How Long Does Oxycodone Stay in Your System?

Oxycodone is a pain medication prescribed for pain relief from moderate to severe pain. Prescription opioids like oxycodone are highly effective at alleviating severe pain for patients who do not experience pain relief with other types of pain medications. Oxycodone works by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and interrupting pain signals from the body to the brain. Oxycodone slows down the communication between the nerves all over the body to the brain. That’s why oxycodone is considered a central nervous system depressant. In addition to reducing the pain signals from the body to the brain, as a CNS depressant, oxycodone also slows down breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Oxycodone is a Schedule II controlled substance because of its high potential for drug abuse. Oxycodone misuse can lead to oxycodone addiction causing physical and psychological dependence.

If you are taking oxycodone or have recently taken this medicine, you may want to know how long it will stay in your system. In other words, how long will it take your body to clear oxycodone until it no longer shows up on a drug test? Please keep reading to find out more.

What are oxycodone brand names and dosage forms?

Oxycodone is available as immediate-release formulations (oxycodone, Oxy IR, Roxybond, Roxycodone, Oxaydo). It is also available in extended-release versions (OxyContin CR, Xtampza ER). In addition, oxycodone is available in combination with other non-narcotic pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Percocet, Xartemis XR), ibuprofen (Combunox), and aspirin (Percodan).

The only approved method of ingesting oxycodone is to swallow whole tablets or capsules.

What is the clearance time for oxycodone?

The clearance time of oxycodone and other drugs is measured in terms of half-life. Half-life is the time it takes to eliminate half the drug from the body; in other words, half-life is how long it would take for a drug to get down to 50% of the initial amount. Drugs with a longer half-life stay in your system longer. However, after several half-lives (4-5 half-lives, to be precise), most of the drug (up to 97%) is eliminated from the body, and the blood plasma concentrations are almost negligible. Keep in mind that age and kidney function also play a significant role here too; the blood concentrations of oxycodone have been found to be higher in the elderly and those with impaired kidney function.

Immediate-release oxycodone has a half-life of approximately 3.2 hours. Controlled-release oxycodone (extended-release forms) has a half-life of approximately 4.5 hours.

How long does oxycodone stay in the body?

As mentioned, the average half-life of oxycodone is 3.2 to 4.5 hours. However, drug tests can detect oxycodone even after 4-5 half-lives have passed and most of the drug has been eliminated from your body. How long oxycodone can be found on a drug test depends on the type of test.

Here are some general guidelines on how long oxycodone can be detected on drug testing:

Blood test: Up to 24 hours
Saliva test: 1-2 days
Urine test: 2-4 days
Hair follicle test: Up to 3 months

What other factors affect how long oxycodone stays in your body?

The above-mentioned elimination times on various types of drug tests are average timelines based on oxycodone’s half-life. Other factors such as age, gender, body weight, metabolism, liver and kidney function, dosage, frequency of use, and length of treatment can also affect how long oxycodone stays in your system.

Age: If you are an older adult (age 65 plus), your body will metabolize oxycodone more slowly. As a result, oxycodone can stay in your system longer compared to younger adults.
Gender: For unclear reasons, oxycodone blood plasma concentrations are up to 25% higher in females compared to males.
Kidney and liver function: The half-life of oxycodone increases in people with reduced kidney and liver function.
Dosage and duration of use: Oxycodone can accumulate in your body’s tissues if you have been taking it at a high dose or for a long time. As a result, it may be detected in your system for a longer time than average.
Drug interactions with other medications: Some medications make it harder for the body to metabolize oxycodone, which results in increased blood concentrations. Other medications lower the peak concentration of the oxycodone and make it less effective. Taking oxycodone with other opioids can lead to serious adverse effects, including life-threatening respiratory depression. Drug interactions can also affect how long oxycodone stays in your system.

How to avoid withdrawal symptoms after stopping opioid medication?

You may be required to undergo drug tests, such as urine testing or blood tests, based on court orders, for legal reasons, to meet employment requirements, or before participation in professional sports events.

If you have been prescribed oxycodone for its pain-relieving effects, your healthcare provider may order a drug test to check for adherence to the prescribed treatment regimen. This ensures you are not using other pain medications that your provider did not prescribe or is unaware of.

If you have been prescribed oxycodone to treat chronic pain, it’s important that you don’t stop taking this drug suddenly to pass a drug test.

If you want to stop oxycodone use, get professional medical advice. Your healthcare provider will tell you how to lower the dose slowly.

Abruptly stopping oxycodone can lead to serious withdrawal symptoms. Oxycodone withdrawal symptoms can include anxiety, restlessness, agitation, insomnia, muscle cramps, runny nose, watery eyes, sweating, yawning, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and dilated pupils.

For short-acting opioids such as immediate-release oxycodone, the withdrawal symptoms can start 8-24 hours after the last dose and continue for 4-10 days. For long-acting opioids (extended-release forms of oxycodone), withdrawal symptoms can start 12-48 hours after the last dose and continue for 10-20 days.

Do not attempt to quit taking oxycodone cold turkey. If you find it difficult to take oxycodone exactly as prescribed, a mental health professional specializing in substance abuse and addiction medicine can help you stop oxycodone use safely and comfortably. Support groups can help you overcome oxycodone addiction.

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