An addiction treatment center can use a variety of methods to help you recover from opioid or alcohol problems. In many cases, a Vivitrol treatment program plays a crucial role. The presence of Vivitrol in your bloodstream helps prevent relapses during your recovery. This support can be crucial to your ability to maintain your sobriety at a critical stage of rehab.
If you need a Vivitrol treatment program in Galax, VA, you’ll find it at Sobrius. We feature Vivitrol in our customized recovery plans for opioid and alcohol recovery. With our help, you can meet some of your most essential goals during inpatient or outpatient care. Contact us today at 888.596.6514 to find out more.
The Basics of How Vivitrol Works
Vivitrol is a brand-name version of a medication called naltrexone. It comes in the form of an intramuscular injection. The medication is designed to support recovery from both opioid and alcohol addiction. It’s often preferred for this role because it:
- Isn’t an opioid, unlike some other medication options
- Is non-addictive
- Won’t trigger withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it
It’s important to know the basics of how Vivitrol works. When the medication is injected into one of your muscles, it eventually reaches your bloodstream. Once there, it travels to sites in your nervous system called opioid receptors.
Like all forms of naltrexone, Vivitrol creates a chemical blockade around these receptors. This is important because opioid receptors provide a pathway to your brain for:
- Opioid drugs and medications
- Opiate drugs and medications
- Alcohol
With this pathway blocked, substances in these three categories can no longer reach your brain.
Understanding How Vivitrol Prevents Relapses
This blockading effect explains how Vivitrol treatment in Galax, VA, lowers your risk of an opioid or alcohol relapse. With Vivitrol isolating your opioid receptors, opioids and alcohol can’t produce their two classic brain effects: euphoria and sedation.
The blocking of euphoria is especially important. When people in recovery relapse, it’s often because they want to experience this heightened state of pleasure once again. With this pleasure no longer available, the motivation to return to substance use greatly decreases. As a result, you’re far less likely to relapse while taking Vivitrol.
Qualifying for A Vivitrol Treatment Program in Galax, VA
Not everyone in recovery can take Vivitrol. That’s true in part because of how Vivitrol prevents relapses. Say, for example, you still have opioids in your system when you take the medication. In this situation, Vivitrol will abruptly cut off your brain’s access to these drugs. As a result, you can potentially go into severe opioid withdrawal. The same scenario is also possible for people who still have alcohol in their system.
For this reason, you can’t start Vivitrol unless your system is completely clear of opioids and alcohol. In the case of opioids, you may need to be fully sober for up to 14 days before you can start treatment.
There are also other criteria for entering Vivitrol treatment. For example, you must be free of serious liver problems. In addition, you must not be breastfeeding, pregnant, or planning to get pregnant.
Enter Vivitrol Treatment in Galax, VA, Today at Sobrius
Want to know more about how Vivitrol prevents relapses? Talk to the treatment specialists at Sobrius. We’ll be happy to explain more about how the medication works and how you can benefit from it.
When you’re ready to enter treatment, we’re standing by with custom programs that include this medication. You also have access to several additional forms of recovery support. To get started, just call us today at 888.596.6514 for details on our enrollment process. You can also get the same information by using our online contact form.