FDA Approves Monthly Injection for Alcohol Dependence

If you have a blood disorder or bleeding problems, such as hemophilia, you may have a high risk of bleeding after Vivitrol injections. Be sure to talk with your doctor if you have any conditions that affect your sober house blood. Your risk for these problems may be higher if you already have liver problems or if you drink a lot of alcohol. Talk with your doctor about any liver problems you have before starting Vivitrol treatment.

• Vivitrol effectively blocks opioid and alcohol neurological effects, binding to receptor sites in place of drugs.
• The data on a third formulation, Depotrex®, are still limited.

Rarely, a severe injection site reaction can cause permanent injury if not treated. Dosage is based on your medical condition and response to treatment. Your doctor may start you at a lower dose and monitor you for any side effects or withdrawal symptoms before increasing your dose. Naltrexone belongs to a class of drugs known as opiate antagonists. It is used as part of a complete treatment program for alcohol or opioid abuse (such as counseling, 12-step program, lifestyle changes). Our mission at Eleanor Health is to help people affected by addiction live amazing lives.

The Ideal Candidate for Vivitrol Treatment

The following lists contain some of the key side effects that may occur while taking Vivitrol. Tell your doctor right away if you start to feel more depressed. Also tell your doctor right away if you have thoughts about hurting yourself. Report any unusual thoughts or behaviors that trouble you, especially if they are new or get worse quickly.

• This medication blocks the effects of opiate drugs (including heroin) and similar drugs (opioids).
• The utility of long-acting naltrexone in special populations (such as individuals
  with alcohol dependence and a major mental disorder or those who are in the
  criminal justice system) remains to be examined.
• It will not produce any narcotic-like effects or cause mental or physical dependence.

Make sure your caregiver knows if you feel tired all the time, sleep a lot more or a lot less than usual, feel hopeless or helpless, or if you have trouble sleeping, get upset easily, have a big increase in energy, or start to act reckless. Also tell your doctor if you have sudden or strong feelings, such as feeling nervous, angry, restless, violent, or scared. Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication or change some of the other medicines you take.

Generic Name: naltrexone microspheres

If you believe that you have an alcohol or opioid use disorder or want to cut back on your use, talk to your doctor about your treatment options. Your doctor will perform an evaluation of your health and needs to determine if a monthly naltrexone injection is right for you. You should stop using any opioid medications 7 to 14 days before starting treatment with Vivitrol.

(A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way.) Therefore, both Vivitrol and Suboxone can cause very similar side effects. Other long-term side effects may occur from using Vivitrol, but more long-term studies are needed. If you have questions about any long-term side effects of taking Vivitrol, including liver problems, talk with your doctor. In this study, 5% of people who took Vivitrol had a depressed mood or suicidal thoughts or actions. In comparison, 10% of people who took naltrexone tablets had these symptoms.

Naltrexone injection may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

If you’ve had an allergic reaction to Vivitrol or any of the ingredients in the drug, you shouldn’t take Vivitrol. Ask your doctor what other treatments may a better choice for you. If you have any questions about Vivitrol or naloxone, or how to treat an opioid overdose, talk with your doctor. However, naltrexone (the active drug in Vivitrol) can be used with another medication called bupropion for weight loss. Therefore, naltrexone may control other cravings for food as well. Weight gain is probably not a side effect of Vivitrol use because naltrexone is also used for weight loss.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist any questions you have about naltrexone injection. Before having any laboratory test, tell your doctor and the laboratory personnel that you are receiving naltrexone injection. If you miss an appointment to receive naltrexone injection, schedule another appointment as soon as possible. « Patients should be warned of the risk of hepatic injury and advised to seek medical attention if they experience symptoms of acute hepatitis, » the companies said. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a set of symptoms that people can have when they stop drinking. Campral, or acamprosate calcium, is designed to reduce the positive response to drinking and thus reduce cravings.

It works by blocking activity in the limbic system, a part of the brain that is involved in alcohol and opiate dependence. Although not required for efficacy, the results suggest that this medication
formulation is also compatible with an abstinence orientation. Patients who
entered treatment with a goal of abstinence had a greater degree of drinking
reduction than those who only intended to reduce their drinking, and both
groups derived the same added advantage from injectable naltrexone vs placebo. However, patients who were abstinent when they began treatment benefited to
a greater degree from the active agent than those who were still drinking
at the time of the first injection. Race determination
was based on the participant’s response during the screening interview. Although race was used to compare medication groups at baseline, there was
no a priori hypothesis about race and treatment effect.