How Long Does Oxycontin & Oxycodone Stay in Your System?

How Long Does Oxycontin and Oxycodone Last in the Body and by Type of Drug Tests?

Regardless if it's the initial dose or the last dose, the presence of oxycodone is commonly detectable within an individual--especially if they take oxycodone regularly. One must remember that Oxycodone's half-life ranges from 3 to 5 hours. It means the duration it takes for half a dose to be excreted from your bloodstream.

Oxycontin and Oxycodone in Urine Tests

A urine test is the most standard type of drug test you'll find to detect the presence of Oxycodone. Licensed conducting lab technicians say that oxycodone is detectable in the urine for 24 to 96 hours (2 to 4 days). But people who just took their last dose within a few hours may test positive within one to 3 hours.

Oxycontin and Oxycodone in Hair Follicle Tests

Medical hair tests offer a more conclusive result and have a wider span as they can detect the presence of oxycodone for up to 90 days or 3 months. This is a surer way to check, especially for individuals who are currently undergoing rehabilitation and sobriety.

Oxycontin and Oxycodone in Saliva Tests

Saliva tests offer the most inconclusive results. However, the test may detect traces of opiates within minutes in the saliva. However, it may also be detected for up to 48 hours or 2 days.

Oxycontin and Oxycodone Detection in Blood Tests

A medical blood test, meanwhile, can detect the presence of oxycodone or other opiates for about 24 hours. It's one of the lesser-used methods for diagnosis, unlike urine or saliva.

Taking tests such as urine tests or blood tests as mentioned earlier are always confidential and sometimes free, depending on the organization facilitating them. Sometimes, testing may be shouldered by insurance too. But ultimately, it's an important medium sued to track a person's health as well as to identify any sign of addiction or abuse.

What are Oxycontin and Oxycodone?

Oxycontin is the brand name of the prescribed medication to alleviate extreme, recurring pain from autoimmune diseases, like cancer. Its generic name is Oxycodone and is under the drug classification of opiate analgesics or medications for pain relief.

It is often taken orally and is available in various dosage strengths, with 40 mg being one of the highest. Oxycodone is currently categorized under Schedule II (or Controlled Substances) that are considered to have an elevated potential for abuse leading to severe psychological and physical dependence.

People taking them are often individuals suffering from chronic and unbearable pain, while others taking these chemicals are after their psychedelic or psychotic effects.

Upon misuse, individuals may often initiate ingestion by taking its injected or snorted forms to get their fill of the effects of "high." The presence of these chemicals is commonly often found in the urine, saliva, hair, or bloodstream.

It may take hours before it can be detected in the body, but a drug test (urine tests, blood tests, hair tests, saliva tests) is commonly used for verification--especially for someone suspected of medication abuse.

Determining Factors on How Long They Stay in Your System

Many influential factors affect the detection time or duration of drugs within an individual. Ranging from hours, days, to even months, several variables play into the equation affecting an individual's system to process drugs.

Here are some of the factors that we need to carefully look into, especially for people who are in the process of healing.

• Drug tolerance - people who have been abusing drugs for the longest time will understandably build up tolerance enough not to feel anything from the effects. People who have been suffering from severe pain may have dependent support from a pill and may not realize this.
• Amount of drug use - If you use OxyCondin or Oxycodone frequently, chances are you have accumulated so much of the drug that your body's system is having a hard time having the substance eliminated.
• Frequency of drug use - Recreational users who take the drug, and even patients who abuse their prescription drugs, may feel the need to take pain relievers more than what is prescribed because of their dependence, either from feeling "high," or more as a safety blanket to feel that they are "getting better." The reality is that it only clumps within their system putting them at greater risk for fatalities, like overdose or debilitation conditions.
• An individual's overall organ health (especially the liver and kidneys) - Our liver and kidneys play a vital role in flushing out chemicals and keeping bad chemicals eliminated from our system. If these organs are failing or starting to weaken, expect your body to take double the time in cleaning your system. Not for long, these will also lead to organ failure and ultimately death.
• Body mass index - People who have higher BMIs will take longer when it comes to metabolizing the drug in their bodies compared to people with lower BMIs.
• Age - Young adults can process drugs faster than older people, especially those above 60. Therefore, it makes sense that their system will take a long time to get rid of Oxycodone and other chemicals. This will make drugs easily detectable in their bodies.
• Levels of hydration - As more than half of our bodies are made up of water, proper hydration is key in determining if oxycodone and any other similar drug may stay long inside the body. Drinking water helps in flushing out toxins, such as these dangerous chemicals.

A capable and licensed case management worker can easily identify these factors within a person. Talking with a licensed mental health professional also helps in determining the proper diagnosis needed for these individuals too.

What Happens When You Stop Taking Them?

When you start to taper off your use of opiates, your body and its system may experience various sensations and changes that may either make you feel better or worse. First, let's discuss the immediate impact of drug withdrawal on your body.

The initial process of withholding drug use may be challenging because of the uncomfortable and painful signs you may experience. Here are some of the withdrawal signs that you have to watch out for as you cease the use of these illicit chemicals.

For OxyContin - people may undergo a two-stage withdrawal for OxyContin substance disorder. They may first experience "acute withdrawal" that lats for 7 to 14 days, and "subsequent or later withdrawal" which happens beyond 14 days or a couple of weeks.

