El Paso healthcare providers explore Vivitrol as a less known addiction treatment

Taking the first step to start addiction treatment is an uphill battle, but what can prove to be harder is keeping on a regimen that works.

That's what Recovery Alliance patient Colette Thompson said is the hardest part about staying on the right track: prescription maintenance.

"Being on one med every day to take every day and to walk around with you and to find a clinic and to get a prescription is so hard," said Thompson.

That's why her healthcare providers put her on an FDA-approved treatment method for both opioid and alcohol use disorders.

Alkermes, the manufacturer of the drug, explained that Vivitrol is an extended-release version of naltrexone that works by blocking opioid and alcohol receptors, removing the pleasure part from consuming these substances.

According to the prescription information, it lasts about 30 days and then it has to be reinjected.

Vivitrol is one of multiple options for medically assisted addiction treatment.

According to prescription descriptions of the other two options, Methadone and Suboxone, they are administered in pill or liquid form daily. These two options also only partly disrupt opioid receptors and have minor euphoric effects. Plus, they do not treat alcohol addiction, which is why Vivitrol is a more complete option.

However, the providers KFOX14/CBS4 spoke to said that Vivitrol may be hard to access for one of three reasons: the price, the lack of provider knowledge, and the extent of the patient's dependency on opioids.

Guillermo Valenzuela at Aliviane, one of the longest-standing treatment centers in El Paso, sees 250 clients on an ongoing basis and more than 150 people a year in their residential program.

He said Vivitrol is not a popular choice at the center because of the underinsured population they cater to.

"I'm talking about in the last couple of years, we may have seen four, maybe five people go that route. And as far as I know, cost was a big contributor to the decision." Valenzuela said.

According to manufacturers of Vivitrol, each shot sells for $1,641.11.

However, Dr. Wayne Thornburg at Emergence Health Network said patients don't always pay that much, some patients pay as little as $5 a month through insurance and copay programs.

One of those programs is the , through the program manufacturers said that patients are assigned a caseworker to navigate getting the price of Vivitrol down for them.

Dr. Thornburg said a lot of providers don't know about these options.

"I think a lot of individuals and providers may or may not want to go down those roads, and I think that's what limits the access to resources." Said Dr. Thornburg.

Manufacturers of Vivitrol also said that the expansion of Medicare plays a role in what states utilize Vivitrol as an option.

Lack of state funding is something Valenzuela also mentioned.

However, the big thing he wants is accountability from pharmaceutical companies. He said, "There has to be some middle ground from pharmaceutical companies, especially those that have great responsibility for the opioid crisis to come to the table they need to fund the treatment for the problem that they caused."

Apart from funding, another roadblock the manufacturers of Vivitrol said they have encountered is that providers do not know how to opt in and be listed as providers on their website.

They said providers must fill out a form to be listed on their website as a provider of Vivitrol. In El Paso, the only provider listed is Albertsons Pharmacy. However, KFOX14/CBS4 encountered at least two providers that are not listed on the website: Emergence Health Network, and Aliviane.

When asked why they weren't listed on the website as providers these locations said they did not know they had to opt in to the mapping system.

Another reason Dr. Thornburg said he's staying away from Vivitrol as a treatment option, is that for opioid users who use stronger drugs, like fentanyl, it is difficult to completely detox on their own.

Detoxing is a prerequisite for the use of Vivitrol because it can intensify the dangerous symptoms of withdrawal if administered while a patient is still using it.

Plus, Vivitrol's website warns that if patients relapse after getting off Vivitrol, their tolerance will be lowered, and the risk of overdose is higher. Manufacturers said detoxing and risk of overdose aren't issues for patients who are taking Vivitrol for alcohol dependence.

A larger issue still, according to Dr. Thornburg, is more potent opiates make it difficult for patients to transition to any medically assisted treatment at all successfully. Limiting all treatment options for those patients.

However, over at Recovery Alliance, medically assisted treatment saves lives.

Mario Mendoza, the director of the Recovery Alliance or Casa Vida said that participating in the revolving door of recovery provides people with jobs and a purpose.

He details his experience as an alcoholic living on the streets. He said his brother found him at a homeless shelter and he detoxed at one of the El Paso centers.

He said many other employees at Recovery Alliance had similar journeys.

Valenzuela over at Aliviane said that treating addiction starts with treating the underlying trauma that causes it.

"If you want to live a healthy life, if you want to have a chance to be with your loved ones and enjoy the quality of life that you're destined to have, you're going to have to put some work on your side," said Valenzuela.

To explore treatment options for addiction at , , or in El Paso, click on those links.

To be connected to someone to talk to-day or night- call 988 or .