Being a narcotic painkiller, it is important to know how long does oxycodone stay in your system. The following HealthHearty article gives a rough estimate about the time required by this drug to leave your body after the last dose.
The duration of drug detection time for oxycodone does not suggest the length of time that the drug will remain active.
The duration of oxycodone stay in your body depends upon how long the drug shows up in various drug tests. As we all know, a drug test checks the presence of a specified drug. So, the amount of time that oxycodone will stay in your body is the duration for which the drug will continue to test positive through various tests.
The drug detection time of oxycodone that may vary from hours to even months is dependent on various parameters, some of which are discussed below:
This is the most crucial factor, as each test comes with different drug sensitivity levels. The more sensitive a drug test, the longer will be the drug detection time. For instance, a urine test is found to be more sensitive than a blood test. Also, a saliva test tends to have higher sensitivity than a blood test. No wonder, any kind of blood work for oxycodone testing has a shorter detection time as compared to other drug tests.
Drug detection time is longer in individuals, particularly after its heavy usage. Thus, if the drug is taken more frequently, the time taken to get rid of it from the body will take longer. For instance, people taking 5 to 15 mg of oxycodone every 4 – 6 hours are likely to show a longer drug detection time than those who take 10 mg of oxycodone just once or twice a day. Also, drug abusers won’t be able to pass the test for quite some time.
An individual’s metabolic rate can also influence the length of time the drug test will remain positive. Higher the metabolic rate, shorter will be the length of stay of the drug in the body. Thus, in the elderly, who tend to have a lower metabolic rate, the drug does not leave the body for a longer amount of time.
Oxycodone will take more time to leave the body, if it has a long history of use. Prolonged drug use causes its accumulation in the fatty tissues, meaning it will take longer for the drug to leave the body. Taking a short course of oxycodone indicates shorter stay of the drug in the body.
In general, the following drug tests indicate the length of oxycodone stay in your system for first-time users:
Once consumed, the drug does not circulate for long in the bloodstream. To be precise, through a blood test, the drug cannot be detected after a period of 24 hours. Thus, oxycodone levels in the blood are nil after a day since the last dose. However, chronic users and those taking higher doses won’t be able to pass the test for 3 – 5 days.
First-time users can pass the urine test after 3 – 4 days. However, those who are taking it daily, particularly in high doses, are likely to show oxycodone levels in urine anywhere from 6 days to up to 2 weeks since the last dose.
Traces of the drug may remain in the saliva for a longer duration. After the last dose, the saliva test will be positive for 1 to 4 days.
This is the most sensitive test as the drug detection time is found to be the lengthiest. Through this test, the doctor can find out whether you took oxycodone in the last 3 months. So, if you have secretly taken a dose of this drug, the test can detect it for up to 90 days.
The aforementioned detection times are not applicable for oxycodone extended-release tablets. These formulations are designed in such a way that the active ingredient in the tablet is secreted slowly in the body. This means that the drug lasts for a longer duration as it is gradually released in the body. This mechanism is better at establishing consistent pain management.