An acute withdrawal syndrome may manifest as a sign such as:

• mood changes that may trigger the following:
• irritability
• restlessness
• agitation
• anxiety
• Sleep problems:
• insomnia (difficulty falling asleep)
• Physical issues:
• general malaise
• body pains
• cramping
• lethargy
• eating problems (suppressed appetite)
• Flu-like symptoms:
• runny nose
• chills
• fever
• congested nose
• runny nose

Subsequent symptoms may include, however, these signs:

• gastrointestinal issues:
• diarrhea
• abdominal cramps
• vomiting
• liver issues
• cardiovascular problems:
• high blood pressure
• palpitations

For Oxycodone - for people who experienced longer ingestion of Oxycodone and have decided to stop having their fill, they may experience these symptoms that may last for at least 7 days. These are the following:

• Poor memory function
• Inability to focus or concentrate
• Arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat
• Headaches or migraines
• Mental health issues such as:
• depression
• suicidal thoughts
• drug cravings
• eating problems (loss of appetite)

It's important to talk to loved ones and licensed medical professionals to better ascertain the proper treatment options for the patient. Sometimes, having a mental health mentor is beneficial in ensuring that the recovering individual gets the ample guidance they need to remain consistent with their rehabilitation program.

There are other key points to focus regarding a person stopping drug use. Each positive sign is attributed to the journey of long-term sobriety for a person. Some of the positive effects of stopping drug use include:

• Increased energy - Individuals who ceased their drug use will now enjoy vitality as they continue their recovery efforts. Improved energy levels mean more motivation and a renewed spirit to become a better version of themselves.
• Better immune system - As your body has excreted these illicit chemicals, health concerns will now be lessened because your body will build its defenses from viruses and other diseases.
• Healthier appetite - Because of excessive substance or drug misuse, most individuals lose their appetite and in turn shed their weight. Stopping drug use helps them regain that lost appetite, and with a healthy and balanced diet, they can once again bounce back to a healthier weight and lifestyle.
• Better relationship with loved ones - one of the things that drug addiction denies a person is a chance to have sustaining and meaningful relationships with their significant others or their families. As they continue their recovery and re-establish their contact with loved ones, they can have another chance and regain the trust that they have from their friends and family.

About Prescription Drugs Misuse and Addiction

It's always saddening whenever you hear someone lose their way and fall prey to the dangers of prescription drug addiction. No matter what substance they may be, whether it may be morphine or Xanax bars, it's still important to find out the root cause by understanding the history behind someone's substance addiction.

Anything (or even anyone) may cause someone's drug addiction. But no matter how their substance addiction started, it always starts with either a painful memory, event, or a trigger person that forced them to connect to chemicals while savoring its effects, whether good or bad.

We've collected a common list of all these causes and reasons which we will talk about in various key bullet points one by one. But before we delve into each point in further detail, it's important to identify that 3 main variables contribute to overall drug addiction.

The three core causes are namely emotional, physical, and psychological. These three contribute largely to how an individual responds to drug use. Regardless of whatever the specific reason is, they will mainly fall into these three types.

Regardless of whatever the trigger may be for a person's addiction, it's crucial that they can cope through productive and healthy methods. Addiction recovery can only be achieved when a person embraces their shortcomings from their addiction wholeheartedly and understand what needs to be done.

Some of the misuse and addiction causes include:

• mental illness - people who are undergoing severe stress that may lead to the development of anxiety, PTSD, trauma, eating disorders, and even depression tend to find solace by taking these illicit medications.
• self-medicating - similar to mental illness as mentioned earlier, people taking illegal chemicals may have limited facilities at hand and rely solely on illicit prescriptions as their insurance for a sense of betterment. Most of these individuals do not have enough money to have the proper treatment done for themselves, so they resort to self-medication.
• peer pressure - people who are compelled to conform to social norms, such as smoking or taking illicit medication often lose free will in the process for the sake of looking cool. This may be the case for the youth, and people who are pressured to "blend" in their social circle just to be accepted.
• career or school pressure - those individuals facing high-pressure situations often lack support and often resort to addiction as their form of escape. They connect better with themselves as they feel the psychotic or psychedelic effects of these illicit chemicals to pacify their feelings.
• Recreational use - people who are in the search for the "perfect high" often experiment with various addiction-inducing prescriptions for a long time until they get the right one yielding their desired results. They don't care whatever the drug may be as long as it does the job.
• Loss of a job/relationship/loved one - coping with a loss is always challenging, no matter what form it may be. As part of life, their way to make peace with their loss is by numbing the pain the faster way with Oxycodone. What starts as an occasional use then snowballs into longer-term problems and addiction.
• family history - individuals who have family members succumb to addiction may find themselves in a similar fate. There are journals from the medical community that support the impact of a SUD on loved ones, especially the children when their parents are involved in any form of addiction.
• Isolation - people who feel that they are alone in this world are more prone to developing addiction, as they have minimal contact with people, and may find comfort in substances in their life to save them.

You can contact a recovery counselor and your licensed physician to find out more to avoid taking the wrong dose, or when you need to fill a proper prescription for this medication.

How To Get Help from Oxycontin and Oxycodone Drug Abuse?

People who feel despair about their addiction problem may feel or think that it's the end of the line when they fall into the hands of addiction and substance abuse disorder. But that is far from the truth.

There are many ways for you to seek help from the medical community. Various treatment options are readily available and in just hours of signing up and talking to trained recovery providers, you can find great facilities specializing in Oxycodone-related addiction.

Transcend Recovery Community offers a wide array of inpatient treatment and outpatient programs to help keep your rehabilitation on track. We work with various partners and affiliates in ensuring that we can a solid and multi-faceted approach to your sober living.

You may even find great aftercare programs that help bridge the gap you may find post-rehab. Some of them may even involve the use of recovery apartments and transitional housing to make the transition smoother. In these areas, you get to live and interact with fellow recovering individuals through the constant guidance of healthcare providers, staff, specialists, and fellow residents--your direct support network during your time of need.

We also value your privacy, that's everything is confidential. If you wish to learn more, don't hesitate to contact our addiction recovery counselors on our website. Together, let's build your life and regain confidence by taking the first step.

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