Naltrexone for Alcohol Use Disorder
Alcohol addiction is one of the most common behavioral health diseases. We now understand that overcoming any addiction, including alcohol use disorder, requires clinical support, behavioral support and medical support. Prescription medications like naltrexone can play a significant role in recovery. Naltrexone for alcohol use disorder one of many effective treatments.
Why is it so difficult to stop drinking? The warm, relaxing buzz you experience when you drink is a result of a massive flood of endorphins hitting your brain. Over time, the mind begins to connect the endorphin release with pleasure. This generates an intense alcohol craving that is now linked.
Naltrexone is one of the FDA-approved medications with the most clinical research and evidence supporting its safety and effectiveness in treating alcohol use disorder. It acts like a cap over those pleasurable feelings you get when you drink. It blocks the buzz so your brain no longer has the same desire to drink.
What is Naltrexone and how does it work?
Oral naltrexone was FDA-approved in 1994 to help reduce heavy drinking and in the treatment of opioid use disorder. It has since been proven to be effective in treating alcohol use disorder by binding to the opioid receptors in the brain and blocking the release of feel-good chemicals like endorphins. Blocking that euphoric feeling you get when drinking can eventually reduce the reward you get from alcohol.
The World Health Organization recommends the use of naltrexone for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. In clinical studies from 2001, research found that about 78% of people who took naltrexone in a pill form one hour before drinking alcohol were eventually able to stop drinking altogether. It has also helped people stay sober for longer. And if they do return to drinking, they tend to drink much less than before.
Naltrexone for Alcohol Use Disorder
When you drink, alcohol triggers your brain to release endorphins to create a warm and rewarding buzz. This fuels the intense urge to continue drinking after the first biological chain reaction. The goal of naltrexone is to diminish the cycle of reward and craving.
Your brain’s pleasure center is a series of locks where endorphins are the key. Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist that acts like a strong tape placed over the locks. The keys can enter, but cannot turn and produce the pleasurable effects that alcohol normally produces.
Drinking without naltrexone – Alcohol releases endorphins, the keys turn the locks and your brain will aggressively demand more alcohol.
Drinking with naltrexone – The locks are completely blocked. You can still become physically intoxicated, but the feelings of pleasure are mostly gone without making you feel violently sick. It makes drinking feel unsatisfying. It blunts out the reward response that leads to reduced cravings, fewer binge episodes and more control over your drinking.
Silencing the chemical reward is the secret to reducing heavy drinking. And when you consistently stop the pleasure cycle, the brain will slowly unlearn its craving for alcohol. Naltrexone treatment can last between 3 – 4 months and it is available in pill form or as an extended-release injection that is given every four weeks.
What is the Sinclair Method?
Can you still drink while on naltrexone? The Sinclair Method relies on a targeted dose strategy in which the patient takes the pill exactly one hour before they plan to drink. By blocking the endorphin rewards while you consume alcohol, the brain will unlearn its connection with alcohol. This process is called pharmacological extinction. Many studies have found that this targeted method has helped up to 80% of patients to successfully reduce or eliminate heavy drinking.
Daily use of naltrexone is often prescribed for those who want total abstinence from alcohol. It provides constant protection against sudden cravings. However, it does not actively un-teach the brain’s addiction pathway if you accidentally have a slip-up and drink alcohol while not taking the medication.
With the Sinclair Method, naltrexone is taken in moderate doses until pharmacological extinction. This method allows for social drinking while treating the biological addiction. However, it does require a strict schedule of taking the medication exactly one hour before every single drink.
The Sinclair Method is mostly recommended for those who are not ready to give up alcohol completely. It is a type of harm reduction treatment. With consistent use over time, a person can lose the desire to drink completely.
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How long does Naltrexone treatment last?
Naltrexone’s half-life is between 4-13 hours. The effects of the drug are active between 24 – 48 hours and can block the effects of alcohol for a day. Some people noticed the reduced cravings within a few hours of the first dose. The full effects of the medication are seen over the next few weeks to a month when taken consistently.
Vivitrol
Remembering to take a daily pill requires a constant commitment, which can feel exhausting on top of all the other aspects of your recovery you have to account for. Vivitrol is an extended-release formulation of naltrexone that is given as a once-a-month injection. This helps to eliminate the daily decision to take your medication.
Beyond convenience, the injection also changes how the medication reacts in your body. With the daily tablet, it can create mild peaks and valleys in your bloodstream. With the injection, the liquid form provides a smooth and steady dose that works to protect your brain’s reward system around the clock. Choosing the right delivery method for naltrexone will depend on each person’s lifestyle. There are a few factors to consider when determining whether the shot or pill is right for you.
Do you want to manage treatment privately at home?
Do you frequently forget to take daily vitamins?
Do you want to eliminate the daily choice to stay on track?
Both options quiet physical cravings for alcohol, but neither is a magic wand that can immediately put an end to alcohol use disorder.
Reach out to Hotel California by the Sea
We specialize in treating addiction and other co-occurring disorders, such as PTSD. Our Admissions specialists are available to walk you through the best options for treating your addiction.
Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
When it comes to treating substance use disorders, combining medical tools with behavioral therapies dramatically boosts long-term success rates. Naltrexone is an FDA-approved medication to help treat alcohol cravings and make it easier to push the brakes on binge drinking in those with alcohol use disorder.
Hotel California by The Sea provides alcohol treatment at all levels of care including detox, residential, PHP and IOP. We utilize evidence-based methods such as CBT, DBT and EMDR therapy. Hotel California by The Sea is dedicated to helping clients reach their goals in sobriety and overcome their addiction.
References:
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/naltrexone-ozempic-for-alcohol-use
https://touchstonerecoverycenter.com/low-dose-naltrexone-and-alcohol/
https://drugfree.org/article/sinclair-method/
https://psychopharmacologyinstitute.com/section/naltrexone-for-alcohol-use-disorder-dosing-monitoring-and-liver-safety/
https://riahealth.com/blog/whats-it-like-to-drink-alcohol-while-on-naltrexone
