D104

I have only recently heard about this drug... Have many people tried it?
Can they share their experiences so I can ascertain whether I should request this from my Dr?
Most importantly - does it work? Are there horrid side effects? Any info would be welcome.
Thanks

Dee74

Never tried it...here's a recent thread tho:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...king-pill.html

D

tomb

I was on antabuse and decided to drink. I was taken to a hospital and put on a heart monitor. I believe it came close to killing me.

Natom

The problem with antabuse, and this is not from my experience but from the experience of friends and working in the addiction sector. I can say that not only is it dangerous to drink whilst on antabuse but it also gives you a false sense of safety and security. If you wanna drink you are going to drink regardless of whether you are on antabuse or not. If you really want to stop I wouldn't rely on antabuse to keep you sober. You're just swapping one thing for another.

Natom.

totfit

I had a great experience with Antabuse. If one is motivated to stay sober, but keep slipping, it can be the bit of extra motivation they need. When taking it there is no "out". This is what helped me. I had no compulsion to drink as I know exactly what the result would be. It killed my compulsion because of this. Each person has different experiences, but it is a tool that saved me during a very rough patch many years ago.

D104

Thanks tf. I'll look into it

Quinne

It does have its merits-I was on it for a short period of time and it gave me a bit of "breathing space". But that was it, it was erroneous of me to think it would "fix" my mindset-I stopped taking it and put minimal effort into AA meetings. I relapsed after 6 months of abstinence, it was rubbish in terms of emotional sobriety.

I've been committed to AA for 6 months and stopped taking it about 1 month in. I NEED a program that I can work and it works just fine

Actually, I found a couple of half-empty bottles in my bottom drawer the other day. It was pretty liberating flushing those tablets down the toilet I don't have to run off fear-not when I have faith

Xx

tehmazzyland

Although I didn't try it myself, I've had a few friends who used antabuse. It helped some, and not others. The difference (as far as I can tell) is in how serious you are in your determination to stop drinking.

If you genuinely want to stop drinking, and are determined to do anything to stop, then antabuse could be a useful tool. The guy I shouted out a thanks to in the gratitude section has been sober for as long as we've known each other (we met in rehab). He took antabuse for about a year (I think) when he went back home from the rehab. It helped him be aware there was no point in a drink, even if he felt a slight temptation. But he was also determinded that any passing thought-niggle was just that and so it kind of got him over each little bump until he was used to getting past them with or without the help.

Other friends were less... they had their own troubles, shall we say. And if you're in that frame of mind, then nothing will stop you drinking. Which meant they'd take it for a few days, be very confident in themselves, then drink, get ill, stop taking it, drink more.

Of the people I knew who treated it in this way, most are dead.

It is not a solution. The only solution is your own decision to stop. It can be, along with many other things, a help.

It all depends on you. As with any abstinence technique, it isn't the technique that provides the solution, it is you. If you are determined to stop, and prepared to do whatever it takes - then whatever it takes will help.

nycguy83

I have 8 months sober and am starting antabuse 125mg, which is a low dose to reduce any side effects. I think it will be a good insurance policy.

escapist

If you take antabuse you WILL stop drinking. Also, anything that contains alcohol will have a negative effect on you. I know this from personal experience. No perfume, mouthwash, cooking ingredients. There is a long list.

wpainterw

Antabuse involves very substantial risks of heart failure or death if you drink when taking it. In addition, even if you do not drink, all it buys you is time, an interval when you aren't drinking. Once you stop taking antabuse you're right back where you were before. Also, and very important, the likelihood is that during this interval of "antabuse sobriety" you probably never took the trouble or had the motivation to get started on a long term recovery program. Once you stop taking it, there is a risk that you say to yourself, "I'm O.K. now. I can handle it. I'm cured. I can drink moderately". For many a recipe for disaster. It happened to me several times. Antabuse added nothing to my long term recovery.

W.

Dee74

are you still out there D104?

D

ChipAwayBoy

D104, I have a filled prescription waiting for me to pick up at the pharmacy. I requested it from my Dr. because I was tired of drinking and how it was negatively impacting my life. Christman Eve was my last bender. I've been sober three days. I'm going to purchase my antabuse, but I'm not going to take it unless I start drinking again. And I'm going to try my f#$%ing best not to start.

wpainterw

If you start drinking again, I suggest that you consult your doctor to determine when it is safe for you to begin taking the antabuse. Otherwise you might get serious side effects which could be life threatening.

W.

ChipAwayBoy

Thank you W. I've been advised by my Dr. about the ramifications. Right now, just the thought of taking the antabuse is providing me with enough motivation to not drink!

Minimus

I tried it a number of times in the usual search for a quick fix. All I did was take the Antabuse. No treatment, no recovery, no AA. Just Antabuse. I drank on it and can verify that it works. Eventually I began to ask myself just why I was taking something that made me sick when I drank. So I stopped. Not drinking, of course. The Antabuse. This seems to be the problem with alcoholics and Antabuse.

But I have personally known people for whom Antabuse seems to have been a definite help in early recovery. These were people who were doing more than taking Antabuse to stay sober, e.g. rehab, AA, therapist, etc. They were giving it all they had and not relying on a quick fix. Their opinion was that it was a definite help to them in the beginning. They did not take it very long.

So it looks to me like it helps a small number of people who are strongly motivated and who are working some kind of a recovery program with the latter being the first and main thing. It never did anything but delay the problem for me, because when I took it I was not willing to do anything else.

As far as the risks of taking it... it is mainly a guess, but I suspect if one put all of the alcoholics who had ever died from taking Antabuse on one side of the scales, and all of the alcoholics who had ever died from drinking alcohol sans Antabuse on the other, there would probably not be much of a comparison. There is something humorous about the solicitude of a drinking alcoholic for their health when it comes to Antabuse.

nycguy83

Antabuse works best for people who already have a bit of sobriety, have a strong motivation to stay sober, but who have a history of relapses.

It will not help if one has not yet stopped drinking, nor will it help if someone is willing to wait out 3 days of not taking the med to drink without getting sick.

That said, I am not sure why so many people in recovery are so hostile to medications that attempt to help people stop drinking. Many people find that 12-step alone is not sufficient, and many other people are just not going to attend 12-step for whatever reason.

Surely these suffering people deserve any and all help they can get, through therapy, medication, alternative programs like SMART or LifeRing, or whatever else is out there. No one deserves to suffer through active addiction or alcoholism.