Each drug produces a specific reaction in your body, differing in the time required to process it. You may not realize that how long a drug can stay in your system depends on you. However, your age, weight and gender can affect it. In addition, your metabolic rate creates another condition beyond your control. So when you wonder how long do drugs stay in your system, you can find many different answers. The drug detection time for a substance depends on the type of substance, the dose, frequency of use, and personal factors.
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Considering Choices that Affect How Long a Drug Stays in Your System
Drugs respond to your physical condition and the choices you make. For example, it takes longer if you already have other drugs or alcohol in your system. Your use of a particular drug and the amount you use makes a big difference. In addition, how often you use a drug can affect your tolerance for it.
Whether you engage in physical activity daily and drink enough water can significantly impact drug processing time. Of course, medical conditions that affect your kidneys or liver can make everything take longer. So a simple question turns out to have a complicated answer. A decision to use drugs can make you worry about addiction, especially when you want to beat a drug test. There are different types of test and testing methods: urine drug test, saliva test(oral fluid), hair drug testing, blood tests, etc. Drug screens only show non-negative test results and test a person’s urine for elevated levels of specific drug metabolites.
Understanding Why Age, Gender and Body Weight Matter
Blood flow to the liver where drugs get processed reduces by about 35 percent with age, and the liver gets smaller too. In addition, metabolizing drugs tend to take longer in women than men, and obesity can also influence the rate.
Staying Fit and Drinking Water
An upcoming drug test can give you one reason to wonder how long do drugs stay in your system. However, getting enough rest and sleep can help remove your concerns. In addition, eating a healthy diet and drinking six 8-ounce glasses of water daily help keep you fit and well-hydrated. Plenty of water gives your liver time to process alcohol so you can eliminate it. In addition, when you exercise for fitness, it increases your breathing rate and puts more oxygen in your bloodstream. Both help your liver metabolize the drugs in your system.
Making the Job Harder or Easier
It probably seems obvious that the harder you make it for the organ that processes drugs to do its job, the longer it takes. Your illicit drug of choice(benzodiazepines, barbiturates, opiates, codeine, fentanyl, oxycodone, phencyclidine(pcp), propoxyphene, adderall, etc.) and the amount you use can determine how long your liver needs to get rid of the substances. However, Chronic users’ bodies may get used to the presence of drug you use regularly and build up a tolerance for it. When that happens, it can make a drug stay with you longer than it may for someone who uses it once in a while. The greater the amount of a drug you use produces a similarly greater time to metabolize it.
Checking on Cause and Effect
Your rate of metabolism may differ from someone else, making the time to rid your body of drugs different too. Guidelines can give you an idea of how long it takes, but results depend on many factors in your complex body. However, you can learn which drugs take the most time to process and which require the least.
Detection Times
| Drug | Description | Bloodstream Duration | Urine Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | Drinking excessively can shrink the brain, impair cognitive functions, and affect movement control. Heavy drinking is defined as at least eight drinks per week for women and 15 for men. | Up to 12 hours | Up to 5 days |
| Amphetamines | Stimulant drugs that increase central nervous system activity, leading to potential delusions and paranoia. Physical effects include heart problems, malnutrition, and muscle breakdown. | Up to 12 hours | Up to 3 days |
| Cannabis | Affects memory, reaction time, balance, coordination, and reflex responses, making it dangerous to drive. Tests target the THC chemical. | Variable (long-term effects) | Up to 1 month |
| Cocaine | Increases dopamine in the brain, affecting movement and reward circuits, raising blood pressure and body temperature, and causing fast or irregular heartbeats. | 1-2 days | Up to 4 days |
| Heroin | Enters the brain and converts to morphine, creating pleasure but slowing mental and heart functions severely, potentially causing comas and brain damage. | Up to 12 hours | Up to 4 days |
| LSD | Distorts perceptions and produces unpredictable sensory experiences. | Up to 12 hours | Up to 3 days |
| Methamphetamine | Stimulates the central nervous system, altering judgment and increasing the risk of engaging in risky behavior. Use through injection increases the risk of contracting diseases like HIV or hepatitis. | Up to 3 days | Up to 6 days |
| Methadone | Developed for pain relief, it affects brain and nervous system responses to pain, potentially leading to abuse or addiction. | Up to 36 hours | 3-4 days |
| Morphine | An opioid derived from the poppy plant that relieves intense pain but is highly addictive and often misused. | Up to 12 hours | Up to 3 days |
Alcohol
Drinking excess amounts can shrink your brain and make it harder to think, learn, remember and control movements. Heavy drinking for women means at least eight drinks a week and at least 15 for men.
