Being addicted to alcohol can adversely impact your mental and physical well-being. It is termed as addiction when you have urges to drink alcohol at almost all times. You may take up binge-drinking. You may catch yourself having 5 to 7 drinks, each time you start drinking. People who have alcohol dependencies may – over time – witness tolerance to alcohol. You may need to take more drinks to turn intoxicated or get the feeling of high. Drugs like naltrexone are prescribed for such addiction. But can you take naltrexone for pain?
Alcoholism is a condition wherein you have strong-urges to drink alcohol almost continuously. As per renowned estimates, more than 280 million individuals are living with the alcohol-based disorders all over the world.
Continued use of alcohol - especially heavy drinking - can make you addicted; this soon causes several social and health-related problems. For instance, excessive drinking can damage your liver, heart, immunity cells, pancreas – to name some. Heavy drinkers report of disturbed sleeping cycles, and are more likely to develop degenerative conditions like dementia or damage of brain cells.
In this light, what is naltrexone?
Naltrexone is one of the prescription drugs used for treating opium use disorders i.e., OUD as well as alcohol use disorders -AUD. This drug essentially decreases your cravings for alcohol drinks, and also helps you regain control to stop drinking. Chief ingredients of naltrexone are known to block effects of opioid-meds and alcohol.
This med thus inhibits the feeling of being intoxicated or a sense of euphoria. All these actions make crave less for alcohol and make you come out of drinking habits or use of opioid drugs.
Low dose naltrexone for pain
In the process of blocking receptors of opioids, naltrexone triggers your brain cells to make more enkephalins and endorphins. Of these, endorphins help your system cope with pains; these substances also decrease anxiety levels as well. On the other hand, enkephalins are a type of peptides and is associated with responses to stressful events.
By making more of these two chemicals, low dose naltrexone – LDN – promotes wellbeing and painlessness. Additionally, by streamlining immune responses, LDN can decrease internal swelling – often associated with pains.
Caregivers use low dose naltrexone for painful conditions like arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia as well as pains caused by cancers. The good thing about low dose naltrexone is it is not habit forming. This med is also unlikely to trigger severe side effects; most of the effects are quite mild.
Naltrexone for chronic pain
There are some evidences of use of naltrexone for successful management of chronic pain - especially of pains caused by chronic conditions like diabetic neuropathy, painful conditions of people tested HIV-positive, etc. However, more studies are on to establish possible remedial effects of naltrexone for case management of chronic pain(s).
Caregivers often administer doses of naltrexone ranging from 1.5 milligrams (mg) to 4.5 mg - on a daily basis. There are several cases wherein naltrexone effected a moderate decrease in chronic pains and thus helped enhance quality of lives of people living with such pains.
Beware of side effects low dose naltrexone is likely to cause; these include spells of migraines, being tired, episodes of weakness / fatigue. But once your body gets used to the med, most of these side effects may cease to show up. But if these persist for more than a week's time, you are advised to consult with your caregiving team without much delay.
Naltrexone is also available as an extended release (ER) variant; it is used once per week. At times, this drug is used along with other meds like say, bupropion. Also, through an off-label mode – naltrexone is used for conditions like IBD – inflammatory bowel diseases, neuropathy, etc. At very low doses, some caregivers administer it to treat pains among children.
In order to know more about use of naltrexone for pain, you are advised to talk to your pharmacist or a certified caregiver.
Disclaimer
Information provided here are only of supplementary nature. Information shared here does not substitute a qualified doctor’s advice. This website is not suggesting intake of this drug as safe or appropriate. Hence it is advised to talk to your doctor before consuming this med or any other drug.