what is?

[88knots]

What is vivitrol?

[dominosarah]

Thanks Henry~~Nice to see you!

[weezer555]

I considered getting the medication to assist in staying sober/clean but decided against it due to the possibility i would need emergency care,surgery or simple pain relief with opiates.
Henry provided an excellent description of Vivitrol.

[HenryS354]

Vivitrol is a once a month injection of extended release Naltrexone.

This injection was originally approved by the FDA for treatment of alocohol dependence, however has just recently been approved for management of opiate addiction as well.

Naltrexone is an opiate reversal and blocking agent.

By getting this injection, for 30 days post injection, the patient will receive no euphoric results from opiate use.

There have been reports of users trying lare amounts of opiates to overcome the blockade effect.  While the euphoria is blocked, the respiratory depression is not, causing serious adverse health events.

There has been some concern using vivitrol, as If the need arises for acute pain management (Such as emergency surgery) There are no options to reverse the vivitrol injection, hence redering any opiate pain medcations useless.

Vivitrol is also quite costly and not covered by most conventional health insurance companies.  Vivitrol injection prices vary geographically, however prices average between $1000, and $1200 per injection!

Hope this helps...

Henry