A drug used for Medication-Assisted Treatment is now being tried as a pain medication replacement for opioids. Naltrexone, a form of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), is typically used to help people cease using opioids.
What is Naltrexone?
Traditionally, Naltrexone is a once-a-month injection for opioid use disorder. It is often the MAT of choice for people who are in long-term residential treatment or incarcerated. For people with opioid use disorder, the medication requires them to be sober from opiates for at least seven days before starting Naltrexone. They can’t, however, safely mix it with methadone or other opiate derivatives.
What is Low-Dose Naltrexone?
Naltrexone is the same medication traditionally used to help people with substance abuse issues avoid drinking alcohol or taking non-prescribed medicines. Naltrexone is a non-addictive drug that helps people addicted to opiates stay sober.
In prisons and institutional settings, Naltrexone is usually in a much higher dose, once a month. The drug helps prevent relapse for opioid use disorder.
Researching Naltrexone As a Pain Medication
Research over the last ten years has revealed low-dose Naltrexone can help people manage their chronic pain and can be an alternative to opioids. People with arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other rheumatological conditions have benefited from taking between two and four milligrams. Pain management specialists have already begun to prescribe microdoses to help people avoid opioid alternatives.
One pain specialist, Dr. Medhat Mikhael, who is also medical director of the non-operative program at the Spine Health Center at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center, began prescribing based on the past literature reviews few years. “It is a very safe drug to use, and the side effect profile is very, very low,” he told Verywell Health.
Alternatives to Opioids in the Works
Naltrexone can help people battle addiction, but now doctors believe it can prevent opioid addiction in the first place. A very low dose of Naltrexone can help people who live without chronic pain without any addictive properties.
Doctors and medical researchers have been researching other types of medications to take the place of opioids for long-term, chronic pain. For people with acute pain, drugs like Naltrexone don’t help as much, and better alternatives to opioids are still in the works.
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