If you or someone you care about is struggling with addiction, you may be familiar with Suboxone. The FDA approved this medication, which contains naltrexone and buprenorphine, for the treatment of opioid withdrawals symptoms. In particular, it is used to treat addiction to such opioids as hydrocodone and heroin. Since this medication is long-acting, it can stay in your system for some time. With that said, there are various factors that affect precisely how long this substance remains in each individual’s system.
Therefore, if you are searching for information on how long suboxone stays in your system, it is important to understand these factors. It should be understood that this substance is still addictive, due to the fact that it is an opioid. Consequently, it is possible for this substance to be abused. The intensity of a high an individual may experience when using this substance may depend upon the level of tolerance that individual has already built up through addiction to other substances.
How the Body Metabolizes Suboxone
One of the most important factors involved in the way in which the body metabolizes Suboxone, which impacts how long it remains in the body, is the substance’s half-life. The half-life of any substance is the amount of time it takes for half of the substance’s dose to exit the body completely. Suboxone is comprised of two substances; naloxone and buprenorphine.
While the half-life of buprenorphine is quite long and can last up to 42 hours, the half-life of naloxone has a relatively short half-life. In fact, the half-life of naloxone is only 12 hours at the most and can be as short as two hours. Generally speaking, it can take up to nine days for Suboxone to leave your system completely. Even so, it is possible for trace amounts of this substance to remain in your system for even longer.
One of the reasons that it is possible for trace amounts of Suboxone to still be in your system is because of the way in which buprenorphine is metabolized in your body, specifically the liver. A drug test would not necessarily pick up Suboxone, but it would detect the presence of the metabolites that the liver creates when metabolizing buprenorphine. These metabolites are known as norbuprenorphine. When the body excretes norbuprenorphine, they may still be present in the urine for weeks.
Individual Factors Affecting How Long Suboxone Remains in your System
Each person is different. As a result, the amount of time it takes to rid your body of Suboxone may vary based on several different factors. Among those factors include:
- Height and weight
- Body fat
- Age
- Duration of substance abuse
- How long it’s been since you took the last dose
- Speed of your body’s metabolism
- Health of your liver In addition to these factors, the type of test used may also determine whether or not the presence of this substance is detected in your system.
Even after as much as two weeks, it may still be possible for a drug test to test suboxone. For instance, a blood test may only detect this substance within a couple of hours after you have taken the most recent dose. A saliva test works a bit differently and may detect the presence of Suboxone up to as much as a week since you took the last dose.
Which Tests Are Most Effective at Detecting Suboxone
If you are concerned about whether a drug test may detect that you have been using Suboxone, it is important to know that the type of test administered can have an affect regarding whether or not Suboxone is detected. Not all drug tests are the same or administered the same. Some of the more common types of drug tests include urine, blood, and saliva tests. In most cases, when Suboxone is taken as directed, there is no need to be concerned about how long it will remain in your body’s system.
If you have found yourself wondering how long it will remain in your system because you are concerned about it showing up on a drug test due to misuse of this substance, this could be an indication that you need help. When not used properly, this substance can be addictive. Fortunately, help is available. If you think that you or someone close to you may be suffering from an addiction to Suboxone or another substance, call us today at 772-266-5320 for help. We are available 24 hours a day to talk and help you get started on the path to recovery.
