How Long Does Gabapentin Stay in Your System?

Know the Half-Life and Detection Window for Gabapentin in the Body

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How long does gabapentin stay in your system? If you know that you have a drug test upcoming, you may want to know whether your employer or medical team is going to know that you have been taking this drug off-label and at higher doses.

The good news is that the half-life of gabapentin is relatively short which means that the blood levels of the drug decrease quickly. The half-life is five to seven hours and mostly clears from the system within roughly 36 hours. It can be detected for up to 90 days on hair tests or three days in urine tests.

Purpose Healing Center can help you get clean and manage your serious and most uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms with our medical detox services.

Keep reading to learn more about how long gabapentin stays in your system and what you can expect from drug tests.

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Why is Gabapentin Abuse for Nerve Pain Serious?

For many people, they may wonder why gabapentin abuse is such a serious issue. After all, the drug is not considered a controlled substance like narcotics or stimulants. How bad could it be for you to take these pills if they aren’t monitored this closely by your pharmacist or doctor?

Gabapentin (also known as Neurontin) isn’t monitored closely by the Drug Enforcement Administration, but it can be a powerful drug when used for the right reasons. Some of the reasons for taking the drug include:

To treat seizures
Pain related to shingles
Pain unrelated to nerve pain
Anxiety disorder or anxiety related to other conditions such as bipolar disorder
Restless leg syndrome

You may use gabapentin for any of the above issues, some of which are off-label. Some people use it on its own while other drugs can enhance the effects of gabapentin abuse. It might seem innocuous to use the drug since it is not a controlled substance for pain, but you run the risk of some serious side effects.

Long-Term Side Effects of Gabapentin Abuse (Even Though It Isn’t a Controlled Substance)

Before we cover how long gabapentin stays in your system, it’s important to understand why you should get clean. While it may not show on drug tests unless specifically monitored, that doesn’t mean that you are in the clear. The risks of drug abuse are serious and should be considered.

Is gabapentin addictive? If you heavily rely on the drug to make you feel better and take more than is recommended by medical professionals, there is a good chance that you may face some serious issues related to addiction. However, that isn’t the only risk posed by the medication.

Eventually, you may feel like you need higher doses of gabapentin to achieve the same results. High-dose usage can result in some very serious adverse effects including ataxia, sleepiness, tremors, or even uncontrollable eye movements.

You will also face a higher risk of opioid-related death at a 60 percent increase over opioid use alone.

What is the Half-Life of Gabapentin?

The first thing you need to know to anticipate the withdrawal symptoms of taking gabapentin is its half-life. The half-life marks the amount of time required for your body to reduce the amount of the drug in your system by half. If you are looking to get clean and sober, the good news is that gabapentin abuse has only a short half-life.

It takes five to seven hours for the drug to reduce by half in your system.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are in the clear after five to seven hours. It can take up to four or five half-lives before you begin seeing the full effects of withdrawal symptoms start to happen.

How long does gabapentin stay in the body then? You will start to see the full effects of living without the drug within about 24 to 36 hours. This is the critical period when your discomfort will peak and you may want to seek help from a qualified detox center like Purpose Healing Center.

How Long Does Gabapentin Show Up on Drug Screenings?

Just because it isn’t a controlled substance doesn’t mean that you can’t be tested for the presence of the drug on routine screenings.

Often, your doctor will have to specify that they want your drug screens to include gabapentin. A drug test might be more apt to uncover abuse if you have been taking higher dosages.

How long a drug stays in your body also varies based on body type, metabolism, and other factors.

How long does gabapentin stay on your screening? It depends on what type of test is administered. Here is a quick look at how different drug tests will reveal abuse:

Urine drug tests: While the drug doesn’t stay in your system for long, you might have issues with a urine screening if you recently took a dose. It can remain in your system for up to three days. This is the most common way that you might be tested for substance abuse.
Blood tests: Blood tests have a shorter detection window, coming in at five to seven hours (the half-life of gabapentin). Because of the shorter window to detect gabapentin, it isn’t used as often as the above-mentioned urinalysis.
Saliva test: The good news is that a saliva test doesn’t actually detect gabapentin in your system.
Hair tests: If your team of medical professionals wants a long history of how you have been using the drug, they might ask for hair tests. This has the longest detection window at roughly 90 days, but the anticonvulsant drug isn’t usually tested for in a hair test.

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When Can You Expect Withdrawal Symptoms When Detoxing?

When you feel ready to get clean, you might be wondering what the gabapentin withdrawal symptoms are bound to look like. Unfortunately, the process of coming off the drug is going to be a bit more than most people can tolerate on their own at home.

Some of the withdrawal symptoms include nausea, dizziness, severe headache, increased anxiety, and insomnia. On their own, these might be tolerable without medical help. Combined, you might experience serious issues that make you want to return to drug use.

The question is: when will you start to experience withdrawal symptoms?

Most people feel the first effects of sobriety within a matter of hours of their last dose. Twelve hours often triggers the onset of the first wave of symptoms, and the withdrawal process tends to peak at roughly one week out from the last dose.

It’s also worth noting that impaired kidney function is often common with substance abuse. If you have kidney function issues, you may not need higher doses which can lead to serious side effects. It may take longer for the drug to clear your system and for withdrawal effects to surface.

Should You Go to Detox for Drug Interactions?

You may want to consider what you would do if taking gabapentin is derailing your day-to-day life. While some people do try to white-knuckle it at home, getting professional help from detox centers such as Purpose Healing Center can make you more comfortable.

We can also handle other drugs you may be taking, as well as potential drug interactions.

Gabapentin withdrawal can be serious, and you may need to include other medications if you are using it to treat seizures. Going cold turkey on your seizure medications could result in a relapse of symptoms, a dangerous affair if you’re on your own at home.

Tapering from Your Last Dose: The Most Effective Treatment

The best way to go through gabapentin withdrawal is to taper the prescription medication slowly. When you enroll in our addiction treatment program, we will evaluate you for physical dependence. Because you will be under the care of a team of doctors and nurses, we can give you small doses of the drug to help you come down.

We can also work with you to evaluate you for kidney disease, treat nerve pain, and make you more comfortable with restless legs syndrome. This is also a great opportunity to discuss treatment for any neuropathic pain that precipitated your gabapentin use.

In detox for Gabapentin, we can help you manage withdrawal symptoms related to your gabapentin addiction. We know how the drug works, what it might be doing for you, and how you can start to live life sober.

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Get Help from Purpose Healing Center

Are you ready to discover what life is like sober without the use of gabapentin or any other controlled substance? Purpose Healing Center offers two convenient locations to help you detox from drug use and transition into a robust residential and intensive outpatient treatment program.

Our team can keep you safe and comfortable during the early days of sobriety.

We accept many major insurance carriers and nearly all forms of AHCCCS, making treatment accessible and affordable for our clients.

Our admissions team can verify your benefits in a quick, confidential fifteen-minute phone call today. Don’t delay your sobriety another moment!