Naltrexone for Treating Alcoholism

Naltrexone is an opiod antagonist medication initially developed in the 1960’s to treat opiod addiction. Since that time, research has shown that it is also effective in preventing relapse to alcohol use when combined with other conventional treatment interventions. Naltrexone, along with psychosocial treatment interventions, relieves the craving for alcohol and reduces the relapse rate to heavy alcohol use.

Naltexone has been proven safe for most adults. It is available in daily pill doses or 30-day injection. The injection is more effective because it does not rely on the client to take it everyday. It lasts for 30 days, reducing relapse rate due to forgetting or intentionally not taking medication on a daily basis. However, it is often times not financially feasible for many clients to afford. Many insurance companies are beginning to see the benefits of naltrexone injections and are covering the cost for clients with insurance. Ongoing research continues and studies are being done on natrexone implants that are more cost effective and last for two months. Finding have shown that implants thus far have been effective in opiod treatment and less effective in alcohol treatment due to the levels released in the blood.