There seems to be a little confusion about the difference between the two “nal-xone” drugs, naltrexone and naloxone. Two very different drugs, the similar names are confusing but what makes it worse is the fact that both are related to the treatment of drug and alcohol abuse. Hopefully this will clear up the misconceptions.

Naltrexone

Naltrexone, like naloxone, is an antagonist that binds to opioid receptors and blocks the effects of opiates. However, naltrexone is used primarily in the treatment of alcohol addiction in an effort to reduce the craving to drink. Its generic name is naltrexone hydrochloride, but it’s sold under the brand names Revia and Depade. An extended release formula is also sold as Vivitrol.

After detox off of opiates or alcohol, naltrexone may be prescribed to help people stay off the sauce—in any form. It effectively blocks any opiates from binding to your opiate receptors so if you do try to get loaded while you’re taking it, it won’t work. You won’t get high at all. But for some reason, it’s rarely prescribed to people who suffer solely from opiate dependence but rather to those who need help fighting the urge to drink. With studies to back it up, it works well to prevent relapse and decrease the severity of relapse when it does occur. For those who need help with opiate addiction, a better medication is Suboxone, which combines buprenorphine and naloxone.

Naloxone

Sold under the brand name Narcan, naloxone is injected into a muscle when overdose on an opioid-based drug occurs. Whether you overdose on a prescription painkiller like Fentanyl, Vicodin, Dilaudid, Darvon or Darvocet, Norco or OxyContin or you overdose on a street drug like heroin or morphine, naloxone stops the overdose dead in its tracks (no pun intended).  It works by heading straight to the opiate receptors and knocking off any opiates that are there, which stops the respiratory depression they cause and the subsequent overdose. It doesn’t work for benzodiazepines like Valium, Xanax, Valium, or Klonopin, nor does it work for stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine.

Naloxone stays active in the system, blocking opiates from binding to your opiate receptors for 30 minutes to 90 minutes. When it wears off, the opiates that caused the overdose are still in your system and their effects will kick in again and, possibly, slam you right back into an overdose. This brief reprieve, however, can be what you need to keep you from dying before you get emergency medical help.

A few things you should know:

- Naloxone won’t let you give a clean drug test.
- Naloxone is effective in fighting an overdose even if you hit a vein.
- Naloxone is ONLY meant to be delivered with a needle in the event that someone is dying.

Suboxone

If you are addicted to opiates and taking Suboxone to detox off of your drug of choice, then you are taking naloxone. Suboxone is a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, and it comes in a pill that you take by dissolving it beneath your tongue. The naloxone remains dormant unless you should try to abuse the Suboxone by dissolving it in water and inject it. If you do this, the naloxone will kick in and prevent you from experiencing any of the relief that the buprenorphine provides for those trying to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

So hopefully that clears that up! Any questions?

We’ve known for quite some time now that if your parents or grandparents had issues with addiction that you, too, would have a lower tolerance to drugs and alcohol. Now, researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a gene that shows a predilection for addiction to opioid-based drugs like OxyContin, heroin and morphine.

Joel Gelernter, MD is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the lead author of the Yale study. He said they recruited 393 small families, most of which had at least two members who were addicted to opiates. From there, they searched the whole genome to identify markers or gene variants that were only present in the addicted family members.

Gelernter said, “These results provide a first basis to identify genes for opioid dependence from a genome-wide investigation. Research in the laboratory now is focused on finding specific genes that modify risk for opioid dependence.”

The researchers were well aware of the fact that environmental factors also have a strong influence on whether or not someone uses drugs and alcohol. Further defining the genetic factors, however, will shed light on the environmental aspect of addiction as well, according to Gelernter: “Once specific genes that increase or decrease risk are known, we will be in a better position to figure out exactly what the environmental factors might be and, perhaps, how they can be modified to protect people who are genetically at risk.”

It’s great to find out more about the why’s of opiate addiction, but if you’re saddled with a heavy addiction to prescription painkillers. You can’t control your genes but by making use of a Suboxone detox and treatment, you can get your life back on track and, if you have kids, mitigate the damage that your addiction will do to them and eliminate one more environmental factor that could change their future.

For more information about this and other studies, check out Yale University.

The term “narcotic addiction treatment” refers to any treatment with the goal of breaking addiction to opioid-based drugs like heroin, morphine, OxyContin, Vicodin and other prescription painkillers. An opiate addiction treatment that makes use of naloxone is especially effective. It can be used alone like when paramedics use it to treat overdose victims or in combination with other drugs like in Suboxone where it is combined with buprenorphine.

When used alone, naloxone is an opiate blocker. It binds to the receptors that opiates usually do and blocks them and, subsequently, their effectiveness. Its dramatic effect is immediate and throws those who are addicted to opiates into immediate withdrawal, a painful and disconcerting event that is no fun at all.

When taken in pill form in combination with partial agonist opiates like buprenorphine, the naloxone remains dormant unless the prescription is abused. Those who would try to crush and dissolve the Suboxone pill in water and inject it like heroin are in for a nasty surprise: the naloxone blocks the buprenorphine from binding to the opiate receptors and withdrawal is immediate.

The deterrent that naloxone provides when combined with buprenorphine’s withdrawal-fighting action is an almost foolproof narcotic addiction treatment. Suboxone is a great addiction maintenance drug or detox that allows you to get back to your life and stop letting drug addiction control you.