Librium vs. Antabuse

• Are Antabuse and Librium the Same Thing?
• What Are Possible Side Effects of Librium?
• What Are Possible Side Effects of Antabuse?
• What Is Librium?
• What Is Antabuse?
• What Drugs Interact with Librium?
• What Drugs Interact with Antabuse?
• How Should Librium Be Taken?
• How Should Antabuse Be Taken?

Librium (chlordiazepoxide) and Antabuse (disulfiram) are used to treat alcohol withdrawal.

Librium is also used to treat anxiety disorders.

Librium and Antabuse belong to different drug classes. Librium is a benzodiazepine and Antabuse is an alcohol antagonist drug.

Side effects of Librium and Antabuse that are similar include drowsiness, tiredness, headache, or skin rash.

Side effects of Librium that are different from Antabuse include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, blurred vision, swelling, or irregular menstrual periods.

Side effects of Antabuse that are different from Librium include metallic or garlic-like taste in the mouth, acne, impotence, and swollen or sore tongue.

Both Librium and Antabuse may interact with alcohol, blood thinners, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), or antidepressants.

Librium may also interact with barbiturates, medicines to treat psychiatric disorders, or narcotics.

Antabuse may also interact with isoniazid, benzodiazepines, metronidazole, theophylline, phenytoin, or lithium.

Do not stop using Librium suddenly, or you could have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

Common side effects of Librium include:

• drowsiness,
• tiredness,
• dizziness,
• nausea,
• vomiting,
• constipation,
• blurred vision,
• swelling,
• skin rash,
• irregular menstrual periods, or
• headache.

Tell your doctor if you have side effects of Librium including:

• confusion,
• depression,
• hyperactivity,
• hallucinations,
• slurred speech,
• trouble walking,
• facial or muscle twitching,
• sleep disturbances,
• trouble urinating,
• changes in sex drive, or
• jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

Side effects of Antabuse include

• drowsiness,
• tiredness,
• headache,
• metallic or garlic-like taste in the mouth,
• skin rash or acne,
• impotence, and
• swollen or sore tongue.

Tell your doctor if you have a unlikely but serious side effects of Antabuse including:

• vision changes,
• numbness or tingling of arms and legs,
• muscle weakness,
• mental/mood changes (e.g., agitation, extreme excitement/confusion), or
• seizures.

Librium (chlordiazepoxide) is a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety disorders or alcohol withdrawal.

Antabuse (disulfiram) is an alcohol antagonist drug used to treat chronic alcoholism. Antabuse is available in generic form.

Librium may interact with barbiturates, blood thinners, MAO inhibitors, medicine to treat psychiatric disorders, narcotics, or antidepressants. Tell your doctor all medications you use.

Antabuse may interact with isoniazid, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, warfarin, metronidazole, theophylline, phenytoin, or lithium. Tell your doctor all medications you are taking. During pregnancy, Antabuse should be used only when prescribed.

Librium (lorazepam) is administered orally. For optimal results, dose, frequency of administration, and duration of therapy should be individualized according to patient response. To facilitate this, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, and 2 mg tablets are available.

The usual range is 2 to 6 mg/day given in divided doses, the largest dose being taken before bedtime, but the daily dosage may vary from 1 to 10 mg/day.

For anxiety, most patients require an initial dose of 2 to 3 mg/day given two or three times a day.

For insomnia due to anxiety or transient situational stress, a single daily dose of 2 to 4 mg may be given, usually at bedtime.

For elderly or debilitated patients, an initial dosage of 1 to 2 mg/day in divided doses is recommended, to be adjusted as needed and tolerated.

The dosage of Librium (lorazepam) should be increased gradually when needed to help avoid adverse effects. When higher dosage is indicated, the evening dose should be increased before the daytime doses.

In the first phase of treatment, a maximum of 500 mg of Antabuse daily is given in a single dose for one to two weeks. The average maintenance dose of Antabuse is 250 mg daily (range, 125 to 500 mg), not to exceed 500 mg daily. Do not drink alcohol and avoid all alcohol-containing products (e.g., cough and cold syrups, mouthwash, or foods containing alcohol) while taking this medication.