How Long Suboxone Stays In Your System

Medication-assisted treatment options for opiate addiction have come a long way since the days when methadone existed as the only treatment of its kind. Suboxone, one of the newer medication treatments, offers certain therapeutic benefits not afforded through the older approaches.

Like methadone, Suboxone stays in your system for an extended period of time compared to addictive opiate drugs. How long Suboxone remains in your system varies from person to person, though times do tend to center around certain factors, such as dosage amount and overall physical health.

Whether your concerns have to do with drug testing or treatment purposes, understanding how Suboxone works can help in determining how long the drug stays in your system.

Suboxone Ingredients

The amount of time Suboxone stays in your system varies depending on your metabolism.

Suboxone’s role as an opiate addiction treatment works to suppress drug cravings while at the same time guard against potential relapse episodes. Suboxone contains two ingredients, buprenorphine and naloxone, that vary in terms of how long each one stays in the body, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Buprenorphine, the primary active ingredient in Suboxone is a synthetic opiate, which enables it to bind to the same cell receptor sites as addictive opiates like heroin and oxycodone. In doing so, Suboxone meets the brain’s need for opiates without producing a “high” effect.

Naloxone, also a synthetic opiate, only takes effect in cases where a person abuses opiates. In effect, naloxone causes the body to go into severe withdrawal when a relapse occurs. Overall, the effects of these two ingredients have a considerable bearing on how long Suboxone stays in your system.

If you’re considering treatment and you’re not sure if your insurance will cover your treatment costs, call our helpline at 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) for more information.

Suboxone Peak Level and Half-Life Times

How long Suboxone stays in your system has a lot to do with the drug’s peak level and half-life duration in your body. Peak level indicates a drug has reached maximum effect. A drug’s half-life represents the period of time it takes for half of it to be excreted from the body.

Buprenorphine and naloxone have different peak level and half-life durations, which ultimately effects how long Suboxone stays in your system. According to the U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, buprenorphine reaches peak levels or peak effect within 90 to 100 minutes, whereas naloxone peak effects don’t come into play unless a relapse event occurs.

Buprenorphine’s average half-life duration ranges anywhere from 24 to 60 hours, while naltexone’s lands within the two to 12 hour range. Where a person falls within these timelines depends on his or her metabolism rate, dosage amounts taken and time since last drug dose.

Drug Testing Considerations

As drug testing is typically a conditional requirement for receiving Suboxone treatment, how long Suboxone stays in your system helps treatment providers gauge whether any dosage adjustments are needed. Drug testing may also be court ordered to ensure a person is following treatment directives. With urine tests, buprenorphine can be detected for up to three days after a single dose in a healthy adult.

If you or someone you know is considering Suboxone treatment and have more questions, or need help finding a program that meets your needs, please feel free to call our toll-free helpline at 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) to speak with one of our addictions specialists.

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