Psychiatrists have gradually developed a list of medications that are effective in the treatment of addictive disorders. Although alcoholism has received the most attention, nicotine, heroin, and cocaine have all been shown to be influenced by heredity. Of course, the immediate goal is the reduction of drug craving and the prevention of relapse to compulsive drug taking. A medication that can aid in the maintenance of the opiate-free state is naltrexone, a specific opiate antagonist.
Naltrexone is also a good example of an anticraving medication used in the treatment of alcoholism. Clinicians currently have two types of medication to aid in the treatment of tobacco use disorder, arguably the most important addiction. Bupropion and nicotine replacement can be given in a coordinated fashion to provide the best available results. At present, no medication is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the indication of cocaine addiction.
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Helpful Links:
- From Samsha.gov: Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction – Facts for Families and Friends
- From Nursingworld.org: Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opiate Dependence—It’s Not “Giving Drugs to Drug Addicts”
- From VA.org: From VA.org Understanding PTSD and Treatments
- From PsychiatryOnline.org: Anticraving medications for relapse prevention
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