AA has no opinion on outside issues this stuff is between you and your doctor.

I know a lot of alcoholics who tried Antabuse and a lot found they still had a craving beyond their control. It seems to work okay for hard drinkers though - those who can still be frightened into stopping.

I know many that started that way and found a solid program.
If anyone mentions your wrong in doing what your doing take it with a grain of salt.

Peace be your Journey

Thank you. My main issue is binging. So if I can keep from taking that first drink when I feel pressure knowing what the Antabuse will do to me, it will cause me to find an alternate means of stress release. We will see.

whoda,

You will find AA members whose opinions run the gamut on antabuse. Just keep in mind that these are individuals expressing their own opinions in a democratic setting, and AA as a whole has no opinion on it one way or the other.

hey whoda, I can't speak for AA but I can tell ya, I'd be DAMN 100% certain that I wouldn't cave before I took that shit.....I've heard horror stories of how horrid it is if you have even a sip.

If you're 100% certain, for a short period of time...I hope it helps you, but long term......I'd suggest something more substantial. It's your mind that needs some help. The steps & a sponsor and finding the God of your understanding will help long term...ya can't stay on antabuse forever...

Good luck to ya! :)

I am new to the group. I am on day 7 with out a drink, thanks to Antibuse. I know I can't stop on my own, I have tried many times. The fear of what will happen to me if I drink on Antibuse has kept me sober. I am a wife and have a 8 year old daughter and 6 year old son... I can't be in the ER when I have them to care for (also a new puppy). I know I need the support from AA, but nervous because I live in a small town.... Secrets!!
I am staying positive and going one day at a time.
Wish me luck - cheers!

I have no idea what AA would say about it. I had a therapist ask me if I wanted a prescription for it once....and I said NO way. I then quit cold turkey for 93 days and felt like flipping the guy off:) But anyway, I didnt do it as it didnt seem like a smart idea for me, personally. I've heard their are potential side effects, and though I love booze, I'm not into drugs at all so I passed.

This subject comes up many times. The fact is that AA is a 12 Step spiritual programme of recovery and AA itself will never tell you what to do, it affiliates itself to nothing and has no opinions on outside issues, as you have already heard a few times in the replies to your post.

Anything you hear - especially on forums such as this - is not AA itself - just some of its members personal opinions and experiences.

The burning question here is not how much Antabuse is going to help you - or not help you, but are you actually an alcoholic?

People on here - as in AA rooms - come in with all levels of drinking problems. Yours may not be too serious and could easily be fixed with a pill and a warning. If so, Antabuse may work for you.
It is a dangerous drug, no doubt, and the only way you will find out is if you drink on it.

Alcoholism is a different game. The mind is affected in the chronic alcoholic and when it comes to alcohol, the alcoholic has a strange lack of fear and the obsession overcomes the rational which means the alcoholic will probably drink anyway because he/she has no control in the matter.

That happened to me and I got off the drug immediately but that was just my experience.

If you find yourself drinking on it, you have nothing to lose by trying the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step programme instead.

Best wishes to you.

I have known many people who were utterly convinced that they would never be so stupid as to drink whilst taking Antabuse because the effect of it and alsohol are horrendous.

They drank!

Antabuse is no better at stopping you from drinking than willpower. It may be useful in VERY early days but you need to find a real solution to your drinking - keep going to AA.

As people have already said, AA has no opinion on this although AA members usually do. There is no moral issue about it, just don't rely upon it. Get a sponsor and work the 12 step programme - that is a solution that has a very high success rate in those who actually do it and do it thoroughly!

Thanks again to all the responses. Yesterday was a pretty intense yet good marriage counseling session. I typically would have a drink after that session. Wife went to the store, I went home to clean the kitchen. There was the wine that she will be drinking and I would have taken a drink of. I did not crave a drink as much as wanting to numb the intense reactions from the therapy session. So I drank a lot of water and kept busy. Slept like a baby. So at least for now I can see that it prevented me from taking that drink to ease the tension that I felt.

I agree that Antabuse is not a long time fix, but I personally see it as necessary to do for a period of time to rely on myself and not booze to get through tough days, and to get completely dry to see who I really am without booze. I liked the AA meeting I went to and will keep going.

Thanks again. Day7Sober, we seem to be in the same place.

Just thought i'd add my personal exp for the record
I started out to get sober with just antibuse (disulfiram) Lasted 6 months didnt drink on it so no exp of that
.Stopped taking it picked up all most imediately Worst exp on alcohol ever even after 35 years
sobered up aftwr a week got into AA but still took antibuse for one year on my doctors recomendation.Then came off it but still very active in AA coming up 5 years in summer But many varieties of alcoholic congrats on a week

I want to also add that my wife and kids no longer trust me to be home alone and not drink. The Antabuse for me is also to give them some, and I mean just some, sense of security that I will not drink while making AA an integral part of my recovery.

My feeling is, whatever it takes to keep you from that first drink. Again, it has helped me so far. I plan to go to an AA meeting tomorrow to start a more supportive part of recovery.
If Antabuse gives your family some peace, good - for them and you. Keep it up, every minute counts!!

It takes around 14 days for disulfiram to be entirely out of your system, so be careful to not drink any alcohol while you're on it and those two weeks after.