Is VIVITROL right for you?

Only you and your doctor can assess the benefits and risks of therapy to determine whether VIVITROL is right for you as part of a comprehensive management program that includes psychosocial support such as counseling. Your conversations should be honest and open. Your treatment advisors are your partners in recovery, and together you will find the best path forward.

VIVITROL offers people struggling with alcohol dependence a new alternative. It has been shown to be effective and generally well tolerated in clinical trials. And because it is only taken once a month, there is more time to plan your goals and recovery.3

For more information see Common questions.

VIVITROL is not for everyone

Important information about VIVITROL
VIVITROL is contraindicated in patients receiving or dependent on opioids, in acute opioid withdrawal, and in those who have failed the naloxone challenge test or have a positive urine screen for opioids; and in those with previous hypersensitivity to naltrexone, PLG or any other components of the diluent.7

Patients must be opioid free for a minimum of 7-10 days before treatment. Attempts to overcome opioid blockade due to VIVITROL may result in fatal overdose. In prior opioid users, use of opioids after discontinuing VIVITROL may result in fatal overdose because patients may be more sensitive to lower doses of opioids. Patients requiring reversal of the VIVITROL blockade for pain management should be monitored by appropriately trained personnel in a setting equipped for cardiopulmonary resuscitation.7

Consider the diagnosis of eosinophilic pneumonia if patients develop progressive dyspnea and hypoxemia. Injection site reactions not improving may require prompt medical attention. Alcohol-dependent patients, including those taking VIVITROL, should be monitored for the development of depression or suicidal thinking.7 Caution is recommended in administering VIVITROL to patients with moderate to severe renal impairment.7

The most common adverse events associated with VIVITROL in clinical trials were nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, asthenic conditions and injection site reactions.7

Patients with acute hepatitis or liver failure should talk to their doctors before taking VIVITROL.7

If you need strong pain-relieving medicine while you are taking VIVITROL, your doctor will carefully guide the selection and administration of such medicine. That's because VIVITROL can change the way your body reacts to pain medicine that contains opiates, or derivatives of morphine. Some common medicines of this type include fentanyl (Duragesic^®, Actiq^®), codeine (Tylenol^® with Codeine, Vicodin^®, Percodan^®, OxyContin^®), and tramadol (Ultram^®, Ultracet^®).

It's also important to know that VIVITROL has not been studied in pregnant women. If you become pregnant or are planning to become pregnant, or if you are breastfeeding, you should talk to your healthcare professional about whether taking VIVITROL is right for you.8

Actiq is a registered trademark of Cephalon, Inc.
Duragesic is a registered trademark of Janssen Pharmaceutical Products L.P.
OxyContin is a registered trademark of Purdue Pharma L.P.
Percodan is a registered trademark of Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Tylenol is a registered trademark of Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Ultram and Ultracet are registered trademarks of Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Vicodin is a registered trademark of Knoll Pharmaceutical Company.