The opioid epidemic is still going strong. The main drivers of this crisis are synthetic opioids, causing most overdose deaths. In 2020, 91,799 people overdosed on opioids in the United States. The need for treatment continues to affect many of the population, and many treatment centers use suboxone. However, people often wonder how long suboxone will stay in their systems because it is a semi-synthetic opioid, so we will examine this question now.

How Long Does Suboxone Stay in Your System?

You will feel the effects of suboxone for 24 hours, but it will remain in your system for five and eight days if you are healthy. If you have been diagnosed with severe liver disease, the effects will remain between seven and 14 days.

What Is Suboxone?

Suboxone is a prescription drug that the FDA approved to treat opioid use disorder. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA, it is classified as a “Schedule III” substance with moderate to low potential for causing users to develop a psychological or physical dependence. It is either prescribed as a tablet or a sublingual strip that contains the following:

Naloxone

Naloxone is an opioid antagonist. An antagonist attaches to the opioid receptors in the brain so that it can keep opioids from activating them. It causes the user not to experience the effects of opioids.

Buprenorphine

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist. A partial opioid agonist activates some of the opioid receptors in the brain, so the user will feel effects similar to those of opioids. However, they will experience these effects to a lesser extent.

Suboxone is a medication that treatment centers prescribe for those addicted to opioids during the detoxification process. People addicted to opioids will experience highly uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms if they stop ingesting the drug. To ensure that their clients can endure the detoxification process as comfortably as possible, a treatment center’s medical staff will administer suboxone to their clients so that their bodies can release all signs of opioids from their systems while they are relieved of experiencing the withdrawal symptoms.

What Is the Half-Life of 1 mg. of Suboxone?

To determine the half-life of suboxone, we must determine the half-life of both buprenorphine and naloxone. The “half-life” of a drug is the time that it takes the body to metabolize half of the substance and remove it from the body. The elimination half-life of naloxone is equal to two to 12 hours, and the elimination half-life of buprenorphine is equal to 24 to 42 hours. In most cases, people require five half-lives to pass before suboxone is completely eliminated from the body.

What Is the Half-Life of Suboxone in People with Severe Liver Disease?

People with moderate to severe liver disease experience longer half-lives before suboxone is eliminated from their bodies. This is the case for both naloxone and buprenorphine. If your liver disease is moderately severe, the half-life increases by 35% for buprenorphine. For naloxone, the half-life increases by 165%.

These times increase even more for people with severe liver disease. The half-life of buprenorphine increases by 57%, and the half-life of naloxone increases by 122%. This means that it will take six to 12 days or 160 to 284 hours for every trace of suboxone to be eliminated from the body in someone with moderate liver disease. In people with severe liver disease, they can expect not to have any trace of suboxone in their bodies after seven to 14 days or 188 to 330 hours.

How Long Do You Have to Be Off Suboxone Before You Can Take an Opiate Test?

As the liver metabolizes suboxone, it creates metabolites that are known as “norbuprenorphines.” Norpbuprenorphine has a longer half-life than suboxone, so it remains in the body for up to 150 hours. When it is secreted, it leaves the body through the urine. This is why a urine test can detect buprenorphine for as long as two weeks.

Suboxone can also be detected in the following tests:

Hair

A hair test can detect suboxone for the longest period of time. It will depend on how much suboxone you ingested, but it will be able to detect the drug in your hair follicles between one and three months after you took your last dose.

Blood

Medical personnel do not usually use blood to test for the presence of suboxone, but the substance will only last as long as 86 hours after you took the last dose of suboxone.

Saliva

A saliva test will detect suboxone for up to five days.

Even so, drug tests may be able to detect suboxone for as long as eight days after you ingest your last dose.

What Other Factors Influence How Long Suboxone Remains in Your System?

Everybody’s bodies are different, so the amount of time required to metabolize suboxone will be different for everyone. Some of these factors include the following:

• The amount of fat on your body
• The health of your liver
• The length of time that you were misusing opioids
• The speed at which your body can metabolize substances
• Your age
• Your weight
• Your height

If you are younger, are not overweight, and have a fast metabolism, you will metabolize suboxone fairly rapidly. If you have taken large doses of suboxone, you may have built up the substance in your body. With this being the case, it will take longer to metabolize suboxone than if you were to take the drug just once. As mentioned above, moderate to severe liver disease increases the amount of time your body metabolizes suboxone. It remains in your system for longer periods of time when this is the case. Lastly, if you are taking other substances along with suboxone, those substances can affect the way that your body metabolizes suboxone.

How Do You Obtain Treatment for an Opioid Use Disorder?

If you need treatment for your opioid use disorder or are searching for help for a loved one, Garden State Detox is here for you. Getting help for your opioid use disorder is imperative because opioids continue to damage your brain the longer you use them uncontrollably. Treatment is the best way to remove all traces of the substances from your brain and body, so we will administer suboxone if it is right for you.

After the detox process is over, your treatment will become long-term maintenance. During this time, we will treat your psychological addiction to opioids with several types of therapy. These include the 12-step program that ensures that you remain accountable and connected to your program. Your therapist also administers cognitive behavioral therapy, contingency management, motivational interviewing, and the Matrix Model.

The best place for you to be to receive the therapies described above is in an inpatient rehabilitation center. This option often scares many people, but it will offer you the best chances that you have to become sober. In rehab, you will have a tremendous amount of support that you may not have in your current residence, which is necessary to ensure that you maintain your sobriety over the long term.

If your loved one’s addiction is mild, he or she may be right for our outpatient treatment program. It is also possible for you if you haven’t been experiencing a substance use disorder for several years.

Contact us today if you or a loved one are ready to get help for your opioid use disorder.

FAQ