My story, like all of yours, is long and painful, literally and emotionally. So let me get right to the point here. After 3 years of stepping down off opiates with Suboxone, I decided to get off of everything. I was about to become a grandma. My daughter would never want to leave the baby alone with me if I was on painkillers. So I decided to go cold turkey. I would highly recommend doing that under a doctor's care. I did not and I ended up in the ER. There they gave me drugs to stop the restless legs, and something to help me sleep.
A few days into it, I got a call from my brother, who is a sales rep for Alkermes. Alkermes manufactures and distributes the drug Vivitrol. Vivitrol, for those that have never heard of it, stops the cravings for opiates and alcohol. My brother got me into the Vivitrol program. Thank God!
This is how it works...you get an injection once a month in the hip. There are no opiates, or mind altering drugs in Vivitrol. Its job is to cap off the opiate and alcohol receptors in the brain. It stops cravings within hours of receiving the injection for the first time. If you continue to get the injections every 28 days, as required, the cravings stay away. It is that simple. It has been mandated by the government that Vivitrol be paid by medicaid and medicare.
The only drawback is that you must not have opiates or alcohol in your system for 7-10 days before the injection.
This injection has been a game changer for me. My whole life is different. Without the cravings, I could start to think clearer. Little by little, I climbed out of the pit I was in. I have now, by the grace of God, been clean for 20 months.
FYI You have to go to a clinic, or doctor, or PA that has been trained to give the injection. Google VIVITROL and they will ask for your zipcode and then the different places in your area where you can call to get started will come up.
