Controlling Cravings in Recovery

Medication-Assisted Craving Control

If you’ve been struggling with opiate addiction, the medication-assisted craving control program New Perspectives at White Deer Run may be the perfect treatment opportunity for you. In addition to offering a range of therapies and related activities, the medication-assisted craving control program also uses the medications Suboxone (buprenorphine) and Vivitrol (naltrexone) to support long-term recovery.

Suboxone

Suboxone (buprenorphine) is a partial opioid agonist, which means it mimics drugs like heroin and prescription pills, without causing either euphoria or withdrawal. When it is taken orally as prescribed (placed under the tongue and allowed to dissolve), Suboxone satisfies the brain’s desire for opiates and prevents the onset of drug cravings in a safe and effective manner.

There are three phases of Suboxone maintenance therapy: induction, stabilization, and maintenance.

• The induction phase is the medically monitored startup of buprenorphine therapy. Suboxone for induction therapy is administered when an opioid-addicted individual has abstained from using opioids for 12–24 hours and is in the early stages of opioid withdrawal.

• The stabilization phase has begun when a patient has discontinued or greatly reduced the use of his or her drug of abuse, no longer has cravings, and is experiencing few or no side effects. The buprenorphine dose may need to be adjusted during the stabilization phase.

• The maintenance phase is reached when the patient is doing well on a steady dose of buprenorphine (or buprenorphine/naloxone). The length of time of the maintenance phase is individualized for each patient varies depending upon a number of unique factors.

Vivitrol

Vivitrol is an extended-release form of the medication naltrexone. Vivitrol interacts with the same receptors in the brain that are affected by opiates (such as heroin or prescription painkillers), but does not cause the intoxication that is associated with recreational opiates. Thus, when you use Vivitrol, your brain is “satisfied,” which means that you don’t experience the drug cravings or withdrawal symptoms that would usually occur in the absence of the opiate that you had been abusing.

Best of all, the effect of one Vivitrol dose lasts up to 30 days, which means that you don’t need to reschedule your life to accommodate daily or weekly visits to a doctor or clinic in order to receive your medication.

Additional benefits of Vivitrol include the following:

• Vivitrol is not addictive.
• Vivitrol has no mood- or mind-altering effects.
• Vivitrol can begin to eliminate drug cravings within a few hours of your initial dose.
• Vivitrol has minimal side effects and is usually well tolerated when taken under appropriate medical supervision.
• Studies show that Vivitrol is effective in preventing relapse and reducing drug cravings.
• Vivitrol can be used long-term.

Of course, while Vivitrol dramatically reduces drug cravings and the risk of relapse, residential and outpatient treatment provide the counseling, 12-Step programming and lifestyle changes needed to support long-term addiction recovery.

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