Is it possible to take antabuse and not get sick?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: VA
Posts: 85
Is it possible to take antabuse and not get sick?
My AH is on Antabuse, but has been drinking NA Beers and it has absolutely no ill effect on him. NA beer has alcohol in it, and he had four on Saturday - why wouldn't he get sick? I've watched him take the pills and I've checked his mouth to make sure he swallowed. I've even placed the pills in his mouth.
This is actually a really big deal because if Antabuse isn't effecting him when drinks NA, what happens if he decides that they might not work at all? Well, I found that out today. Came home and, on a hunch, had him blow into the breathalyzer and he had not only been drinking - the real stuff not the NA - but he blew a .15!!!
I swear - I have watched him take the antabuse every day since Thursday. I checked the pills to make sure they were in fact Antabuse (the numbers/letters on the pills matched what was on the prescription). Could it be a bum batch or has he figured out some clever new way (that no one else seems to have figured out) to not be impacted by the stuff? WTF!!!
This is actually a really big deal because if Antabuse isn't effecting him when drinks NA, what happens if he decides that they might not work at all? Well, I found that out today. Came home and, on a hunch, had him blow into the breathalyzer and he had not only been drinking - the real stuff not the NA - but he blew a .15!!!
I swear - I have watched him take the antabuse every day since Thursday. I checked the pills to make sure they were in fact Antabuse (the numbers/letters on the pills matched what was on the prescription). Could it be a bum batch or has he figured out some clever new way (that no one else seems to have figured out) to not be impacted by the stuff? WTF!!!
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 158
The only thing I know in my heart of hearts is that nothing humans have invented short of a straitjacket will keep a desperate alcoholic from drinking.
You have my total sympathy and prayers. I'm so sorry you're both here again after another run through detox.
Chris
You have my total sympathy and prayers. I'm so sorry you're both here again after another run through detox.
Chris
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
I've never met anyone on Antabuse who did not become
ill when they draank with it.
I
why he is not.
I drank 1 split of champagne while on the lowest dose.
It made me sooo sick ...I quit the Antabuse....
3 months later....I did stop drinking without Antabuse.
I finally wanted to quit more than I wanted to drink
All my best to both of you
ill when they draank with it.
I
why he is not.I drank 1 split of champagne while on the lowest dose.
It made me sooo sick ...I quit the Antabuse....
3 months later....I did stop drinking without Antabuse.
I finally wanted to quit more than I wanted to drink
All my best to both of you
Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,947
Hey puckett!
I don't know how he could blow a .15 and not be sick on the antabuse.
He should be working his own program. You are giving him his antabuse, you watch him take it, you monitor his BAC... Hmm... Until he's ready to do this himself, I think you are setting yourself up for some heartache... You are not his nurse, or a cop.... you are his wife.
Prayers to you.
Mark
I don't know how he could blow a .15 and not be sick on the antabuse.
He should be working his own program. You are giving him his antabuse, you watch him take it, you monitor his BAC... Hmm... Until he's ready to do this himself, I think you are setting yourself up for some heartache... You are not his nurse, or a cop.... you are his wife.
Prayers to you.
Mark
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: KC MO
Posts: 980
I took that stuff. NA beer, I could feel the effects. 1 real beer and I thought I was gonna die.
I'll bet he is somehow spitting out the pills. I have never heard of anyone that that stuff didn't work on, but I didn't know that many people taking it. I was in a Traffic related alcohol drug program, and everyone there had to take it. I talked to several people that "tested"it. Everyone had the same reaction.
As others have said, he has to want to quit. But believe me, I know it ain't that easy.:praying
Fred
I'll bet he is somehow spitting out the pills. I have never heard of anyone that that stuff didn't work on, but I didn't know that many people taking it. I was in a Traffic related alcohol drug program, and everyone there had to take it. I talked to several people that "tested"it. Everyone had the same reaction.
As others have said, he has to want to quit. But believe me, I know it ain't that easy.:praying
Fred
Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 583
Umm! Sorry, going to be a little strong here but with love.
Who died and put you in charge of your husbands choices?
I know it 100% sucks, but you can not control him. You will drive yourself nuts. Your husband will get sober if/when he is willing on his time and no one elses. That is a sad fact but true.
Have you looked into Alanon? You will find MUCH support there.
And yes I know what you are going thru. My wife is about 48ish days sober.
Who died and put you in charge of your husbands choices?