Alcohol cans stay in your bloodstream for up to 12 hours. In addition, it may show up in your urine sample for up to five days.
Amphetamines
As stimulant drugs, amphetamines increase the burden on your central nervous system by making it work faster. As addictive substances, amphetamines have far-reaching effects. They can make you have delusions and feelings of paranoia. Physical effects of regular use may include heart problems, malnutrition and breakdown of muscle tissue.
Amphetamines can remain in your bloodstream for up to 12 hours and up to three days in your urine.
Cannabis
Without intoxicating you, cannabinoids produces plenty of other effects. For example, it makes it hard to remember things and slows your reaction time. A loss in your sense of balance, coordination and reflex response can make it dangerous for you to drive. Tests for Marijuana are actually testing for the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
The effects of cannabis can last longer than other drugs, lasting for up to two weeks and as much as a month in your urine.
Cocaine
When dopamine levels in your brain increase in response to cocaine, it confuses the circuits that control movement and reward. It can raise your blood pressure and body temperature as it creates a fast or irregular heartbeat.
Cocaine can remain in your bloodstream for one or two days but about twice that long in your urine (4 days).
Heroin
A coma and permanent brain damage can occur when heroin enters the brain. It converts to morphine and creates a rush of pleasure followed by the slowing of mental and heart functions. Breathing can slow down severely and create a life-threatening situation.
Heroin can stay in your bloodstream for 12 hours and up to four days in your urine.
LSD
A drug that distorts your perceptions, LSD can make you see things, hear sounds and sensory experiences that do not exist. It produces unpredictable effects that science does not fully understand.
The effects that LSD creates can last for 12 hours and up to three days in your urine.
Methamphetamine
A powerful and addictive stimulant, methamphetamine, mdma affects your central nervous system. As a result, it can alter your judgment and lead you to take risky behavior. Injecting it can put you at risk of contracting HIV or hepatitis B and C.
Tests can detect it in your bloodstream for up to three days and about twice that long in your urine (6 days).
Methadone
A drug created during World War II to treat pain, methadone affects how your brain and nervous system react to discomfort. The feelings of relief that it can create may lead to abusing it or becoming addicted.
Methadone can last up to 36 hours since your last use in your bloodstream and three or four days in your urine.
Morphine
An opioid drug that can relieve intense pain, morphine affects the pleasure centers of your brain. Highly addictive, the drug that comes from the poppy plant creates the likelihood of misusing it.
Morphine can stay in your bloodstream for up to 12 hours but longer in your urine at about three days.
Coping with a Difficult Challenge
Almost everyone asks the same question when the possibility of drug test results failing occurs. When anyone asks how long do drugs stay in your system, it can mean that a worry about addiction causes concerns. Professional caregivers can understand why you may not want to take a drug test. Experience allows teams of caring and compassionate professionals to lead the way to sobriety.
Starting Over with Hope and Confidence
Our experience proves what you already know about trying to stop using by yourself. When you choose an inpatient approach, you live in a safe and protective environment where drugs cannot harm you. However, you can continue to live and work as usual when you attend an outpatient program. We can offer a confidential assessment at no cost to help you decide which way to go. You have our commitment to provide you with the tools you need to start a recovery process that lasts a lifetime.
Healing from substance abuse lies close enough for you to grasp it, and we can help you reach it. Our success in helping others in your situation can give you hope and strength. At Long Island Interventions, we know the challenge of coping with dependency on drugs and alcohol can seem impossible to face. We assure you that you can recover from substance use/drug use and gain control of your life. You may talk to us on our Live Chat feature any hour of the day or night, or call us to see how you can grasp the recovery that lies within your reach.
