Heroin Addiction Treatment with Naltrexone Implants
If you’re addicted to an opiate like heroin or prescription painkillers like Vicodin, codeine, OxyContin and others, the only way to break free from that addiction is an opiate detox and addiction treatment at an opiate rehab.
Heroin addiction, especially, has proven a difficult disease to break free from, especially when the drug is used intravenously. The problem is so rampant in this country, that researchers and medical professionals continue to study different ways to treat the problem in hopes of finding one that is effective across the board. We’ve talked about heroin addiction treatment using methadone, Suboxone and heroin itself, but here’s another idea that’s being debated among researchers: heroin addiction treatment using Naltrexone implants.
How Naltrexone Can Treat Heroin Addiction
The claims for Naltrexone as an effective heroin addiction treatment measure include the following:
* An opiate antagonist
* Removes opiate cravings
* Reverses physiological addiction
* Repairs damaged opiate receptors over time to treat physiological addiction
* Future relapses on heroin provide no high
Problems With Naltrexone as a Heroin Addiction Treatment
If all that is true, then why haven’t people been using Naltrexone to kick heroin since all this was discovered in the ‘70s? Apparently, there are a number of problems with the drug as well. First of all, researchers say that it’s hard to make someone take the pill every day. For some reason, they haven’t considered or won’t consider distributing it the way they distribute methadone: at a clinic, under supervision on a daily basis. The other issue is that though it may block the effects of heroin when taken regularly and as prescribed, there are bad relapse issues when you take Naltrexone some of the time and heroin some of the time and try to mix the two haphazardly. The result can mean nasty withdrawal symptoms.
Naltrexone Implant Therapy: An Australian Solution to Heroin Addiction
So here’s the big idea, the one they’re testing in Australia as a possible way to take advantage of Naltrexone’s effect on heroin addiction and circumvent the issues that have come up in the past with the pill form: an implant. The guy who developed the idea and manufactures the Naltrexone implant is Dr. George O’Neil. The implant is put under the skin where it delivers a controlled dose of Naltrexone reliably and safely. The current implant works for up to six months but a longer lasting implant is in development.
Beware of imitators, however. Apparently, there are inferior versions floating around that are made more cheaply and can be deadly. The O’Neil implant is the only one that has been called 100 percent safe.
What Do You Think About Naltrexone for Heroin Addiction Treatment?
Is this a good idea? Should we try it in the United States? Do you foresee any possible issues? Is it worth the time and financial investment to explore a new heroin-specific addiction treatment when we have a number of medications available for heroin detox and rehab?
Tags: heroin addiction, heroin addiction treatment, heroin detox, heroin rehab, opiate rehab
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