need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

[girly wirly]

hi all

well my antabuse arrived yesterday. i took 250mg yesterday lunchtime. it is now 9:30 am the following day. have been sober 2 full days.

the problem i have is i have a severe back condition that flares up alot and when it does, i have to take morphine capsules alongside liquid morphine which is 10% ethanol which obviously cannot be taken with antabuse.

i have been in agony for months now and because i took antabuse yesterday, i did not take the liquid morphine. i have been up all night in terrible pain. problem is, do i try and stand the pain and take the antabuse, or leave the antabuse until the bad spell of my back has eased? i have no desire to drink today but as we all know, that could change hour to hour/ day to day. what if the pain gets so bad and i have to take the liquid morphine, will i have any side effects after the one dose of antabuse i took yesterday? please help. im determined to stay sober but in alot of pain x

i cannot consult my gp.

sorry for ranting on

a worried girly xx

[Tabbers (a.k.a. KTAB)]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

If it were me I would stop the antabuse and take the pain relief because it sounds like it will grind you down given time and that could well lead you to drink again. I cant give you any advice about mixing meds except use extreme caution. Is there not any meds helpline that you could ask the question of, if you dont want to see your doc. Bottom line dont take any chances at all.

[Tabbers (a.k.a. KTAB)]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

Sorry meant to say I have never taken meds in this battle so I am certainly not qualified to give advise, just an opinion.

[JackieClaire]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

Hi girly,

I've just about googled the life out morphine/antabuse. All I can find is 'proceed with extreme caution'.

So I can't advise.

Apart from a short home de-tox (using valium) I haven't used any other meds.

J x
:l

[Guest]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

Is there an AL free form of Morphine?

Have heard recovered alcoholics turn down ANY med with AL in it since it could trigger them to drink again. I use some prescribed skin gel which is in an ethanol base and I can smell it a mile off - most evaporates within 30 seconds of application so think I'm safe(and you wouldn't consumed it as it would dissolve the lining of your mouth & stomach).

For now sounds like you should stop the AB and get some medical advice.

[jessie]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

Girly Wirly, I echo what the others said - first get over the pain spell and then use the AB again. How many ml of liquid morphine do you take? I took 10ml of tummy meds in a 45% alcohol solution 2 days after 250mg Antabuse, and had no reaction. Hope this helps.

[girly wirly]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

hi jessie 10 ml twice daily. think i need to sort my pain first but will try and abstain from any more oromorph until late this evening. thankyou x

[K9Lover]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

Hi Girly,
Can you call your local drugstore and ask to speak to the pharmacist? I did this a couple a weeks ago when I was worried about something interacting with the Antabuse. They won't ask for any personal information, or even your name. Just tell them what you are taking and they can check for interactions. Sorry you're in such pain, hope you feel better.
xoxo
K9

[girly wirly]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

hi everyone, the antabuse won. i wasn't concerned about drinking today but i am worried for the weekend. now i have 2 days antabuse in my system drinking isn't an option. if it gets too painful i guess i'll just have to grin and bear it! x

[sunshine_gg]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

Girly, how are you holding up?

Thinking of you... :l

[girly wirly]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

sunshine_gg;850745 wrote: Girly, how are you holding up?

Thinking of you... :l

hi hun,

i've been in some pain but i'd rather be sober! had a lovely 4 days, as i lose wieght from abstaining from al it will take some of the pressure off my spinal injuries and therefore hurt less? hopefully, long term, puting up with pain now will pay off in the long run! :h

fingers crossed x

[brittzak]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

Girly,
I have been here on the site for a very long time now...what I can tell you is ANY amount of alcohol taken with antabuse will make you very sick. I couldnt use perfume that touched my skin, you have to watch food when you eat out...so if the pain gets unbearable, I would either one stop taking the atabuse or number 2 CALL your doc and see if he can prescribe a different pain med. Obviously, you have explored other options if you are now on morphine, but perhaps another pain med could at least EASE the pain some.

[brittzak]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

PS...not that being here a long time makes me any kind of an expert, but we do discuss the meds at length with one another. Just my opinion.

[girly wirly]

need help. caught between a rock and a hard place.

brittzak;851199 wrote: PS...not that being here a long time makes me any kind of an expert, but we do discuss the meds at length with one another. Just my opinion.

thanks brit, any advice is great. my morohine capsules are keeping it at bay at the moment. to be honest because i'm feeling good about being al free think the old natural endorphins must be flowing cos i just really dont feel too bad at the mo xx just risked a prawn mayo sandwhich, hope that will be ok.