication
>> > for a few weeks/months?
>> >
>>
>>
>> Could your doctor introduce you to any alcoholic patient/s that
>> took
>> Campral and actually stayed sober for a few weeks/months?
>>
>> Of the few alcoholics I've known were prescribed that drug, only
>> one
>> stopped drinking alcohol, but that was when he died.
>>
>> Bob
>
> The drug was fairly thoroughly tested during its development in
> France, and
> had shown to be signifigantly superior to placebo in controlling
> drinking
> (short-term) in controlled double-blind peer-reviewed clinical
> studies. The
> drug was first tested in European studies, seven worth a serious
> read from
> 1997 to 2001. It was thought to be ineffective WRT to relapse, even
> then. US
> based studies started circa 2001 seem to confirm this.(It was
> approved for
> general prescription in the US, I believe in mid 2004)
> But, then again, should you be so hasty in dismissing it as a tool
> for
> treatment? It is deemed effective in a sub-group of patients, and
> the
> manufacturer recommends it as a potential starting point, with the
> end point
> being psychosocial support of the alcoholic patient, AA for
> example.
> Have you read any of the studies on acamprosate?
>

Stuart, as opposed to your bullshit, other than suggesting seeking
confirmation of specific medical opinion, I plainly stated what facts
I knew, neither dismissing, nor endorsing, any drug.

However, given your argument, I'm betting the doctor concerned
probably cannot produce any patients for whom the drug has been
claimed "proven" to help. Meanwhile, those free samples should result
in someone somewhere who manages to stop drinking somehow, and will
surely be counted by the drug dealers as proof of their success.
After all, what else are free samples for.

Although debating with liars like you and your AA pal rosie is a
waste of time, others here may want to be aware of at least one of
the other ways pharmaceutical corporations appear to legitimise their
"studies" http://tinyurl.com/csvq7

Of the few alcoholics I've known personally being prescribed Campral,
only one stopped drinking alcohol, but that was when he died.

Bob