It may take between five and 10 days for buprenorphine to be eliminated from your system. The speed at which your body processes the medication depends on several factors, primarily the half-life of buprenorphine and your metabolism. The half-life can vary based on individual factors, such as liver function. Knowing how quickly your body processes buprenorphine can help your prescriber determine your dosage and how often you should take your medication. It can also help determine your timeline of withdrawal symptoms if you should stop taking it abruptly and how quickly you should taper your dose if you want to reduce it or stop taking it altogether.
If you’re worried about buprenorphine showing up on a drug test, you should know that it probably won’t affect your results unless the test is specifically screening for this medication. Buprenorphine has a different chemical structure than other opioids, and it’s well known that this medication is used in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). As long as you have a prescription for buprenorphine, a positive test for this medication shouldn’t be a problem.
In this blog post, we’ll share five facts to know about the effects of buprenorphine and how long it stays in your system.
5 important facts about the effects of buprenorphine and how long it stays in your system
Buprenorphine is the main ingredient in Suboxone, the medication we provide for most of our members at Groups. Because it has a relatively long half-life, it takes a bit longer to start working than other opioids, but most people feel some effect within an hour. However, its effects last longer. Some people only need to take buprenorphine every other day.
Buprenorphine helps reduce opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms while you’re recovering from OUD. It’s unique because its euphoric effects are much milder than other opioids. Taking higher doses doesn’t make you feel more “high,” and it doesn’t cause overdose nearly as much as other opioids. People may be more likely to overdose if they have certain medical conditions or if they take their medication with other central nervous system (CNS) depressants. These include alcohol, benzodiazepines, and other medications.
Keep reading to discover five things you should know about buprenorphine and how long it stays in your system:
-
Buprenorphine has a long half-life.
The half-life of a medication is the time it takes for the plasma or blood level of the substance to decrease by half after the last dose. Drugs with a long half-life take longer to eliminate from your system. Withdrawal symptoms also tend to be milder with these medications.
Buprenorphine has a half-life of about 38 hours. There’s a lot of variation between individuals, so in reality, it can range from 25 to 70 hours. That means it may take between five and 10 days to be fully eliminated from your system.
The form of buprenorphine you’re taking may affect the time it takes to leave your system. Extended-release injections like Sublocade and Brixadi stay in the body longer. It may take several months until they’re no longer detectable.
-
Individual factors affect how long it stays in your system.
Your health and physical characteristics will affect how long buprenorphine stays in your system. Some testing methods may be more accurate for you than others. For example, if you have dark hair, your hair may maintain a higher concentration of opioids than a person with light hair. Bleaching and coloring can also affect hair testing. For these reasons, hair testing is rarely used.
The following are some personal characteristics that can affect how long buprenorphine stays in your system:
- Body weight
- Metabolism
- Liver health
- Age
- Hydration levels
- Dosage and length of use
-
Detection times vary by test type.
The detection window for buprenorphine and the sensitivity of the test will depend on the type of drug test you take. Different tests measure different biological markers that are affected by opioids and other drugs.
Here’s a general idea of the detection windows for the following drug testing methods:
- Urine testing — One to two weeks
- Blood testing — Up to 12 hours
- Saliva testing — Up to about 48 hours
- Hair testing — Up to three months or more
-
The withdrawal timeline relates to how long it stays in your system.
Suboxone works quickly, although people absorb it and feel its effects at different rates. Its effects peak at three to four hours. It’s a long-acting opioid, so you’ll feel its effects for up to a few days. Suboxone may stay in your system for five to eight days.
Withdrawal symptoms may begin within 24 hours, and they are typically most severe in the first 72 hours after a missed dose. You may experience moderate symptoms like aches and pains for 10 to 20 days after your last dose. Cravings and depression may continue for a month or longer.
If you decide to lower your dose of buprenorphine or stop taking it, you’ll need to gradually taper your dose in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Your provider will need to guide you through the process. They’ll take your medical history and your current health into account to help you create a plan. You shouldn’t try to taper off of buprenorphine or other opioids without the help of a care provider.
-
Regular use creates stable levels in your body.
If you’ve been taking buprenorphine for a while, it may take longer to leave your system. When you maintain a therapeutic amount of a medication in your body for an extended period, this is called a steady-state level. In this case, keeping a stable level of the medication in your body is necessary to prevent cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Once your system gets used to the medication and your levels of other opioids decrease, the maintenance phase begins. Your provider may need to adjust your dosage for long-term use. Depending on the form of buprenorphine you take, you may need to take doses daily, every other day, once a week, or once a month.
As soon as you miss a dose, you may start noticing withdrawal symptoms. This may make you more likely to use opioids again or otherwise interfere with your recovery goals. Again, if you want to stop taking buprenorphine, you should work with your prescriber to create a plan. If you don’t take another dose of your medication, withdrawal symptoms will peak within about 72 hours and then start to subside.
What else should I know about testing for buprenorphine and other opioids?
Like most other opioid recovery clinics, we require weekly urine screenings at Groups. Many states require weekly testing for people who are in recovery for OUD. This also gives us helpful information about your treatment progress so we can make adjustments for safety and efficiency. We don’t use your test results to make you feel guilty, and we don’t kick people out of treatment for a positive urine screen. False positives do happen, so whenever a test comes back positive, we do additional testing to understand the results.
We try to make it safe for our members to be open and honest about their opioid use during group therapy. Our Recovery Support Specialists understand that recovery isn’t linear, and it’s their job to support you, not judge you. If you do use opioids while in treatment at Groups, your counselor will help you reflect on what led you to it and what you might do differently next time. Sometimes, this is a sign that your dosage needs to change or that you’re lacking a certain type of support or resources.
Groups provides access to Suboxone and support for your recovery
For most people, taking buprenorphine in the long term helps create the best chance of recovery from OUD. Anytime you start or stop taking an opioid, you should work closely with a qualified prescriber and only take your medication as directed. Understanding how your body processes buprenorphine will help you make the best treatment decisions together. You should tell your provider about your medical history and other medications you’re taking. They should also educate you on your treatment options.
To review:
- It may take between five and 10 days to fully eliminate buprenorphine from your system.
- Buprenorphine typically doesn’t show up on drug screens.
- Extended-release buprenorphine stays in the body for a longer period of time.
- Your weight, metabolism, age, and other factors may affect how quickly you process buprenorphine.
- Different types of drug screens may have different detection windows.
- Your withdrawal timeline relates to how long buprenorphine stays in your system.
- If you’ve been taking buprenorphine regularly, it may take longer for it to be purged from your system.
Do you have questions about managing your buprenorphine prescription? Give our Recovery Support Specialists a call today. We provide treatment across the country—and we’re always expanding. See if we offer care in your state, either online or at one of our 130+ local offices. If Groups does not offer treatment in your area, you can locate other treatment options here.
