Getting Bloodwork Before Starting Naltrexone

Getting bloodwork done before taking naltrexone to measure liver function is a good idea for anyone and essential for some people.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why patients should consider getting bloodwork before they start a naltrexone prescription even if they aren’t concerned about liver function.

• What biomarkers to test prior to taking naltrexone.

• What you can learn from liver function biomarkers.

• Who can benefit the most from blood testing.

• Why doing a blood test at home is a good option for most people.

Naltrexone medication really is a marvel of modern day science. It’s the result of extensive research into how substances like opioids and alcohol affect the brain. While naltrexone has been proven to be extremely safe and non-addictive, like all medications there can be naltrexone contraindications.

Naltrexone isn’t sold over the counter because a qualified clinician needs to evaluate your drinking habits and medical history to ensure the medication will be appropriate. Because there are so few contraindications, a standard medical history review and virtual visit is enough to determine that. But if you want extra reassurance and valuable information for gauging the benefits of naltrexone treatment, you might want to take an at-home blood test.

Two Reasons Why Getting Bloodwork is a Good Idea If You Plan to Take Naltrexone

Medication is broken down and processed by the body. With naltrexone it’s the liver that does the processing. For the vast majority of people, and even with some contraindications, naltrexone is safe in standard doses for alcohol treatment.

Of course, alcohol is also processed by the liver. And for most people, chronic alcohol use will do much more damage than any medication since alcohol is a toxin.

Because of that, there are two good reasons to have bloodwork done before you start taking naltrexone.

Check For Unknown Liver Problems

Some people are already aware that they have compromised liver function. It might even be alcohol use that led to the problems. Others may have a liver that’s struggling and not even know it.

To err on the side of caution, doctors recommend taking a liver function test if there is any concern you may have issues. There are certain tests that can give you an in-depth look at liver functioning even before symptoms start to show.

Get Benchmarks For Measuring Improvements After Taking Naltrexone

The good news is if your liver has been impacted by alcohol use, it can recover after you cut back or stop drinking. A good way of measuring the effect is to take a liver function test before you start treatment to get baseline numbers, and then again after 1-3 months.

If you decide to completely stop drinking, you should see a notable difference in your biomarkers within one month. If you continue to drink but significantly reduce alcohol consumption then 2-3 months would be a good time to test again to see how the biomarkers have changed.

Fatty liver disease is usually the first stage of liver damage. Because the liver can regenerate, if the toxins aren’t being processed, the liver will have time to repair itself. Almost immediately damaging inflammation will go down, which can be measured with a few biomarkers. There will also be fat reduction that starts to reverse fatty liver disease.

What Biomarkers to Measure Before Taking Naltrexone

There are some specific biomarkers to analyze that are mostly focused on liver health since that is the one real concern connected to naltrexone contraindications. A full-spectrum liver function test will hit on the most important biomarkers such as:

Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)

ALT is a key liver enzyme that is released into the blood stream when liver cells are damaged. Higher than average ALT indicates liver damage.

Aspartate Transaminase (AST)

AST is another liver enzyme that is needed for amino acid metabolism. When AST is detected in the blood it means liver cells are being damaged.

Alkaline Phosphatase ALP

While not as indicative as ASP and ALT because it isn’t only in the liver, ALP is an enzyme that can be measured. High levels of ALP can be a precursor for hepatitis or cirrhosis.

Highly sensitive C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP)

This biomarker is all about inflammation. While hsCRP isn’t specific to the liver, it can indicate if you have elevated inflammation, which isn’t good for liver or heart health - both of which are negatively impacted by alcohol. Chronically elevated inflammation can increase the risk of liver disease and fibrosis.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Getting a measure of the ALT and AST provides a ratio of the two for more insight into potential liver disease. The average ratio of AST/ALT is anything less than 1.0. This means that AST is lower than ALT. Anything over 2.0 is considered the range for alcoholic liver disease.

Who Can Benefit the Most From Taking an At-Home Blood Test

Truth be told, anyone can benefit from testing biomarkers. With providers like Choose Health it’s easy and affordable to do a blood test at home for a better understanding of how your body is functioning and if there may be underlying issues that you aren’t aware of yet. There’s no need to set up a doctor’s appointment and the kits are easy for anyone to use.

Also, as already noted, anyone can benefit from a pre-naltrexone blood test since it will provide baseline numbers that can show physical improvements from drinking less alcohol.

That said, there are some groups that should seriously consider blood testing prior to taking naltrexone to ensure it’s the best treatment method. People who fall into this category include:

• Anyone with known liver problems should do bloodwork to gauge liver health. It can also help clinicians with naltrexone dose recommendations.

• People with diabetes or pre-diabetes should get tested because the condition can have a negative impact on liver function and cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

• People with hepatitis B or hepatitis C that’s stable should be able to take naltrexone, but taking a liver function test is highly advisable.

• Patients with kidney disease should take a renal kidney function blood test specifically for the biomarkers creatinine, EGFR, fasting glucose, visceral fat and average blood sugar.

• Long-term heavy drinkers should get tested to determine if they already have alcoholic liver disease.

If you would like to know more about getting naltrexone medication online take our Alcohol Use Assessment for a gauge of your drinking habits. From there you can talk with a clinical professional about whether naltrexone can be part of your path to taking control of your drinking.