NewBeginning010

Hi Everyone,

I have been fighting my alcoholism for quite a few years & only recently started to admit to myself & others that I have a problem.

I have been able to stay sober for about a month but seem to let myself think I can drink or end up in a situation where others are drinking (my job involves a lot of events/parties) and I end up picking up.

I messed up again badly last week and need to give this another shot. I am thinking that having Antabuse &/or Campral may be helpful.

Now I have done a search on here & found some loose threads about it but couldn't seem to find anything conclusive (not that I will...)

Can you please share your thoughts & experience please. I did learn on Wikipedia that Antabuse was invented in 1948 as a remedy for parasites... kinda scary & interesting at the same time.

"The drug's action was discovered by accident in 1948 by the researchers Erik Jacobsen, Jens Hald, and Keneth Ferguson at the Danish drug company Medicinalco. The substance was intended to provide a remedy for parasitic infestations; however, workers testing the substance on themselves reported severe symptoms after alcohol consumption."

Anyway... I know some might think that taking one or both of these meds is giving up one drug for another and others...

Thanks for your input & all of the best for your continued sobriety ;-)

Sincerely,

NB (Just finished day 2 ;-)

Disulfiram - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Antabuse Link)

Acamprosate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Campral Link)

penny74

l use a small dose of antabuse since 3 weeks ( called 'refusal" in Holland)
It will prevent you from drinking.
If you do drink, you will get a rapid heart beat, red face, be very, very sick and wish you had not done it, and will never do it again.
l have heard stories about people drinking right through it, but even l wouldn't do that.
Advantage is that you don't drink and and for me 80 % of my problems dissapeared within a week.
What l do find scary is that l can't drink.
What if something terrible happens and l can't escape in alcohol ?
But that is the alcoholic in me that l am now working on.
Just try it for a while and see what life looks like without being able to drink.
In small doses it should not have any side affects, my doctor told me.
Be lucky.. !!


You never know what is enough, until you know what is more than enough. ~William Blake, Proverbs of Hell

sfgirl

I take Naltrexone which is another drug that is more like Campral than Antabuse in that it is supposed to help with cravings but you can still actually drink on it. In fact there is one method that is supposed to teach people to learn to drink normally using it which strikes me as a little crazy but it seems to have worked for a few people I guess.

In reality I have no idea how much it helps because I have little to compare it to. However, I do feel it cannot hurt. It doesn't have any side effects for me. It is cheap because it is available in generic (I buy it at Costco pharmacy for $45 dollars a month— I am uninsured). And it might be helping a lot. I did relapse once for one night about one month in (I'm now six months) and throughout the night I kept feeling like I should go home and stop drinking and almost did multiple times, something that I don't feel I would have normally felt— it felt more physical than mental. I also got right back on the wagon the next day. Again though I figure it the possible pros outweigh the cons and so far so good so why not? Naltrexone even has some studies that says in low doses it reduces cancers so maybe it even has positive side effects??? Who knows?

As for replacing one drug for another with Naltrexone that seems silly since there is no mood-altering effect whatsoever.

Naltrexone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

louis

Hi...

I was given Campral to take by my doctor... like sfgirl said i have nothing to compare it to either... I've been taking it for about 2months now... i am just one months sober... itis recommended you take it for up to a year when prescribed it....
Unfortunaely i have never been much good at taking any medication so im lucky if i remember to take them...
They are meant to help with the physical cravings of alcohol... but i do still have them...(probably cos i dont take them right).... what i actually need is something to stop the psychological cravings.... but i think that is called time and support which we all have here.
Physical syptoms i get from them is a dodgy stomache... but its a small price to pay for what my stomache was like with alcohol.

Be well
louis

littlefish

I took antabuse until recently through my outpatient addiction therapy clinic. I was consuming huge amounts of alcohol on a daily basis and felt like I wouldn't have the strength to stay away from alcohol without antabuse. I viewed it as a "jump starter" for sobriety and had decided along with my addiction therapist that i would stop at 6 months, and I did. so I no longer take antabuse and I am still sober.

