Naltrexone for Narcotics Addiction Treatment

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Narcotics addictions have a way of staying with a person long after he or she has decided to stop using. Recovering users are often plagued by withdrawal symptoms for months and even years after their last time using. Naltrexone, a narcotic addiction treatment drug, helps eliminate lingering withdrawal symptoms.

Naltrexone’s method of action as a narcotics addiction treatment targets the areas throughout the brain and body most susceptible to withdrawal effects. While naltrexone provides unique benefits for recovering addicts, certain treatment protocols must be followed for the drug to do what it’s supposed to do.

Naltrexone

Naltrexone provides unique benefits for narcotics addiction treatment and the user.

Narcotic drugs, also known and opiates, include both prescription painkillers and illegal street drugs like heroin and opium. As a treatment for narcotics addiction, naltrexone medication can be used for both prescription and street-based narcotics. Naltrexone can also be used to help people recovering from alcohol addiction as well.

According to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, Naltrexone’s effects block narcotics or opiates from making contact with specific receptor sites in the brain. The brain actually has opiate-like receptor sites specifically designed to secrete natural endorphin chemicals, which are the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals. By blocking receptor sites, naltrexone prevents the brain and body from responding to opioid materials.

Ongoing withdrawal effects on the brain and body make it extremely difficult for recovering addicts to remain abstinent. Naltrexone supports narcotic addiction treatment by reducing the likelihood of relapse for the recovering addict.

Method of Action

Among the different types of narcotic addiction treatments, Naltrexone acts as a narcotic antagonist. As an antagonist, naltrexone’s ingredients work to repel narcotic materials at cell receptor sites. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this method of action is intended to create an extinction effect that gradually reduces a person’s desire to use narcotic drugs. Based on a classical conditioning behavioral concept, extinction works by removing the reinforcing effects of narcotics (getting “high”), which in turn eliminates a person’s desire to engage in drug-seeking behaviors over time.

While naltrexone does nullify the effects of narcotics in the body, as a narcotic addiction treatment, the drug may not eliminate a person’s cravings for narcotics. For this reason, some people end up surrendering to the cravings and stopping naltrexone treatment. On the other hand, Naltrexone works especially well for people who are highly motivated to stop using.

Which Treatment Options are the Safest for Narcotic Addiction?

Combining medication and behavioral therapy has proven most effective at keeping patients safe from relapse.

Treatment Protocols

As naltrexone keeps the body from responding to narcotic drugs, anyone considering naltrexone as a narcotic addiction treatment will have to have completed a detox program or else stopped using narcotics on their own.  An individual must be opioid free for seven to 10 days; otherwise, any traces of narcotics in the body will trigger severe withdrawal symptoms.

When starting naltrexone treatments, doctors begin at a low dosage and adjust as needed. A person may remain on naltrexone for weeks, months or years, depending on the severity of his or her addiction. As a general guideline, naltrexone helps to prevent relapse episodes, so a person can remain on naltrexone for as long as needed.

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