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When someone you know is struggling with unhealthy alcohol use, naltrexone can be a highly effective treatment that you can help them get.
What You’ll Discover
- How online prescriptions for naltrexone work.
- If it’s possible to get a prescription for someone who is battling an alcohol use disorder.
- Whether or not parents can get naltrexone for their adolescent child.
- Why prescription naltrexone medication shouldn’t be shared with others.
- How you can help a loved one with getting naltrexone online.
Seeing someone you care about struggling with unhealthy alcohol use is never easy. It often comes with the feeling of helplessness when you want nothing more than to help them through it.
So, when a medication like naltrexone is an option for substance abuse, it’s understandable for someone to wonder if there’s a way to get it for their loved one. After all, it’s not uncommon for those with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) to resist traditional treatment methods that require rehab and ceasing all use. Making it easy by getting naltrexone for them could seem like the ideal solution that might finally put them on the path to sobriety.
However, like other AUD treatments, getting a naltrexone prescription online is something they’ll have to do for themself, but there are ways you can help get them there.
Why the Patient Has to be Involved With Getting a Naltrexone Prescription Online
To explain why someone can’t get prescription naltrexone for a loved one, let’s briefly discuss the process of getting a naltrexone prescription online. Naltrexone isn’t sold over the counter to anyone, so a qualified physician will need to be involved.
Typically, the first step is a screener test like our Alcohol Use Assessment. This will help identify if someone is a potential candidate for a naltrexone prescription based on their alcohol use.
If the person is a potential candidate they will then need to have a virtual consultation with a prescribing physician. The physician will discuss their alcohol use, go over their medical history and explain how naltrexone works.
If the physician believes that naltrexone can be a beneficial treatment they’ll approve an online prescription and the medication will be shipped directly to the patient’s home. If the patient has any questions or they’re among the 5% that experience a side effect, they’ll need to consult with their physician. Adjusting the dosage may be necessary.
Getting naltrexone online is a very straightforward and convenient process, but the patient absolutely must be involved.
What About Parents Getting Naltrexone For Their Child?
A minor may find a way to drink alcohol, but getting naltrexone could prove to be more difficult. In part, because parents can’t get naltrexone on their own to give to their adolescent children.
While naltrexone isn’t FDA-approved for use in people under the age of 18 years old, doctors do prescribe it off-label for adolescents who meet the criteria for an alcohol use disorder. It’s legal for a doctor to do, but the doctor will still need to conduct an evaluation of the adolescent to ensure it’s safe. And in the case of teens, doctors are particularly careful when prescribing naltrexone. They’ll need to evaluate the adolescent to determine:
- Medical need for the prescription
- If there are any potential risks
- The benefits of naltrexone use versus no use
With that in mind, it’s clear that while a parent will need to give their consent, there’s no way for a parent to get a naltrexone prescription for their child. The latest research suggests that naltrexone is well-tolerated by teens and safe to use, but only after a physician determines that it is through evaluating the teen.
Sharing Naltrexone Medication With Someone Else
You may also be wondering if it’s alright to share naltrexone medication with someone else if you’ve been prescribed it yourself. The answer is definitively, no.
Just as with other prescriptions, you should never share your naltrexone medication with someone else. Even if they have been diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder or if they’ve used the medication before, that doesn’t mean your naltrexone prescription is safe for them to use. The reason for this is the dosage.
Many prescription medications aren’t one-size-fits-all. When a doctor prescribes a medication they do so at a certain dosage level. One naltrexone prescription can be much stronger than another. The person may also have underlying medical conditions that could increase their risk of experiencing side effects.
If you believe a loved one is having difficulty controlling their alcohol consumption the best thing you can do is provide them with sound information and point them in the right direction for receiving essential support through a qualified physician. Talk to them about naltrexone and how it works. Share a link to a telehealth platform like Choose Your Horizon where they can explore the option and initiate the process themselves.
The value of providing support should never be underestimated. You may not be able to get a naltrexone prescription online for your loved one, but you can certainly be there to help them through the process.
