Vivitrol – Naltrexone Treatment McLean VA
Alcohol, Drug and Substance Abuse
Dr. Rehman is licensed and certified to help you maintain sobriety through the use of Vivitrol (Naltrexone). We provide this outpatient service in our McLean VA office to patients in the Arlington, Tysons, McLean and surrounding Washington DC suburbs.
What is Vivitrol?
Vivitrol (naltrexone) blocks the effects of opioid medication, including pain relief or feelings of well-being that can lead to opioid abuse. An opioid is sometimes called a narcotic. Vivitrol is used as part of a treatment program for drug or alcohol dependence.
Vivitrol injection is used to prevent relapse in people who became dependent on opioid medicine and then stopped using it. Naltrexone can help keep you from feeling a “need” to use the opioid.
Vivitrol injection is also used to treat alcoholism by reducing your urge to drink alcohol. This may help you drink less or stop drinking altogether. Naltrexone will not decrease the effects of alcohol you recently consumed. You should not be drinking at the time you receive your first Vivitrol injection.
Naltrexone is not a cure for drug addiction or alcoholism. It can however, help you maintain sobriety.
Important information
You should not receive Vivitrol if you are having drug or alcohol withdrawal symptoms, if you have taken any opioid medicine within the past 2 weeks, or if you are still actively drinking alcohol.
Call our McLean VA office immediately if you have any signs of liver problems, nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, tired feeling, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).
Vivitrol can cause liver damage, especially at high doses. You should not receive Vivitrol injection if you have hepatitis or symptoms of liver failure.
Before receiving Vivitrol
You should not use or receive a Vivitrol injection if you still use opioid medicine, or you could have sudden and severe withdrawal symptoms.
You should not receive or use Vivitrol if you are allergic to naltrexone, or if:
- you are having withdrawal symptoms from drug or alcohol addiction;
- you have used any opioid medicine within the past 10 days (including fentanyl, Vicodin, OxyContin, and many others); or
- you have used methadone or buprenorphine (Subutex, Butrans, Suboxone, Zubsolv) in the past 14 days.
To make sure Vivitrol is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:
- liver disease;
- kidney disease; or
- a bleeding or blood-clotting disorder such as hemophilia.
It is not known whether Vivitrol will harm an unborn baby. Be sure to tell the doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
Naltrexone can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine.
How is Vivitrol used?
Vivitrol is injected into a muscle. This injection is usually given once a month (every 4 weeks) and can be given only by a doctor or nurse in a clinic.
It is important to receive your Vivitrol regularly to get the most benefit.
You may notice pain, redness, bruising, swelling, or a hard lump where the medicine was injected. Call your doctor if you have this type of reaction to the shot, especially if it does not clear up or gets worse within 2 weeks.
Vivitrol injections are only part of a complete treatment program that may also include additional forms of counseling and/or monitoring. Follow your doctor’s instructions very closely.
Wear a medical alert tag or carry an ID card stating that you use Vivitrol. Any medical care provider who treats you should know that you are receiving this medication. If you need surgery, tell the surgeon ahead of time that you are receiving Vivitrol injections.
After receiving Vivitrol, your body will be more sensitive to opioids. If you use an opioid medicine in the future, you will need to use less than before Vivitrol treatment. Using the same amount you used before could lead to overdose or death.
Call our McLean Psychiatry office in McLean, VA at (571) 236-8516 today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Rehman.
We are conveniently located in McLean, Virginia at 1340 Old Chain Bridge Rd. Suite 402, McLean, VA 22101.