Antabuse and Flushing: What Users Say

• Euc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 18, 2015

For Alcohol Use Disorder "Well, I had tried everything to beat the demon booze. Tried Nalmefene, Campral, and Naltrexone medication, went to countless AA meetings, etc. But nothing worked. Then I did some research and saw this medication, and thankfully my doc prescribed it. I have been on it for 6 days and stupidly enough decided to see what would happen if I had 1 can of lager on the fourth day. I managed to get through half the can, and suddenly the symptoms began. Flushing, my throat felt like it was swelling, thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest, it was pounding so much, and then I experienced uncontrollable shaking like Shaking Stevens. Then I burst into tears. Felt awful! This tablet is a brilliant deterrent."

• Kay...
• January 6, 2017

For Alcohol Use Disorder "I initially started on Antabuse when I realized I could not stop on my own. My fear of side effects from drinking on it was sealed after I purposely had a half glass of alcohol while taking it. You develop a funny taste in your mouth, flushing, and heart racing. I think effects are worse the longer you've been taking it and how much you drink if you decide to drink around the time you took it. When I was ready to discontinue the drug, I read you had to wait one week. At that point, I had been taking about 250 mg per day for a couple of months. When two weeks was up, I had a glass of wine. I had a reaction, it wasn't severe, but I had the hot flushing, racing heart, and yucky stomach feeling. So for me, the drug was still in my system."

• 250...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 10, 2022

For Alcohol Use Disorder "YOU DO NOT WANT TO DRINK ON THIS STUFF! I took this medication last year for about a month. Decided it might not hurt to have one light beer, so I gave it a try. Within 10 mins, my face got super red, flushing, bloodshot eyes, pounding heart - lasted for about an hour. I decided I wanted to drink at a Christmas party, so I stopped taking it for a week, thinking it was out of my system. It wasn’t! The effects didn’t hit me until hours later, then my face started flushing again, and that was it. The next day, I have never been so sick in my life. I was throwing up for hours, very intense anxiety to the point where I thought I was going crazy. It was absolutely horrible. I then later read that this medication can stay in your body for up to a month. The medication scared me so bad that I decided to stop taking it. Nine months later, I am back on the drug. Knowing now I cannot drink on this med is helping me stay sober."

• Moa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 26, 2019

For Alcohol Use Disorder "30 hours after taking it, it 100% works for alcohol issues, high BP, HR-125 sitting still, nausea, flushed. This works better than withdrawals as a deterrent. Man, this sucks."