Addiction Archive

The is the second part of "Treating opiate addiction". Click here to read Part I: Detoxification and maintenance.

Naltrexone

A different kind of drug treatment for opioid use disorder is the long-acting opiate antagonist naltrexone, usually taken once per day after detoxification. It neutralizes or reverses the effects of opiates, and triggers a withdrawal reaction in anyone who is physically dependent on opiates. A person who takes naltrexone faithfully will never relapse, but most people simply stop using it, or refuse to take it in the first place. A newer slow-release naltrexone injection is now available. However, it is too soon to know if it will have a better success rate than the oral form.

The CDC’s Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain helps doctors and patients manage treatment at safe levels and avoid dependence. Any plan to taper medication dosage should be personalized to the patient’s needs.

Ask the doctor

Q. With the holidays coming, I may be tempted to drink more than usual — maybe enough to have a hangover the next morning. I'm wondering if a hangover could actually damage my brain.

A. There have been a few scientific studies of that question. Recently, a team of scientists examined those existing studies, involving over 1,100 people, and came to some tentative conclusions, published online August 25 by the journal Addiction.