tasha26

Hi i am wondering if anyone has taken antebuse and mot become sick. Every post i have read suggests that if i am not getting sick then i am not taking the pill. I have been on 200mg for the past two weeks and had been sober for three months before starting antebuse. I slipped up and drank today, the last pill i had was yesterday. I am not sick at all. Nothing.

The only thing i can think of is that i drink calundula tea by the bucket which is renowned for clearing toxins for the liver. Maybe this has reduced the potency of the drug?

I am really wanting to know if its dangerous that i am not sick. I should not be able to process alcohol but i am. I feel a little dizzy off only one drink which is very odd for me though but nothing else.

Any advice or information would be great.

Dee74

Hi Tasha- welcome

Unfortunately none of us are Drs here - what you really need to do is go back to the Dr who prescribed the medication, discuss what is happening and look at other options.

I would do that with some urgency.

Please do try not to drink anymore tho - I would hate you to suddenly feel violently or seriously ill.

D

tasha26

Thanks Dee74

I did not drink anymore just the one. So hope to be back on track soon. I think the worst thing that happened was the anxiety i was having because i wasnt sick. That fear is a good deterent. I will go back and seek medical advice as i am so confused as to why nothing happened. And stay sober until then.

Thanks for the advice.

Soberwolf

Agree with Dee74 tasha stick close to SR & definitly seek a Dr advice

INgal

My son has been on Antabuse for 11 months and definitely has gotten sick after he tried drinking. He also recently became sick after touching an alcohol-based cleaner at work, so we know it works. He is now tapering down to 3x a week. We are very happy with Antabuse as a tool for sobriety but it must be combined with the desire to change, and backed up with meetings. Good Luck!

tasha26

Hi,

Thankyou for all the advice and support, I really needed it when I posted last.

I did get sick from the antebuse, It was explained to me that antebuse works by inhibiting the liver from producing the enzyme which metabolises alcohol. If you then consume alchol you get what they call "side effects."

Side effects can range from nausea, diorreah, vomiting, low BP, hot flushes, chest pain and cardio vascular complications. (there are more)
I got very low BP to the point where I was in and out of consciousness, I am still recovering from this (horrible).

I was first told that antebuse would stop me from drinking by making me sick if I consumed alcohol, this is not the case for everybody. It can be fatal due to the cardiovascular complication and low BP, there have deaths because of alcohol use when taking antebuse. I am not giving medical advice, I want to share because if you think you can drink on antebuse, you cannot and it can be very serious and life threatening. You will get one if not more of the side effects if you drink, you may not relise it is a side effect until it is serious (like me) I just happened to get extremely low BP instead of the usual vomiting side effect which is more common.

Also it can take 21 days for the liver to return to normal, so if you skip a day it does not mean that you will be safe.
Note: there are little or no side effects from antebuse as long as you do not go anywhere near alcohol.
I am sober, on a new drug that is safer and back at AA!! YAY

Thankyou again for the support, I had never used an online support before and it was so nice to feel welcome and support and cared for. Thankyou.

endlesspatience

I nearly died when I drank on antebuse. That showed me that there are better ways to address alcoholism. Most people I meet in recovery seem to agree.

tasha26

I am sorry to hear that, from what I have learnt it is a dangerous drug. What this experience taught me is how much I want my sobriety, I wanted it before, but now I want it more than anything but I still need the extra help.

Dee74

I'm glad you're ok Tasha.

D

shortstop81

Antabuse shouldn't be used in lieu of a recovery program. But speaking for myself - it's saved me more than a few times in the past few weeks when I needed that extra assurance.