When a client enters rehab with a significant addiction to heroin or fentanyl, they are truly going to face an uphill battle just to get past their withdrawal symptoms. Yes, someone who has been abusing high-level opioids for any meaningful length of time is definitely going to have to deal with a number of withdrawal symptoms that can be downright scary in their own right.
As a top rehab facility, we see it all the time. Clients enter rehab so strung out on opioids that we know they are going to need the highest level of care possible. That would definitely include having to go through a medically monitored detox program that is geared more towards being a tapering program. Why would that be necessary? Take a look at the potential withdrawal symptoms a heroin user could face:
- Great difficulty with normal breathing
- Elevated heart rate and blood pressure to alarming levels
- Sweating, nausea, and vomiting
- Loss of motor control and the ability to concentrate on basic tasks
- Body abnormalities like convulsions and tremors in the extremities
- Auditory/visual hallucinations and nightmares when trying to sleep
- Difficulty sleeping
- Severe stomach cramping
- Onset of psychosis
Clearly, everything on this list could lead to major physical and mental issues. That is exactly why longtime heroin users need to go through a tapering program with something like suboxone serving as the tapering substance. Yes, Suboxone is an opioid. In fact, it would be considered a highly addictive opioid if it were a drug user’s primary drug of choice. As a secondary substance, it is simply milder than opioids like heroin and fentanyl. One of the issues people have with suboxone is the amount of time it remains in a person’s bloodstream. In the next section, the discussion is going to focus on how long it would take before suboxone would be completely out of your system.
How long does it take to get suboxone out of your system?
As you go through a tapering program that includes the use of suboxone, you will technically be getting high. The difference between this high and the high you experience as a drug user is you will be taking suboxone under the direction of the rehab facility’s medical staff. Once you start the tapering process, your doctor will slowly start lowering your doses of suboxone.
Of course, there will be no drug testing during this time. That is one of the reasons why the rehab staff will be constantly monitoring your progress. The other reason is to make sure you are safe and in good health throughout the detox tapering process. By the time you reach the end of the process, your cravings f0r heroin or other opioids should diminish. You might have a few residual withdrawal symptoms, but for the most part, you should start feeling well enough to begin therapy.
As for how long the last dose of suboxone will stay in your system, we want to avoid getting too technical. What we can say is suboxone has a half-life of about 37 hours. The term half-life refers to the way your body metabolizes opioids in the liver. In the case of suboxone, the active ingredients found in the drug will be cut in half every 37 hours. Using a rather complicated math formula, that means it would take about 8 days before the amount of suboxone that is remaining in your system would be undetectable through normal drug testing. So, here is your answer. It will take 8 days for you to officially be free from the grasp of opioids. Once you are free, you can begin working with a therapist.
Your goal will be to find out the truth about your addiction, meaning what is driving you to harm yourself with drugs. If you can get that answer, you will find yourself in a position to work on developing better life skills to navigate around temptation and the issues that cause in you the desire to use drugs. We hope you find this information useful. We also hope this information serves as a springboard to get you to come in for treatment as soon as possible. When you are ready, we will be here to help you through the entire addiction treatment process all the way to the road of recovery. For more information about our facility and treatment services, you can give us a call us at 833-610-1174.