Re:A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety...
by refurb on Saturday April 16, 2022 @02:55AM
(#31050207)
Probably good to have an alert bracelet, but if you were undergoing emergency surgery, the anesthetist would monitor close enough to know something is off and respond appropriately.
Re:A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety...
by aaaaaaaaata on Saturday April 16, 2022 @09:19AM
(#31052087)
How? By upping the pain medication?
Re:A drug that cures alcoholism may be the next anti-anxiety...
by refurb on Saturday April 16, 2022 @10:04AM
(#31052408)
Pretty much. Naltrexone is a competitive antagonist against the opioid reception (u being the important one).
They would give the standard amount of opioid (say fentanyl) and if they don't see the desired response they'll up it. Eventually you can "out compete" the naltrexone for the opioid receptor and get an effect.
If they do give 2-3x the dose, they'll be sure to monitor closely after to make sure everything goes well.
The medication has helped all 3 issues, a lot. How much it's worked is incredible. I don't know how hard it would've been to stop alcohol without it, but I'm sure I would've failed more before succeeding. Honestly, I'm more impressed by how it's helped me manage my relationship with food. I've spent the last 15+ years obsessing over food. I still think about it far more than people without eating disorders, but my self-worth is not tied to whether or not I eat. I think my mood was better managed on my old antidepressant but things now feel... how I think "normal" is?
That said, I do need to get a medical bracelet of some sort. My doctor didn't mention exactly how naltrexone worked and it wasn't until I stumbled across /r/alcholism_medication that I realized that if I got hit by a car or had some other accident, was unconscious and administered opiates - they wouldn't work, and being on naltrexone could have harmful effects if I underwent emergency surgery if the medical personnel were unaware of my prescription.