anonymous asked
How fast after taking Suboxone will it be detectable in a blood test? Can a blood test tell someone if they are currently on the Suboxone?
Answer
Suboxone is a combination ingredient medication that contains the following drugs:
- Buprenorphine
- Naloxone
Buprenorphine is the active ingredient in Suboxone that is responsible for the therapeutic effects and is generally what is tested for on standard drug tests. Naloxone isn't well absorbed after sublingual or buccal administration and is added to Suboxcone simply to deter abuse of the drug.
Suboxone Drug Testing
The buprenorphine in Suboxone is extensively metabolized after taking a dose in the liver, with the major metabolite being norbuprenorphine. In most cases, you will test positive for Suboxone (i.e. buprenorphine) after taking a single dose.
In addition, the buprenorphine in Suboxone has a long half life, around 24 to 42 hours according to the prescribing information for the drug. This long half life means that you can test positive for Suboxone for as long as 11 days after taking your last dose.
Below, we discuss each ingredient in Suboxone in more detail.
Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is the medication in Suboxone that is responsible for the effects of the drug. Unlike commonly used opioids such as morphine, oxycodone and hydrocone, which are full opioid agonists, buprenorphine is a mixed agonist/antagonist. This means that it is an agonist (actually a partial agonist) at mu receptors and an antagonist at the kappa receptors.
The mu agonist effects translate to analgesia while the antagonistic effects at the kappa receptors produce less effects on respiratory depression, dysphoria and euphoria when compared to full opioid agonists like oxycodone. Buprenorphine helps with pain relief and doesn't have the propensity to cause breathing issues or the effects that traditional opioids do.
Naloxone
Naloxone is a full opioid antagonist at the mu receptor. In fact, it is used for opioid overdoses as it reverses effects of opioids acting on the mu receptor. When Suboxone is used as directed (sublingually or buccally), the effect of naloxone is minimal due to low bioavailability. It is added to Suboxone for the sole reason of deterring abuse. If Suboxone injected, not only will the effect of buprenorphine will be reduced, it may even precipitate withdrawal.
It is important to note that naloxone in these formulations in NOT absorbed well and generally will NOT have any noticeable effect if taken as prescribed. Naloxone is simply added to Suboxone to prevent abuse of the drugs.
