Ladywind

My AH who I am sepatated from has just detoxed (again) and is going on them, so he tells me.What are they and how do they work?

Refiner

Hi Lady! They're called Antibuse and they will make you violently sick if he drinks while taking them. They may keep him sober but not necessarily in recovey-he'll need to work a program for that. What do you suppose will happen when he stops taking them?

happybeingme

If he takes them faithfully it is my understanding they block the brains pleasure response to drinking. It can make him violently ill if he drinks while on it and he could die if he drinks while on them.

INgal

Antabuse isn't for cravings. It's a deterrent because of its side effects when mixed with alcohol. The anti craving drug you might be talking about is Campral, Naltrexone, or the injectable Vivitrol. Our doctor thinks Vivitrol works the best. From what I understand, these drugs reduce any pleasure associated with whatever you are drinking or taking, but they don't make you ill.

freetosmile

Yes, they block dopamine ( part of the pleasure system). I was reading about naltrexone yesterday. Wondering how well it works... But I'm very skeptical

LexieCat

I don't have any personal experience with them, but I can say I haven't heard a lot of recovering alcoholics singing their praises. Of course, I'm in AA, where reliance on those kinds of medications would be viewed askance, but even over on the alcoholism forum here, which has a lot of people not using AA recovery, I haven't heard a whole lot of talk about success stories. I imagine they help some people, but they don't seem to be any kind of miracle "cure" for the desire to drink.

ETA: I also have the understanding (which may not be accurate) that they may be effective in reducing the desire to drink MORE--IOW, they don't necessarily head off the desire to have a drink in the first place.

dandylion

I've heard that nothing kills a buzz as effectively as a belly full of beer--and a head full of AA.


dandylion

Duckygirl1

My ex was put on naltrexone when he first went to rehab. It made him twitch. Seriously twitch. He was also on suboxone. I have no problem with people using whatever works because for some it's just a matter of keeping them alive. Then there is the matter of withdrawal. The fear of that pain was what kept my ex on this stuff for so long. He like most addicts can't stand any amount of discomfort.

The problem is that the underlying cause Of addiction has to be dealt with. The void is still there. My ex knew how to get around every drug in the world. He was like a freakin pharmacist. He knew how long you had to get the subs out of your system before you could do H and worked around it. So, the best drug in the world is useless if the patient doesn't want to get better. That may explain the lack of success rate on drugs.

SeriousKarma

I just randomly did a Google search for Antibuse reviews. The reviews I read were all glowing, but they were also all by alcoholics in the early stages of taking the drug, typically around two to four weeks.

That was not an unusual period of time for my STBXAH to go without drinking, and he would often attribute his "sobriety" to all sorts of magic bullets. Excersise, better sleep habits, meditation, a South Park episode (seriously), how much he loved us, the phases of the moon....

I guess Antibuse could be a useful tool to jumpstart a dedicated recovery program, but I'd be as skeptical of it as I would any of these other tools.

FeelingGreat

My doctor prescribed me Campral, while I was still actively drinking but wanted to stop. They are supposed to reduce cravings, but only after detox or time sober so prescribing them to me wasn't really using them as intended. They didn't make me sick, and they didn't reduce cravings in any meaningful way. The side effects were unpleasant and I stopped using them, but quit on my own shortly after.

LeeJane

My AH used Antabuse for a couple months. This being the drug that makes you violently sick if you drink when it is in your system.

He did not drink for that period of time. Thing is though you need to do recovery work to change the alkie mind set and way of seeing the world. So bottom line was he did not drink but was resentful, miserable as hell, angry all the time and basically viewed it as a punishment.

Then found an excuse to stop it and caught right back up to where his drinking had been. Plus added more in to catch up for wasted time.

Antabuse in itself is purely a tool to assist a quit but must be used with all the usual necessary other tools such as a good program and support.

It was a relief when he stopped white knuckling and drank to be honest. (To both of us!)

I think he saw it as an easy option. Also then he was able to say he hadn't had a drink for 8 weeks therefore he cant possibly an alcoholic (rolls eyes!). He saw it that the Antabuse didn't work so it wasn't his fault he drank again! Eyes also rolling!