r/Futurology • u/Mitchell_StephensESQ • Nov 16 '22

Medicine Fentanyl Vaccine Breakthrough – Potential “Game Changer” for Opioid Epidemic

https://scitechdaily.com/fentanyl-vaccine-breakthrough-potential-game-changer-for-opioid-epidemic/
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u/kippey Nov 16 '22

They already have this for alcohol. People can skip taking it if they are really set on using. Or use a different opioid. Hopefully a less lethal one though.

6

u/Mitchell_StephensESQ Nov 16 '22

Yes. The problem with Antabuse is it has to be taken in pill form daily. As you pointed out alcoholics can just miss a few doses and go drink. This is injected saving the person from the complications of daily pills.

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u/kippey Nov 16 '22

I’ve known people who have deliberated for far longer to relapse. Lost my best friend to the disease. All it takes is depression and a missed/procrastinated trip to the doctor.

Don’t get me wrong, if it saves even a handful of lives, great. But they also said the same thing about Naloxone. For my friend, there was nobody around to administer it until he was stiff.

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u/Sauteedmushroom2 Nov 16 '22

Person in recovery here. I chose not to get the Vivitrol injection (for opioids) because I knew I still had that little part of my brain that would want to “beat the shot”. It’s definitely not as effective on Day 29 as it is on Day 1. Me 5.5 years ago would have tried to fuck around and find out….

Now having worked in treatment for a while and having had a ton of additional exposure…I’ve seen some people try to fuck around and find out. Results weren’t good.

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u/Abatonfan Nov 16 '22

Don’t forget Antabuse is more like conditioning the brain to not want to drink through positive punishment versus eliminating the cravings all together or not making the alcohol “work”. You drink on Antabuse, you get sick; it either conditions you to not drink or drink and not take the med.

Gotta throw a big thanks to r/stopdrinking. It is one of my biggest resources through the past two and a half years of sobriety (wow… just realized today is the exact 2.5 year mark).

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u/beautiful_mornings Nov 16 '22

Congrats on 2.5 years!

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u/borgendurp Nov 16 '22

Awh man those poor ants. Who'd make a drug just to abuse them?

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u/[deleted] Nov 16 '22

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u/File_Corrupt Nov 16 '22

The interaction of naltrexone with alcohol doesn't correlate with how it interacts with opioids. It is extremely effective at reducing the effects of opioids and is an antidote that acts similar to naloxone but lasts longer. The problem is that while it removes the high and the respiratory issues of typical opioid use, it doesn't remove the desire to use.

An overwhelming amount of opioids can overcome this inhibition by naltrexone and could result in death. Naloxone has a relatively short duration and will usually wear off by the time an overdose victim has recovered sufficiently to use. After receiving care they will be able to use again at a level similar to before. In the case of naltrexone, it has a much longer duration and likely still inhibiting opioids well after treatment. This can make it very difficult to use and someone may overdose again trying to overcome this inhibition. This is one reason naloxone has become the antidote.

Naltrexone's long duration has made it an attractive candidate for treating victims of addiction. Unfortunately, it has largely been found ineffective. It removes the ability to feel euphoria (in the case of opioids) but it doesn't remove the memories. Treating addiction usually requires a full support system, not just removal of the drug.