Naltrexone Treatment For Alcohol Detox

All about naltrexone

Synthesised back in the 1960s and first used in a clinical setting in the 1970s, naltrexone is not new. This drug can block the effects of methadone, alcohol and other opiates. It can also lessen the effects people aim for when consuming alcohol or taking drugs. In this way, it can help patients abstain from using alcohol or drugs.

How does naltrexone work?

For alcohol and drugs such as heroin to produce their effects, they must reach locations in the body known as receptor sites. When naltrexone enters the nervous system and brain, it attaches itself to these sites and blocks the drugs or alcohol from accessing them.

The receptor sites in the human body are a part of a complex reward system which motivates people, leading to repetitive behaviours. A blocked reward system leads to fewer cravings and a decrease in dependency behaviours, which opens the door for new behaviours to assert themselves over time. This works well for people with opiate addictions and alcohol dependence.

Why try naltrexone?

Taking naltrexone can prevent you from experiencing a relapse. Most people with alcohol addiction have one or more relapses after becoming sober.

Research has shown that people who take this medication regularly have a better chance of staying sober than with other treatments alone. As such, it’s often recommended for alcoholics who want to get sober but have never managed to do so for very long or at all, and for those who feel willpower, AA or just counselling on its own won’t work.

Is naltrexone addiction possible?

Naltrexone is not addictive. Even if used for many months, there are no withdrawal symptoms for people who stop taking it suddenly.

What about the naltrexone implant?

An implant of this medication can be effective because it eliminates the chances of the person not taking it as directed or forgetting to take it. A patient is less likely to use opiates or alcohol when they have an implant from the Harley St Alcohol Detox Organisation.

Are there any side effects?

There are few side effects associated with naltrexone, and serious side effects are rare. Some patients might experience a slight stomach upset, fatigue or a temporary increase in anxiety or nervous moods.

People who have kidney disease or any liver disease, such as hepatitis C or B and cirrhosis, should not take naltrexone. People with these conditions could experience increased effects because of the slower removal of the medicine from the body.

Keep in mind that if you take naltrexone when you are physically addicted to opiates or alcohol, it will cause you to experience withdrawal symptoms quickly. If you stop taking this medication and start using alcohol or drugs, you could harm yourself.

You may wonder whether you will no longer enjoy life with a blocked reward mechanism. Fortunately, it will have little or no impact on your everyday life quality. Instead, people are normally pleased and happy to be free of alcohol or opiates and safe from relapse.

It’s worth noting that a study published in The Lancet medical journal which compared buprenorphine—another medication used to treat opiate addiction—to naltrexone found that while both are equally effective, naltrexone can’t be started until after a detox. This is due to naltrexone only working once all alcohol has been removed from a person’s system through a detox programme. While the study did find both drugs are effective treatments, buprenorphine’s advantage is that it can be administered before a person has gone through a full detox.

Do you need counselling after taking naltrexone?

At Harley St Alcohol Detox Organisation, we advise anyone with an alcohol addiction to take our home alcohol detox programme or attend our residential rehab programme. This is so you can receive the comprehensive addiction treatment that is usually needed to help achieve sobriety.