What is Low Dose Naltrexone? Benefits, Uses, and Everything You Need to Know Prescription Delivery & Online Health
Always tell your healthcare provider about any prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, vitamins/minerals, herbal products, and other supplements you are using. Do not try to overcome the effects of naltrexone by taking opioids. You may be more sensitive to the effects of opioids than you were before beginning naltrexone therapy.
Contraindications for Naltrexone Treatment
Fast forward to 1984, and the FDA gave it the thumbs up for treating opioid dependence. A decade later, in 1994, it got the green light for alcohol use disorder too. Opioid antagonists are a class of medications that work by blocking opioid receptors in the body’s central nervous system (CNS). Due naltrexone side effects to their mechanism of action (the way a drug works pharmacologically), opioid antagonists can help manage chronic pain and are less likely to lead to opioid dependence, abuse, or addiction. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves prescription drugs such as naltrexone to treat certain conditions.
Antibiotics and Mental Confusion: Exploring the Potential Connection
- Public awareness is slowly improving; some headlines have even started referring to naltrexone as the “Ozempic for alcohol” because of its ability to reduce cravings.
- More than 120,000 deaths worldwide every year are attributed to opioids.
- Before you start using this medicine, be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you think you are still having withdrawal symptoms.
- The side effects of naltrexone are mild and include nausea, headache, and fatigue.
An individual who has not undergone opioid detoxification before starting naltrexone is not a good candidate for treatment. You will need to stop using opioids for at least 7 to 10 days before you can start receiving naltrexone injection. Your healthcare provider may need to do the naloxone challenge test or a urine test for opioids to make sure you are opioid-free. The length of naltrexone treatment depends on your individual needs and recovery goals.
Better Life Recovery
Five different opioid receptors have been identified in humans including mu, delta, kappa, nociceptin marijuana addiction and zeta receptors. Naltrexone binds with the greatest affinity to mu opioid receptors which are involved in euphoria, dependence, pain relief (analgesia), and other physiological functions. Do not take naltrexone unless it has been prescribed to you by a healthcare provider.
