Surviving Opioids - Beyond an Epidemic
Surviving Opioids - Beyond an Epidemic
The Role of Vivitrol (IM Naltrexone) in the Treatment of OUD
The three primary Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) options for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) are methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.
The first two are considered opioid agonist replacements, while the third (naltrexone) is an opioid antagonist, which mechanistically means that it performs entirely different than the others.
Taking medication to transition away from your opioid of choice into a life of recovery is a proven and effective method of treatment. Despite this it remains a very contentious area of addiction treatment. No medication is going to be a cure-all, of course, but at the right time, in the right place, and under the right supervision, they can be quite significant.
Naltrexone is not an opioid - it's a blocker. Before you start, you need to be fully detoxed, and unlike methadone and buprenorphine, naltrexone does not keep you physically dependent on opioids.
In this episode, I give an overview of some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings around Vivitrol (the once monthly intramuscular injection of naltrexone). Personally, I believe Vivitrol is one of the most underrated and underused available medications for the prevention of relapse and overdose in the first year following a successful detoxification.
Personally, I was on this medication for about half a year, and there's no question it helped me through those first few months.
If you have any questions about this or other topics related to opioid addiction, please reach out on www.reactionrecovery.com or shoot me a DM on Instagram at Reaction Recovery.
The three primary Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) options for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) are methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.
The first two are considered opioid agonist replacements, while the third (naltrexone) is an opioid antagonist, which mechanistically means that it performs entirely different than the others.
Taking medication to transition away from your opioid of choice into a life of recovery is a proven and effective method of treatment. Despite this it remains a very contentious area of addiction treatment. No medication is going to be a cure-all, of course, but at the right time, in the right place, and under the right supervision, they can be quite significant.
Naltrexone is not an opioid - it's a blocker. Before you start, you need to be fully detoxed, and unlike methadone and buprenorphine, naltrexone does not keep you physically dependent on opioids.
In this episode, I give an overview of some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings around Vivitrol (the once monthly intramuscular injection of naltrexone). Personally, I believe Vivitrol is one of the most underrated and underused available medications for the prevention of relapse and overdose in the first year following a successful detoxification.
Personally, I was on this medication for about half a year, and there's no question it helped me through those first few months.
If you have any questions about this or other topics related to opioid addiction, please reach out on www.reactionrecovery.com or shoot me a DM on Instagram at Reaction Recovery.