This week's blog is going to be about Antabuse--a medication used to treat alcoholism.
Okay, so, I had absolutely no idea there was a medication to treat this disorder. I thought the individual had the sole option of going into rehab where he/she would receive therapy and detoxing, oh and one mustn't forget AA for moral support. I find this to be very, very interesting...especially after doing some research on some of the restrictions one must have when taking an Antabuse medication. For example, one must remove all items from ingestion: aftershave, mouthwash, cough syrups, vinegar (I'm assuming this included Tabasco and hot sauces with vinegar in them...this would be a big concern for me if I were taking this medication...Texan girls NEED their hot sauce) and chocolate (ay, me muero!) Even the smallest amount of ingestion of anything that contains alcohol could have a great deal of consequences such as, shortness of breath, vomiting, nausea...and many more ill-feeling effects.
The woman in this video describes what happened to her when she was on Antabuse meds, and what NOT to do.
I was also reading that the effectiveness of this pill depends on the use of the medication, i.e., daily (and correct use) of medication. There are patients who stopped taking the Antabuse med and started drinking a few days later...so it's best to stay on it. It also does not alcohol withdrawal symptoms...that's just something the individual has to endure on his/her own or with therapy, etc. The point of the medication is basically make the ingestion of alcohol intolerable to the point where it makes you sick. So, after repeated use of alcohol on this medication makes you sick...what's going to happen? You stop drinking...or...you stop taking the medication and drink to your hearts (dis)content.
Question of the week: Do you think rehab including therapy and detoxing, but excluding Antabuse would be better than using Antabuse on its own?
Thank you WebMD for this valuable information. Click the link for more details, if you please.
Wow that video was really interesting! I had read about Antabuse but I didn't really understand how it worked. It seems like a good tool to help people quit drinking in theory, but in real life, I think you're right. Rather than stop drinking after the first mishap, I think people would just stop taking the medication. As for your question, I think it depends on the individual. Some people are more compliant than others so maybe the medication would work better for them, because they follow directions more closely. As for people who aren't as compliant, the therapy type rehab would probably work better because they get more support.
ReplyDeleteLike you mentioned in your blog, I also just knew that a person would be able to cure themselves through detoxing. I had no idea this Antabuse medication existed for alcoholism treatment. With the information and the link that you provided I was able to understand what this Antabuse medicine really did. After reading the side effects of the medicine and looking at the video I would say that it is just better to not take the medication at all. Since taking the medicine might complicate their health than help them improve.
ReplyDeleteLike you I didn’t know a drug for alcohol addiction until I read this book, and your post helped me understand how the drug works with the addiction to alcohol. I too thought the only way someone would overcome their addiction was rehab and therapy. I’m not sure how I feel about choosing between antabuse and rehab//therapy, they both have their faults, in both a person can relapse. What about how long a person has to take the antabuse before they’re “cured”? Then in the rehab/therapy it’s a lifelong commitment, is you want to stay sober.
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