nanita

I've tried so hard to stop drinking and just can't seem to get it together. Have decided that if I don't see some progress in my search for sobriety within 30 days, I'm going to ask my doctor for Antabuse. Have read some things about it on the internet, but am still somewhat afraid of it. Does anyone have experience with it that you can tell me about, good or bad??? Thanks!

brians

Yes, Many years ago I used it, stopped taking it for a few days and drank.
Big Mistake. Went threw hell. 3 trips to hospital. I would never take it again or suggest anyone else use it. Nothing is better than AA Meetings and the Steps. I had to have a real desire to stop drinking. Go to any lengths.

LIL_Pebbles

My father and my mothers ex b/F had used that and drank both had to go to the hospital. I was there when my moms B/F took it and an hour later cracked open a beer and smiled, and said " WEll know I will not get sick" well about a half hour his face was red, I mean red and he became so sick he was hospitalized. I want to add that the craving can be so bad people have drank even though they know they will get sick, this drug has helped people, but it is risky, best to talk with your doctor....I wish you luck and sobriety.

nanita

Thank you. I did see my doctor on Friday, after posting my message. She's a recovered alcoholic (23 years sober) and an addiction specialist. She did prescribe Antabuse for me and went over all of the risks. I know I have enough alcohol in my system that it's probably a 3 day weaning process to get rid of it before taking the Antabuse. I'm a pretty big chicken and know that once I'm able to take it, there's not a prayer in hell I'll drink. Just have to get to the starting point! Had hoped to start weaning myself off of alcohol on Saturday, but a houseful of stressful company was too much. Tomorrow is Monday, everyone will be gone, and I'm going to go for it. This is so hard, isn't it?

Thank you for your information and I'll be incredibly careful. Any encouraging words to get me started on this venture are appreciated. Thanks!

Mongo

Hi Nanita.

I've been taking antabuse under a doctor's care for about six months now.

I have had no reaction to anything I've consumed and I've never had an urge to "test it" to see if it's working. I am careful about foods such as dressings, sauces, etc, and have become an avid label-reader.

I have no problem taking that pill each morning because I know it guarantees me at least a week of abstinence. I recently had blood tests including liver enzymes and they came back perfect. My dosage is 250mg/day.

Your doctor has gone over the precautions with you, so good luck. Combining this med with an effective recovery program has a very high efficacy rate.

All the best

Ron

DoItDee

I took antabuse several times over the past 5 years and then finally quit drinking cold turkey about 3.5 months ago. As for me, I had a good experience with antabuse. As long as you do not touch a drop of alcohol, nothing bad will happen. It scared me straight when I took it.

nanita

Mongo and Dee -- Thank you for your posts. You made me feel very positive over my decision to try Antabuse. Today is Monday -- I had the shakes really bad this morning so I had one drink which I nursed from 5-6 a.m. That took care of it and right now is 10:40 a.m. and I'm still on club soda. Would really like to add vodka to it,but I keep telling myself I'm 1/6 of the way to that 24 hours that my doctor said to wait before starting the Antabuse.

The reading I've done about Antabuse isn't as thorough as I'd like. Perhaps one of you can tell me - can you even use Windex and stuff like that that contains alcohol (at least I think it does). Also, Ron, you mentioned dressings and sauces. I've been looking at ingredients on all of my sauces (I like VERY hot food) and all of my sauces contain vinegar. I know I can't have vinagriatte(s) type dressings, but how about ranch and stuff in a restaurant? Is that something I need to avoid?

Thanks. Hate to be so naive or a pain but I want to do this right -- my little mountain town doesn't have a hospital or even a doctor. Since the nearest one is 62 miles in any direction, I don't want to screw up!

Mongo

Hi Nanita

I've not had reactions to any food. I've eaten dressing, vinagrette, and dijon mustard containing white wine. I tend to be cautious, however. I also just last week tried an alcohol based hand sterilizer(needed for work) with no ill effect. To the best of my knowledge, vinegar, including balsamic, does not contain alcohol.

Things that I am very careful with are alcohol based mouthwashes and alcohol containing cold meds like Nyquil. Non alcohol substitutions for these are available.

I'm not sure about hair care products like hairspray. I shave my head so I don't use these anyway, lol.

I believe the toxicity of anatabuse to be completely insignificant compared to the toxicity level of alcohol.

Nanita, are you detoxing on your own? Withdrawals can be dangerous, I'm sure your doctor told you this.

Good luck.

Ron

nanita

Ron - yes, I'm detoxing on my own. I did it for the first time in July so have been down that road before. My doctor was very thorough with all the warnings, symptoms,etc. before I tried it so I'm pretty knowledgeable about that part of this mess. I'm excited to hear that vinegar-based things haven't bothered you. The warnings that came with my Rx (250mg also) warned against vinegar. So - once I see how react to the Rx itself, I'm going to try some hot sauce and see how I do. Will definetely stay away from mouthwash and the other items you mentioned. Hadn't thought about hairspray - glad you mentioned it because I use it on my bangs.

I agree with ou about alcohol being more toxic than antabuse and I'm ready to go for it. 45 more minutes and I'll be 1/3 of the way through my 24 hours. Once bedtime comes, I'll have it made -- it's just staying tough to get that far. It's been about 15 years since I've gone 24 hours without a drink, other than my very brief stint at sobriety in July.

Did you wait a full 24 hours to start taking antabuse? The flyer says to wait 12, but my doctor said 24. Thanks!

Mongo

Good to hear Nanita, that you're starting.

Actually, I went to my doc about 4 days after my last withdrawal(didn't think I'd make it through that one), so I didn't have to wait to start it.

You may want to stock up on some things that wil help you in the next few days. I found that sports drinks diluted with water really helped with the rehydration. Eating small meals every couple of hours kept the sugar levels stable. Stay close to a phone.

Good luck with your goals!

Ron

historyteach

I've heard perfumes may contain alcohol, and you may want to be careful of that too. Or colon for men.

Good luck, Nanita! We're here for you!

Shalom!

nanita

Thanks, Ron and historyteach. I'm now at 12.5 hours without alcohol, my husband is home now and bedtime is in 3 hours. Got it made! I've never been one to get out of bed for a drink, so I feel like I'm home free. Tomorrow when I get up, I'm poppin' that Antabuse instantly. Then it's out of my hands and I'm on my way.

If you get a chance, drop me a line tomorrow and see how it's going. As I said earlier, it's been 15 years since I've gone 24 hours w/o a drink, so I expect a difficult time over the next several weeks (especially with a houseful of company over the holidays). My husband won't let anyone bring alcohol in the house since I told him in July that I was an alcoholic, but anytime we have a lot of company, I drink nonstop just to deal with the lack of privacy. Wish me luck and the same to you!

DoItDee

Strong perfumes were the only thing that bothered me. My face would get pink and warm. Other than that, I had no side effects and no desire to drink because I knew I couldn't.

DoItDee

You are almost there. You can do it!

nanita

Thanks, Dee. Well,it's Tuesday morning and I made it. I actually went 25.5 hours w/o a drink a took my first Antabuse. I'm more excited than I've been in years and just know this is my answer. I feel a little shaky this morning but am going with Ron's suggestion of several small meals throughout the day (had a small breakfast this morning, one of my first in years) and since I don't like sports drinks, I'm adding juice to my club soda. I'm already feeling better. Thanks for your info and support!

Mongo

Good for you, Nanita.

You have a lot to look forward to. It will be all so worth it.

Ron