I have taken 100mg of antabuse at 7am on the morning of the 23rd and 100mg at 7am on the morning of the 24th. Have had none since. Its now the 27th - am i safe to have a drink this afternoon? Im starting on Campral next Monday... Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
Is 3 days ok to have a drink after stopping antabuse?
Question posted by angrysquirrel on 27 July 2013
Last updated on 12 September 2021 by hb176
Added 27 July 2013:
also these two doses are the only two ive ever taken
26 Answers
hb176
12 Sep 2021
Hi, I just was searching for an answer myself. I was taking 500mg for 5.5 months, stopped for a week, began taking 250mg daily for 7 days. Stopped for 48 hours and had 2 shots of vodka that night. Thought I would be ok.. Became very ill, face became beet red, resting heart rate 195bpm. Redness spread throughout my body for approx. 3 hours, pounding headache, and knocked me out for the night. Am a health care professional, my opinions are this:
1) if you are on antabuse it is for a reason.. reach out to someone before you reach for that drink. find a local AA meeting if only for an hour to get some support.
2) knowing the alcoholic mind, if you are searching for this question you have inevitably made up your mind to drink. it is understandable given our disease. but please take this into consideration.. for safety reasons, do not drink on this medication for at least 4 days. it will be a hard four days, but believe me. it is recommended to wait 14 days until the half life of the medication has left your body completely, but it is NOT safe to drink on this before. thought i was going to die.
3) for me.. instead of picking up a drink again i took my nighttime dose early when i got the craving to help myself not drink that night. believe me, it was miserable drinking on it.
it is better for you to be safe than sorry. reach out to a friend in the meantime while the medication wears off. best of luck, stay well. one day at a time.
Kmk666
29 March 2020
I've been an alcoholic for the better half of 12 years pretty much everyday all day. I have been taking antabuse since January 7th everyday 500mg a day 2 250mg capsules in the morning. I'm on my 7th day without I have taken 4 50ml of 35%vodka. I am just feeling the bit of pressure in the face and a bit of increased heart rate, i am in no way saying your safe cause as we all know the effects are different for everyone just stating my experience but in all honesty 4 shots is enough I will keep updated on my status but I'm not going to push my luck further
Tomhub22
6 April 2019
I have been taking 250 mg of antabuse (disulfiram) daily for 3 weeks. I am an alcoholic (heavy drinker) and stopped taking antabuse for 2 days (60 hours) and when I drank 2 beers (6% ABV) in 5 mins. My face became red and flushed. No real "negative" effect. No nausea/vomiting etc. I am a 29 y/o male. I drank my third beer about 30 mins later and I experienced some more "flush" in my face. Slight pressure in my temples. I have drank everyday since and it wasn't until a week later that I had absolutely 0% side effects.
adamzlivinitup
8 Dec 2018
I took 250 mg pills for 4 days. 5 days after I stopped taking it I drank a pint of vodka with no side effects
Parker1217
17 Oct 2018
No it is still in your system. I took it Friday and Saturday then stopped. Drank Tuesday night and it is wed and I'm still feeling horrible. Hot flashes face is beat red and rash and red kn my chest. Horrible decision!
clinicisopen
5 Aug 2018
I have been reviewing the responses and the majority make sense clinically. Bottom line, Disilfuram has a relatively long half life, meaning it takes some time to get out of the body. To that end, what makes things more difficult is that different people metabolize the drug differently, and respond to treatment differently as well (the same level in the body for one person may have drastically different impacts on another person..some people cannot even use alcohol hand wash while taking disulfiram). How it affects you, and how long you need to wait to drink prior to stopping will be individual, however, as many have stated, its true that if you have taken it for a while (2 weeks'ish) you will have likely reached a steady state (peak levels) and will need to wait longer that someone who has taken it for a couple days. There are a number of good treatments out there. I highly recommend both medication in conjunction with AA.
Also, note that persistent alcohol can have significant effects on your cognitive ability over time. While a good bit of this damage can be repaired by being sober, it usually takes 6-12 months of sobriety to know how much functioning will return. One day at a time for sure.
Whatsnext555
14 July 2018
Okay so typically I wouldn’t respond to a blog like this but... but I feel impelled now since I used for advice and so many responses are vague. I am 42yo F, 5’8” and weight 225lbs. I took 250mg for 1yr, waited 14 days Antabuse free, got my party on and had no issues. I had been off it 2 weeks, took one 250mg pill Thursday... it’s Saturday 4:07pm and I am on beer 4 with no issues... just a good buzz. But don’t get me wrong, I am an alcoholic and I am not afraid to admit that but I have never let my responsibilities fail or caused drama when drinking, only drink on weekend but like to party... I just got sick of the hang overs and anxiety it gave me during Sunday’s hang over recovery. If ur like me, use best discretion... if u are someone who lost a job, House, family, big drama causer... stick to ur guns and stay on it... go to a meeting or call ur sponsor. It’s not worth it!
Guestn01
13 June 2018
This is an old question, however if my reply helps anyone then I’ve made a difference. I was prescribed disulfiram for 28 days with no advice leaflet, purely to stop my drinking which was getting out of control. For those of you that are asking the question “when can I have a drink safely” I took 200mg for 28 days and didn’t have a drink for 11 days afterwards and I was fine, don’t risk it any earlier xx good luck
Ekendrick
5 April 2018
Is 72 hours off of Antabuse long enough to have a drink?
Ripp64
18 March 2018
Have taken ab since 14 Feb stopped 13 Mar 100mg dose skipped few days double shot vodka and Dr pepper today heart rate out the box
noelgayler
28 Aug 2017
Not in my case. I require 4-5 days of abstinence, but that is my anecdotal response!! ; and that is what I did for the past 20+ years of 30 years of drinking.
ajaysharma0000
16 June 2017
no plz wait for 14 days or above bcoz i wait for 17 days now i going to take alcohol
Rousseau82
12 Feb 2017
I took a single dose 800 mg 5 days ago and drinking, no ill effects. I previously took antabuse for several weeks and waited 10 days, no ill effects. I will suggest wait 5 days.
AMB19631963
15 March 2017
I'm trying to start antibuse. I'm trying to find out how long AFTER my last drink that I can safely take my antibuse??
AMB19631963
15 March 2017
PS: my script is 250 mg per day
Gjassal
7 Dec 2017
I took antabuse for about 40-50 days. My side effects stopped after 1 month or so, and now after 4 months THEY JUST STARTED HAPPENING AGAIN. Its horrible, I havent taken the medication for months now and the reactions comes back when i drink. It makes no sense at all. I need help !!!
michaeko
8 Jan 2017
Don't do it!! I took 125 mg for 3 days and then stopped and 48 hours later had three glasses of wine. After the first two glasses I did not feel anything and felt I was okay then I took the third drink. In 25 minutes my heart was pounding, I had an awful headache. I drank 6 glasses of water in a period of an hour and went to sleep. It was a nightmare. This stuff will screw you up so badly. I was miserable!! Believe me you will not have a buzz at all!! It's nothing but pure pain. In the past I would wait a week and would be okay and felt a few mild symptoms. In the future I will wait 10-14 days to have a drink. I use this drug to control my drinking when I want to abstain for long periods at a time.
Mckenna-2423
25 Dec 2017
So if I just took my last pill yesterday morning you highly suggest I don't have a drink today?
Dhairya jagan
13 Dec 2016
I have took my last dose one month ago but side effects are still happening to me. Why this happens to me... It is not leaving my body.
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Further information
- Antabuse uses and safety info
- Antabuse prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Antabuse (detailed)
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