How Long Does Percocet Stay In Your System?

Introduction

Percocet is a pain relief medication and is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It contains a combination of acetaminophen and immediate-release oxycodone. Oxycodone is an opioid pain medication. While acetaminophen is not as effective as an opioid when it comes to pain relief, it strengthens the effects of oxycodone. Given the presence of an opioid, Percocet can be habit-forming. It can lead to addiction, overdose, and in extreme cases, even death. So, it is extremely vital that you only take Percocet if prescribed by your doctor and not take any more than the recommended dosage.

If you have just begun taking Percocet, then you might be wondering how long it stays in your system. Typically, Percocet can remain detectable for around 3 days after the last dose. However, depending on the test, this can be even longer.

How To Get Percocet Out Of Your System?

To get Percocet out of your system efficiently, there are certain factors you need to consider that might play a role.

• Metabolism: The central factor that plays a role in the same is metabolism. Active metabolism helps in breaking down the drug and removing it from your system.
• Age: A primary factor that comes into the picture with metabolism is age, so older persons might experience slower elimination rates.
• Liver and Kidney Functioning: Healthy functioning of the vital organs, specifically the liver and kidneys, is a highly essential factor. Damaged liver or kidney functioning can slow down metabolism, and this, in turn, can negatively impact Percocet’s elimination rate.
• Body Mass: Body mass determines how quickly or not so quickly is Percocet eliminated. The higher the body mass, the longer is the time taken for the body to eliminate it.
• Hydration: Drinking adequate levels of water and keeping your body hydrated is highly important in flushing out drugs from the body in an efficient manner.

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How Long Does Percocet Stay in Your Urine?

Percocet can remain detectable in your urine for 1 to 3 days after your last dose, generally. Certain urine tests can even detect Percocet in your urine for 7 days. This is mainly because of the opioid, oxycodone. Of course, it depends on different factors like dosage, frequency of usage, and metabolism rates.

Urine tests are the most common ways to test for Percocet, as they are easy to perform and cost-effective.

How Long Does Percocet Stay in Your Hair?

If there is any part of your body where Percocet remains the longest, it is your hair. The drug remains detectable in your hair follicles for up to 90 days!

However, the specific drug tests for detecting Percocet in your hair can only detect the drug in your hair if you take a heavy dosage and use it for an extended period. It is a long-term test and can often be inaccurate in cases of short-term usage.

How Long Does Percocet Stay in Your Saliva?

Percocet can remain detectable in your saliva for up to 2 days after your last dose, generally. Sometimes, it may remain detectable for as long as 4 days.

Saliva tests for Percocet are generally conducted in circumstances where immediate detection may be necessary.

How Long Does Percocet Stay in Your Blood?

Percocet remains detectable in your blood for only 24 hours after your last dose. However, with blood tests, the other catch is that the drug might not be detected in as short a time period as a few hours.

Like with saliva tests, blood tests for Percocet are only conducted for immediate detection purposes.

How Long Does It Take for Percocet to Take Effect?

Pain is one of the most intolerable things in the world. So, how quickly can Percocet relieve you of your pain is something you might be wondering. One tablet of Percocet comprising 5 mg of immediate-release oxycodone and 325 mg of acetaminophen takes effect within just 15 – 30 minutes after intake.

In general, the amount of Percocet you may need for pain relief can vary depending on what your concerns are. Dosage is one of the primary determining factors when it comes to the effectiveness of the drug. However, you must be careful to only take as much as is prescribed by your doctor and consult them if you need to make any adjustments.

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Half-Life Of Percocet

Percocet has a half-life of 3.5 hours. Meaning, it will take 3.5 hours for your body to eliminate half of the Percocet consumed, and another 3.5 hours for the other half of the Percocet to be eliminated, and so on. Different factors like the dosage, frequency of usage, metabolism, age, and overall health play a role in how long the drug can stay in your system going by its half-life. It has been estimated that it can take as long as 18 to 19 hours for the body to eliminate Percocet entirely.

Peak Levels of Percocet

Percocet reaches its peak effectiveness within 1 – 2 hours after intake. At this point, the drug is most effective in reducing pain and providing relief.

The peak levels of Percocet can last up to 3 – 6 hours. For this reason, typically, your doctor may prescribe the dose of a 5/325-mg Percocet tablet every 4 – 6 hours. But once again, it depends on the kind of pain you are experiencing.

Types of Percocet Testing

The tests for Percocet do not specifically test for the drug but mostly for oxycodone or opioids. Rarely do drug tests ever test you for acetaminophen. Depending on the different kinds of testing, Percocet can remain detectable in your system from 1 – 90 days.

Urine Tests:

Urine tests are the most commonly used tests for Percocet, as it is easy to administer and reliable.

Hair Tests:

Hair tests have the longest detection window for testing Percocet in your system, however, they are not as frequently used as urine tests as they are time-consuming.

Saliva Tests:

Saliva tests for Percocet are less invasive than other drug testing methods and also yield quicker results. They are not reliable for long-term testing, however.

Blood Tests:

Blood tests for Percocet are only reliable for immediate detection purposes. For medical purposes, blood tests may often be preferred to detect the present levels of Percocet in the body.