There are a variety of medications that can be used to treat different types of substance abuse disorders, such as suboxone for heroin, and one of the oldest, yet least talked about medications for alcoholism is called Naltrexone.
Naltrexone is sold under the brand names Vivitrol and ReVia. It is most commonly used for alcoholism, but can also be used to treat opioid dependence. The main success stories of Naltrexone, as with most Medication Assisted Treatment, comes from fully understanding how to use the medicine. Are you someone who is heavily dependent on alcohol? Maybe you’re just a casual drinker who when you decide to drink, maybe you can’t stop? Naltrexone might be for you.
Unlike most prescriptions that you take every day at a certain time of day, Naltrexone is used to curve the appeal of alcohol, and thus, is mainly used before actually taking your first drink. To get the most benefits of Naltrexone and for people that have had an extremely tough time putting down the bottle, and if you are nervous about going cold turkey then Naltrexone might be for you. What Naltrexone does, it it diminishes the positive affects you feel when you drink. With that being said, you should take Naltrexone about an hour or two before you plan to drink. Then if you’re going out with friends to have a drink or you think you might feel the need to drink, after taking Naltrexone an hour or two before you depart, it has time to work itself into your system.
From here you will start to notice that the alcohol you consume doesn’t exactly make you feel the way it did when you weren’t taking Naltrexone. That is, it doesn’t produce any of the euphoria of when you used to drink. You don’t receive the pleasure that you once did, thus, allowing your brain and your body to start to realize that alcohol isn’t as pleasurable as it was before. This is huge in learning to rewire your brain. By now allowing the alcohol to produce the euphoric effects it once did, your body starts to notice that and in return you actually will start to drink less, and less, and less. Until eventually you will start to realize that, hey, you only drank 3 beers instead of 12.
The key to this, is to always take the medication before a situation comes up where you might be inclined to drink (thing office party or work). Most success rates on any group that has tried this therapy relies solely on the end user to continue taking the medication before any act of drinking or potential drinking incurs. Many people have reported that even after just a couple of weeks of using Naltrexone, that they have completely quit drinking! This again is due to the blocking of the opioid receptors in your brain to feel the ‘pleasure’ that is once felt. Essentially, you start to realize that drinking more doesn’t make you feel any better. Thus training your brain to realize that more alcohol, for the first time in a long time, doesn’t equal more pleasure. Over just a short amount of time, you can retrain your brain on how to handle alcohol. Instead of 10 drinks you have 4. Next time you go out instead of 4 you have 1. Until you get to the point where your brain tells you ‘this isn’t fun anymore’ and you yourself, for the first time in a long time can say ‘no’ to alcochol. This treatment has cured hundreds of thousands of people who take it the right way.
Why haven’t you heard about this? Because it’s almost taboo in the field of addiction recovery to not quit cold turkey. Many people feel that taking a pill and drinking afterwards isn’t exactly helping someone quit. However, these people are mostly the ones who are ill informed about how to use the medication. Also, these people aren’t usually addicts, they are doctors, and doctors rarely are able to feel or understand the addicts from their perspective. What you need to remember when you start your addiction treatment is that there is no wrong way or right way for everyone to quit, as long as you work a plan to quit. Utilize Creative Recovery Center’s Recovery Coach. Create a plan. WORK THE PLAN. For some people, going cold turkey isn’t a viable option, and for these people, Naltrexone could be the wonder drug they’ve never heard of.
