How Long Does Naltrexone Take to Work?
Falling into the world of addiction to alcohol or opioid drugs can make a person feel like there’s no way out. They fear that even if they go to treatment, it will be a painful experience during which they will have no medicinal support to deal with their withdrawal symptoms and other challenges.
Contact Live Oaks Wellness today to begin our medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program near San Francisco.
How Long Does Naltrexone Take to Work?
Falling into the world of addiction to alcohol or opioid drugs can make a person feel like there’s no way out. They fear that even if they go to treatment, it will be a painful experience during which they will have no medicinal support to deal with their withdrawal symptoms and other challenges.
Contact Live Oaks Wellness today to begin our medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program near San Francisco.
Live Oaks Wellness doesn’t believe people should suffer needlessly when they come to us for treatment of alcohol or opioid drug addictions. We provide prescription medications like Naltrexone to help people battle their urges to relapse with a new weapon. How long does Naltrexone take to work? We explore this medication and how it can help you stop being triggered to drink or use drugs again.
If you or someone you love has been struggling with addiction, our rehab programs near San Francisco are here to help. Contact us at 415-853-8488 to learn more or verify your insurance today.
What is Naltrexone?
Before answering the question, “How long does Naltrexone take to work?”, let’s talk about the details of the drug. Naltrexone is available by prescription and used in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs. It is an FDA-approved medication that helps people who have an alcohol use disorder or are addicted to opioids.
Brand names for Naltrexone include Vivitrol, ReVia, and Depade. It is administered to the person by a physician or other clinician and can be taken orally or as a monthly injection.
How Does Naltrexone Work?
Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that works by blocking the typical effects someone has when they use an opioid drug. Instead of feeling the euphoria and sedative effects they usually experience, these reactions are blocked. If a person in recovery from opioid addiction slips up and uses the drug, they will not get the results they want. In turn, this gives them much less of a reason to use the drug again.
Someone taking Naltrexone must not have taken any opioid drugs in the previous seven days or, if they use short-acting opioids, the last 10-14 days.
Someone addicted to alcohol can also use Naltrexone. If they do succumb to a trigger to drink again, it will block their ability to feel drunk. When the payoff to drinking is removed, it becomes less of a temptation.
How Can Naltrexone Help Me?
If you have an addiction to alcohol or opioid drugs, your physician or other clinician treating you can help you determine if using Naltrexone is right for you. It carries a low risk of people misusing it, which makes it the ideal medication for many.
What to Avoid When Taking Naltrexone
When combined with taking Naltrexone, certain drugs can cause side effects. This makes it important to tell the prescribing clinician what the person takes. This includes prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements. Common drugs that can cause an adverse reaction include medications for diarrhea, cough, Disulfiram, hydrocodone, and codeine.
Side Effects of Naltrexone
Another common question, along with “How long does Naltrexone take to work?”, is whether or not it causes side effects. Any medication can potentially cause side effects, including Naltrexone. The ones most likely to occur include:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Trouble sleeping
- Lethargy
- Abdominal cramping
- Anxiety
- Irritability
Anyone experiencing more serious side effects like shortness of breath, blurred vision, and chest pain should immediately contact medical help.
How Long Does Naltrexone Take to Work?
How long Naltrexone takes to work depends on how it is administered. If given orally, the effects begin about an hour after taking it. When taking Naltrexone via a monthly injection, the individual can expect to feel it peak about two hours after taking it and again within two to three days. About halfway through the month, its effectiveness begins to decline somewhat.
How Long Do the Effects of Naltrexone Last?
Exactly how long a dosage of Naltrexone lasts depends on a few influencing factors. These include the dosage taken, how it’s taken, a person’s body size, physical activity, age, and how physically active they are.
Someone who takes a 50-mg tablet can expect to feel the results for 24-36 hours. If they take a 100-mg tablet, this increases to 48 hours, and a 150-mg dose lasts about 72 hours. The effects of a monthly injection will last throughout the month and decline toward the latter part of it.
Alternatives to Naltrexone
Naltrexone is not the right drug for everyone, but we provide other options to meet as many needs as possible. Those coming to us for treatment will discuss the specifics of their addiction with a physician to help determine which medications may best suit their needs. Other options we provide include:
- Disulfiram (Antabuse)
- Acamprosate (Campral)
- Methadone
- Buprenorphine (Subutex, Suboxone)
Drug and alcohol addiction can negatively impact your life. But, there is hope for recovery. Contact Live Oak Wellness to begin your recovery journey today.
Begin Treatment for Addiction to Alcohol and Opioid Drugs
Now that you understand the answers to questions like, “How long does Naltrexone take to work?”, you may want to find out if trying this revolutionary medication is right for you. Live Oaks Wellness provides valuable prescription medications like Naltrexone as part of our detox, residential, and outpatient treatment programs. Our staff will provide a thorough analysis to determine which medications will offer the most effective ways to keep you living a substance-free life.
For more information about how we can help you begin the healing process, contact us now. We can show you the joy of living a life without alcohol or opioid drugs.
