Antabuse reactions with and without alcohol

[Irene84]

My question is, if you were taking Antabuse, regularly enough for about three weeks, if you did consume alcohol I know there is a flushing reaction in the skin. But could there be no other reactions besides that? And also could you have flushing skin without drinking while on Antabuse?

[time2quit]

HI Irene. Thats my aunties name btw. I've never taken antabuse so I wouldn't know. I think You might do better visiting Antabuse (disulfiram) - Antabuse (disulfiram) - The End of my Addiction It has consolidated information on antabuse and a multitude of newer and more progressive alcohol medications. Hope you find what your looking for.

[aihfl]

Hi Irene, I was briefly on Antabuse. It works if you're motivated and have psychosocial support as well. When I was on it, unfortunately, I just wasn't ready to quit yet, and would "game" it (if I wanted to drink on Friday, I would stop taking it the preceding Monday) and I even drank on it a few times. It made me nauseous and gave me wicked headaches, but hey, I just drank until I passed out and then my head didn't hurt anymore. I've met people who got violently ill while drinking on Antabuse, while others felt very little effect, so it's difficult to say how it might affect you. It was pretty unpleasant for me, though, so I wouldn't recommend trying it.

[Eloise]

I tried it once. Omg it was not fun.
I was still in the experimental phase of stopping drinking and behaved like aihfl mentioned. I looked like a turnip and wanted to die from the nausea.
Terrible. To say it was unpleasant was an understatement, I wanted to die and get it over with.

I found it much easier to just decide, once and for all, no more alcohol.

[treetops]

Hi Irene. I used Antabuse to kick start my last quit over 3 years ago. Personally I found it easier to tolerate than naltrexone (which I had tried briefly). I was highly motivated but pretty desperate to quit and wanted all or nothing support. Antabuse does not remove the other problems of withdrawal and you still have to do the psychological work. The only support group I had at that stage was MWO but my family was very supportive. I was scared shitless of any unforeseen reactions from things that may have had traces of AL such as perfume etc and was cautious. No reactions for me. I stopped Antabuse after 2 months but carried the pills with me for a while in case I was tempted to drink.
So I had an OK experience although really my quitting was down to my efforts and not the drug. I hate taking any medication or even supplements so my decision to take AB was significant. Hope you find what you are looking for. It doesn't have to be complicated but it takes effort to quit drinking. I have no regrets and don't want to drink again.

[MeJustMe]

I tried Antibuse for months but as it did nothing to kill cravings I still drank. One night I drank while having it in my system consistently for days, and after I had about two or three drinks I stared to feel very ill.

I ended up on my bedroom floor in agony -- headache, heart racing, an incredible anxiety. I couldn't stand up. I couldn't lie down. I thought I was going to die.

Whatever you do, please don't ever, ever drink while taking the stuff.

I eventually figured that if I stopped taking it for about a week I could drink and tolerate the red face and slight heart palpitations.

In short, if you are sure you want to stop, and want something that will persuade you not to drink, Antibuse might work. Just never drink AL while taking it, or for quite a while after you have stopped taking it.

[Baclofenman]

I have never taken Antabuse

The way I read comments of it are that a good deal of motivation from the end user is also required - The prospects of the side effect when consuming AL are the only help this drug itself offers

Baclofen is a "Miracle Drug" (as described by some), however in my situation an input of user responsibility is still also required

Regards


Bacman

[terryk]

bump

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Oh, man. I drank once after taking an antabuse. I figured it had been more than 15 hours (or so) and I was desperate for a drink. This was more than 20 years ago, and long before real medications for alcoholism existed.



Like so many others, I was so sick I thought (for the first time in my young life) that I was going to need to go to the hospital. ugh. Too scary for me, even after all this time!