Antabuse

[gmc38609]

I have just ordered a batch from the US to me in the UK.
Never used it before but finally decided I need to help to quit alcohol, Is there anything advice or any other supplements etc that would make quitting a bit easier.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated. The AB is due to me in 2 weeks so that is how much time I have to prepare .
I do know from previous spells off the wagon most of it is mental and I am hoping that not having the option to drink will make it easier for me

[Siren136]

Antabuse

ANtabuse worked wonders for me, GMC. I hope you find it the same. How much are you drinking now? Do you need to taper in order to safely withdraw? If yes, then make a plan and start now. You shouldn't take your first AB does until at least 24 hours after your last drink.

If you don't need to taper, then just do your best to not drink until the AB gets there. Use your supplements, including L-glut and kudzu, to wait it out. Drink lots of water and eat eat eat! Stuffing yourself with healthy food will help with the cravings.

Best of luck!

[Cinders]

Antabuse

GMC,

:welcome: to MWO.

I use Antabuse but I have the advantage of a doctor prescribing it.

It is very important that you ensure you have removed all alcohol from your system before taking it.

It is also very important that you wait a minimum of two weeks before taking your first drink after you quit taking it. I waited two weeks and still ended up in the ER.

I am taking it now for as long as my doctor will allow. In my mind, getting sober is only a small piece of the addiction recovery. I am working on personal recovery as well.

My doctor requires liver panels on a regular basis to ensure the Antabuse is not damaging my liver.

There are lots of different options in terms of things to help with cravings, supplements, lifestyle changes, etc.

The tool box thread is a good place to poke around. https://www.mywayout.org/community/f1...box-27556.html

Good luck and glad you are here,
Cindi

[YouKayBee]

Antabuse

You really must make sure you are well clear of alcohol before you use this med. I do know several members of this forum use AB as a way to remove the possibility of drinking alcohol from their lives, however it doesn't remove the cravings as such.

[Greg]

Antabuse

I'm one of those here who has been using Antabuse on and off for about 3 years. Notice how I said "on and off"...I have found the drug to be a great boost to my ability to stay alcohol-free when I have the other issues in my life under control, but it has not been as helpful when issues like depression, loneliness, lack of a job, anxiety, boredom during my usual drinking hours, etc. have been allowed to creep back in. When I have pretended to myself that my problems are not a big deal, but when they have really been lurking under the surface ready to sneak back into my life, I have ended up quitting the Antabuse just so I could deliberately drink all over again. The drug is a great tool to staying sober, when used along with other methods to address your recovery.

As mentioned by others above, and myself in other threads, Antabuse can work wonders by taking away the ability to run the argument through your mind of "will I just have a few drinks tonight" or "I feel justified in drinking just for one or two nights". Without Antabuse, continual drinking-not drinking internal debates can almost drive me mad at times. Once a full dose of the drug (200 mg or sometimes higher) has been taken, you simply cannot drink for many days afterwards. Once you start taking that dosage every day, it is weeks before you can safely drink.

I thought I could get away with taking only a quarter of a pill each 1-2 days (50 mg) and still be prevented from drinking while not using as many tablets, but try to resist doing this. When you only take small amounts, you know you only have a few days to wait before being able to drink, and this (in my experience) can lead to deliberate sabotage of the whole process. I began "forgetting" to take my 50 mg, or blatantly made excuses not to take it. It is much harder to excuse/BS your way out of taking it when you know you are on 200 mg/day and you will not be free to drink again for 2+ weeks!

Another bit of advice, that helped me anyway...try to take it in the morning each day, since that is the time of day when many/most alcoholics least want a drink and are least likely to make up "reasons" to skip the pill. If you have someone close (e.g. partner, close friend, close family member) it can further help to ask them to supervise you taking the Antabuse every day, preferably having them actually hold the tablets for you and dissolve them in a glass of water each morning. I was once tempted to pretend to be taking Antabuse, when I really wanted to take an inert white pill instead (although I was too ashamed to do it in the end).

