Beard82

Hi All,
Today is day 1 for me. It's about the 50th day one in the last year. This morning I finally went to doctor and got blood tests done and spoke about my problem. He recommended Antabuse or disulfiram and explained why I can't drink and take it. Just looking for any thoughts on this drug, personal experiences etc.
Thank you.

Dee74

I've never taken it but I know quite a few people have.
You'll hear from them soon

D

penny74

If you can't drink because of the medicine you use, you wil have time and energy to work on other issues.
And not being able to drink because you will get very sick if you do, is always better then drinking.
Good luck !

CarolD

Here is my experience with Antabuse....
please note I did not follow the directions...
I did find it useful.

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

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 4 or 5 days
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 a few months later
by following the program of AA.

hope you can quit drinking...recovery rocks!

TorontoGuy28

I have taken it, and it works.

Problem was, for me at least, that I would convince myself I no longer needed it and ended up drunk.

There is also another medication out there called Revia, which helps with cravings. It basically takes away any positive feelings that a drink or two typically bring. Of course, it worked for me at first, but then like antabuse, I stoped taking it and ended up drunk.

My point here is, that a proper recovery/support program must be in place and meds simply compliment it.

totfit

If you are really motivated to stay sober, it can be a great tool to assist you. It helped me at a point that I just felt I was never going to be able to stay sober. Why not take it, the only thing you won't be able to do is drink.

lildawg

I'm probably going to get kicked off SR, but this made me :rotfxko

I'm so sorry, because it isn't funny. As I laughed, I thought, "I have finally found the people who are like me."

Sorry to interrupt the thread. I didn't use any of the drugs offered to help you quit drinking.

LexieCat

Yeah... I started taking Wellbutrin to quit smoking. It made me feel good enough (not high, just more "evened out") that I continued with it. But I kept drinking and worried about the combination, so I quit. The Wellbutrin.

My friend got a DWI, and his answer was--better stop driving.

We hang onto the booze no matter what else we have to give up.

Beard82

Thank you everyone, I appreciate you taking the time to post your experiences and support.
In a cruel twist, I got the prescription yesterday and all the local chemists are out of stock and can't get any from the manufacturer. I've been promised a pharmacy can supply on monday so fingers crossed.

Thanks Again
Beard

223

Antabuse for me anyways took away my usual "late afternoon decision" I'd wake up each morning swearing not drink that day but by 5pm I would change my mind.

I also tested it. I searched the internet to find out the "answer I wanted". It really works as advertised so heed CarolD's warning.

Beard82

I thought I'd post on my experiences on Antabuse once a week in the hope it might help others thinking of trying it. Whether it's a good experience or not, I guess time will tell.
Also posting for selfish reasons, keeps me honest if I have to report back.

Some background - I've been drinking quite heavily for the best part of 10 years. I'm 28 now. At the start it was a weekend thing, it progressed to 4 days a week and 6 or 7 days a week lately. 6 beers and a bottle of wine was an average night. Saw the doc 12 months ago and he didn't help. This time he was much better and has done blood tests. He mentioned he has more success with patients using antabuse to drink in moderation (take 5 days a week then stop and drink), rather than quitting altogether - I found this an interesting opinion, and very different to what I hear on here. Not sure which route I'll take yet.

I got the tablets on Monday and went out that night and drank - luckily I hadn't taken one. Tuesday I couldn't take one due to alcohol in my body but remained sober. This morning I woke up and had half a tablet (100mg) as prescribed by doctor. It made my day much easier. Normally of a morning I am determined not to drink, as the day progresses I get tired and irratable at work and just make 5pm before starting drinking to forget it all. Today knowing I couldn't drink even if I wanted to was easier than I thought. The mental anguish of trying to talk myself out of drinking just wasn't there. I'm nervous about inadvertintly setting off a reaction through medication (took ventolin today and crossed my fingers). All good.

I'll report back after the weekend - that will be a big test for me.

