LifeChanges

I really need help to stop and AA and SR are wonderful, but I'm still drinking. I have no willpower.
I need to ask my dr for some sort of help. A friend recently told me about Vivitrol. And I know there are other types out there for alcohol. Please let me know your experience. I hope I'm not going to be judged for thinking there is a magic pill. This is just so hard for me and I need help.

saoutchik

Hi LifeChanges, i'm sorry but I have no experience with Vivitrol but I too have little willpower. I just found it really important to find something that would hold my attention and require concentration, like a computer game or similar. That way I did not have to fight the cravings.

I hope someone can pass on their experience of Vivitrol.

Good luck!

heartcore

My daughter, who has struggled mightily & earnestly with sobriety is currently 2 months sober (with ease, for her) using the once monthly Vivitrol shot.

Vivitrol was developed as a blocker to support opiate addicts, but they noticed that it also reduces cravings for alcohol. My understanding is that you only do it in early sobriety as an additional support. It doesn't react to alcohol (making you sick, like Antibuse), just reduces cravings.

It is fairly expensive. Make sure your insurance approves it first. Many don't.

I never used any medicines to get sober, but for some I know (& some here on this site), it did make the difference between early success or constant relapses. Hopefully, someone will post who has personal experience.

Like all pharmaceutical concoctions, there can be side effects. There is a Vivitrol webpage that I checked out when my daughter was considering it. Obviously produced by the company profiting off it, but it had all the side effect info, etc.

It's not a magic bullet (nothing is), but she was willing to do all the other work of sobriety, & the reduced cravings made a difference for her.

BeanieBaby

Hi LifeChanges - I have been on the Vivitrol shot for two months. It was initially offered when I was exiting rehab and really helped diminish cravings that first month. I then decided to get another one as I was still in IOP and insurance covered it. A couple of minor side effects - some fatigue, muscle aches and minor anxiety the first two days. But well worth it to have cravings significantly reduced - and knowing that the high would be blocked if I did relapse (alcohol) was another motivating factor to stay sober. It's rather expensive if your insurance doesn't cover it - but I would check it out as more and more plans are covering it.

potatojuice

Hey Life - I have tried Vivitrol, both the monthly shot and the pills along with Campral. I am sorry to say it did not do much for me. I have talked to people who say they thought it helped. I'd say it is worth a try. Everyone's body chemistry is different. Like the other posters said, it can be expensive, especially the monthly shot. Naltrexone is the pill version - I don't think that is too expensive. Good luck

DesertDawg

I was prescribed Naltrexone (Vivitrol is an extended-release injectable form of Naltrexone) when I got out of rehab, but it made me nauseous and I wasn't having bad cravings anyway, so I stopped taking it, and I've stayed sober without it. It seems like Vivitrol may be more effective for opiate addiction than for alcohol. Unlike with opiates, Vivitrol doesn't block the effects of alcohol, it supposedly just reduces the cravings. Having said that, I don't see where it could hurt, except if you suspect you may have liver damage, as Vivitrol/Naltrexone is apparently very hard on the liver.

LifeChanges

I need something. I want sobriety, but I'm not strong enough

Forward12

Sounds like you may want to get yourself into inpatient or extensive outpatient rehab

newman23

I'm currently on Vivitrol for alcohol. I've been on it for about 7 months and drank once on it this time around. It felt like most of the high was blocked some when I did drink. At the end of the night I ended up just puking up everything I drank with no real buzz with it. After that, it seemed like my cravings vanished. Unfortunately, at the moment, my cravings have come back and are very strong here at just about 6 months sober even with the shot. I know there are other factors involved that need work. I know the shot is very expensive without insurance, so I agree, the pill form may be better to start of trying, but then again I stopped taking the pill or I'd *forget*.

heartcore

LifeChanges ,

Not a single person on this site was strong enough, until they were!

And...we don't have to be "strong enough" all by ourselves (for many of us that was the problem that kept us from sobriety).

There are kind doctors, medications, friends, meetings, exercise, rehabs, SoberRecovery, sponsors, religious communities, spirit/God, families, puppies, books - all of which contributed their strength to us generously & confidently.

I couldn't have made the strides I have alone. Amazing people - some close to me & some strangers - have contributed to my recovery in a thousand ways.

I am conscious of trying to contribute to the recovery of others in any way I can to "pay that gift forward."

The strength is all around you. You just have to let it in...