How long does Suboxone stay in your system?

Q: How long does Suboxone stay in your system?

The effects of Suboxone last for 24 hours. After one dose of Suboxone, no trace of the drug would be expected to be found after 5 to 8 days in healthy people, or 7 to 14 days in those with severe liver disease.

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on March 20, 2025.

Official Answer by Drugs.com

The effects of Suboxone last for 24 hours
After one dose of Suboxone, no trace of the drug would be expected to be found after 5 to 8 days in healthy people, or 7 to 14 days in those with severe liver disease.

Suboxone contains buprenorphine and naloxone and it may be used to treat opioid addiction.

After the initial treatment period, Suboxone is usually given just once a day, and it’s effects will last at least 24 hours.

When calculating how long Suboxone lasts in the body, you need to consider the elimination half-life of both drugs. This is the time it takes for half of the drug to be metabolized and eliminated in the body.

The elimination half-life of buprenorphine is 24 to 42 hours
The elimination half-life of naloxone is 2 to 12 hours.

Generally, it takes four to five half-lives for a drug to be totally eliminated from the body.

In most healthy people, no trace of Suboxone would be found after 120 to 210 hours (5 to 8 days).

Buprenorphine is metabolized and eliminated in the urine and feces. Naloxone is metabolized by the liver and excreted in the urine.

In people with moderate-to-severe liver disease, the half-life of both buprenorphine and naloxone are significantly prolonged, naloxone more so than buprenorphine.

In moderate liver impairment, the half-life of buprenorphine is increased by 35% and naloxone is increased by 165%
In severe liver impairment, the half-life of buprenorphine is increased by 57% and naloxone is increased by 122%.

Based on a calculation of 5 half-lives for the drug to be totally removed:

For people with moderate liver disease, no trace of Suboxone would be expected to be found after approximately 160 to 284 hours (6 to 12 days)
For people with severe liver disease, no trace of Suboxone would be expected to be found after approximately 188 to 330 hours (7 to 14 days).

What happens if you take opiates on Suboxone?

If you use opiates while on Suboxone (a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone), the strong effects or “high” of the opiates will be dulled or blocked. Continue reading

How long should you wait before taking Suboxone?

You typically have to wait 12-24 hours after last using short acting opioids before you start taking Suboxone as a treatment for opioid use disorder. The exact length of time depends on the type of opioid used. Continue reading

Does Suboxone help with pain?

Suboxone is sometimes used “off-label” by doctors to help with acute or chronic pain in certain patients. However, Suboxone is is only approved by the FDA to treat narcotic (opiate) addiction (opioid use disorder). “Off-label" use of a drug refers to when a doctor prescribes a medicine for a different purpose than those formally approved by the FDA and found in the package labeling. Continue reading

How long does Suboxone stay in your system?

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