How Long Do Opioids Stay in Your System?

If you or someone close to you is struggling with an opioid addiction, you might wonder how long do opioids stay in your system, and how long your detox process will be. The average length of time for an opioid to remain in your system is based on several factors, including the type, your genetics, your history of drug abuse, and more. 

How Long Do Opioids Stay in Your System?

There are many different types of opioids, some of which are made from natural sources and others of which are synthetic and made in a laboratory. How long do opioids stay in your system? This is based on many factors, including type. 

Types of Opioids

Some common types are:

  • Codeine
  • Demerol
  • Methadone
  • Morphine
  • Oxycodone
  • Tramadol
  • Fentanyl 

Codeine is considered an opiate and a narcotic, used as a prescription pain medication that can come in tablet or cough medicine form. Methadone, by comparison, is a synthetic opioid that is more commonly used to help stabilize people addicted to Morphine or heroin. 

Morphine is an opiate that can be taken through a tablet, syrup, or injection and is used for chronic pain conditions or pain relief following a major surgery. It is derived from the poppy plant, the same as heroin. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that averages 70 times the potency of Morphine and is only prescribed for severe pain.

In all of these examples, and all other opioids, the length of time that it stays in your system will vary based on not just the type but factors like how much you have taken and for how long. 

Short-and-Long Acting Opioids

Short-acting opioids are generally cleared from things like your urine within 72 hours. Short-acting opioids include things like:

  • Morphine
  • Oxycodone
  • Hydrocodone
  • Codeine
  • Heroin

Long-acting opioids can take up to one week to leave your system completely. These include methadone and buprenorphine. Fentanyl is even more potent than all of these, and it can take several weeks to leave your system entirely.

Length of Abuse

Another factor that influences how long do opioids stay in your system is the length of time that you have abused opioids.

Consider this:

Margaret was given a prescription for codeine. She took codeine once every day following a major car accident, and she did so for the span of 2 weeks. Over those two weeks, at any given point, it would take up to 72 hours for each respective dose to leave her system.

Mary was given a prescription for oxycodone, but she took it twice per day for several months.

Melinda abused opioids, including heroin, for several years, but she took multiple opioids at the same time, sometimes going back and forth between things like hydrocodone, heroin, or methadone, depending on what she could get her hands on. This meant that for Melinda, the length of time would have been different depending on what all she had taken, how much she had taken, and how frequently.

Getting Help for Opioid Addiction with Sequoia Recovery

How long do opiates stay in your system? If you are like Melinda, you don’t need to try and work out the math for how long each drug will stay in your system. Instead, you can come to our team for your opiate detox program, and we will let you know what to expect starting with your detox.

We take into account other external factors in addition to the types of opioids you were taking, like medication you are on or genetic factors as well. All of this helps to give you a more accurate recovery timeline.

The detox process is directly related to how long different opioids stay in your system and what your experience in history is with drug abuse, including opioids. When you come to our treatment center, we will review your personal history of drug abuse and any other co-occurring conditions to give you an estimate of what your detox timeline will look like and how long those opioids will remain in your system.

After your initial detox, we will help you transition into your next level of care, whether that is residential or outpatient programs. 

Overall, many opioids stay in your system for the span of several days or up to a week, with the exception being fentanyl, which can stay in your system for several weeks. If you are struggling with opioid addiction, don’t wait to get help.

Call us today at 1-866-824-0709 to learn more about our programs.