How Long Does Heroin Stay in Your System
Detecting Heroin Use
For one reason or another, people often ponder the question, ‘how long does heroin stay in your system?’ Sometimes people wonder because they need to pass a drug test, while others are thinking about how long the withdrawal symptoms last.
Regardless of the reasoning, the answer is that it can be detected in the urine for 7-21 days. While the detection in urine means the drug is still present in the body, the effects of heroin typically do not last more than 24 hours due to the relatively short half-life of 2-3 minutes and a duration of action of around 4-5 hours. Half-life is the amount of time for half of the drug to be metabolized. Half-life is a good indicator of how long a substance will stay in your system.
The opioid epidemic has ravaged certain parts of the country but the good news is more and more treatment centers have opened up to quell the problem. Drug abuse has become so widespread that health care providers have recently been overstrained with issues stemming from the drug abuse itself.
Icarus Behavioral Health in the Albuquerque, NM area is a great place to start if you or a loved one is searching for treatment for heroin addiction. Whether using heroin, fentanyl, morphine, or other drugs not related to the opioid family, Icarus has programs that focus on all drug addictions and dual-diagnosis patients.
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What is Heroin
According to a post on the National Institute on Drug Addiction website, “Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of the various opium poppy plants grown in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Mexico, and Colombia. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin.”
Heroin has a long history of abuse worldwide due to its extremely addictive nature. The withdrawals from heroin make it notoriously hard to quit.
For more information about heroin use, including available treatments for recovery, Icarus Behavioral Health is waiting to answer any questions you may have.
Methods of Administration of Heroin
When speaking about the route of administration, it is referring to the way in which a person is ingesting a drug.
Some different routes of administration include consuming the drug orally, insufflating or snorting the drug up one’s nose, intramuscular or injecting into a muscle, and intravenous or injecting into a vein.
The route of administration will determine the way in which a drug enters the bloodstream, but any form of administration can lead to a substance use disorder.
Heroin vs Fentanyl and Other Opioids
Recently, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin that is much cheaper to manufacture, has overtaken heroin as the most abused opioid in the United States and lead to the greatly increased numbers of fentanyl overdose and heroin overdose (due to adulteration or ‘cutting’ with pure forms of fentanyl.)
The main reason fentanyl has become so popular amongst drug manufacturers is that the process does not require actual poppies in order to synthesize fentanyl. This makes it much cheaper than producing heroin.
The precursor chemicals are typically purchased from China by chemists in Mexico where fentanyl can be cooked up and then sold to the American markets.
Regardless of the specific opioid, a person is abusing, the withdrawals will be very similar in nature and will require a medical detox.
Icarus Behavioral Health has programs focused on opioid dependence. These programs will typically start with medical detox, followed by inpatient residential treatment, and then sometimes partial hospitalization or outpatient treatment will follow the inpatient treatment.
For more information about their programs, call their admissions department with any questions you may have.
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What are the Effects of Opioid Drugs
All opioid drugs have similar effects, as they are all derivatives of morphine and codeine. They are all analgesic painkillers that interact with opioid receptors and produce extreme euphoria when used in excess.
According to another post on the National Institute on Drug Abuse website, “Regular use—even as prescribed by a doctor—can lead to dependence and, when misused, opioid pain relievers can lead to addiction, overdose incidents, and deaths.”
The potential for misuse is extremely high, and if used for a prolonged period of time a medical detox may become unavoidable.
Icarus Behavioral Health understands opioids better than most, and its programs reflect this understanding. Whether seeking medication-assisted treatment, or medical detox, Icarus is a great place to begin looking for a treatment program that fits your needs.
How Long Does the Heroin High Last
Heroin is a rather short-acting drug with its effects typically lasting anywhere from 2-5 hours.
Depending on tolerance, route of administration, and the amount used, the effects usually set in within seconds with a rush of euphoria that is typically labeled as stage one of two stages. The second stage, which comes into effect after the rush is over, includes euphoria, pain relief, and sleepiness.
After 2-5 hours, a heroin addict will need to use more in order to avoid heroin withdrawal symptoms. This forces a person to continue to seek out more and more heroin and creates a cycle that is extremely difficult to escape.
A medical detox, such as the one offered at Icarus, is often times the only way out of this incredibly detrimental cycle. If you or a loved one is stuck in this cycle, the first step out is to call Icarus Behavioral Health and find out what treatment options are right for you.
How Long Does Heroin Stay in Your System
Tests can detect heroin in a person’s urine for anywhere from 7 to 21 days.
If the question is how long does a person feel the effects of heroin, the answer is not typically any longer than 24 hours. If you have the spelling a bit off and are wondering ‘how long does heroine stays in system,’ you can rest assured the answer is the same.
The third answer to this question comes when one is pondering the amount of time it will take to get over the withdrawal symptoms. The answer to this question is that the acute withdrawal symptoms will last anywhere from 5-14 days.
