How Long Does Methadone Stay In Your System?

Methadone is a synthetic opioid agonist used to treat conditions like chronic pain and opioid use-related symptoms. While it has been used for medical purposes, methadone itself has a potential for misuse; therefore, you will have to take it only as per the prescription of your doctor for it to be safe and effective.

Your doctor will generally prescribe it once daily, so knowing how long methadone stays in your system will allow you to understand what to expect from this medication. Typically, methadone can last in your system for up to 13 days. However, depending on the type of test, it might be detected for even longer.

Methadone is an opioid agonist used in the treatment of opioid use disorder, especially to deal with opioid-related cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It reduces these symptoms and enables you to stay away from opioids. Therefore, it has become integral to medication-assisted treatment, which uses a combination of psychotherapy and medication management to treat substance use disorders like opioid and alcohol use disorders.

As methadone is a synthetic or man-made opioid, it reduces pain and heightens the feelings of relaxation and peace just like opioids do, but it does not give rise to the same high as the other opioids. So, it reduces the cravings for opioids and treats morphine, heroin, and other kinds of opioid misuse.

Methadone is a relatively fast-acting medication; its effects kick in within 30 minutes of consumption and peak within 2-4 hours, meaning it will be at its most effective during this time. If it is prescribed for pain, its effects last for around 4-8 hours. If prescribed for opioid use disorder, its effects can last for 1-2 days.

Methadone's half-life is relatively long. Half-life means the time taken for your body to eliminate the medication by half, then another half, and so on. Methadone has a half-life of 8-59 hours. Moreover, it takes 5 half-lives for it to be completely eliminated from your body. So, methadone can last in your body for up to 13 days.

How long methadone stays in your system depends on its half-life and other factors like metabolism, liver functioning, and so on. However, it can be detected for varying periods of time depending on the test used.

How Long Does Methadone Stay in Your Urine?

Methadone can be detected in your urine for up to 14 days following the last dose.

Urine tests are the most commonly used drug tests for methadone or any drug, for that matter. The reason for this is that they are non-invasive, easy to administer, and very cost-effective. They are also highly reliable.

How Long Does Methadone Stay in Your Hair?

Methadone can be detected in your hair follicles for up to 90 days following the last dose.

Methadone is detected in your hair for the longest period of time. However, hair tests are not the first choice of tests for methadone, as they are time-consuming and expensive to administer.

How Long Does Methadone Stay in Your Saliva?

Methadone can be detected in your saliva for up to 2 days following the last dose.

Saliva tests are the least invasive tests for methadone. However, they are not as reliable as other tests, so they are not generally preferred.

How Long Does Methadone Stay in Your Blood?

Methadone can be detected in your blood for up to 2.5 days following the last dose.

Blood tests are highly accurate; however, they can be minimally invasive, so they are not the first choice of tests for methadone. They are best used in clinical settings.

The simple answer to this is yes, methadone shows up on drug tests, often abbreviated as “mtd.” However, a drug test for methadone is not typically conducted for legal reasons, so it will not show up on typical urine or 5-panel or 7-panel tests meant for other misused opiates like morphine and heroin. As methadone can only be obtained via certified opioid treatment programs, these tests are typically conducted to check whether a person is complying with their treatment or not.

To get methadone out of your system, you have to let your body do its job of eliminating it from the system. This mainly centers on metabolism, with faster metabolism rates leading to quicker elimination. However, metabolism itself depends on other factors, such as:

• Dosage: Higher doses of methadone can stay in your body for a longer time than lower doses. The reason being, it generally takes your body to metabolize higher doses of methadone.
• Duration of Use: Taking methadone for an extended period of time means that methadone content will build up and stay in your body. So, it will take your body a longer time to metabolize it.
• Age: Metabolism depends on age as well. Typically, older persons have slower metabolic rates than younger persons. Therefore, it is important to maintain a certain level of physical activity at all times.
• Body Weight: Usually, the greater the body weight, the longer the time taken to metabolize methadone. Following a healthy diet and maintaining an active lifestyle are certain things that can help with it.
• Liver Functioning: The liver is responsible for breaking down methadone and metabolizing it. Any pre-existing liver conditions can, therefore, hamper the metabolism rate. This can lead to longer retention times.

While methadone is a prescription medication, it does have the potential for misuse. If you or someone you love struggles with methadone use, quitting methadone on your own can be challenging. However, you do not have to go through it alone. The care you need is just a heartbeat away with the NuView Treatment Center. We treat methadone abuse in outpatient settings by getting to the root of methadone use and giving you the tools you need to keep methadone away from your life.

Call NuView at (323) 307-7997 or email us at info@nuviewtreatment.com to begin healing today!