OPINION: Vivitrol – a lesser known, non-addictive medicine that helps lead to opiate recovery

This opinion piece was sent to us by a concerned reader who wished to share her opinion on an alternative to Narcan that she and her group have had success with. Because of the sensitive nature of the topic and the all too common backlash for just about any topic, she wished to remain anonymous.

In the wake of all the recent overdoses and the Narcan being administered to revive so many opioid addicted individuals, I wonder if more people were aware of the Vivitrol shot.

Do they want to get clean but feel scared and know how bad the withdrawals can be? These people would want to learn more information about Vivitrol and maybe this would educate those individuals and help them reach their goal of being sober.

There is such a lack of information about this shot out there and I know if more people knew about it, there would be far less drug addicted individuals. The Vititrol.com website is amazingly informative.

The Vivitrol shot is covered by many insurances. The shot is once per month in the buttocks area. It is NON-ADDICTIVE and, therefore, when the sober individual decides they are confident that they no longer need it, they can stop the shot with no repercussions.

On a side note, if the individual cannot afford the shot (which is the best alternative), there is the pill form of it (Naltrexone) and it is extremely iaffordable. Again, the only drawback is that the person can just stop the pill if they feel like it, but obviously, cannot stop the effects of the month long shot absorbed in their body. Either way, it is a tool in the road to recovery.

It works by blocking the pleasure receptors in the brain and therefore, an addict can shoot up the heroin or take the pills, but they won’t get high. If they try to “overdo it” and take an overload of the drugs, there is a good chance they can overdose just the same because the body absorbs it, but they don’t get the pleasure of the high. This is what causes many to be so successful with the shot.

The cravings almost immediately go away and people can lead a happy, healthy, productive life. Just think: once per month (that is 12x per year!) they get the shot and learn to heal. The side effects are minimal to none – of course each individual is different from the other. The one “drawback” that people have is that they MUST be clean for 7-10 days before they can get the shot and if on Suboxone, they must be clean for 10-14 days before getting the shot.

A wonderful option is in-patient withdrawal with comfort medications and support, and many facilities will now administer it before they even walk out the door. I am part of a group here on Facebook called “Vivitrol Treatment” and I beg that people join and hear from other addicts who stopped the drugs cold turkey because they desperately wanted to get clean, but didn’t know where to turn and TODAY. All of them are sober due to the Vivitrol shot.

The group is an amazing support system and extremely informative. I apologize for the long-winded message, but I feel so confident that if more people knew about the Vivitrol shot, they too would jump on that bandwagon to a sober, long, wonderful life!

Thank you so much for reading this and hopefully people will join the group and/or look up Vivitrol.com and make themselves familiar with the shot and all of its benefits and help the heroin epidemic slow down a bit. One sober person is one less potential death.