The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved the first non-opioid medication designed to treat the symptoms of substance withdrawal. The medication, Lofexidine, will be sold under the brand name Lucemyra and is specifically designed to help ameliorate the most common symptoms of opioid withdrawal, including anxiety, agitation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, muscle aches, runny nose, and cravings.
The FDA made the announcement on Wednesday, March 16, 2018, though they cautioned that while the medication may lessen the severity of the withdrawal symptoms, it may not fully prevent them. The FDA has also limited the legally allowed dosage to a 14 day period.
Addiction professionals hope that the approval of this non-opioid will enable more people to have access to medically-assisted addiction treatment therapies. Previously, the only FDA approved treatment methods involved the use of prescribed opioids like buprenorphine or methadone; essentially substituting one opioid for another in an attempt to reduce the amount taken over time.
Though it is new to the market in the United States, the UK has been using Lucemyra to treat opioid withdrawal since the early 1990s. The most commonly known side effects of Lucemyra are low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, exhaustion, sedation, and dizziness.
If you think that someone you love may be suffering from an opioid addiction, you should encourage them to seek treatment at the earliest opportunity.
The Asana Recovery Center offers a comprehensive detoxification and residential treatment program that can help those at any stage of addiction. Call us at (949) 438-4504 to learn more about our drug and alcohol addiction treatment program today.
