Our medication-assisted treatment in Massachusetts includes more than one type of FDA-approved drug that provides tremendous help for those using them. They include:

Vivitrol: Vivitrol is the brand name for the drug Naltrexone. It is used in the treatment of both opioid and alcohol addiction. It is given by intramuscular injection. Additionally, Vivitrol blocks the receptors in the brain that normally cause the person to feel a euphoric drug high or drunk if they take opioids or drink alcohol. As a result, if a person does use those substances, they will not get the desired payoff.  As well, if someone uses opioids while taking Vivitrol, they will experience unpleasant side effects.

Naltrexone: Naltrexone is a prescription drug that is classified as an opioid antagonist. It is used in a pill form and blocks the effects of using opioid drugs, such as heroin. A person in treatment for addiction must have gone at least seven days without using opioids before beginning to use Naltrexone. If someone who takes Naltrexone uses an opioid drug, they will not feel the usual effects of getting high because Naltrexone blocks those. As well, the person will experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. The combination of these two effects makes them less likely to use opioids again.

Suboxone: Suboxone is the brand name for buprenorphine and is used to treat opioid addiction. When taken as prescribed, it produces low-level effects of euphoria that are similar to those experienced when someone uses an opioid drug. However, suboxone is a safe medication and, in fact, helps trick the body into feeling as if it consumed opioids. This diminishes the person’s cravings for the actual drugs and reduces their withdrawal symptoms.