Naltrexone Medication in Alcoholism Treatment
March 27, 2008
Naltrexone is a medication that can be used effectively in the treatment of alcoholism for many people. It can provide many benefits that make addiction recovery an easier process.
It does this first by reducing the addict’s cravings for alcohol, which makes it easier to avoid the temptation to drink. Naltrexone has been shown to keep patients in abstinence more effectively than when it is not used. It also makes it more likely that an individual will recover from a relapse because the desire to continue drinking is lessened.Studies show that Naltrexone works very quickly after the person begins taking the medication. The first dose begins to affect the brain, and addicts respond to this by changing their behaviors soon after. It can reduce the effects of alcohol if an individual does drink, but it doesn’t eliminate them. Unlike some medications used in the treatment of alcoholism, Naltrexone doesn’t make patients physically ill if they drink. It does make it less likely that patients will want to continue drinking more and return to alcoholism.
There are usually only minor side effect symptoms associated with Naltrexone, with the most common being headaches and nausea. It does not create an addiction or have a psychological effect on the individual’s mood or thought clarity.
Naltrexone can also be used for treatment of addiction to opiate drugs. This includes heroin, morphine, OxyContin, Vicodin, methadone, and Percocet addiction, among others. It works by competing against these drugs for opiod receptors in the brain. Naltrexone was first created for this purpose before it became more commonly used in patients with alcoholism.
This medication should not be used as the sole method of treatment for alcoholism or drug addiction. A comprehensive treatment program including professional counseling is necessary for someone with an addiction to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle.
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