Taking Opiates While On Vivitrol: What Happens?

Learning about the benefits of using Vivitrol means also understanding the precautions that come with it. Like all prescription medications, Vivitrol carries potential side effects and drug interactions, and being upfront with your healthcare provider about everything you’re taking, including other medications and supplements, helps keep treatment safe.

Vivitrol is generally well-tolerated, but it comes with one major warning, a person must be completely opioid-free for seven to 14 days before their first injection. Skipping this waiting period can lead to a sudden, intense withdrawal reaction that’s both physically and emotionally difficult to manage.

How Does Vivitrol Interact With Opioids?

Both Vivitrol and opiates attach to opioid receptors in the brain. Vivitrol binds to these receptors more intensely than any opioid. In fact, the binding strength is so powerful that it kicks opiates off opioid receptors so that Vivitrol can bind to those receptors. This is why it is important to be opiate-free for up to 14 days before starting a Vivitrol.

Suddenly removing opiates from opioid receptors can cause immediate and intense opioid withdrawal, called precipitated withdrawal.

Symptoms of precipitated withdrawal include:

• fever
• intense body aches
• excessive vomiting
• sweating
• high heart rate
• seizures
• extreme diarrhea
• mental health instability

Read more about negative Vivitrol drug interactions

Effects Of Misusing Opiates While Taking Vivitrol Injections

An even bigger concern occurs when a person receiving Vivitrol injections abuses opiates. Even though Vivitrol blocks opioid receptors, a person can still overdose on opioids if they take very high doses in an attempt to “feel the effects”. If a person is abusing excessive amounts of opiates and are taking Vivitrol, they can start to exhibit symptoms of opioid overdose.

These symptoms may include:

• unconsciousness
• shallow or uneven breathing
• bluish or grey-colored skin
• vomiting
• lethargic
• pulse slows or stops completely
• clammy skin
• unresponsive
• coma
• death

Vivitrol Can Impact Opiate Sensitivity

Another potential risk for overdose is if a person skips or stops Vivitrol injections, and starts abusing opiates. If the person has abstained from opioid abuse for a significant amount of time, their tolerance for opiates has probably gone down exponentially.

Taking the same amount of opioids they have taken previously can result in accidental overdose.

Find Addiction Treatment That Offers Vivitrol

If you’re considering Vivitrol as part of your recovery from opioid use disorder, finding the right addiction treatment program is an important next step. Many treatment centers offer Vivitrol alongside counseling and other forms of medication-assisted treatment, helping ensure the medication is administered safely and as part of a comprehensive plan.

Browse our directory or reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to find a treatment option that fits your needs.