Former alcoholic: drugs don't work

'I first took Antabuse 25 years ago. The doctor warned me that if I drank it could make me sick, but I was never told it could kill me - it can react with your internal organs and, in extreme cases, cause death. You take one tablet every morning or have it implanted, which lasts for three months. If you drink within 48 hours of taking the tablet, it provokes intense discomfort - your heartbeat increases rapidly, you go purple, and you can be violently sick.

'I took it for five weeks and, in the fourth week, I started drinking again - if you're an alcoholic, you'd rather be drunk and ill than sober. I reacted violently: I collapsed on the floor with heart palpitations. The turning point was when my wife said she didn't want to live with me anymore. That evening, someone from Alcoholics Anonymous came and I've been going to meetings ever since. They taught me a different way of living and I haven't drunk now for 25 years.

'I don't think taking drugs is a cure for alcoholism. The problem is not the alcohol, it's the person, so it's the person who needs to be treated. My advice is take proper medical detoxification and then go to Alcoholics Anonymous and look at your problems. Sadly, the trend nowadays is to concentrate on the drugs and not the people. The psychiatrist becomes your off-licence.'

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