Where can I find Vivitrol in Ann Arbor
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Care’s blog- Where can I find Vivitrol in Ann Arbor. In Beyond Primary Care blogs we highlight healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, and how membership for care works! Beyond Primary Care is an insurance free, membership based family medicine clinic. Beyond Primary Care is the highest rated Direct Primary Care clinic serving patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne counties giving families and employers peace of mind about healthcare costs by providing affordable and accessible primary care services.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
In this blog post, I wanted to answer a common question…
Where can I find a Vivitrol doctor in Ann Arbor?
What Is Vivitrol?
Vivitrol is a brand name medication available by prescription only from physicians or other professionals. Vivitrol is actually injectable Naltrexone, one of the active medications in brand name medications such as Revia. This medication is delivered directly to the physician’s office, and is typically given every 28 days- roughly once a month.
Vivitrol is injected by a physician as a liquid intramuscularly into a patient’s gluteus (buttock) area. Once inside someone’s body, it turns into a solid gel that gradually releases naltrexone at a controlled rate all month.
What is Vivitrol used for?
Vivitrol is used to treat opioid addiction or alcohol addiction, both are types of substance use disorder that is classified as a neurobiological disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations.
A great way to think of how opioids / alcohol and the medication works is my favorite comparison method- thinking of food. Imagine your brain has a bunch of empty ice cream cones on it- we’ll call these ‘receptors.’ When the ice cream- we’ll call these ‘opioids’ or ‘alcohol’ enters the space by the brain, they normally fit right into the empty cone. Unless you have a dairy allergy or are lactose intolerant, this will feel really good for most people.
This same mechanism is what happens for opioids (pills, drugs) or alcohol in the brain, when they result in a release of Dopamine creating a sense of pleasure and reward.
Vivitrol and the medication in it, Vivitrol, attaches to those ice cream cones making other scoops of ice cream less likely if not impossible to attach.
Why Vivitrol Is Important
The simple answer is this medication is a method of harm reduction against opioid and alcohol use disorder, and it saves lives. I previously talked about what ‘harm reduction’ is in a post about The Sinclair Method here.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:
Alcohol is a factor in 60% of all fatal burn injuries, drownings, and homicides
Alcohol is a factor in 50% severe trauma and sexual assaults
Alcohol is a factor in 40% of fatal metal vehicle crashes, suicides, and fatal falls
Alcohol is associated with over 200 diseases
According to the Centers for Disease Control:
40% of overdose deaths are due to natural opioids such as morphine and codeine or semisynthetic opioids such as oxycodone or hydrocodone
15% of overdose deaths are attributed to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl
10% of overdose deaths are attributed to methadone
35% of overdose deaths are attributed to heroin
While on Vivitrol, individuals will receive a continual delivery of the medication naltrexone all month, and it only requires a once-monthly injection by a trained physician.
This is Important
Why? The injection takes out any compliance issues for many folks battling opioid or alcohol addiction such as:
Forgetting doses
Missing doses
Losing medication
With Vivitrol we are not substituting one drug for another drug. We are substituting a researched, validated, and life-saving medication for drugs that can otherwise harm or lead to death.
Where to find Vivitrol Doctors in Ann Arbor
You can always click through the Vivitrol website and look for providers that way. In addition to being a board certified family medicine doctor, I am also a board certified addiction doctor and utilize naltrexone products such as Vivitrol at my clinic Beyond Primary Care in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I use an eclectic and personalized approach- not a ‘cookie cutter’ plan- towards assessing and resolving your life changes and stressors. In addition to a thorough health history, I am going to ask about your family, where your quality of life is being most affected, and—most importantly—what you want to do.
Reach Out For Help
If you think some of what you may be experiencing may be due to excessive opioid or alcohol consumption, or if you notice any coworkers, friends, or family members silently struggling, send them a link to this post so that they can join the conversation!
You can also contact Dr. O’Boyle directly. I look forward to hearing from you!
