Michael Rapp
07-29-2003, 07:04 AM
On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 05:59:42 GMT, Kelcey <kelcey@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:
>I am absolutely new to this group and this is my first day reading
>some of the posts.
>
>I requested from my doctor Antabuse/Disulferam 250 MG tablets to help
>motivate me to not drink.
>
>I obviously have a drinking problem.
>
>I was wondering if any one of you have had any experience with this
>drug? What I am worried about is the interactions that I may have with
>food, colognes, lotions and stuff, but basically food.
>
>I understand vinegar is on the list of condiments to avoid. Is this
>really true? I guess I'd like to know how careful I need to be with
>foods in general.
>
>For instance, if I go to a Chinese or Japanese restaurant, should I
>avoid soy sauce, which is made from fermented soy beans?
>
>What about white vinegar in some sauces (Ketchup)? I looked up "white
>vinegar" and it said it was made by fermenting an ethyl alcohol
>solution of some sort. Now, I like to use white vinegar a lot, so
>this is kind of an important question to me.
>
>I didn't realize there was alcohol in so many products and I wonder
>how careful do I need to be.
>
>If I spray cologne on my skin will that usually be enough to cause a
>reaction?
>
>Gosh, I have so many questions that may or may not be answered
>definitely regarding interactions with common items, but I would like
>some input from people who have had some experinece with this drug.
>
>In any case, I wish everyone luck in their endeaver, including myself!
>
>Thanks!
>
>Kelcey
>
---------------------------
Hi Kelcey,
first of all, I do not have personal experience with Antabuse, but know several
people who do.
Whether it's any good or not depends mostly on your attitud towards drinking and
this drug. If taken alone with no further (professional) guidance, it won't help
you in the long run, it'll be like taking aspirin for a torn ligament, to cool
off the symptoms/ pain, but doing nothing about treatment.
The major work is still ahead of you, to change your way of life. There is no
other way.
As for alcohol as a food supplement, there are as many guidelines as there are
people you ask. Basically they are all right: You should avoid alcohol at all
means. However, this is not always possible (for example, in candy bars they
sometimes put alcohol in as a conservation agent). So I cannot give out a
guideline as a rule, because the reactions vary so much. What may be safe for me
may be fatal to you (or vice versa). Instead, I give you the "rules" I live by:
In restaurants (and at home, of course), avoid sauces made with alcohol (like
wine or sherry). NO excuses here.
At celebrations or parties, NO alcohol, no glass of champagne, nothing alcoholic
under NO circumstances. If somebody tries to bully me into joining him for a
glass, then I leave. For me, the only amount of alcohol I can handle safely is
zero. I found that when I had let myself be persuaded for a glass to toast to
the celebrety, then I became a frequent guest of such occacions. I had gotten
really good at "convincing" myself that this couldn't hurt (needless to say that
I was wrong, of course).
I use cologne, but only once a day. Regular dosis. You might want to watch
yourself closely, but this I only can do after I went through therapy. Before
that, self- honesty is a closed book to alcoholics (general rule here,
exceptions do exist, but I definitely am not one of them. And how certain can
you be that you are the one guy in a thousand?)
I don't eat candy or store- bought cakes, so I don't have to watch that.
Vinegar and soy sauce are a tricky matter. Their alcohol content is virtually
zero, but since in the manufacturing proccess alcohol is involved, it might
trigger something in your base memory, not at concious level (like saccherine
instead of sugar, the body knows it's been cheated and now demands the "real
stuff"). For myself, I use vinegar, ketchup and soy sauce but I listen closely
to my inner self and when I realize something feels strange I'm gonna run like a
scarred rabbit.
If you want to be serious about alcohol in foodstuffs, then the only way is to
cook everything yourself. Mom's cooking won't do because other people don't know
what to look for, really. Like at one instance, when I was just out of therapy,
my dad and I talked about alcohol and avoiding it, and in the course he offered
me an amaretto- flavored cappucino. My point is, he wasn't thinking along my
lines.
As a summary, I will not hand out an absolution on foodstuffs which are ok, that
is your own descision. Talk to doctors (several, and make sure they have
substance abuse training), but bear in mind the descision and responsibility is
always yours.
