selincro

General health and lifestyle
1

hello   i know there are many posts about this and i have posted before.

what has surprised  / shocked me is that my ADS worker didn't know what the NICE guidelines for Selincro are [ i know it has different names] and had to google during a session to check what the guidelines are for this -  i knew it was people who drink 7.5 units and more per day but he couldn;t quote this     and 4 months into sessions still no luck getting it prescribed     my consumption is between 90 - 135 per week with a few days free in the same timescale.  i think that understanding the physcial dependence aslect is what's a worry - however i have cut down a lot now and will ask my doctor to get involved

2

Jamie,

I would encourage anybody who comes across this lack of knowledge (which is widespread) to make an official complaint to the organisation involved, suggesting that their staff are educated to a sufficient standard if they are going to claim to be experts in the field.

It is even the same with detox. So-called 'alcohol counsellors' are telling people to keep a drinking diary and cut down over time (which is close to impossible) with absolutely no understanding of the medical side of alcohol addiction. When I worked in the NHS, I was constantly surprised by the lack of knowledge in people who claimed to know what they were talking about.

3

Thank you Paul     i don't know what other people think but i m not yet ready to complain as i woudl fear that may impact on them prescribing medication as they seem very reluctant to     bearing in mind i was at the stage of feeling able to stop if i was supported with medication - that's what i asked for some months ago and i m not progressing     

4

Unfortunately Jamie, you are not the only one having this problem. It is widespread across the country.

5

just an update    as i have done 2 weeks clean she will now refer me for selincro    but he never heard of Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ)    bizarre !

6

Which is he and which is she? I assume you mean your alcohol counsellor and the GP?

7

sorry he is counsellor referring to her doctor so she can prescribe, my misttake, she's very knowledgeable   

8

i m really happy to say that i m now in my first week of nalmafene / selincro and its going better than i hoped

the side effects ar as described and bad for the first few days then level out; amazingly it has completely put me off alcohol in the sense that i have no desire to drink and only twice thought about it   eary days i know but good start