I can tell you a little bit about my attitude towards antabuse: I viewed it only as a training wheel for my sobriety: I wanted to have it as a safeguard while I worked hard at getting into the AA program and while I intensified my outpatient activity: seeing a therapist once a week, having my blood work done, seeing my doc. Etc. I worked for the day when I could depend wholly on AA and my private therapy to stay sober, and, knock on wood, it's working.

Antabuse can be successful and it can be unsuccessful. I tried using antabuse about ten years ago without any kind of program and I went directly back to drinking after I stopped using it.

It is clearly not successful with some people: antabuse is not effective for those who risk the physical effects of mixing the two. I never risked it, so it was a good drug for me in the context of how I used it.

Worrying that exchanging one drug for another is not really anything to worry about because you don't get high on antabuse. It is not like methadone in that respect. You will feel nothing with antabuse - no physical or mental effects. If you don't drink. If you do it will kick your butt.

least

I was prescribed Campral last year for several months. My pdoc told me it was to help restore the brain's normal chemistry and help reduce cravings. I found it helpful and didn't notice any side effects.

Taking5

I agree with the sentiments that Antabuse or any other drug will not work very well without a program of recovery, AA or otherwise.

By the way Antabuse was accidentally discovered in a rubber factory when none of the workers at the factory could ingest alcohol without getting sick. This was 1937 if I recall, way before any drug company got ahold of it.

CarolD

I did use Antabuse off and on for about a year.
Did it keep me sober? No

If you do choose to use Antabuse....please make certain
to get the blood work done as suggested.

Also..believe the warnings......
I became violently sick when I drank ...on the lowest dose
of Antabuse.....a split of champagne...18 hours afer my pill.

I hope you will be seeing your doctor before using anything.
Be both safe and sober

mtnmagic

Hi! Thought I would respond.

I have taken Antabuse and drank on it more then once. You see, everytime I drink it ends with me feeling horrible. Drinking on antabuse was just more of the same. It didn't stop me.

I was perscribed Campral also. My doctor said it would help the craving, and it didn't do a thing for that. (or anything else for me, for that matter.)

Last, in the ER the doctor I saw told me I was probably not taking the med's in doses needed to have the effect they should have. He perscribed Naltrexone. It wasn't a magic bullet, but it did stop the awful cravings.

All the doctors that I have turned to have told me that I need to have a strong program of recovery. They told me that 12 step was the most popular and easiest to access. What ever I choose, the important thing seems to be accountable to myself and those close to me.

HideorSeek

I, too, have tried Antabuse. I wanted something that would do for me what I was unable to do for myself: forced abstinence. And it worked. Although it does nothing for cravings, it removed all of my "wiggle" room. Should I or shouldn't I? On antabuse, you can't or you will get violently ill. Also, you just can't stop taking it and then drink as it stays in your system for up to 2 weeks. So it prevented me from drinking on any given day and "forced" me to think b4 drinking (up to 2 weeks), thereby eliminating any impulsive actions on my part. I would take it in the am, when my resolve was the strongest and my delight in sobriety was the greatest. By 5 pm (my danger zone), if I was feeling sketchy, the decision was taken out of my hands and slowly I built up days and months. Frankly, for me, it was a godsend. I also have a scrip for Campral, but have never taken it (altho the drug description intrigued me). But now, I have close to 60 days and I'm not sure it would do anything as I have no physical cravings. Now the mind is another thing...but that's something I use SR and AA for. My opinion is to ask yourself..."what do I need to do to get sober?" And do THAT.

NewBeginning010

Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts. And "Hide" the "Wiggle Room" is exactly where I fail, I am fine before & after I am our of that "moment".

I think both may be good for me especially Antabuse, I will be scheduling a meeting with my doctor and discuss it with her.

Please continue posting if you have any other thoughts or experiences to share.

