Vivitrol (long-acting injectable naltrexone) for the treatment of alcohol dependence - an efficacy and tolerability study (analysis of a randomized controlled trial)

Anonymously

Around the clock

Vivitrol for alcohol is an effective way to code an alcohol-dependent person, forcing him to stop drinking. The medicine belongs to the group of opioid antagonists. Unlike prohibitive coding methods, in which a person refuses alcoholic beverages for fear of severe intoxication, Vivitrol does not cause painful symptoms when interacting with ethanol. His work is based on relieving the pleasant sensations that arise when drinking alcoholic beverages. Without becoming intoxicated, a person gradually loses interest in alcohol and gets rid of such a harmful addiction.

• Vivitrol for alcoholism
• What it is?
• Action of Vivitrol
• Vivitrol: instructions for use
• Vivitrol treatment: effectiveness
• Side effects
• Vivitrol contraindications
• Where to buy Vivitrol medicine
• Release forms
• Vivitrol tablets
• Vivitrol injection
• Vivitrol coding
• Duration of encoding result
• Vivitrol and alcohol
• Vivitrol treatment course at the Zdravnitsa clinic
• Vivitrol coding cost
• Vivitrol: Reviews

We will select an individual treatment plan

Free consultation 8-800-200-27-23

Vivitrol for alcoholism

The medical drug Vivitrol helps to effectively combat alcohol addiction in a short time, even at home. Most other encoding medications that contain disulfiram can seriously undermine your health and even lead to death when consumed with alcohol. It is very important for them that the addict stops drinking a month before the coding. In addition, even if freed from ethanol, such drugs can damage the liver if the doctor chooses the wrong dosage.

In contrast, Vivitrol is safe for health. By influencing the receptors, it makes the addict stop feeling intoxicated and loses the main purpose of drinking alcohol.

HOW TO HELP AN ALCOHOLIC IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE TREATED

What it is?

Vivitrol is based on Naltrexone and has a completely different principle of action. The medicine does not cause intoxication when combined with ethanol and will not harm health and well-being.

The active substance of the drug allows you to achieve the following effects:

• Block the effect of ethanol on the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system;
• Stop the effect of endogenous endorphins on the brain, which provide an intoxicating state;
• Even though the addict does not feel intoxicated, all the negative consequences of ethanol’s effects on the body come to him, that is, the hangover does not decrease at all;
• Gradually, a person loses all interest in alcoholic drinks and even begins to feel aversion to them.

Action of Vivitrol

The drug blocks certain receptors in the brain that are supposed to cause a state of alcoholic euphoria. The active substance of the drug helps the alcoholic to fully experience the unpleasant taste of alcoholic beverages; hangover symptoms also appear in accordance with the amount drunk and the strength of the drinks. Only the desired intoxication does not appear, for the sake of which people drink alcohol.

The drug has a temporary effect. But if you use this period profitably and combine coding with psychotherapy, you can achieve good results in a short time and even with outpatient treatment. If the drug helps relieve the patient from physical dependence, depriving him of the main purpose of drinking alcohol, then only the work of qualified psychologists and psychotherapists will help to relieve the psychological and social reasons due to which a person is addicted to alcohol.

CODING FROM ALCOHOLISM

Vivitrol: instructions for use

Vivitrol injection should only be administered by a qualified doctor. Under no circumstances should you change the components of the package or combine it with other drugs. The average single dose for a man is 380 mg, which is administered intramuscularly once a month. It is prohibited to use the medicine for subcutaneous or intravenous administration. The duration of treatment depends on the stage of addiction and general physical condition. If for some reason the addict misses the next dose, then the injection must be given as soon as possible, otherwise a breakdown and binge drinking is possible.

You can take the medicine in tablet form. But this option is more suitable for patients in closed hospitals, since in this case the medicine must be used daily. At home, there is too great a risk that the addict will forget to take the pill or stop taking the drug altogether.

Find out treatment recommendations without leaving home for free

To select a treatment plan, you just need to leave a request, we will contact you to select the time and specialist you need

Submit your application

READ MORE ABOUT CODING FOR ALCOHOLISM AT HOME

Vivitrol treatment: effectiveness

Vivitrol coding has shown consistent results and effectiveness of the drug in the fight against alcohol and opioid addiction. The drug acts on the body quite gently, without interfering with its functioning.

Statistics show that the drug helped 80% of patients get rid of addiction after the first course. These people were able to completely give up alcohol.

For other patients, Vivitrol helped to significantly reduce addiction to alcoholic beverages and eliminate the risks of binge drinking.

Side effects

The drug may cause some undesirable symptoms, if they occur, the use of the drug should be discontinued. Patients may experience the following side effects:

• Gastrointestinal tract: pain, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, problems with appetite, toothache;
• Respiratory tract: infections, sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, nasopharyngitis;
• Skin reactions at the injection site: itching, inflammation, rash, thickening, prickly heat;
• General disorders: lethargic sleep, lethargy, panic attacks, suicidal tendencies;
• CNS: headaches, drowsiness, anxiety, fainting, dizziness;

Vivitrol contraindications

Vivitrol is a potent substance that affects the functioning of the central nervous system and brain. Therefore, the medicine is contraindicated for a number of patients. These include:

• patients taking opioid drugs, narcotic analgesics;
• severe liver dysfunction;
• pregnancy and lactation;
• children under 18 years of age;
• elderly people over 60 years of age;
• with opioid withdrawal syndrome;
• people sensitive to any of the components of the drug.

Before administering the medication, it is necessary to conduct a provocative test with naltrexone in order to minimize the risk of side effects.