Regards,
Mike.
>I am absolutely new to this group and this is my first day reading
>some of the posts.
>
>I requested from my doctor Antabuse/Disulferam 250 MG tablets to help
>motivate me to not drink.
>
>I obviously have a drinking problem.
>
>I was wondering if any one of you have had any experience with this
>drug? What I am worried about is the interactions that I may have with
>food, colognes, lotions and stuff, but basically food.
>
>I understand vinegar is on the list of condiments to avoid. Is this
>really true? I guess I'd like to know how careful I need to be with
>foods in general.
>
>For instance, if I go to a Chinese or Japanese restaurant, should I
>avoid soy sauce, which is made from fermented soy beans?
>
>What about white vinegar in some sauces (Ketchup)? I looked up "white
>vinegar" and it said it was made by fermenting an ethyl alcohol
>solution of some sort. Now, I like to use white vinegar a lot, so
>this is kind of an important question to me.
>
>I didn't realize there was alcohol in so many products and I wonder
>how careful do I need to be.
>
>If I spray cologne on my skin will that usually be enough to cause a
>reaction?
>
>Gosh, I have so many questions that may or may not be answered
>definitely regarding interactions with common items, but I would like
>some input from people who have had some experinece with this drug.
>
>In any case, I wish everyone luck in their endeaver, including myself!
>
>Thanks!
>
>Kelcey
>
---------------------------
Hi Kelcey,
first of all, I do not have personal experience with Antabuse, but know several
people who do.
Whether it's any good or not depends mostly on your attitud towards drinking and
this drug. If taken alone with no further (professional) guidance, it won't help
you in the long run, it'll be like taking aspirin for a torn ligament, to cool
off the symptoms/ pain, but doing nothing about treatment.
The major work is still ahead of you, to change your way of life. There is no
other way.
As for alcohol as a food supplement, there are as many guidelines as there are
people you ask. Basically they are all right: You should avoid alcohol at all
means. However, this is not always possible (for example, in candy bars they
sometimes put alcohol in as a conservation agent). So I cannot give out a
guideline as a rule, because the reactions vary so much. What may be safe for me
may be fatal to you (or vice versa). Instead, I give you the "rules" I live by:
In restaurants (and at home, of course), avoid sauces made with alcohol (like
wine or sherry). NO excuses here.
At celebrations or parties, NO alcohol, no glass of champagne, nothing alcoholic
under NO circumstances. If somebody tries to bully me into joining him for a
glass, then I leave. For me, the only amount of alcohol I can handle safely is
zero. I found that when I had let myself be persuaded for a glass to toast to
the celebrety, then I became a frequent guest of such occacions. I had gotten
really good at "convincing" myself that this couldn't hurt (needless to say that
I was wrong, of course).
I use cologne, but only once a day. Regular dosis. You might want to watch
yourself closely, but this I only can do after I went through therapy. Before
that, self- honesty is a closed book to alcoholics (general rule here,
exceptions do exist, but I definitely am not one of them. And how certain can
you be that you are the one guy in a thousand?)
I don't eat candy or store- bought cakes, so I don't have to watch that.
Vinegar and soy sauce are a tricky matter. Their alcohol content is virtually
zero, but since in the manufacturing proccess alcohol is involved, it might
trigger something in your base memory, not at concious level (like saccherine
instead of sugar, the body knows it's been cheated and now demands the "real
stuff"). For myself, I use vinegar, ketchup and soy sauce but I listen closely
to my inner self and when I realize something feels strange I'm gonna run like a
scarred rabbit.
If you want to be serious about alcohol in foodstuffs, then the only way is to
cook everything yourself. Mom's cooking won't do because other people don't know
what to look for, really. Like at one instance, when I was just out of therapy,
my dad and I talked about alcohol and avoiding it, and in the course he offered
me an amaretto- flavored cappucino. My point is, he wasn't thinking along my
lines.
As a summary, I will not hand out an absolution on foodstuffs which are ok, that
is your own descision. Talk to doctors (several, and make sure they have
substance abuse training), but bear in mind the descision and responsibility is
always yours.
Regards,
Mike.