The Cure For Addiction

The medical community is working feverishly to come up with medications for the prevention and treatment of addiction. As of yet, there is no cure but there are certain medications available to help those who have stopped using and who are trying to maintain abstinence.

One of the first medications approved for the use of alcohol treatment was Antabuse or Disulfiram. Disulfiram is used to treat chronic alcoholism. It causes unpleasant effects when even small amounts of alcohol are consumed. These effects include flushing of the face, headache, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, weakness, blurred vision, mental confusion, sweating, choking, breathing difficulty, and anxiety. These effects begin about 10 minutes after alcohol enters the body and last for 1 hour or more. Disulfiram is not a cure for alcoholism, but discourages drinking.

Another medication used for alcoholism is Acamprosate or Campral. Acamprosate is used along with counseling and social support to help people who have stopped drinking large amounts of alcohol to avoid drinking alcohol again. Drinking alcohol for a long time changes the way the brain works. Acamprosate works by helping the brains of people who have drunk large amounts of alcohol to work normally again. Acamprosate does not prevent the withdrawal symptoms that people may experience when they stop drinking alcohol. Acamprosate helps to prevent you from drinking alcohol only as long as you are taking it.

Naltrexone is used to help people who have a narcotic or alcohol addiction stay drug free. Naltrexone is used after the patient has stopped taking drugs or alcohol. It works by blocking the effects of narcotics or by decreasing the craving for alcohol. Naltrexone helps decrease the craving for narcotics or alcohol but does not treat addiction. It is important that patients attend all counseling, support groups, and other medically prescribe treatments.

Vivitrol, a long-acting form of Naltrexone, is taken one time per month, usually by injection, and is used for alcohol and opiod treatment. The advantage of a long lasting, once a month medication is that the patient does not have the option of missing their daily dose.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has funded research projects on addiction to explore further medical treatments and even vaccines for addiction. Geneticists have found gene variants that predispose people to addiction, which has helped to explain why only one person in ten who tries an addictive drug actually becomes dependent upon it.

Vaccines are being tested that train the body’s own immune system to bar the intoxicating effects of drugs from entering into the brain. The idea is that once a person has been vaccinated, the next time the drug of choice is consumed, antibodies will latch on to it and prevent it from crossing from the bloodstream into the brain thereby prohibiting the high.

Most experts agree that regardless of the medications used for the treatment of addiction, behavioral support in the form of self help (AA), therapy, or counseling will always be an essential adjunct. The proverbial “magic pill” to cure addiction is unavailable at the present time and the more traditional forms of behavioral support will be an integral part of the patient’s recovery.

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