If you or someone you love is struggling with opioid abuse, it’s important first to remember that you’re not alone. Opioids and opiates are some of the most commonly abused prescription drugs in the United States. Addiction is a curable disease. There is help and hope for sober living in the future.
One of the best-kept secrets of opioids is that they exist in small doses in many name-brand medications. Codeine, for example, is a common ingredient in most cough medicines and oral pain relief gels. And hydrocodone can be found in Vicodin, the drug most often prescribed by dentists to treat pain after oral surgeries.
Hydrocodone is the most frequently abused prescription opioid on the market today. Recently, as many as 2 million Americans aged 12 and older have admitted to struggling with hydrocodone addiction. As a result of this, treatment for hydrocodone addiction is available at most major drug rehab centers. Recovery is possible if you’re willing to put in the work.
If you’ve been prescribed an opioid like hydrocodone for medical pain relief, it’s important to understand how long the drug will stay in your system. This will help you avoid an accidental positive on random drug tests and any potential for overdose. Read on to learn how long hydrocodone stays in urine—and how you can begin opioid addiction treatment today.
What Are the Short-Term Effects of Hydrocodone?
As with other opioids, hydrocodone is prescribed by medical professionals to treat acute pain. Hydrocodone accomplishes this goal by bonding with pain receptors in a person’s brain, causing a person to feel a numbing sensation or lessened pain over time. The drug is also often used to treat severe coughing, as it can help relax throat muscles to relieve the coughing reflex.
Hydrocodone is usually taken orally, which means it has to pass through the digestive system before it can enter the blood. Results can be felt from the drug within an hour of taking the substance, and peak effects will be felt after about 3 hours. Overall, the short-term effects of hydrocodone can be felt for up to 6 hours.
When used outside of the guidance of a doctor’s prescription, hydrocodone can lead to a feeling of euphoria. This is caused by a rush of dopamine, the pleasure chemical in a person’s brain. Other short-term effects of hydrocodone can include numbness in hands and feet, feelings of fatigue or lethargy, nausea, dizziness, and an irregular heartbeat.
Individuals will begin hydrocodone abuse because of the good feelings they associate with taking the drug. However, withdrawal symptoms can begin within 6 hours of taking the first dose. And unfortunately, a person will have to start taking more and more of the drug over time to achieve the same high.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of Hydrocodone Use?
But how long does hydrocodone stay in urine and the rest of your body? Should you be concerned after taking the prescribed dosage from a doctor?
The reality is there are quite a few factors that can impact the amount of time hydrocodone stays in your system. A person’s age, liver and kidney health, and weight can all play a role in how long it takes the body to metabolize hydrocodone. Typically, hydrocodone can stay in your system for up to 12 hours.
It has been proven the longer a person abuses a drug, the more severe the long-term effects they will experience, even after choosing recovery. Long-term effects of hydrocodone use can include decreased brain function, increased anxiety and depression, liver damage, and potential death from overdose.
The periods of time for drug testing to detect hydrocodone use also vary. Hydrocodone can be detected through urine tests for 2 to 4 days. Saliva tests will detect hydrocodone use for 12 to 36 hours after use. And hair tests can detect hydrocodone use for up to 90 days after the first dose.
How Can I Safely Get Hydrocodone Out of My System?
Especially because a person’s entire brain chemistry changes through addiction, it’s important to seek the help of a medical professional before stopping substance abuse. Quitting hydrocodone use cold turkey can lead to painful withdrawal symptoms and an increased likelihood of relapse and overdose.
With the help of professional addiction treatment specialists, you can complete a medical detox. This process safely removes all harmful toxins from your body, while a trained medical team helps you manage your pain and cravings. Once this step is complete, you have a clean slate to begin the mental health work required to achieve sobriety over time.
During drug rehabilitation treatment, you will participate in individual and group counseling options like family therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy. These counseling practices help you intimately understand the root cause of your struggle with addiction. You can also work on important interpersonal skills that will help you communicate your needs with your support system outside of treatment.
Other mental health services may include life skills training programs that help you develop a regular exercise routine or nutrition practices that you can turn to in place of substance use. And then there are also more creative outlets like book therapy, music therapy, and art therapy—all of which help you work on healthy outlets for your emotions when you feel stressed or depressed in the future.
It is important to remember that addiction recovery is a lifelong journey. Many individuals participate in more than one addiction treatment program before finding the exact formula that fits their rehabilitation. And every person recovering from addiction should plan to participate in aftercare programs like Narcotics Anonymous to hold themselves accountable to a future without substance abuse.
However, it’s never too late to ask for help. No one is beyond the healing power of recovery. And with the support of the right treatment center, you can commit to sober living today.
The Skypoint Recovery Difference
At Skypoint Recovery Ohio, we will help you escape the noise and chaos of your daily life so you can focus on your individual mental and physical needs. Our main goal of Skypoint Recovery substance abuse treatment is to help you experience all the benefits of sobriety and develop daily practices to help you choose a drug-free life. We guarantee you get the individualized treatment you need to reclaim your desired healthy life.
Contact Skypoint Recovery today to learn how we can best help support you on your journey toward rehabilitation.