How Long Does Methadone Stay In Your System?

Methadone is basically a synthetic opioid agonist. It is used to treat certain conditions like severe, chronic pain, and opioid use disorder, especially heroin withdrawal symptoms. Methadone has a relatively long half-life, meaning it can last in your body for a longer time.
Typically, methadone can last in your system for anywhere up to 13 days. However, depending on the type of test you might be looking at, it can be detected in your body for an even longer time.

How To Get Methadone Out Of Your System?

To get methadone out of your system, you have to let the body take its natural course 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. 

• 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.
• Length of Use: Taking methadone for an extended period of time means that methadone 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 ones.
• Body Weight: Usually, the greater the body weight, the longer the time taken to metabolize methadone. Therefore, following a healthy diet and maintaining an active lifestyle are certain things that can help with it.
• Liver Functioning: 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.

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.

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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 the longest. Hair tests are not the first choice of tests for methadone. They are time-consuming and expensive. When historical patterns of drug use need to be analyzed, or where long-term treatment is required, hair tests can come in quite handy.

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 easy to administer and cost-effective. However, when it comes to methadone, saliva tests are not all that reliable and hence not 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 and expensive, so they are not the first choice of tests for methadone. However, in clinical settings, where present levels of the drug in the system need to be measured, blood tests can be very useful.

Test Type	Detection Window
Urine	14 days
Hair	90 days
Saliva	2 days
Blood	2.5 days

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How Long Does It Take for Methadone to Take Effect?

Methadone is a relatively fast-acting drug. It takes nearly 30 minutes to take effect after ingestion. However, its effects can last for varying periods of time depending on why it is prescribed. If prescribed for pain, its effects can last for anywhere between 4 – 8 hours. If prescribed for opioid use disorder, its effects can last for 1 – 2 days.

Half-Life of Methadone

The half-life of methadone is relatively long. Half-life means the time taken for your body to eliminate the drug 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 13 days.

Peak Levels of Methadone

Methadone peaks within 2 – 4 hours after ingestion. This is when it is at its best or most effective. Whether taken for pain relief or opioid use disorder, it helps combat the corresponding symptoms best during this period.

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Types of Methadone Testing

The drug testing methods for methadone are vast and varied depending on what the requirement is.

Urine Tests:

Urine tests are the go-to drug testing method for methadone. They are easy to administer and inexpensive.

Hair Tests:

Hair tests have the longest detection window for methadone. However, given that they are costly and time-consuming, they are not generally preferred.

Saliva Tests:

Saliva tests are unreliable when it comes to testing methadone. Therefore, they are not frequently used.

Blood Tests:

Blood tests, while highly accurate, can be minimally invasive. They are not as common as urine tests, but in medical settings, they can be very useful.