Naltrexone | Revia | Naltrexone Alcoholism Treatment
Naltrexone (Revia) is a medication used in alcoholism treatment to decrease cravings. It has been FDA approved for this use since 1994. It
works quite well in decreasing the desire to want to drink, thus making it easier to not take that first drink.
Naltrexone (Revia) works by blocking opiate receptors in the brain. It has been discovered that by blcking these opiate recptors that it
actually decreases alcohol addiction related cravings. It has an additional role in treating opiate addiction because of this direct opiate
receptor blocking effect.
There are some important considerations when taking this medication. Due to it blocking opiate recptors, you need to be careful about taking
any opiate pain killers (Percocet, Codeine, Oxycontin, etc.) while on the medication. This must be discussed with the physician prescribing the
medication.
Also, it can be irritating to your liver, so your doctor will most likely want to monitor your liver function testing by some routine
bloodwork. Large doses of naltrexone may cause liver failure. Tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney disease. If you experience the
following symptoms, stop taking naltrexone and call your doctor immediately: excessive tiredness, unusual bleeding or bruising, loss of appetite,
pain in the upper right part of your stomach, dark urine, or yellowing of the skin or eyes.
The medication is prescribed to be taken every day, so do not miss any doses.
I prescribe it frequently and most of my patients get very good to great results - with alcohol cravings decreasing and in some cases
disappearing all together.
Naltrexone (Revia) Is Only A Small Part Of True Alcoholism Recovery Mastery - You Must Add In The Other Important Piece
Keep in mind that this medication is only one piece of a comprehensive addiction treament program. To truly master your addiction recovery,
you must add this important piece. It is the use of proven, focused addiction psychotherapy and counseling.
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