If you or a loved one has any questions in regards to how long heroin stays in one’s system or is worried if a test will detect heroin in your system, the staff at Icarus would be able to answer your questions. Also, if you are having a hard time getting off heroin, their medical detox would be perfect for you. Give them a call today.
What Affects How Long Heroin Lasts in Your Body
There are different factors that play a role in the amount of time heroin will stay detectable in urine. Some of these factors include diet, kidney function, and the amount a person exercises.
In addition to urine tests, there are also saliva tests for heroin.
Another factor that can play a role in how long heroin stays in a person’s body is how long the person has been using heroin. It will be a completely different timeline for a person who has used it for one day than it will be for a person who has been using it for the past year straight.
Drinking ample amounts of water can help a person clear the heroin out of their urine at a faster pace than a person who is dehydrated, which is easy to fall victim to if you are going through withdrawals.
There are other potential remedies for getting the heroin out of your urine faster, but they are all hypothetical and untested. The best way to get it out is water.
24/7 Heroin Withdrawal Hotline
Does Heroin Cause Withdrawals?
One of the most detrimental parts of using opioids is that they cause withdrawal symptoms. Heroin in particular can have some of the most painful, illness-causing withdrawal symptoms.
Some of the withdrawal symptoms include gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, cold sweats and chills, muscle aches that are worse than the worst flu you have ever had, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, no appetite, sneezing, and runny nose with runny eyes, and of course perpetual yawning.
Opioid withdrawal is one of the worst feelings a person can experience in life. One of the main things that will taunt a person is the fact of knowing that a tiny bit of heroin will make the person feel totally normal again. It will make the sickness go away immediately.
This makes quitting one of the most difficult things a heroin addict can do. Getting over the hump of withdrawal is extremely difficult.
This is where the medical detox at Icarus Behavioral Health can be immensely helpful in starting one’s road to sobriety.
A Potential Heroin Withdrawal Timeline
There is no concrete timeline when it comes to heroin withdrawal, as the process can be different from person to person as well as different for the same person if the person has to go through withdrawals more than once.
Many users report the first time going through withdrawals as being much easier than each successive time after that. This means the withdrawals typically get worse the longer a person has been a heroin addict.
However, if speaking generally, a person can expect to start feeling mild symptoms that may remind them of a cold within the first 24 hours of withdrawal. After 36 hours a person will typically start to feel aches and chills as well as nausea and diarrhea. The insomnia is usually worst from the 2nd night until the fifth night. Aches and chills typically begin subsiding around the 5th or 6th day, while the cold-like symptoms usually last the longest and until the end of the withdrawal period. By the 9th or 10th day a person typically starts feeling better as they are starting to sleep a bit more normally. By the 14th day, typically the withdrawal is over.
If you or a loved one is facing withdrawal, there is no reason to do it alone. Contact Icarus Behavioral Health and they can discuss treatment options with you in regards to medical detox. Their admissions department is waiting to answer your calls.
Drug Testing for Heroin
Most drug tests for heroin actually test for morphine which is what the body excretes after metabolizing heroin. There are a few different ways in which a lab can test for heroin and there are also instant tests that can be administered outside of a lab.
In addition to testing for heroin in urine, heroin can also be detected in the hair and blood. Hair and blood tests are usually more costly than urine detection, but can be more accurate in the case of blood and detected for a longer period of time in the case of hair.
When asking these questions, you may also want to consider whether or not the heroin has become enough of an issue to seek treatment. If it has, it could be life-saving for you to call Icarus Behavioral Health to ask about their treatment options.
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How Should Heroin Addiction be Treated
Heroin addiction can be complex due to the immense withdrawal symptoms that are experienced upon cessation. A person will typically need to be medically detoxed in order to get through the heroin withdrawal symptoms and have a chance at recovery.
After the initial detox process, inpatient treatment increases a person’s chances of sustained recovery dramatically. Also, by dropping down in levels of care, a person greatly increases their chances of sustained recovery. Levels of care include inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient.
At Icarus Behavioral Health there are many different treatment options for addiction treatment and dual diagnosis treatment.
If you or a loved one has any questions regarding the treatment options at Icarus, give their admissions department a call today.
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Find a Top Heroin Rehab in New Mexico
If you or a loved one is struggling with an addiction to heroin, reaching out and seeking help could be lifesaving. There are many different heroin addiction treatment options.
Most heroin these days is cut with the powerful opioid fentanyl. Each and every time a person uses could be their last with the prevalence of this extremely potent drug.
Whether you are seeking a medical detox, dual diagnosis treatment, inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment, or a medication assisted program, Icarus has a program that will work for you.
Icarus Behavioral Health stands out among treatment facilities in New Mexico as being a leader in the treatment industry. The reviews left by past clients all tell of a remarkably positive experience that has played a role in bettering their lives.
Whether a person is struggling and needs heroin addiction treatment, or has a problem with any other addictive substance, Icarus has a treatment plan that is tailored to fit their needs. Call now to get started on your path to recovery!