Oh, and I've started working through why I drank - I don't plan on taking this drug long term to keep me sober.

LexieCat

I find it rather odd that a doctor prescribing Antabuse would suggest moderate drinking as a solution. Most people don't require Antabuse unless they are finding they can't quit on their own, which suggests (actually screams) alcoholism, which isn't amenable to moderate drinking. Most alcoholics who couldn't drink for awhile (for any reason--Antabuse, court order, etc.) would, once the prohibition is taken away, drink their brains out. Maybe he's saying that because if he puts it that way he can call it a "success" because they aren't drinking every day.

Sounds like a hell of a way to manage a drinking problem. Painful, in fact.

Good luck, hopefully this will help you get off on a good start. But I'd be very leery of thinking you can drink moderately, with or without Antabuse.

JosetteCollins

It's hard to believe that doctors still prescribe Antabuse when we're in the age of Naltroxene and Campral. Naltroxene and Campral help take away the craving for alcohol and minimize the pleasure effect if you do drink. I imagine this would be safer than taking something that will make you violently ill if you come into contact with anything containing alcohol in it (including hand sanitizers and shampoos). Also, isn't Antabuse hard on the liver? It's good that you're under the care of a doctor. Good luck to you, I hope it all works out and that you stay safe!

DayTrader

Left to my own devices, it's not a stretch for me to see that I'd just quit taking the darn pills after a while and go right back to drinking the way I need/want to.

Abstinence is a good start... getting and staying recovered is the only way for me to remain abstinent.

suki44883

I agree, DayTrader. Both substances would be in my possession and it would still be my responsibility which one to take. It just wouldn't work for me. If it works for someone else, more power to 'em.

DayTrader

^^^^ agreed!!

CarolD

Hmm...
Please check the instructions provided
by the drug company.....

Antabuse has a after life when you quit.

Or....it certainly did when I used it way back when....
Please do read my earlier post to you

I'll get more graphic ...My face and hands turned
bright red and hot.....I had projectile vomiting ...my heart
was raceing and skipping...vicious headache...blurred vision..
.I could not sit up ...I felt faint.
Lucky for me....there was a nurse in the bar who knew
what was going on....caused I thought I was dying.

All of that happened 18 hours from my lowest dose of
Antabuse ...and a split of 13% champagne.

So....please check the directions to make certain.

JosetteCollins

OMG, that sounds awful. After reading your description of what Antabuse can do to a person 18 hours afterwards, I think it's barbaric that doctors continue to prescribe it. Naltroxene and/or an intensive outpatient treatment program would make much more sense! Yikes!

Beard82

Thanks for comments everyone.
Just an update on my progress. It's been about a month since I started on Antabuse. I was excited to start on it thinking it was a miracle cure. In some ways it has been, but for mine it's too dangerous to be beneficial long term.
I've hardly had a drink for 30 days which is great. I've also got a new outlook on life, much less stressed (made a massive mistake at work today and was ok with it because I've really been giving it my best), better relationship with my wife if wonderful too.

The downside to this medication is the danger of inadvertantly setting off the reaction. I've done this a few times with sauces and today with alchohol (after being off antabuse for 3 days as directed by doc - he's only had me on 50mg). Always mild reactions but too scary for me to continue.
The great thing it's done is to prove to me that I can not drink for extended periods - Now the next challenge is to do it without Antabuse.

Goodluck to those trying Antabuse, please be careful

bellakeller

Whew! I don't know about that Doctor's advice. Just reading all this makes my head spin. My understanding of Antibuse was that it was supposed to take all the thought of drinking OUT of the equation to free your mind for other stuff. But it sounds like with all the shimmying in your mind regarding what to take, when, how much, fear about getting sick, etc etc is just feeding the obsession about alcohol. Suddenly one is one's own chemist - I would be too lazy to mess with that and I was never great at Chemistry. That's too much work for me.

I hope things work out for you. I know that early in sobriety my sister took Antibuse with some success. She's sober but she ain't happy about it.