Thoughts on suboxone vs vivatrol for heroin addiction

I'm currently in rehab for a pretty extensive addiction to heroin and methamphetamine. I'm 21 and I've been IVing both for about 4 years now. I realize there's no medication to counteract the meth but I'm really trying to figure out what would be better to get onto. I know suboxone and methadone work for other friends of mine but seeing as I'm already through my withdraws and in a treatment program I don't necessarily want to get addicted to either of those medications. But I don't know enough about this new vivatrol shot that they have now that supposedly blocks opiate receptors for a month. And I hear overdose becomes very common for vivatrol users. Any personal experiences with friends, family, or in your own lives with this decision? Just trying to do what would help me best toward recovery.

 

no personal experience but i have a reasonably solid knowledge about opioids and other drugs

vivitrol contains naltrexone - apparently it's an opioid blocker without the high risk of addiction that comes along with suboxone. i would assume that overdose is a risk with both, and i know that suboxone (buprenorphine) is highly addictive, so my intuition says try vivitrol because the side effects seem less dangerous

http://www.new-hope-recovery.com/center/2013/02/06/heroin-opiate-addiction-suboxone-vs-vivitrol/

 

Yea after doing my own research on vivatrol I chose that that would probably be my best bet. Thank you for your input kind sir!

 

sure thing - best of luck with rehab!!

 

vivitrol worked and was easier to stop taking too after the addiction was handled.

 

For anyone else interested in this topic I'd just like to put down my recent account with vivatrol. So I was in rehab and one of the guys in the program with me brought in a bunch of heroin. Me being a junky ended up getting high and getting strung out again in a short block of time. After a week I got kicked out of rehab for using and came back home with nothing left and kept on using. I had a doctors appointment in 7 days for the vivatrol shot that I was supposed to get clean for but I ended up just using all the way up until the night before I had to wake up an go to the appointment. And if you know about vivatrol you'll know that the doctors recommend being 5-7 days clean. According to lawyers on the subject you have to test clean and be a minimum of 7 days clean.

So I went into the appointment having used about 13 hours prior. Thinking I'll just ask for suboxone cause there's no way I'm ever going to get 7 days clean on my own. But after talking with the doctor we determined that I was just gunna get the shot and have to be really sick for a couple days. I knew it was the best option if I could do it, so I went through with the vivatrol shot not thinking it'd be that bad. We'll let me tell you. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was extremely sick for about 6 hrs of forced withdraw then 6 hrs of it leveling out. It doesn't sound bad but if you know what being dope sick is like you'd know how bad a forced dope sick would be. But after that 12 hours I felt fine and I'm actually clean for once in my life. If you are getting off heroin I highly recommend vivatrol if you can get clean for Atleast 3 days prior. If not discuss it with your doctor. I had to sign a legal release to be able to get it. But I'm doing really good now, If I could go from shooting heroin daily to clean anyone can. So fellow drug abusers, look into vivatrol!!

 

I wish you and anyone else who struggles with this the utmost strength in your journey. Keep your head up

 

consider every day you keep clean a success - great job tackling the problem head-on instead of avoiding it! hope things continue to improve