Naltrexone: A Medication for Treating Alcoholism

However, if you’ve recently taken an opioid medication and then start Vivitrol treatment, you can have sudden opioid withdrawal symptoms. In such cases, you may need to stay in a hospital or be monitored for symptoms such as a fast heart rate and high blood pressure. Naltrexone will cause withdrawal symptoms in people who are physically dependent https://www.excel-medical.com/5-tips-to-consider-when-choosing-a-sober-living-house/ on narcotics. Therefore, naltrexone treatment is started after you are no longer dependent on narcotics. The length of time this takes may depend on which narcotic you took, the amount you took, and how long you took it. Before you start using this medicine, be sure to tell your doctor if you think you are still having withdrawal symptoms.

In a 24-week clinical trial for the treatment of opioid dependence, no one reported a depressed mood or suicidal thinking. Most of the serious side effects that can occur while you’re taking Vivitrol can happen whether you’re taking the medication for alcohol or opioid dependence. To have opioid withdrawal, you must’ve been taking an opioid medication. People who have alcohol use disorder drink regularly and in large amounts.

You cannot medicate your way out of addiction.

The only double-blind, placebo-controlled trial — the most rigorous research design — didn’t find a significant reduction in the number of heavy drinking days in addiction patients on an GLP-1 receptor agonist versus those on a placebo. The pharmacokinetic profile of long-acting injectable naltrexone differs
substantially from that of the oral formulation. Each factor was dichotomized, and efficacy analyses
for each subgroup of women were performed.

• You should stop taking opioids at least 7 to 10 days before starting Vivitrol treatment.
• Naltrexone will block the effects of any narcotic medicines you take (such as prescription medicine for pain, cough, or diarrhea).
• While the prices of the depot formulations have not yet been announced, their daily cost might exceed that of oral naltrexone.

You should take Vivitrol according to your doctor or healthcare professional’s instructions. It’s not known if it’s safe to breastfeed while taking Vivitrol. The drug is present in breast milk, so a breastfeeding child may consume the medication. However, it’s not known what effects Vivitrol may have on breast milk or on a breastfed child. Below is a list of medications that can interact with Vivitrol. This list doesn’t contain all drugs that may interact with Vivitrol.

This is only a summary of the most important information about VIVITROL.

Vivitrol can be stored at room temperature for up to 7 days before use. However, the medication should never be stored at temperatures higher than 77°F (25°C). And the medication hasn’t been studied in relation to weight loss.

Some people receiving VIVITROL treatment have had a type of pneumonia that is caused by an allergic reaction. If this happens to you, you may need to be treated in the hospital. Call 911 or get emergency medical help right away in all cases of known or suspected opioid overdose, even if naloxone is administered. The same result was not seen in patients who were still drinking at the start of the study. Remember that this medication has been prescribed because your doctor has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

How Does Vivitrol Work?

If you’re concerned about weight gain while taking Vivitrol, talk with your doctor. More testing needs to be done to determine if Vivitrol is a safe and effective medication for weight management. A controlled substance is typically a drug that you can become dependent on and misuse. If you’re breastfeeding, talk with your doctor before using Vivitrol. There aren’t any herbs or supplements that have been specifically reported to interact with Vivitrol. However, you should still check with your doctor or pharmacist before using any of these products while taking Vivitrol.

• The majority of injection site reactions are moderate and resolve on their own.
• Nausea, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, anxiety, tiredness, and loss of appetite may occur.
• If you have alcohol use disorder, medication may help you stop drinking while you take it.
• Uneven insurance coverage has hampered the use of oral naltrexone in many parts of the US.
• The overdose risk is higher at these times because Vivitrol isn’t working as well or at all to stop your cravings.

Before being introduced, the long-acting formulations would have been assessed against a background of psychosocial support. In other words, information on drinking outcomes could not be gleaned from simply administering monthly injections without providing psychosocial support. Psychosocial support should be scheduled to coincide with the monthly visits to the treatment center (ie, when injections are administered) or more frequently for some patients. Thus, treatment centers that use long-acting depot formulations for the treatment of alcohol dependence must be flexible in monitoring the adequacy of patient care and delivering psychosocial support (Johnson 2006). The importance of the findings of allergic-type interactions with Vivitrex® is uncertain.

Will I gain weight while I’m taking Vivitrol?

Talk to your healthcare provider about naloxone, a medicine that is available to patients for the emergency treatment of an opioid overdose. Recent guidelines recommend the use of naltrexone in the treatment and management of AUD. The APA, SAMHSA, and VADoD guidelines have similar and overlapping recommendations for the use of naltrexone in AUD. Naltrexone has proven efficacy in treating AUD and is generally well tolerated. Clinical pharmacists can play a pivotal role as part of an interdisciplinary team in the screening, identification, and management of patients with AUD.

These lists contain examples of more common side effects that may occur with Vivitrol, with naltrexone, or with both drugs (when taken individually). However, naltrexone is a tablet that must be taken every day to be effective. Vivitrol is an injectable form of naltrexone that’s given only once a month.

Naltrexone for Alcoholism

There are no known interactions between Vivitrol and Xanax (alprazolam). Vivitrol doesn’t work on the same part of your brain that Xanax affects. If you miss a dose of Vivitrol, you should schedule an appointment to receive the next dose as soon as possible. Like Suboxone (above), the drug naltrexone has uses similar to those of Vivitrol. Here’s a comparison of how Vivitrol and naltrexone are alike and different. You may wonder how Vivitrol compares to other medications that are prescribed for similar uses.