Duragesic How Long Does It Stay in Your System?

Duragesic is a medication used to relieve severe chronic pain, such as cancer pain. It is an opioid analgesic which relieves pain by changing how the brain and body respond to pain.

Just like beginning treatment with any new medication, Duragesic patients may notice some side effects after they start using Duragesic for the first time. Common Duragesic side effects include nausea, vomiting, constipation, lightheadedness, dizziness, drowsiness, headaches, and mild irritation or redness at the application site. These common Duragesic side effects should disappear after a patient uses Duragesic for a while. If these symptoms worsen or persist, promptly notify your doctor.

Serious side effects of Duragesic are uncommon but are still important to know in case you need to identify them. Serious Duragesic side effects include mental changes, agitation, confusion, hallucinations, severe stomach or abdominal pain, difficulty urinating, slow or irregular heartbeat, loss of appetite, unusual tiredness, and weight loss. Be sure to notify your doctor right away if you begin to experience serious Duragesic side effects.

Patients should seek medical attention as soon as possible if they experience the following symptoms after using Duragesic: fainting, seizure, slow or shallow breathing, severe drowsiness, and difficulty waking up.

The timeline for how long Duragesic stays in the body varies from patient to patient. Typically, Duragesic will be removed from the body within a few short days. Some patients may take longer to get Duragesic out of their system due to their own unique physiology or depending on how long they have been using Duragesic.

Duragesic is a medication that should only be taken with a doctor’s prescription. Opioids such as Duragesic can be very addictive and, for this reason, you should never take Duragesic unless your doctor prescribes it to you.

The most commonly abused prescription drugs containing Duragesic include Duragesic itself and fentanyl. Fentanyl is also used in a wide variety of other brand-name prescriptions. Do not take Duragesic unless your doctor prescribes it to you.

Duragesic affects the brain by influencing its neurons to interpret pain as being less severe. In turn, the brain then tells the body how to respond to the pain it is experiencing. Patients can form a tolerance to Duragesic, resulting in addiction and dependence.

The mean elimination half-life of Duragesic is about 17 hours. Due to this half-life period, patients who have experienced an adverse effect from Duragesic or even a Duragesic overdose should be monitored for 24 hours after the incident.

Several factors influence how long Duragesic will stay in a patient’s system. These include your age, metabolism, genetics, organ function, your Duragesic dosage levels, how often you use Duragesic, and how long you have been using the medication to treat your pain.

The windows of time in which Duragesic can be detected in your system will vary between the time of test you are administered. A rough estimate as to how long Duragesic can be found in your urine, hair, and blood is as follows:

• Urine: Duragesic can typically be found in urine samples up to a few days after using it.
• Hair: Hair follicles can hold traces of Duragesic for up to 90 days after its use.
• Blood: Duragesic can be found in blood samples up to a two to three days after its use.