Where to buy Vivitrol medicine

Purchasing and administering the drug yourself is strictly prohibited, since violation of the dosage or errors when mixing the components of the drug can lead to serious negative consequences. If you are afraid of registering with a state clinic, you can contact a private narcological clinic, where this procedure will be carried out by qualified narcologists. Coding is usually done at the facility, but

Release forms

The most common method of Vivitrol coding is injections. But there is also a form of the drug in tablets that has a similar effect.

Vivitrol tablets

Vivitrol tablets act on the body in the same way as injections. They block receptors that cause intoxication, causing a person to lose interest in alcohol. You can take Vivitrol tablets at home, but for this, the addict must have strong motivation. In addition, there is always a risk that the patient will forget to take the medicine.

Vivitrol injection

A Vivitrol injection is an effective way to combat alcohol addiction. One intramuscular injection is effective for a month, after which the procedure must be repeated.

Leave a request for a free consultation with a specialist

We will contact you as soon as possible

• — Anonymous
• - For free
• — Around the clock

Vivitrol and alcohol

Alcohol after Vivitrol does not lead to intoxication and does not cause harm to health. Unlike prohibiting drug coding, the patient does not have to abstain from alcohol for 4 weeks, so even emergency doctors use the drug to achieve the fastest effect.

But doctors still recommend refraining from drinking alcohol in the first days after the injection to reduce the risk of side symptoms.

Treatment with Vivitrol at the drug treatment clinic “KORSAKOV”

After the basic treatment of alcohol addiction (detoxification, normalization of mental state), the doctor appoints a day when the drug will be administered to the patient. The optimal dose is once every 4 weeks.

Vivitrol coding should be carried out by a qualified narcologist after the main course of therapy, a preliminary conversation with the patient and an examination. The drug is injected slowly deep into the muscle (buttock). After the injection, a person must lie down in the clinic for some time to avoid complications or discomfort.

In rare cases, after the administration of Vivitrol, adverse reactions such as:

• diarrhea, nausea, vomiting;
• belching or heartburn not caused by food intake;
• lack of appetite;
• increased blood pressure;
• headache.

The patient must report such symptoms to the attending physician. After coding, the person can go home. To monitor the effectiveness of coding, the patient must periodically see a narcologist.

Online consultation with a specialist

regarding your question!

License number: LO-77-01-019036

Treatment prices:

Expand

Treatment of alcoholism

Treatment of alcohol dependence gives the most lasting results if it combines complex therapy - pharmacological treatment, individual psychotherapy, group work with a clinical psychologist, physiotherapy, medical and social rehabilitation. Only in this way can a person not only cope with his addiction, but also learn to live without his habit, cope with stress and problems without resorting to drinking alcohol, and be able to enjoy life, develop and achieve success.

Treatment of alcoholism is based on detoxification of the body using infusion therapy (intravenous administration of a detoxification solution), normalization of the physical and mental state with the help of a complex of medications, and the study of internal and social factors that caused the development of addiction.

After the main phase of treatment, the narcologist must consolidate the results obtained. For this purpose, the patient is offered to be coded for alcoholism. There are different coding methods (medicinal and non-medicinal), but one of the most effective and popular methods in modern addiction medicine is coding with Vivitrol.

Vivitrol: Reviews

Maria, 34 years old

My husband suffered from alcohol addiction for more than 5 years. Even as a student, all his meetings with friends always ended with beer or stronger drinks. At that time I didn’t attach much importance to it. But with the birth of the child, drinking began to happen more and more often. Due to absenteeism, he was fired from his job, but instead of looking for a new one, he began to go on a drinking binge. In three months, vodka drove our family almost to ruin. I couldn’t stand it and gave him a choice: either you code, or we leave. He agreed. To avoid problems due to registration in narcology, we turned to the private clinic “Zdravnitsa”. The doctor recommended coding with Vivitrol. The injection was given, but already on the third day the husband tried to get drunk again. However, he could not get drunk, but in the morning the hangover came in full force. After several such unsuccessful drinking sessions, he realized that now alcohol would not affect him and stopped drinking.

Evgeniy, 45 years old

The first Vivitrol injection was given three months ago. The craving for alcohol really decreases noticeably, especially when you begin to understand that you won’t be able to get drunk anyway. Already had 3 injections. Together with them, the doctor recommended group classes with a psychologist once a week, which I take online. The last time I drank was 2 months ago, I don’t feel like it yet. During this time, he began to earn more and made peace with his wife. I'm pleased with the result. Let's see what will happen next.

Leave a request for a free consultation with a specialist

We will contact you as soon as possible

• — Anonymous
• - For free
• — Around the clock

Dietary supplements inexpensively

Alcohol addiction is a serious chronic disease that requires complex and relatively long-term treatment with the involvement of several specialists - a narcologist, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a physiotherapist, a therapist, etc.

Alcoholism develops in a person gradually. At first, no one realizes that they have a problem with alcohol. Addicts are confident that they are not sick and that they can “quit” as soon as they want. However, over time, the situation worsens, a person develops tolerance to alcohol, the dose of alcohol consumed gradually increases, weak alcoholic drinks are replaced by stronger ones.

At the second and third stages of alcoholism, a person can no longer stop drinking on his own, since he has already developed a physical and mental dependence on alcohol. At these stages, the alcoholic begins to go on binges, and when alcohol is withdrawn, the symptoms of withdrawal syndrome clearly manifest themselves. If the problem is left unattended, the outcome is obvious: progression of addiction, deterioration of the patient’s physical and psycho-emotional state, premature death.

Free consultation right now!

Online consultation with a specialist on your issue!

License number: LO-77-01-019036