Has anyone taken antabuse and started drinking again, what happened?
 

Hi everyone

I was wondering about the drug antabuse and how useful it could be.

Some people who have posted here said it has worked for them.

Carol said about the dangers and not 'anyone' can take the drug as it depends on the state of their liver. Very useful advice.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-journal.html

I am not looking for medical advice but asking if anyone has had a bad experience on it or knows anyone who has (ie taking the drug whilst drinking) and just how ill are you? Also, how many days do you need to stop taking antabuse to drink without being ill?

Thanks

J

I'll just share I was once at an AA meeting and a nurse told me about someone who died on it. That was enough for me. As to days? Who knows? It's a risk I am sure not willing to take again. It's an old drug. It's like roulette. Try to guess how many days you can be off of it and not get sick. No thanks. I've taken it before and used to try to calculate things, but I knew it was always a gamble.

These days there are newer and safer drugs, like Naltrexone and Campral.

I don't know of too many people on antabuse that didn't drink on it. When I was on it I could drink one beer before I started feeling the ill effects and they were enough to keep me from drinking the second beer. Sometimes! The ill effects only lasted about an hour and were limited to hot flashes. I do mean hot too. I felt like my face was going to spontaneously combust at any minute. They recommend 4 days off before you can drink again but I tried sooner. Days one and two weren't enough but I could bear it at three days.
That's just my personal story but I would not recommend drinking on it because it won't allow your liver to filter the toxins out of the alcohol. Even if you can drink a little on it you are still poisoning yourself by drinking.
I personally can't believe the stuff is available on the market because any alcoholic will try drinking on it with almost no exceptions.

Well....:)
Antabuse and me

too used Antabuse in early sobriety.
I did drink whith it.... became so violently ill
I quit the Antabuse..... :eek:

The catalyst for my reaction was a single split of
champagne ..18 hours after the lowest dosage.

Be sure and check out the afterlife of Antabuse
I kinda remember it stays in your system a week
after the last pill. Also...you do need to have your
doctor monitor liver enzymes if you take the med.

You must be also very aware of foods and
products containing any type of alcohol.
Depending on a persons senstivity....an unknown factor
you can also get quite ill that way too.

I also had to see my doctor monthly for blood test
to make sure my liver was not failing.
Antabuse does nothing for cravings.

I did quit drinking 4 months later...
and did not use Antabuse to do so.

This can be true for anyone...:yup:

I would wait out the four/five days, but I always knew where the nearest ER was. What a way to live - counting the moments. I am against this drug as it can be lethal. This is truly when the cure is worse than the sickness. At any rate, it might work for some, but the risks are very real.

hello.i was given antabuse about four years ago when i was in a mental hospital.by the 5th day i had convinced the staff it was safe for me to go for a walk round the town with my boyfriend.i headed straight for the pub! i was violently sick after a couple of drinks,but just the once and on i carried with my merry spree (ugh),,that is my only experience with it.to me i would not take it again.if i was gona drink i was gona drink.and i was sick most days anyway so it was just a minor inconvenience.personally and i mean personally i think its a waste of time.but thats just me,if your serious about quiting then why would you take a drug thats going to make you sick if you drink? its just prolonging the whole thing.

The Dr. I saw years back prescribed me some with the stern warning that if I am going to drink with Antibuse, then I should plan on driving to the hospital before the first drink and be ready to call 911 from the parking lot.

Scared me enough to not drink... until I got off of it and quickly went back to vodka or whatever was around.

Antibuse will scare you away from a drink but it doesnt give you the discipline or coping tools to stay sober on your own.

Good luck and hang in there!

Hello Jackie
I took antibuse about 20 years ago. It was part of my probation to keep from going to jail. I had to go to an alcohol drug program where someone would watch me take it. I only tried drinking once while taking it. I had hot flashes (as someone else said) My heart was also pounding really bad.It's hard to describe. I was around 30 years old back then. I couldn't imagine taking it now. But there were people in the program in thier 50's taking it. I could drink a week or so after stopping it, but it was at least a month before I felt right, I'll never forget that feeling. I don't believe they will perscribe it to someone with liver problems, because it's hard on your liver.

I really never understood the utility of antabuse. Seems medieval and punitive to me. Besides, if people really want to drink, they just quit taking it for a few days. Shrug.

