Acamprosate

Acamprosate can help people maintain alcohol abstinence as part of treatment. It does not treat acute withdrawal, and its benefits need to be understood alongside kidney health, unwanted effects and the practical realities of ongoing care.

Acamprosate is a medicine used to help maintain alcohol abstinence. Campral is one brand name. It can support a person who has stopped drinking, but it does not remove every craving or solve every difficulty involved in recovery. It is not a medicine for treating acute alcohol withdrawal and does not make renewed drinking harmless.

Kidney function matters because the medicine leaves the body mainly through the kidneys. A prescriber needs to assess it before treatment; severe kidney impairment can rule out use. Diarrhoea and other stomach or bowel effects can make treatment difficult and deserve discussion rather than being endured in silence.

If drinking resumes, contact the treatment team to review the circumstances and the plan. Do not decide on changes to the medicine by yourself. If physical alcohol dependence may be present, seek medical advice before suddenly stopping or sharply reducing drinking, even when acamprosate has been prescribed.

New or worsening depression or thoughts of suicide need prompt support and clinical attention. Immediate danger requires emergency medical help. Sudden confusion needs immediate medical help.

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