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John Bingham's avatar

So you’re talking about disulfuram (antabuse). This does indeed make drinking impossible as you lose the ability to metabolize alcohol and it becomes quite toxic. However, keeping up with the pill schedule is not easy. For people who are seriously ill, the risks of this medication might not be worth it. Even as addiction specialists we rarely prescribe it.

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jojoZ's avatar

My BIL took this and became violently ill at a family gathering - he still insists he didn’t drink either. Was wondering if there was something in something he ate that was close enough to trigger it. Can’t be 100% sure he was telling the truth but either way it’s pretty nasty stuff.

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John Bingham's avatar

This is another common issue with this medication. The amount of alcohol that it takes to poison you while you’re taking it is much smaller than the amount it would take to get someone drunk. There are trace amounts of alcohol in various “non-alcoholic” products that are still enough to cause a fit of violent nausea.

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Jo Candiano's avatar

But when you're desperate, you'll do what it takes.

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jojoZ's avatar

I think he’s doing a lot better fortunately!

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Jo Candiano's avatar

Yes that's the one. You know, I was on lithium for a while, so this was nothing! But something worked for me, and continues to. It's so atrange.

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John Bingham's avatar

What I tell people is: "I do not have any medications without side effects". By framing it that way from the start, it makes clear that we are not doing a magic trick here, we are trying to find a situation where the good outweighs the bad on net.

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Jo Candiano's avatar

You're right.

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