anyone evr been onit? Any experiences youwouldn't mind sharing?
All i really know is it make you violently ill if you drink while on it...but HOW ill...and does it fade if you keep on drinking?
Any side effects?
i know one person who has jsut started it
i thin i may ask my doc about it...i think...dont know
wondering if anyoen can give me some insight...
thanks
romp
I had never heard of it until I just looked it up, it sounds like quite a risky drug and I would imagine they would not put you on it until you were well into recovery, its also not used with quite a few mental health issues.
It cant hurt to talk to your doctor about it I guess but it seems as though there are a lot of ifs and buts when it comes to prescribing it. Let us know how you get on, its really good that you so want to stop.
Romp .... I remember back in my drinking days that I heard about Antabuse and I asked my psychiatrist about it and whether I could go on it, but she absolutely refused to put me on it!
She told me how dangerous the drug was, especially if you are a frequent relapser, and that its been known to put some people into cardiac arrest!
When I was looking into medications to help with my alcohol addiction, I was told that even though its used predominantly for opiate addiction, apparently Naltrexone has been known to help with alcohol cravings too (but here in Australia its very expensive, and they wont prescribe it to you unless you're using it for opiate addiction). And I'm not sure whether there is any actual scientific evidence that its successful for alcohol addiction, or whether this was picked up just from some anecdotal reports from people who were using Naltrexone for heroin addiction, who just so happened to notice that they were alos feeling alot less like drinking alcohol too ... so its not really proven I dont think, and there are alot of compouding factors.
But it would be worth talking to a doctor about it Romp.
When I eventually stopped drinking for good, it was after I went to a doctor and said I wanted to stop drinking, and he wrote out a program for me where I could take Valium (Diazapam) to help with the alcohol withdrawals, and slowly taper off from it. I also went in to see the doctor every day for the first week, so he could take my blood pressure, pulse, and other physical vital signs to make sure that I was doing okay.
For me though, one of the scariest aspects of giving up alcohol (at the start anyway) was going through really bad withdrawals - the reason I started drinking in the first place, was that I couldnt stand to be in any sort of chronic pain (emotional or physcial ... yeah - I know .... weird to hear a self injurer say that, but its the truth!) So I knew that as a part of any of my attempts to give up alcohol, I had to have something to take the edge off my suffering, and valium did the trick for me.
While saying that Romp, it is absolutely ESSENTIAL that you have a doctor monitoring your valium use if you choose to use this medication to help you get off alcohol. Valium is just as addictive as alcohol, and it is very dangerous to take in large quantities, not to mention extremely dangerous to take and then slip up and drink alcohol as well! So you'd definitely have to have a doctor monitoring you if you go down that path.
Talk to your doctor Romp - I think there are plenty of other options available to you, to help you out with stopping your alcohol use.
I've just stopped my treatment with antabuse. I NEEDED to get on it to stop me from drinking as i was told if i drank alcohol while on i would die.
It has been hard. Immensely hard, in fact. But i knew if i drank i would get VERY sick and possibly die and for me, that was motivation to stop drinking.
Don't go on it if you're too likely to relapse. I don't wanna lose you hunni. Go talk to your doc instead and take it from there and then after some time, when you're not as likely to relapse anymore then maybe you can be put on it for a while.
With the amounts i was drinking i would have died if i had relapsed on antabuse..... That's a scary thought and it was what stopped me from pouring that drink.
The abstinences are the worst. Mine lasted for a long time. Then came the cravings for alcohol. Those also lasted for quite a while.
It's hard Romp, but you have proved to have both stubbornness and will power so it is doable. Now you just gotta find the right time and place for doing it. I have the utmost faith in you :)
I work with quite a few folk who use antabuse - it will make you extremely unwell if you drink on it - not just a nauseous feeling that will pass, and it stays in your system too.
You would need to be careful about ANY alcohol content in stuff (even in deodorant) as it can have a reaction.
It will not help with cravings, it is purely a deterrent. How it makes you ill depends but as mentioned above it can cause heart problems, drop in blood pressure, sweats, a rash as well as vomiting
If you are unsure whether you will drink or not then it could be antabuse is not the drug for you. But if you think as a deterrent it would help then maybe.
No harm discussing it with your doctor and getting their opinion on it.
typsee mentioned naltrexone. i was put on that for extreme urges to cut. but it IS mainly used to help with cravings for alcohol. and i dont think it has many side effects...at least it didnt with me. maybe ask about it.
much love and hope.
xx
I have been taking Antabuse for 40 days now, one tablet once a day before I go to bed. This was prescribed after collapsing with a seizure on christmas Day after a year of heavy drinking. I detoxed in A&E and was released into a unit after I had stopped fitting for 6days. My next prescription drug was librium which stopped after a week. I was prescribed Antabuse and I take a tablet each night and have been doing so for 40 days. I have had no side affects whatsoever nor have I felt ill, more importantly I have not picked up a drink or any form of alcohol in this time. I have also not desired one. IO have accepted that I am an alcoholic and will always be one even though I do not drink any more, acceptence of this fact has given me strenghth through a dark period. I attend AA which is excellent, If I drink on Antabuse I could die, then again if I did not take it and picked up or carried on drinking I would also die. The only remedy is to not drink Antabuse and AA has helped me recover, I have a new job and a new life try it.
