How Long Does Oxycodone Stay in Your System?

Oxycodone is an opioid that’s prescribed to relieve moderate or severe pain from injuries or chronic diseases, and is especially useful in cases where other medications don’t work at easing the symptoms and providing relief.

However, at the same time, it is one of the most potent and addictive drugs in the U.S., accounting for more abuse than cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines combined.

Since there are many risks associated with taking the drug, it is often tested for by employees, educational institutions, and medical facilities.

But what is Oxycodone, anyway? And how long does Oxycodone stay in your system?

Let’s explore below.

What is Oxycodone and How Does It Affect the User?

Oxycodone is a prescription opioid pain reliever and is used to address difficult to remedy pain that cannot be treated with other medications.

It’s a semi-synthetic opiate that is primarily used after surgery or to relieve pain from bone breaks, chronic conditions, or cancer.

As a pain reliever, Oxycodone’s primary effects include a euphoric-like sensation that is typical for opioid medications and substances.

It works by blocking pain signals in the brain and increasing dopamine. This creates intense feelings of pleasure and euphoria. This is one of the reasons why opioid drugs such as Oxycodone can be so addictive.

The drug usually dissolves over a 12-hour period, which provides a steady relief from pain, but those abusing the drug tend to crush the tablet and experience the entire dose at once.

The way that the drug is ingested can affect how long oxycontin stays in your system, so it’s important to consider the intake method before the test.

How Long Does It Stay in Your System?

Many factors determine how long Oxycodone stays in your system, one of which being the aforementioned intake method.

Oxycodone is broken down by the liver, which turns it into oxymorphone, noroxymorphone, and noroxycodone, which are then expelled from the body through the urine.

Oxycodone has a half-life of around 3 hours, although the time can be as long as 4.5 hours for the time-released version of the drug that works more gradually.

It can take at least a few times longer than those projected times to fully expel the drug from the system. This is because each person metabolizes the medication differently and many factors can influence the process.

But how long does Oxycodone stay in your blood?

Well, usually, Oxycodone is completely removed from the bloodstream in around 22-24 hours, although once again, it’s important to note that this can vary a little depending on the person.

When asking how long does Oxycodone stay in your urine, you would find that the timeframe can be longer, with the drug staying detectable for up to four days after the last dose has been taken.

Types of Oxycodone Tests

A big factor in answering the question of how long Oxycodone stays in someone’s system is dependent on the type of test being used. 

As mentioned in the previous section, a urine test can detect Oxycodone for up to four days after the last dose was used. However, it’s important to note that many of the standard urine drug tests are not able to identify Oxycodone, so additional tests might be required.

With a saliva test, it’s possible to detect traces of the drug for one to four days, depending on a range of factors such as the metabolization rate and the quantity of the last dose.

With a blood test, the drug is only visible for around 24 hours, which is relatively short compared to the other methods on this list.

Finally, a hair test can detect traces of Oxycodone for up to 90 days, although the drug will usually only become detectable after about a week since the last use.

To be sure your drug test is capable of detecting Oxycodone, we recommend all the products listed on our Oxycodone drug test page.

Overdose Symptoms

Now that we’ve explored how long Oxycodone is in your system, we need to look at some of the overdose symptoms that you should know and be on the lookout for.

One of the primary reasons why it’s so important to know if someone is using Oxycodone is the fact that the drug has many potentially dangerous interactions with other medications, as well as alcohol.

If someone takes Oxycodone again before the initial dose leaves their system, or if they mix it with other pain relievers, they are at risk of overdose. This can have life-threatening consequences.

Here are a few symptoms of overdose that you should look out for:

•       Pinpoint pupils
•       Stomach spasms
•       Vomiting
•       Low blood pressure
•       Seizures
•       Breathing issues

If you suspect someone could have overdosed on Oxycodone, call emergency services immediately.

Getting Help

It’s essential to remember that Oxycodone is very potent, addictive, and has the potential for dangerous side effects. Anyone using the drug needs to be extra careful and should strictly follow the directions of a doctor.

If you or someone you know needs help managing an Oxycodone addiction, do not hesitate to reach out to your doctor. They can help with the withdrawal process and develop an effective plan of action to battle the addiction.

Countrywide Testing

In this article, we’ve explored the common uses and dangers of taking Oxycodone, as well as the length of time that it stays in someone’s system.

If you’re looking for reliable and effective testing solutions, Countrywide testing has a range of opiate drug test options that you can shop now.

 

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