Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

[redhorse]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

I have pretty much made my mind up to have an implant fitted. I have been in touch with Aluston health and they have offered to treat me as a day case which costs 850 stg(not including flights)

I have two questions.

1 I wanted to do a price comparison. I keep hearing Poland being mentioned as a source for these implants but I have searched the web up and down and cant find one clinic advertised. Does anyone know of one?

2 I am fully aware of the risks regarding antabuse and alcohol and Im not too concerned because I have experience with antabuse and I dont believe I will drink through the implant. My problem is that I stop taking the tablets. What I was wondering does anyone know of any stories or statistics that show that people die without mixing antabuse and alcohol? I cant find any. All the stories out there involve people drinking on it(some on purpose,some accidentally) but I just wondered did anyone know of non alcohol related deaths with this drug. Thanks.

[Greg]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

Hi Redhorse, I don't know about prices or the source in Poland, but the following risks of Antabuse (not caused by consuming alcohol with it) are listed on the rxlist.com medication site:

Severe and sometimes fatal liver problems have occurred in patients taking disulfiram even without a prior history of liver problems.

If you experience any of the following serious side effects, stop taking disulfiram and seek emergency medical attention:

an allergic reaction (swelling of your lips, tongue, or face; shortness of breath; closing of your throat; or hives);
seizures;
extreme tiredness;
dark urine;
yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice);
large appetite changes;
weakness, dizziness or loss of coordination; or
severe diarrhea or vomiting.

Other, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to take disulfiram and talk to your doctor if you experience

skin rash or acne;
mild headaches;
mild drowsiness or tiredness;
impotence;
metallic taste in the mouth; or
swollen or sore tongue.

Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome.

These reactions are probably fairly rare, since Antabuse has been around for decades and is still approved in most countries (I assume), and adverse effects and allergic reactions can occur with any drug. Keep in mind that they have to list almost EVERY reaction that has been known to occur with ANY patients, so every drug has extensive lists of side effects like this one.

My own personal view is that I would take the risk and have an implant done if a company here in Australia was currently able to do it. The risk of liver damage from continued drinking is so high in alcoholics that I think almost anything that can reduce/stop the drinking would lead to an overall lower rate of liver damage.

[redhorse]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

Thank you. Thats what I was looking for. Is there any country near you that does it? I have decided to go ahead with it. Im just waiting for a loan to be approved(hopefully).

[Greg]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

redhorse;1225075 wrote: Thank you. Thats what I was looking for. Is there any country near you that does it? I have decided to go ahead with it. Im just waiting for a loan to be approved(hopefully).

Sorry for the delay in replying, but I'm not on the forum sometimes. Unfortunately I don't know of any country near Australia where Antabuse implants are performed. I have read of it being done in the UK, Chile, and Latvia, but can't give any opinion of the clinics or doctors involved. Good luck with it, if you find someone to do it.

[_EndOfTheLine_]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

redhorse;1225075 wrote: Thank you. Thats what I was looking for. Is there any country near you that does it? I have decided to go ahead with it. Im just waiting for a loan to be approved(hopefully).

I know quite a bit about this at this stage so if you have any questions give me a shout- I have had an implant

[jjdon]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

For a research I am doing, I would like to get in touch with people who have used disulfiram implants or injections (tetlong), or who are planning to do so. You can contact me at: jjdon@xs4all.nl
Thanks! Janneke

[jjdon]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

disulfiram implants or injections

For a research I am doing, I would like to get in touch with people who have used disulfiram implants or injections (tetlong), or who are planning to do so. You can contact me at: jjdon@xs4all.nl
Thanks! Janneke

[wanttobesober]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

Hi to All,

They are available in Hungary, as well.
I have just found a website of a clinic that is doing it.

F?oldal - CRYO ?s Laser Seb?szet

This page shows that it is 50,000 HF which is about $250.

?rjegyz?k - CRYO ?s Laser Seb?szet

This page says that it is effective for a year. After one year, most of the time another implant is necessary.
However after the second year the lasting abstinence is very likely.

Esperal - CRYO ?s Laser Seb?szet

The name over there is: Esperal which is same as Disulfiram.

They are located in Budapest (the capital of Hungary).

Kapcsolat - CRYO ?s Laser Seb?szet

Try to use Google Translate if you want to translate the page.
It is not an accurate translation, but at least you will have a foggy idea what it is all about.

Click on the translate a document link below the box, and enter the URL. that you want to translate.