Peace,

NB

HideorSeek

Hey NB! Hopefully you are doing well! Just a few other thoughts to share: I am a smallish woman (about 118 lbs) and found that my dose of 250 mg wreaked havoc with my intestines (ahem), so I split the pills in half. Because the fear of reaction is the main deterrent to drinking, this worked just as well. frankly, I could have been given a placebo and, because I was so afraid of the consequences and you don't feel any "different", I STILL wouldn't have tested it! LOL.

Anyways, I started it back in Oct and was sober for 54 days. Then the "perfect storm" of STUFF happened and I drank. (I was off the Antabuse for 2 weeks). I diddled around (one nighters of drinking...falling prey to the "wiggle room") until early Feb and then said, OK, back to Antabuse for me...And have been sober since. I think what it has given me is the opportunity to experience life sober and the longer I go, the crazier my past seems. Things (like hiding and lying) that seemed "normal" at the time...well..I just shake my head now. And the thing is, the longer I go, the more I WANT (as opposed to NEED) sobriety. That makes a huge difference to me. Plus, the more "time" I have, the less I want to go back and start over.

Because I have them, I just started a half dose of Campral. I'll let you know what happens...as I said, I really don't have physical cravings any more (those were what killed me b4...I would always cave on day 3 or 4), but who knows. It's supposed to "restore" one's brain chemistry. If I don't feel any differently, I'll stop taking them. Maybe they'll make me brilliant, witty and beautiful! oh...and removing wrinkles would be nice as well....

Pinkcuda

I've never met a person on Antabuse that didn't try drinking on it at least once. I could get a second beer in before it got unbearable. I took it and it had to be monitored. I was under a court order. I was sat in a room where I had to crush it up and mix it with water. Otherwise I would just slip the pill under my tongue and spit it out as soon as I left the building. I had to drink it and sit in front of a Counselor for 20 minutes so I could digest it. Otherwise I would step in the alley and barf it up.
My experience with Antabuse was that it couldn't stop a motivated drinker.

tribal1969

I was given a scrip for campral the last time i tried to stop drinking 2 yrs ago.I decided i would not get it because of the cost.I started back drinking after 5 weeks sober.I am trying to quit again.The longest i have made it without a drink is 5 nights.I have to make 2 weeks before my doctor will give me another script.Today is day 4. When i get to 2 weeks i am going back to the doctor and get the script and this time i am going to take it.I need all the help i can get.

sfgirl

I definitely agree with the people that are saying that the pill is a complement to a program not a substitute for one.

HideorSeek

I absolutely agree with all of you! I think that I'm the kind of person who is more likely to do what others ask of me rather than what I ask of myself. So, the antabuse was "telling" me I couldn't drink, so I didn't. When I told myself not to drink,I didn't listen. But, I agree, the bottom line is you've got to want sobriety. For me antabuse was inpatient without the slippers...

ufe

Naltrexone doesn't really do anything for cravings (IMHO), it actually requires you to drink while you take it (only at safe levels), and this advice is from the "sinclair method".

Two different doctors I have seen don't even know about this "psychological extinction" purpose of naltrexone, but have prescribed it anyway. Most doctors are pretty dubious about Campral. If it works, ok, but it's not a magic bullet. Antabuse can actually kill you if you drink on it. Quite different from the other meds.

ufe

PS. You really need some professional mental help with this problem. NO medication will help you, particularly if you're resistant to it.

Go with the flow, and remember you are worth saving.

tribal1969

If you do decide to try campral please keep use posted.I was told i had to go 2 weeks without drinking before my doctor will give it to me.Today i am on number 6.I feel so tired and i am feeling very mad and frustrated because of it.As soon as i get to the 2 week mark i am going to go and get some.I want my brain to get back to normal soon as possible.

craze283

I have done a couple of trial with the campral. Hard to tell if it really helped but i agree with some of the others on here.....It cant hurt. I have and appointment with the doc tomorrow and I think he is going to give me a script for it again. I will continue to take it for a while. I do hope their is a generic but we have pretty good insurance so if not as long as i get a mail order it shouldnt be too bad. I dont think any of it is a miracle cure but a little help cant hurt and campral is completely safe and i had no side effects from it.