Campral and Revia, otoh, work very well at limiting cravings and craving-related anxiety.

I was on Campral for the first six months or so, and it really helped me get past some 'white knuckle' moments.

Hi Overman, I'll be calling my pdoc today to ask for either Campral or Revia. Which worked better for you?

Because antabuse does not cure alcoholism.

And it's dangerous.

Go to AA, learn to quit HAPPILY and get a whole new lease on a new wonderful life! Try it.

Cathy31
x

Please stay away from Antabuse. It has killed people that drank on it. It does nothing for cravings. My addiction specialist will not even prescribe to people who ask for it. It's an old-school medication to scare people from drinking

There are several newer meds that actually reduce cravings.

I take Campral and Naltexone for cravings -- and they work great. Both are safe. Naltrexone causes nausea for the first 2 days, then it goes away.

One more negative thing about Antabuse from people I know who took it....

You also have to be careful about how your food is prepared. Anything cooked in a wine sauce, for example, made my friend ill because of the Antabuse.

I don't know anything about Antabuse. I do take naltrexone. I recently posted about it here:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...altrexone.html

I took anabuse twice. The first time I was coerced into it by my Level-2 Alcohol education and Therapy Class directors back in the early 90s. I did not drink on it as I rarely have a problem "quitting" drinking. It's the staying sober part I have a problem with. Once I'm stopped, I can go for a time without a drink. But once I'm already started, there's no stopping me. The good people at the L2E&T place weaned me off of it and I stayed not drinking for a time after I served my legal obligations. I wanted to keep my darned driver's license and I did just that. Then not long after, I was back to drinking.

I took it a second time right after a bad bender after 9/11 in 2001 as I was coerced ( I told them I was quite sure A.A. would work for me:herewego and I didn't need the anabuse. They insisted that it couldn't hurt and would be added protection) to do it by a doctor in the treatment center I went to in order to try and save my job. There again, I didn't drink on it, but my family told me I smelled really bad... like rotten garlic (And no, I didn't normally smell like rotten-garlic) and I had an appendicitis shortly after... and quit after that. I told the treatment center to stick that anabuse in their ear. I remained sober going to A.A.:herewego for almost 2 years after that.

There was this girl who took anabuse when I did and she had really super bad acne. I wondered if the anabuse caused that for her. IDK.

@ Katie

I was on Revia back in '02, but I was still drinking off and on, so I don't know how well it worked...if at all.

The Campral did wonders for me, as craving-related anxiety seemed to rule my life for the first few months. It seemed to turn down the intensity of the cravings for me.

However, it isn't a 'magic pill' that will make everything go away. You'll still have stress and all the crappy feelings that go along with being sober for a while. Thats just part of the process.

Attending meetings (or at least surrounding yourself with sober people and activities), exercise, eat right, and find new interests to pursue...this is essential to good recovery. The pill itself will only address a fraction of your overall 'recovery'.

Good luck!

Great thread. I've considered it, and then tried to weigh the fear of the effects with my locomotive-force desire to drink. I wish that there was a "thank all" button.

Yeah, this is a great thread. I just don't believe in Antabuse, due to my own experience on it. I just counted the days until I could drink again. I had the whole strategy down. One pill a week and then not take anymore and wait for four or five days to pass and then make a decision as to take another pill. All in all, this was crazy-making for me.

Hiya Everyone

Thanks for all your replies. Based on all the things you have said I think I'll give this idea for me a wide berth.

Its great to be able to get first hand information about issues from you guys.

Have a good day.

J

After taking the antabuse was just 4/5days after the pill enough time to have a drink without getting sick still?

MrsDriver70...:wave:...Welcome to SR

Some people are more senstive to the drug.. so it's impossible to know what will happen in your situation.
We are not allowed to give medical advice...so please do check with the doctor that sggested you begin it.

I see you are relatively new to sober living...please do continue to move forward without alcohol.
Recovery is so beneficial and give yourself the chance to explore a better future...:hug:

I hope you will continue to post with us...well done on your on decideing to stop drinking.

I have my own questions. I've been taking antabuse for 51 days now. No drinking, no cravings, but a small, dull soreness in my left rib, and sometimes mild panic attacks. I also take 30mg prozac per day, and 30mg Buspar per day. I needed to stop drinking, because I am a binge drinker who would go for 2 or 3 day runs of drinking non stop, when I drank. I am also a recovering addict, but have been clean for 7 years now.