Hi, just adding my experience. I'm an alcoholic of several years experience and have pretty much tried everything. Ended up getting a home detox and opted for Antabuse. Five months later and I'm still dry. The difference is that when I took the pill I KNEW I couldn't drink and suddenly a whole chunk of my brain stopped plotting and planning the next sneaked bottle/can/boot polish. Suddenly a whole chunk of my brain could think about other stuff, life what's left of my life and how, prhaps, I can pull a bit of it back together. I've got a long way to go with that BUT I am sober. If anyone wants to talk about it send me a message, but I believe if you are in the dark place and would do anything to get out of it, this pill could help. A lot.
A lot of this inoformation is so helpful. My husband has suffered with alcoholism for as long as I have known him. We met at the age of 14 and married at age of 30. We are 33 years old now and it has not gotten any easier. I live every day wondering and worrying about him and what will happen next. We have had such loss and heartache due to this dreadful disease. He is a great human being when sober. But when under the influence he is like a monster that I don't know. He recently lost his father (who also was an alcoholic) and that has put him over the edge. On January 23 he was put on an antidepressent and on antabuse - which I suggested after doing some online research. He did great on it - had a vest for life again, was a fantastic partner and his true side came out. that is until March 8,08 when he decided it was ok to drink O'Doule the "non alcoholic" beer. He suffered most of the symptoms listed for this drug is taken and alcohol is absorbed. Well I guess he did not think they were that unbearable becasue he has been drinking again while taking the antabuse. Is there anyone out there that has had multiple relapses while on this medication and can anyone know if at this point he should continue to take the medication since he still constantly suffers with the urge to drink excessivly. he has always been a binge drinker. Did not ever drink daily, but when the urge hit it lasted for days and he could not focus on anything else...he has lost jobs, possessions, and so much more. Any help anyone has would be appreciated.
Jackie, I am in AA too. In our area in the aa communtiy alcohol free drinks like O'Douls are considered bad news. it is called "romancing the drink."
Jackie, I would recommend that you find Al-Anon in your area. It is for the family and friends of alcoholics. It is meetings of other friends and family of alcoholics and you'll learn better how to cope with your husband and his alcoholism.
My husband is my best friend.
In forgiving others, we are not exonerating them. They may not deserve exoneration. Rather, in forgiving others we are giving up our anger over the fact that what happened is not what "should" have happened or that our life is not the way it "should" have been.
I have been on antabuse for a while now. When I started on it I had a small drink of whisky to see what would happen, and it floored me. The reaction was extremely uncomfortable and at one point I could hardly breath. I have alot of depressive periods, and usually that is when I would binge, but knowing that the antabuse stays in your system for up 7 days really gives me some thinking time. I also take it on a regular basis at a alcohol treatment unit, and as I have been living on my own it helped been able to see someone every few days.
For me it has really helped and I have been sober for 2 and half years, but you do have to be careful about what you eat, and even using things like deoderants with have small amounts of alcohol in.
One important thing to remember is, this doesn't help with cravings at all, and if you feel you could be susceptable to having a drink don't start the drug. It can affect your liver heart and I have them monitored every 3 months.
I'm new to this site, so hello there. As for antabuse and its effects when trying to take alcohol at the same time: I've been prescribed it by my GP and with the blessing of my local 'action for change' group, but of course it ends up being down to the individual as to whether or not you take the pill at all as to its effectiveness. As you probably know, it's not one of those medications which make you not feel like drinking: you will still have the urge, but if you drink - well gawd help you!!!. I've slipped up badly with it twice. The first time I'd been taking it for a couple of weeks and went to a friend's house and thought, oh I'll just have a sip of wine, it couldn't hurt... and I promptly passed out - near epileptic fit (have a history of epilepsy anyway) - scared the hell out of the dinner guests, not to mention me, too. Second time was only last Friday. I'd started re-taking the pills - only for two days, mind, and day three my friend invited me round for a couple of drinks so I didn't take a pill on that day, thinking (erroneously) that the two previous days' pills wouldn't have had much effect on my body. WRONG! I sipped (slowly) one glass of wine and found I was having trouble breathing and my friend (who didn't know I'd restarted the medication) asked if I was coming down with a cold because I was having some kind of an allergic effect to the wine, and was starting to 'block up'. I also started to have hot flushes and my friend asked me why I was going red. Stupidly, I worked my way through a second glass - by then I got into a terrible state - my heart started racing, my face was really hot, then my eyes became really bloodshot, and I couldn't breathe properly at all. I called for my son to pick me up and on the way home, he had to pull over while I violently threw up (much to his distress). Since then (today's Monday), I feel like I've been run over by a steamroller, I ache as if I've done a phenomenal workout, and until yesterday my head feels as if it has been in a vice. I absolutely advise anyone not to tamper and test, as I did - it really wasn't a great experience to say the very least, and I have since found out that really I should have gone to the hospital because the side-effects can be fatal!!
This thread's been closed as it's rather old, & the issue has more than likely been resolved or steps have been taken so the original poster may not be in the same place.
All the more recent replies are great, but it is a pretty old thread now, so I hope people can understand why this is being locked. :)
