A medication-aided private treatment program for people concerned about excessive drinking is expanding into Manitoba.
Alavida is an outpatient program already available in four provinces that relies in part on the endorphin-blocking prescription medication
People take the pills an hour before drinking. Studies have shown the drug makes alcohol less rewarding over time. For example, one study of 120 people published in the found that 86 per cent of patients given naltrexone were consuming less alcohol after 12 weeks and reported 鈥渁 significant decrease in craving for alcohol at week 12.鈥�
鈥淎s long as you only drink with naltrexone on board, your brain is saying, 鈥楪eez, why am I bothering?鈥欌�� explained Dr. Diane Rothon, Alavida鈥檚 medical director.
In addition to the drug, those who sign up for the Alavida鈥檚 two-year-long $6,500 program get video conference therapy sessions and a progress tracking app.
The drug is already available without the Alavida program, but Winnipeg pharmacist Michael Watts says there has only been one prescription for the drug at his pharmacy in seven years. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not common,鈥� he says. He also cautions that the drug may be hard on the liver.
Dr. Rothon says that, for some patients, the program is not about quitting drinking for good.
鈥淪ome people never wanted that in the first place,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey want to be able to drink safely, drink socially, drink occasionally and have control.鈥�
But Ian Rabb, an addictions specialist with the Aurora Recovery Centre in Gimli, Man., prefers an abstinence approach combined with therapy to address what he sees as the root causes of alcohol addiction.
鈥淭hey don't become alcoholic because they love alcohol,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey become alcoholic because of (things like) childhood trauma.鈥�
With a report from CTV Winnipeg鈥檚 Michelle Gerwing
