Antabuse, or disulfiram as it is also known, was the first medicine approved for the treatment of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is an "aversive, serveing as a physical and psychological deterrent to someone trying to stop drinking. It does not reduce the person's craving for alcohol, nor does it treat any alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Research in Europe, where Antabuse is much more widely used than in the United States, has shown that long-term use of Antabuse is very effective in helping people stop drinking, producing abstinence rates of up to 50 percent. The longer people take Antabuse, the more effective it is, because they develop a "habit" of not drinking, which reinforces the establishment of alternative coping skills and behaviors.
While we do not generally recommend the use of Antabuse, we are aware that some individuals find it effective and we do not rule out its use. If you are contemplating it as an option please read the following very carefully and discuss the possibilities with us and either your physician or one of ours.
Antabuse works by interfering with the body's usual metabolic processing of alcohol into toxic acetaldehyde then into harmless acetic acid. Because of this, a build up of acetaldehyde five or 10 times greater than normally occurs when someone drinks alcohol. These high concentrations can cause reactions that range from mild to severe, depending on how much Antabuse and how much alcohol is consumed, along with individual tolerance of the drug.
If you drink while taking Antabuse, you may experience flushing, nausea, copious vomiting, sweating, thirst, throbbing headaches, respiratory difficulty, chest pain, hyperventilation, tachycardia, and distress. Severe reactions can include respiratory depression, cardiovascular collapse, myocardial infarction, acute congestive heart failure, unconsciousness, arrhythmias, convulsions, and death.
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