Sorry if I sound like a know-it-all or preacher, I am certainly not trying to be. I am just sharing my experience with Antabuse. I didn't mean to say you would try all the excuse-making not to take the drug that I did either, but I wanted to show how a desperate alcoholic's mind can work sometimes! As Ukblonde pointed out, the drug does not chemically remove alcohol cravings, so it can be a good idea to combine it with something that does if cravings remain serious. Also, try to address any other underlying problems in your life while taking Antabuse, to further increase the chance of long-term success.

Best of luck with it all!

[treetops]

Antabuse

Great response Greg

[gmc38609]

Antabuse

Thanks Greg, I think I just grew up with an alcoholic mother which gave me a bad attitude towards alcohol and before I knew any better I to was addicted, I don't have depression or anxiety's as such but do go through a daily battle in my mind whether to drink today or not and nearly always do, it drives me mad the amount of hours I spend thinking of alcohol. I am hoping that by simply not having the choice to drink that I will get used to living without it. I am also thinking worse case scenario I do 6 months AF and give my insides a rest, however I just read a post where it was mentioned the AB may have harmed there liver is this correct can it do that ?. I am also sick of my routine of rushing to sit on my own and drink rather than socialising without drink how odd that I chose to do that

[john doe]

Antabuse

I think Antabuse is a great tool for taking that "will I won't I" worry away from your thinking. I read on another post about taking 200mg. That seems excessive it to me. 50mg every 2 or 3 days would be enough to scare me away from drinking on it. I'd also take it last thing at night.

[Siren136]

Antabuse

Gmc, everything you put in your body, including drugs and alcohol, is processed through your liver. All drugs have a small chance of harming your liver, including AB.

For me it boiled down to the fact that continuing to drink will definitely kill me, while there is a very small chance that AB will be harmful. The positives outweighed the negatives. Having said that, it's still worth discussing with your doctor.

[Siren136]

Antabuse

john doe;1511881 wrote: I think Antabuse is a great tool for taking that "will I won't I" worry away from your thinking. I read on another post about taking 200mg. That seems excessive it to me. 50mg every 2 or 3 days would be enough to scare me away from drinking on it. I'd also take it last thing at night.

500 mg is the maximum daily dose, so 200 mg is not overly excessive. I reduced down to 125 mg per day because higher doses made me extremely tired all the time. That is the only SE I experienced.

[gmc38609]

Antabuse

The only pills I could find online were 500mg and I bought 90 of them. So do you think it would be a good idea to cut them in half and take a half before bedtime because of the tiredness ?

[treetops]

Antabuse

its probably my posts that have reported possible liver damage from AB - but we don't know if thats because my liver was already messed from the AL before I went on AB. I am inclined to think it was the AB. I had a very good diet, otherwise good health (except for the liver!) - pre AB.
But I found the AB very helpful to get the sober time but I did not continue it as long as many others do. Our bodies and livers are all different but in my case I was cautious with the AB and I made sure i had regular liver tests.
All alkies should IMO have liver tests - this of course implies seeing a dr on a fairly regular basis.

[john doe]

Antabuse

Sorry I got my doses mixed up. I was confusing 50mg with 500mg.

250mg doesn't seem to be a big dose at all.

[Siren136]

Antabuse

gmc38609;1512138 wrote: The only pills I could find online were 500mg and I bought 90 of them. So do you think it would be a good idea to cut them in half and take a half before bedtime because of the tiredness ?

I think that sounds fine. I started with 250 mg for 2 days, to make sure I didn't have unbearable SEs (I tend to be very sensitive to medicine). Then I took 500 mg for a couple of days to get a build up in my system, to really take the decision off the table. I went back down to 250 mg and eventually to 125 mg (quarter of a pill) for the remainder, due to fatigue during the day (even when I took it at night). Again, I tend to be very sensitive to medicines, so maybe you won't have the bad fatigue.

[gmc38609]

Antabuse

Really cant see the point in a liver test unless you have stopped drinking for at least 3 months, If you are drinking heavy we all know it damages the liver and a blood test will just confirm this surely so it would make me feel like I am wasting there time.
I have gone right of alcohol last couple of days and not had a drink seems the AB is working and I have not got it yet lol