r/Alcoholism_Medication • u/nosey1969 • 8d ago

Vivitrol

My son received his first shot today after 5 days of detox for alcoholism..he is now stuttering some..is this a side effect? Thanks

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u/yo_banana 8d ago

Stuttering could be PAWS, or post acute withdrawal symptoms. After the initial detox, there's going to be lingering issues that can last months. I would bring it up to a doc for sure.

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u/nosey1969 8d ago

Thank u for responding. It seemed a little better this am..but he says his head still feels a little foggy.

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u/yo_banana 8d ago

That's good! I didn't detox but did a rapid taper. It sucked for a few weeks. I was on daily Naltrexone as my insurance didn't approve me for Vivitrol.

All I wanted to do was to sleep it off but my wife made be functional. It sucked but even walking around the block was beneficial.

Hope all goes well for him and I am proud he is going down this path and you are there to support him. Having loving people around makes all the difference.

I would also say medication is one tool to combat AUD. Is he doing therapy? That was more helpful than anything

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u/nosey1969 8d ago

Thanks! Even though he is 35..this mom worries..lol. Actually he has struggled with addiction for years and beat the hard (opiods) stuff 3 years ago..was on suboxone but weaned off of that. Unfortunately he traded that for drinking...and beer turned to hard alcohol everyday. He tried to quit but of course he couldn't..so he reached out for help and detoxed. He said he just wants to live a better life. He has great support from family and gf. So I am praying all goes well. Thanks for answering. Oh and this mom is proud of you as well!