Stopping the use of opiates can be excruciating. It takes anywhere from seven to 10 days for the drug to completely leave your system. It’s not something you want to go through more than once. After you’ve detoxed from opioids, however, whether you used heroin, oxycodone or Suboxone, you can greatly reduce your urge to relapse with Vivitrol, one of the many substance abuse recovery options your doctors at the Suboxone Treatment Clinic offer for you and your loved ones.
Talk to your doctor about whether Suboxone or Vivitrol is right for you, but here are some things to consider:
- Vivitrol is a monthly shot, while Suboxone requires you to take it daily.
- Vivitrol requires a decision to commit to a month of an opiate antagonist in your system.
- Vivitrol does not reduce withdrawal symptoms, while suboxone alleviates your withdrawals.
- Vivitrol has no potential for abuse or addiction.
- Suboxone is used for opiate use, while Vivitrol helps with both opiate and alcohol use.
The United States is in an opioid crisis situation. The greater problem takes its toll on individuals addicted to opiates, their families and communities. In response to the ravaging consequences, a number of treatment alternatives have become available recently.
Most treatment options, including those provided with medical assistance, should always be accompanied by counselling and appropriate group therapies designed to target the psychological and mental aspects of addiction. The goal is to prevent a relapse.
Your doctors at the Suboxone Treatment Clinic have access to a number of treatments for opioid addiction, including Suboxone treatments, and Vivitrol. You can find convenient locations in Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. Whether your addiction arose from street drugs like heroin or prescription medications like oxycodone, you’re best served by a team of doctors who specialize in pain management and substance abuse treatment. They accept most insurance providers, as well as Medicare and Medicaid.
The Differences Between Vivitrol vs. Suboxone
Suboxone is a medically assisted treatment (MAT) medication that contains the narcotic buprenorphine. It’s combined with naloxone, a drug that mitigates the euphoric effect or “high” that opioids induce. When taking Suboxone, you’ll get pain relief and won’t have to undergo the painful withdrawal symptoms from the opiates you’ve been using. At the same time, the risk of abuse is greatly reduced because you can’t get high off it.
Vivitrol is the brand name for naltrexone, which works like naloxone in that it binds to those same receptors in your brain as the opiates and stops you from feeling high. Naltrexone, as produced in Vivitrol, is a monthly injection. Unlike Suboxone and other MAT therapies such as Subutex and Zubsolv, Vivitrol contains no opiates or other pain relieving ingredients.
Why Take Vivitrol?
When debating the benefits of Vivitrol vs. Suboxone, it’s important to note that Suboxone contains buprenorphine, which is a class II narcotic and highly addictive. You still have to undergo a period of withdrawal when you stop taking Suboxone. You now have choices to help you sustain long-term recovery, the main purpose of Vivitrol.
If you do relapse with your drug of choice, or even if you drink alcohol while Vivitrol is in your system, you won’t feel any sedative and euphoric effects. This helps those who struggle to stay clean because it gives you a reason to push through uncomfortable emotional urges and obsessions to get high. Using opiates while Vivitrol is in your system also could lead to life-threatening consequences, another reason to not even try.
The Process of Taking Vivitrol
Before being given the injection of Vivitrol, you must be free of any opiates in your system. This usually requires a withdrawal period of seven to 10 days. While your doctors can help you get through the discomfort of withdrawal, if you plan on using Vivitrol, you can’t use any medication that contains opioids.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “Research has shown that naltrexone decreases reactivity to drug-conditioned cues and decreases craving.” It can have great success for long-term recovery when combined with therapeutic treatment. Vivitrol is best used for periods of three months or longer, and there’s no limit to how long you can take it.
Risks and Side Effects
Unlike Suboxone, Vivitrol is not habit-forming and is extremely safe for most people. If you have any side effects, like headaches or nausea, they’re minor and easily managed.
Contact your doctor, however, if you develop:
- An allergic reaction at the injection site
- Liver problems, as naltrexone can lead to liver disease
- Pneumonia, since allergic pneumonia has been reported with naltrexone use
Your doctor has to give you a thorough examination and become familiar with your medical history and drug abuse patterns before devising a treatment program for you. And if your drug addiction resulted from trying to alleviate chronic pain, your doctor at the Suboxone Treatment Clinic has a wide range of options for pain relief that don’t involve narcotics.
They can easily be implemented while you take Vivitrol.
- An allergic reaction at the injection site
- Liver problems, as naltrexone can lead to liver disease
- Pneumonia, since allergic pneumonia has been reported with naltrexone use
Your doctor has to give you a thorough examination and become familiar with your medical history and drug abuse patterns before devising a treatment program for you. And if your drug addiction resulted from trying to alleviate chronic pain, your doctor at the Suboxone Treatment Clinic has a wide range of options for pain relief that don’t involve narcotics. They can easily be implemented while you take Vivitrol.