How long does methadone stay in your system,i am on this for cronic pain my urin came up clean and?

I don't know the answer as to why your test came up clean for your medications, but I was wondering why all these docs are still using urine tests? In my office (where I work), the 2 Drs that deal with pain management specifically (the others specialize in other neurological issues) use an oral swab. This detects the medications through your saliva- and not just what you are on at that time or day, it indicates what your levels are for some period of time (I don't know too much about it, as i do other work in my own office in the back , not dealing directly with patients). The patients must keep the swab in their mouth for several minutes, until something on the swab turns blue. Then it is sent to a lab, and compared to what meds you are perscribed, so the reading will let the doctor know you are compliant- or if you are not taking rx'd medication, or if meds that you are not rx'd/illicit drugs are in your system.

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They are tamper resistant (some patients will "accidentally" break the swab or sneak a drink of water it their mouth- but the swab will only turn blue when it is used correctly, assuring that it is accurate). In about a week, all levels will come back, and I think it can even show if the patient is breaking or chewing their meds, instead of swallowing them whole. I think this test provides more accuracy, and is nicer than having to give a sample of your urine.

I had the same problem about a month ago and ended up changing doctors because of it. I was going to a family practice clinic with residents treating the patients. Every 3 years you get a new doc when the old one graduates. Well, the new one I got decided that I didn't need to be on my meds any longer even though I was put on my regimen by my pain management specialist and was referred back to my primary care doc for routine refills. Any changes in doses was supposed to go through pain management. Well, I tried explaining that to my new doc and he immediately started acting as though I were an addict or some kind of criminal. He proceeded to ask me for a urine screen which I willingly and proudly provided. He then went on to insist on testing my husband and my daughter because they were with me at the time. They complied as well even though he had no reason to even ask them for their urine.

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A week later I was called into the office and told that my test came back negative for any pain meds. I take 40 mg of methadone 3 times a day for a total of 120 mg per day. Needless to say I was shocked and quite upset. They asked me to give a repeat sample and I was so insulted that I walked out. I switched to a new doc and explained everything that happened. He said that since he didn't know me from the man in the moon, that he had no way of knowing if I was telling the truth or not, but he was very kind about it. He asked me if I would object to a urine test with him that day and any time in the future randomly. I told him I had no problem with that. He told me that if they did the standard 5 panel tox screen, methadone would not be detected. He informed me that most of the tests ordered for employment and basic screenings were the simple 5 panel tests because they are the cheapest. Those cheap tests do not look for methadone and some of the other synthetics such as opana, dilaudid and many others do not show up either. He did look up my pharmacy history and it showed that I have been on the same dosage for a couple of years and there has been nothing to indicate illegal or abusive behavior. I never tried to pick up my meds early. I never brought in scripts from other doctors and I did not have anything suspicious at all on in my history. So, he pretty much believed me and refilled my pain meds and is now the primary care doctor for my entire family. The best thing to do is to ask your doctor if they did the minimum 5 panel test and if so, could they do the next one as a 12 panel or at least specifically check for methadone. It is really surprising to me that methadone isn't one of the first 5 they look for. Especially with how popular it is among pain management docs. I hope this helps you out in the future if you should ever have another drug test that comes up negative when it shouldn't!

Let me make something clear... If its related to a drug test it all depends on whether its a 5-panel or 7-panel test. Most people go with the cheap 5-panel test and Methadone will not show up. It will on the others and Methadone will stay in your system for a long time after the last time you took it. Of course it depends on how much of it you were taking, how often, etc. But I've seen people fail drug tests 5 days after there last dose of Methadone so it will absolutely not be out of your system in 36 hours for whoever said that. Some people can feel the effects of Methadone for up to 48 hours if there not on a bunch of drugs or take drugs all the time. It has a very long half-life and it all depends on your metabolism. Could range anywhere from 3-5 days to more than 2 weeks up to a month, and I know this for sure. Whatever test you took probably didn't test for it because I've past the 5-panel tests on it several times.

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Your doctor will though and just like the methadone clinics they can check the levels in your bloodstream and roughly know how much your taking, if any, or too much.