I know it 100% sucks, but you can not control him. You will drive yourself nuts. Your husband will get sober if/when he is willing on his time and no one elses. That is a sad fact but true.
Have you looked into Alanon? You will find MUCH support there.
And yes I know what you are going thru. My wife is about 48ish days sober.
Originally Posted by puckettcg 
My AH is on Antabuse, but has been drinking NA Beers and it has absolutely no ill effect on him. NA beer has alcohol in it, and he had four on Saturday - why wouldn't he get sick? I've watched him take the pills and I've checked his mouth to make sure he swallowed. I've even placed the pills in his mouth.
This is actually a really big deal because if Antabuse isn't effecting him when drinks NA, what happens if he decides that they might not work at all? Well, I found that out today. Came home and, on a hunch, had him blow into the breathalyzer and he had not only been drinking - the real stuff not the NA - but he blew a .15!!!
I swear - I have watched him take the antabuse every day since Thursday. I checked the pills to make sure they were in fact Antabuse (the numbers/letters on the pills matched what was on the prescription). Could it be a bum batch or has he figured out some clever new way (that no one else seems to have figured out) to not be impacted by the stuff? WTF!!!
This is actually a really big deal because if Antabuse isn't effecting him when drinks NA, what happens if he decides that they might not work at all? Well, I found that out today. Came home and, on a hunch, had him blow into the breathalyzer and he had not only been drinking - the real stuff not the NA - but he blew a .15!!!
I swear - I have watched him take the antabuse every day since Thursday. I checked the pills to make sure they were in fact Antabuse (the numbers/letters on the pills matched what was on the prescription). Could it be a bum batch or has he figured out some clever new way (that no one else seems to have figured out) to not be impacted by the stuff? WTF!!!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: LA - Lower Alabama
Posts: 5,068
There are people who don't get sick if they drink and take antabuse, but they are very rare.
I think it is much more likely he is not taking them. Unless you watch him take it, and then have a look in his mouth (like a cop doing a cavity search), then you do not know if he is taking it.
Alcoholics are the biggest scammers in the world, he could be scamming you in some other way. I think this is more likely than him changing the chemical reactions in a human body.
I think it is much more likely he is not taking them. Unless you watch him take it, and then have a look in his mouth (like a cop doing a cavity search), then you do not know if he is taking it.
Alcoholics are the biggest scammers in the world, he could be scamming you in some other way. I think this is more likely than him changing the chemical reactions in a human body.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Bay Area, California
Posts: 61
Originally Posted by puckettcg
I've watched him take the pills and I've checked his mouth to make sure he swallowed. I've even placed the pills in his mouth.
If your husband wants recovery he has to do it himself. Trying to micro-manage his recovery is not your job nor will it help him.
The only way an alcoholic gets recovery is if they want it bad enough.
I don't want to take his inventory, but an alcoholic sitting around drinking NA beer is like a pyromaniac working for a gasoline distributor.
--Outvoid--
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 4,682
I was on antabuse, didn't drink because the consequence i had just suffered kept me dry...for a time...i know that some people can drink some alcohol on antabuse and not get violantly ill but to get pissed on it doesn't sound right at all!
IMO him drinking NA beer is like a heroin addict shooting up with saline fluid and saying don't worry it's not got any heroin in it...this isn't even an attempt to get sober at any level...just keep working on yourself:-)
IMO him drinking NA beer is like a heroin addict shooting up with saline fluid and saying don't worry it's not got any heroin in it...this isn't even an attempt to get sober at any level...just keep working on yourself:-)
Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 652
Wow.. he must be very cunning !
l switched my pills to vitamin pills that looked like them and fooled everyone ( exept myself) or l would spit them out afterwoods.
Seems he has a way of hiding them in his mouth and the spitting them out.
Otherwise he would be very, very sick.
And l agree with some of the others..you should let him take his own responsibility.
You checking him taking the pills won't work.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams
l switched my pills to vitamin pills that looked like them and fooled everyone ( exept myself) or l would spit them out afterwoods.
Seems he has a way of hiding them in his mouth and the spitting them out.
Otherwise he would be very, very sick.
And l agree with some of the others..you should let him take his own responsibility.
You checking him taking the pills won't work.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams
Heathen
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: La La Land, USA
Posts: 2,567
My exboyfriend used to get drunk off his ass all the time when he was on antabuse, in alcohol classes, and on house arrest.
