Vivitrol is a drug mainly administered to help prevent drug or alcohol dependency and relapse, and is administered expressly for alcohol and opioid drugs such as heroin and prescription pain killers. Vivitrol is an extended release type of the medication Naltrexone, which one can get through injection once a month. It is not habit forming, and is what is called an antagonist. When someone is adminstered Vivitrol, it cuts off the receptors that would usually be triggered by alcohol or opioids, so when someone drinks or tries to get high on opioids they essentially can't get high or drunk.
There are certain precautions that need to be taken before someone begins treatment with Vivitrol. Firstly, an individual who with the intent to begin Vivitrol needs to have been off of opioids for a minimum of seven to ten days. This includes individuals who are involved in opioid maintenance therapy and are taking drugs such as Buprenorphine or Methadone. For a heroin addict or someone who has been taking Methadone for several years, abrupt cessation is brutal, but withdrawal is something they will have to endure for at least a week in order to start Vivitrol.
These meds must be used in conjunction with an addiction treatment program in Broussard which also offers individual therapy, group therapy and medical supervision. Speak with your therapist or doctor in regards to how pharmacological tools can help you maintain the drug-free life you want.
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