Naltrexone

[mrhodes01]

Has anyone here used naltrexone in recovery/therapy?

I'm having a serious issue with cravings/compulsion despite going to meetings. I'm a little too young/not serious enough for antabuse. Also have serious issues with treating a substance problem with a substance. But I feel like having a little chemical assistance would help a lot to get started in recovery again, if properly administered/supervised.

How many slash/slash questions can I ask?

All of my doctors say they have no experience and it's a new therapy so they don't know. But I've been hearing that for years now. Thoughts?

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What is naltrexone?

Naltrexone is a drug prescribed to help people maintain abstinence after they have withdrawn (detoxified) from heroin or other opioids . It is also used in an experimental treatment to bring about rapid withdrawal from opioids. Naltrexone has also been used as a treatment to support abstinence for people who are dependent on alcohol. What does naltrexone do?

Naltrexone is classed as an opioid antagonist . It works by blocking the opioid receptors in the brain and therefore blocking the effects of heroin and other opioids. It can assist in maintaining abstinence from heroin because the person is aware that they cannot achieve a ‘high’ from using heroin. Therefore, any money spent on heroin will be wasted. It does not directly stop a person wanting to use heroin, although it may reduce or prevent cravings in some people. You cannot become physically dependent on naltrexone and it does not produce any euphoric effects.

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Mrhodes you can ask as many questions as you want. To my knowledge naltrexone has been around for quite some time. The blocking affect works real well almost to well. It will keep you from feeling the affects of opiates. You can kill yourself with it using to much opiate but you will never get high on opiates while on this(naltrexone). Welcome to SR enjoy your stay. Do you work any kind of recovery program? Hope all the info helps.

[DKS]

I asked my Dr about Naltrexone last May when I first began seeing her about my alcoholism. She recommended Campral instead and said that she had other patients who had success with Campral. She hadn't had as much success with Naltrexone. She started me on the Campral before I quit drinking and told me to taper off the alcohol, eliminating one beer per night for a week (i.e. have 12 beers per night for a week, then 11 beers per night the following week, then 10 per night, etc). I did OK until I was supposed to stop at 9 per night and then we went on vacation and I was back to having a twelve pack or more. The tapering wasn't working so I picked a date (June 12th) and stopped cold turkey. I've been on the Campral ever since and haven't had a drink since June 11th. Wow, I just realized that next Tuesday will be six months sober!

She says that I need to stay on the full dose of Campral for one year and then after one full year of sobriety, we can start cutting the dose. She said the studies had shown that taking the six Campral per day for a full year was the optimal dose and timing for achieving sobriety without relapse. It's working pretty well for me so far.

Good luck!

[mrhodes01]

For the record, Campral is the brand name of naltrexone.

Good to hear it works! thanks!

[barb dwyer]

ditto with me for the campral!!!

I don't know about opiates and all that - I'm an alcoholic - but the difference with the campral is amazing.

[DKS]

Actually, these are two entirely different medications. Campral is Acamprosate and Naltrexone is also known as Revia and Trexan. See this link:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20051101/1775.html

Naltrexone blocks the opiod receptors, as stated earlier, and Campral "Acamprosate (calcium homotaurinate) is believed to block glutaminergic N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors and activate g-aminobutyric acid type A receptors, and was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of alcohol dependence"

I was also following the program in Seven Weeks to Sobriety and taking Glutamine, and my Dr said the Campral worked on the similar theory as the Glutamine replacement therapy in Seven Weeks to Sobriety.

[mrhodes01]

Right you are, DKS. I'm still a bit confused

Thanks for the info.

[DKS]

You're welcome. When I was researching this last May, the Naltrexone sounded really promising to me because it seemed like it would make it pointless to drink and hopefully remove the desire if I wasn't getting any pleasure at all out of it. I don't really know why my Dr didn't like it, but I do know I'm very happy with the Campral. It seems like I saw studies somewhere that mentioned that both medications combined could also be helpful.

[Tazman53]

I have no idea what they had me on in detox, but when I was discharged they gave me enough Revia for a month with a refill or 2 if I felt I needed it. To be honest I kept forgetting to take it half the time and noticed no difference. Everyone is different, I was probably taking it every other day for the first week out of detox and then decided to not take it again I got some serious cravings.

I emersed myself into AA the day I got out of detox and I have not felt the need to take it since that week after I got out of detox, I am on my 88th day now and am happier then I have been in 20 years.

If it helps with the cravings I say go for it. You will run into folks who say that if you are serious about not drinking you shouldn't take anything else. IMO that is pure BS, if it makes it easier in the beginning go for it guilt free.