Gotta ditto the tough love in Always' post tho.. get help for yourself, if he doesn't want to quit, he wont. Are you ok with him continuing drinking? The only boundaries you can set are the ones within yourself and what you find acceptable for YOUR life.
Gotta ditto the tough love in Always' post tho.. get help for yourself, if he doesn't want to quit, he wont. Are you ok with him continuing drinking? The only boundaries you can set are the ones within yourself and what you find acceptable for YOUR life.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 158
This might be the point where the next time he's going through the pain of sobering up, you call your local AA intergroup and request they send some guys on a 12th-step call. Make no mistake -- he has to want his sobriety for himself. But as for not being able to help him and just worrying about yourself, well, no -- because who is going to just sit around and watch a loved one die, and because getting some guys out is something you can do. Let him be the one to turn them away, two guys who were once in his exact same shoes, now recovered. You never know. The options are getting to be very few.
Chris
Chris
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by puckettcg
3
This is actually a really big deal because if Antabuse isn't effecting him when drinks NA, what happens if he decides that they might not work at all? Well, I found that out today. Came home and, on a hunch, had him blow into the breathalyzer and he had not only been drinking - the real stuff not the NA - but he blew a .15!!!
This is actually a really big deal because if Antabuse isn't effecting him when drinks NA, what happens if he decides that they might not work at all? Well, I found that out today. Came home and, on a hunch, had him blow into the breathalyzer and he had not only been drinking - the real stuff not the NA - but he blew a .15!!!
Contrary to popular belief alcoholics are not lacking in will-power. The fact is, alcoholics have an abundance of will-power. Enough to overcome puking our guts out and going right back to the bottle.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: VA
Posts: 85
Actually, I think the dose was the problem. He'd only been on it a couple of days and he told me later that he had tried beer to see what would happen. That was last Saturday and I wasn't home at the time, but when I came home his face was flush which he claimed was probably from a NA beer had drank. The next day he started talking about maybe taking two pills as his prescription was 250 mg, and I resisted. So, he decided to drink more on Monday - that still didn't do it, but he took 500 mg on Tuesday - and drank that afternoon - and that's when I nailed him with the breathalyzer. He did get sick, but it took longer. He said he felt bad immediately with a headache and his face got real hot, but it wasn't until several hours later that he started throwing up. On Wednesday he reacted to his aftershave (a mild reaction - his face got flush - but a reaction nonetheless).
We had read somewhere that typically you start with 500 mg for the first 1-2 weeks and then go to 250 mg for maintenance. He started on 250 and it had only been a couple of days, so I suppose it hadn't had time to build up in his system. He's been taking 500 mg on his own since then, and no I haven't been inspecting him or watching him take it.
He said that he wanted to see what would happen. He could be lying, but he kept insisting he needed to take 500 mg. He also said he got no high or pleasurable feeling from it - which may be from the Naltroxene. In a way, I guess I always knew he'd test it eventually - and now that he has, we'll see what happens from there.
For now, though, I'm taking the advice of those on this board. If he truly wants to quit, he will but I'm not going to stand over his shoulder and make him take the medicine. He's been good the last couple of days, and is at his doctor's this morning.
Thanks for everyone's comments.
We had read somewhere that typically you start with 500 mg for the first 1-2 weeks and then go to 250 mg for maintenance. He started on 250 and it had only been a couple of days, so I suppose it hadn't had time to build up in his system. He's been taking 500 mg on his own since then, and no I haven't been inspecting him or watching him take it.
He said that he wanted to see what would happen. He could be lying, but he kept insisting he needed to take 500 mg. He also said he got no high or pleasurable feeling from it - which may be from the Naltroxene. In a way, I guess I always knew he'd test it eventually - and now that he has, we'll see what happens from there.
For now, though, I'm taking the advice of those on this board. If he truly wants to quit, he will but I'm not going to stand over his shoulder and make him take the medicine. He's been good the last couple of days, and is at his doctor's this morning.
Thanks for everyone's comments.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Good to know he is getting professional advice.
Thanks for the update.
As this thread has served it's purpose
and you are using the Friends & Family Forum
for your personal support.....
I am closing this one.
All my best to both of you.....
Thanks for the update.
As this thread has served it's purpose
and you are using the Friends & Family Forum
for your personal support.....
I am closing this one.
All my best to both of you.....
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