Prescription opioids can be both helpful and harmful to the body, depending on how they are used. As a result, people who take them medically will often ask, “how long do opioids stay in your system?” To answer this question, a couple of factors work together to determine how long opioids stay in your system. These factors include the type of opioid, your body’s metabolism, and other essential factors. Some opioids are naturally addictive and can be fatal in large doses. Today we will look at what opioids are and how they affect your body.
DetoxLA is a Los Angeles drug and alcohol detox center that can help you today. If you are looking for more information on opioids or opiate detox programs in Southern California, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
What Are Opioids?
Before we answer the question, “how long do opioids stay in your system?” We should first ask, what are opioids?
Opioids, as a class of drugs, include a wide variety of analgesics that alleviate discomfort by stimulating the opioid cell receptors in the body. Opioids serve as an umbrella for natural, semi-natural, and synthetic opioids. When used as your doctor tells you to, opioid painkillers are a safe way to treat severe pain, like the pain you feel after surgery.
How Do Opioids Affect the Body?
The way opioids work in the body, they attach themselves to the opioids receptors on nerve cells found in the brain, gut, spinal cord, and other body parts. When they bind themselves to these receptors in the body, they can block pain transmission from the brain across the body. Consistent use of opioids can cause addiction and eventually result in dependence on more opioids for the same high.
As a pregnant woman, opioids in your system could cause damage not only to yourself but to your unborn child. According to the national institute on drug abuse, opioid use during pregnancy can cause dependence on opioids for the unborn child, causing withdrawal symptoms after birth.
Besides pain relief, opioids can have the following effects on the body.
- Nausea
- Drowsiness
- Euphoria
- Constipation
- Slowed breathing
- Confusion
If not checked properly, these effects can lead to dangerous outcomes.
How Long Do Opioids Stay in Your System?
Often, when people find out dangerous opioids can be to the body, the next question they ask is, “how long do opioids stay in your system?” The answer will be different for different people as factors such as metabolic rate, body weight, mass, age, and how healthy your livers and kidneys function all contribute to the length of time opioids will spend in your system.
There are different common opioids. Each has different effects and can stay in the body for different amounts of time. We will look at five examples of opioids, combined with the factors within the body, and determine how long they stay in your body system.
It is also essential to know that different tests on different body parts would yield different results. Opioids and opiates, for instance, can be detected more often in hair and urine tests compared to blood and saliva tests.
Heroine
Heroin can remain in the saliva for up to five hours after use and in the urine for up to seven days. The drug can be detected in the bloodstream for up to six hours after use.
Morphine
If a blood test is run within 12 hours after use, morphine can be detected. It can be found in Urine and Saliva in three and four days, respectively.
Fentanyl
Fentanyl spends between 8 to 24 hours in an average person’s urine, 12 hours in a person’s blood, and four days in a person’s saliva.
Codeine
It takes 24 hours to find codeine in a person’s blood, about two days in urine, and four days in saliva.
Oxycodone
Oxycodone can be detected in the urine for up to four days and in the saliva for up to two. Half of an oxycodone dose is eliminated from the body in three to five hours.
What Are the Symptoms of Opioid Withdrawal?
How do you know if someone is starting to stay away from opioids? When the body becomes dependent on Opioids, it reacts when it abstains from opioids. These are some of its withdrawal symptoms.
Within 24 hours
- Runny nose
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Muscle aches
- Restlessness
After a day or two
- Rapid heartbeat
- Abdominal cramping
- Diarrhea
- Nausea and vomiting
- High blood pressure
How to Find Opioid Detox Programs in Los Angeles, CA
By now, you have a fair knowledge of opioids and how long opioids stay in your system. If you have issues with opioid addiction or have noticed a level of reliance on opioids, help is not too far away.
DetoxLA has a client-centered program by addiction specialists that will help you with your dependence on opioids. This program is comprehensive and ensures a complete recovery from addiction. You can attend this program as an out-patient or in-patient. Contact our help center in DetoxLA for professional insight and care today.