LOL! It is no gamble. xD
The meaning with antabuse is to not drink AT ALL. NONE. ZERO. And in case you want to start drinking again, you shall wait 14 days. After not taking antabuse in 14 days, it will be out of your system, and therefore (of course) not affect you at all. The reason antabuse is effective for many people is because they know that they can die if drinking ON it. For some people that is the only thing that can stop them from drinking, the fear.

Okay it is very important for everyone to know that you should not do what this guy have done. He tried drinking after 3 days he write, and no one should NEVER do that, it is VERY dangerous. If you have been taking antabuse, and want to drink again, you shall wait 14 days. It is 14, not 4, so no wonder he got sick. It is possible to die when drinking on antabuse. After 14 days, it will be out of the system, and you'll be completely safe while drinking again. But NEVER wait less than 14 days. Good.
And the meaning with antabuse is not to drink on it at all. Getting sick when drinking on it is the whole purpose of antabuse. Because it will hold you from doing it.

I don't understand this. If he is serious about quiting, then why should he take something that makes it impossible for him to drink, you ask? Shouldn't it be reversed? If he is seroius about quiting, then why shouldn't he take it? If you don't want to take something that makes it impossible for you to drink, then you're not really serious about quiting. And what you did is very dangerous.

There is no "risk" unless you can't control yourself. I'm baffled how much people DON'T KNOW about antabuse.

Drinking on antabuse = dangerous.
Not drinking on antabuse = harmless.
It will be out of your system after not taking it in 14 days.
It does not affect you in ANY ways as long as you don't drink on it.
It is designed to make you very ill if you drink on, because not drinking is the purpose of antabuse, and also the purpose of quiting drinking. (Funny enough.)

Hi Fable

welcome - I appreciate your passion, but this is a discussion board - people have free choice with their opinions.

if people are interested in Antabuse they need to speak with their Dr - like many medications it won't be suitable for everyone.

D

Hi, I take Antabuse now. Other than the occasional headache(which may not be related to the drug at all) I've experienced no side effects. I have to watch the foods that I eat and avoid caffiene( it can heighten the effects of caffiene) . Basically , I eat a lot healthier in the result. I was never a morning drinker so it's been very easy for me just to take the pill with my a.m. vitamins and remove the drinking option from the day. Odd thing that I have the discipline to take a pill every day but not the discipline to drink in moderation. I don't really have cravings but I do get the occasional inner thought "Wouldn't it be nice to have a....wait I can't ...so, I won't."
I use my formerly bar time to exercise, read , focus more on my business, etc. I did a lot if research on it before asking my doctor to prescribe it for me. I know the risks if drinking on it and have no intentions on experimenting. I want to quit ..why would I experiment? Any relapse is premeditated and it can stay in your system for up to two weeks, so it gives you ample time to rethink your relapse I'm certain that had I been forced to take against my will then I would have been consumed with figuring out how to work around the pill. That wasn't my case, I talked it over with my doctor in great depth before we reached the agreement for my prescription. Committed to blood work every few weeks and to monitor my BP. So far, it's working for me.

i considered antabuse, but as someone else said, it's staying stopped that was always the hard part for me. i know myself well enought to know that i would have worked out how to drink after a while.

i needed to start recovering emotionally and mentally as well as physically. i have 40 days tomorrow and have just started an outpatient treatment program. antabuse would, for me personally, have been a crutch.

I see. It is simply about the fact that there is a person claiming that antabuse should be out of the system after 4 days, or something like that. It is really very dangerous if anyone believed that. :(
And then I wanted to state the other facts about antabuse, because it is important to know about if taking it, if you don't, there is a risk of dying from it, and many docters are not imforming their patiens (sorry about my spelling mistakes) probably about the drug, which I don't understand in itself.
Anyway, it's just that it is really important to know some of these things, I am from Denmark myself where it comes from, and every alcoholic here are taking it, and folks actually dies because they don't have this information. Also, it is effective for some people who shouldn't be afraid of it, if they just know everything about it. So yeah... People do sometimes die when taking it and not having all neccesary information about it. That is why I am very seroius about it my posts.