Antabuse
 

What are your thoughts about Antabuse? I know it is not a cure, but it might help me stay sober even when I let my guard down. I used it a couple years ago and was sober for 5 months.

Unless you take it indefinitely, and regularly, it is a stopgap measure, not unlike hiding from alcohol. People have been known to stop taking it deliberately, just as they have been known to stop hiding from alcohol.

I'm not sure everyone can take it indefinitely, though, since it does have side effects, and taxes the liver. I would wager that a doctor who prescribes it would take that into account.

Many have found it very helpful to stay clean, and it sounds like it's worked for you as well. If you are asking about it, it sounds like now is a good time to get back on it.

It does help take some decision fatigue away. I would take one in the morning when I feel best about sobriety and I knew I was going to be alcohol free for several days.

I am considering taking it again. I am sober 45 days give or take but I am not doing well and it's been a rough ride. Perhaps the most brutal darkest days of my life. But I'm here and sober.

There's a guy goes to my local AA meetings who was a real 'down and out', rough outdoor sleeper (and who looks the part!) - a hell of a nice guy, who often says her never begged, always worked but would rather spend him money on booze than a roof over his head. He has been sober for about a year and a half using Antabuse and going to AA. He still looks ill but he is in his 50s I would say and looks older. He obviously has done a lot of damage to himself over the years.

Anyway - his view is he would be dead without Antabuse. 'I'm not ready to die' he says with almost every share and he is fond of pointing out that all the rough sleepers he knew - the drinkers - are all dead.

Works for him it seems.

It should not be a "take it or leave it" drug- ie take when you want, mess around with or play dr yourself about dosage. So many people do this- and I did, too, when I had no intentions of really quitting.

As noted above, a good dr will take into account things like taxation on the liver, etc. Also patient candidacy- my dr is very serious about this and does not prescribe Antabuse to folks not serious about sobriety.

I took it the first 90 days of my sobriety (I am 353 days today) and it was just one of the tools I was putting together in my sober plan. I signed a paper every day and had a witness signature to my taking it - that's how serious we were about me using it correctly. She has some patients come to her office every day for the dose; that wasn't feasible for me so we came up with an alternative plan.

Antabuse- or any other drug- is not a panacea for alcoholism or a ticket to controlled drinking. Taken properly, it is a helpful reminder of what drinking can do to you- KILL YOU- and that's its best use. It was a psychological support for me, as well, as I started my no looking back, never drink again journey to sobriety.

Good luck.

Don't have much more to add. Just want to say that many years ago after a relapse it was a tool I used, when I just could not seem to get sober traction again despite anything else I did. At that time, it was an extremely helpful tool. That is my experience and if you want to use it as a tool and are motivated to stay sober, I think it an excellent choice if you are having trouble otherwise.