Anabuse?

I'm gonna go off-topic and preface this with the fact that I offer no medical advice here.  Just my experience.

I was suggested to take Anabuse twice in my lifetime and I complied both times.  The first time, I was going through level II alcohol education and therapy.. back when I was about 20 years old.  I complied and after about a few months, the fine folks at the therapy sessions said I was doing so well in alcohol abstinence and was nearing my commencement of their program, that they just took me off it to see how I did on my own without it.  I left there and stayed sober until I eventually drank again.  I did not drink on the Anabuse though.  I had no intention to drink on it or off it for a time.  I say that I had something in me, a desire to stay stopped and I was able to do that.  I did not feel tempted to be stupid and drink on it.  I had no craving as alcohol was long since out of my system and would only battle the obsession.

Now, fast forward to my next treatment stint, the prior one being when I was 18.  I'd be volunteering a treatment center stay as conditions to stay employed with my job after having confessed to having a problem with alcohol and in a place to seek help.  While successfully completing my 14 day stay at a local treatment center, I was scheduled to see a dr there as part of setting up my "aftercare" program.  He recommended Anabuse.  I disagreed, saying that I would be doing A.A. among other things and that I felt things were going well in treatment and my aftercare, as I had an A.A. homegroup, sponsor, group of folks whom I'd seen at least twice a week, plus I was doing the treatment center meetings, etc.  Heck, I was chairing A.A. meetings and was working on my 9th step amends by then... with my A.A. group.  But no, the doc said, "If you want to show us that you're really commited to stay sober, you'll do this."

So I took the damned Anabuse.  My wife told me that she and my MIL had noticed that I stank like rank garlic.  I don't really remember noticing too many health related issues, as I was not ingesting booze and was careful about cologne, etc.  But on Thanksgiving Day, my appendix almost burst and I had it removed.  I took myself off the Anabuse at that point and never looked back.  My old doctor, not the treatment center one, had requested an appointment to discuss some things about my liver.  I never went to see him.  I just stayed away from that Anabuse and recouped the appendectomy and never looked back.

I've heard of some folks that drank on anabuse.  Could the courts and docs be partly blamed for this?  If you're gonna drink booze, don't take anabuse.  That's crazy.  We knew a guy who did this and his face turned beet red.  I stopped hanging around the guy.  I had the power over booze, at the time to not do that.  I guess some don't.

Any other experiences on Anabuse?  Oh, I do remember some of my A.A. peers telling me that it was bad and don't take it.  I told them I wasn't doing it so much for me.  I was doing it to keep other folks off my damn back.  I remember this one gal who showed up when I did to take our Anabuse.  She seemed very nice and all... but it seemed like the more I saw her, the more her face broke out in acne.  Could the Anabuse have caused this?

I stopped smelling like stinky garlic when I stopped taking it.