Google Translate

Good Luck,

Brian


AF since: 3/6/12 Thanks to Antabuse!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

I received an email asking me about this. I don't know that I have much to offer.

Antabuse implants don't work. This is not a question of whether it works for some, and not others. It's not a matter of degrees. They don't work. Period. This information is (almost) readily available with a good online search. You'll have to get past the advertisements from Alustair (?) Health and other Eastern European providers of this service. There is a reason, of course, that it's not offered in the rest of the world. And again, it's not a matter of a conspiracy of western medicine to keep a treatment from the masses.

Antabuse implants are a con. And woe to anyone who allows a provider to put one in under general anesthesia. That is a very, very scary prospect.
(There is someone around here who got one. I thought it was you, wanttobesober?)

Take good care, people.

[wanttobesober]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

Hi Ne and All,

Ne/Neva Eva;1300436 wrote: Antabuse implants are a con. And woe to anyone who allows a provider to put one in under general anesthesia. That is a very, very scary prospect.
(There is someone around here who got one. I thought it was you, wanttobesober?)

Take good care, people.

Nope. It was not me. I only new about this thing because my sister who lives in Hungary
was kept bugging me to get one. I am not sure if it is working or not if it is done the right way.
Perhaps you want to include a link so you can show some data that it does not work.

Making a statment that it does not work because someone around here got one, is a little bit laughable.

Brian

[Last14theroad]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

I had an implant done in 1995 June and was sober AF for five years the only thing is that it was not the Antabuse it was my fear of what would happen should I drink, in other words Antabuse does not do away with craving the fear of the consequences does that.

[wanttobesober]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

Last14theroad;1300537 wrote: I had an implant done in 1995 June and was sober AF for five years the only thing is that it was not the Antabuse it was my fear of what would happen should I drink, in other words Antabuse does not do away with craving the fear of the consequences does that.

That is correct! The effect of Antabuse is more psyhiological than anything else.
I could take Aspirin all year long and not drinking as long as I believe I am taking AB.
Fear is a powerful motivator or deterrant!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

wanttobesober;1300527 wrote:
Perhaps you want to include a link so you can show some data that it does not work.

Making a statment that it does not work because someone around here got one, is a little bit laughable.

Brian

Hey, Brian. I hear you. I don't have time. Anyone who wants to find the information can look. It was not based on one experience. And in fact has nothing to do with anything here. It's a con. EDIT: The implant is a con.

[wanttobesober]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

Ne/Neva Eva;1300550 wrote: Hey, Brian. I hear you. I don't have time. Anyone who wants to find the information can look. It was not based on one experience. And in fact has nothing to do with anything here. It's a con. EDIT: The implant is a con.

Great post with lots of FACTS again!

I gotto run too.
Let's just leave it that way!

I guess everybody has to do their own research whether it is a con or not.

I believe that it is not offered in lot of countries because of liability insurance issues.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Antabuse implant, anyone any experience?

"A Double-blind Placebo Controlled Study of Male Alcoholics Given a Subcutaneous Disulfiram Implantation"
From The British Journal of Addiction. Jun87, Vol. 82 Issue 6, p607-613, 7p.
Jon Johnsen is the primary author.
The abstract: (bold is mine)

Twenty-one alcoholics participated in a double blind study to elicit information of the clinical effect of implanted disulfiram. They were randomized to either of two groups, 11 patients to the placebo group and 10 patients to the disulfiram group. Each patient was subjected to seven sessions of intravenous ethanol challenge, once before and six times during the first 20 weeks after implantation. The acute ethanol challenge did not result in any differences between the groups with respect to blood ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations. No patient showed any clinical signs of disulfiram-ethanol reaction. After a study period of 20 weeks no significant differences were found between the groups with regard to the reduction in average ethanol consumption, days from implantation to the first drink and number of abstinent weeks. Our results do not support the idea that a I g disulfiram implant has any pharmacological or clinical action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It's a con. It doesn't work. It has never worked. The reason it isn't done outside of Eastern Europe is because it's a scam. There are more than a few testimonials on here with people attesting to it's lack of effectiveness. Google search "antabuse implant" con/scam/liability/research. (It can also be dangerous.)

There are not any recent research documents about it because people (outside of con artists) stopped using/prescribing/implanting/suggesting/researching or talking about it 30 or 40 years ago when it was repeatedly proved to be completely and totally ineffective.