How Long Does Tramadol Stay in Your System

Tramadol, what is it? Is it harmful? How long does tramadol ¹stay in your system? In this article, we will be discussing some of these frequently asked questions related to Tramadol. You should always be aware of all the effects of a drug before taking it, so keep reading to learn everything you need to know about tramadol.

Before we explore how long tramadol stays in your system, let us understand what it is.

1. What Is Tramadol?

Tramadol is an opioid prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain. It is often sold under brand names like Ultram, Conzip, FusePaq, and more. In short, it is a powerful painkiller and is mainly used after an operation or to relieve chronic pain produced by a disease like cancer. It can also be used after any critical injury to reduce pain.

NOTE: Tramadol, when taken for an extended period, can be harmful. It can lead to addiction. It is, however, essential to know how long tramadol stays in your system to avoid addiction.

1.1. Types of Tramadol

Tramadol comes in different forms like tablets, capsules, drops, and injections:

1. Tablets: It comes in two types, fast-acting, and slow-acting tablets².
2. Capsules: It also comes in two types, fast-acting, and slow-acting capsules.
3. Drops: It needs to be swallowed.
4. Injections: They are often used in hospitals.

The fast-acting tramadol usually comes in 50-100 mg, and it starts to work within 30-60 minutes

The slow-acting tramadol usually comes in 100-200 mg for pain and starts working within 12-24 hours.

Keep on reading to discover how it works and how long tramadol stays in your system.

2. How Does Tramadol Work?

Tramadol restricts the signals of pain when they travel within the nerves and reach the brain. It soothes pain by changing the way the brain identifies it. It activates the opioid receptors present in the brain. Tramadol doesn’t cure the leading cause of the pain; it just stops the brain from receiving the pain signals.

It can be dangerous to take more than needed. So it is essential to know how long tramadol stays in your system, how much to take, and when to take it.

3. Common Side-Effects of Tramadol

 The following are the common side effects of tramadol

1. Headache
2. Vomiting
3. Weakness
4. Dizziness
5. Mood swings
6. Constipation
7. Sedation or fatigue
8. Dry mouth
9. Irritability
10. Itching
11. Sweating

And if taken more frequently than recommended, it can also affect your mental health, and you may even get suicidal thoughts, and you can have difficulty breathing.

4. How Long Does Tramadol Stay In Your System?

It is imperative to know how long tramadol stays in your system to avoid overdosing. The half-life of tramadol in a healthy human body is approximately 7 hours. However, the question is how long does tramadol stay in your system? 

Tramadol can stay in your system for longer, depending on the doses you have taken. It takes different periods for the drug to exit different body systems.

5. Detection Of Tramadol In Your System

1. Hair: After taking the last dose of tramadol, it can be detected in hair between 30 to 90 days
2. Blood: After taking the last dose of tramadol, it can be detected in blood between 24 hours to 48 hours.
3. Saliva: After taking the last dose of tramadol, it can be detected in saliva between 24 to 48 hours.
4. Urine: After taking the last dose of tramadol, it can be detected in urine between 24 to 72 hours.

6. Factors That Tramadol Stay In Your System

There are some factors listed below, that determine how long does tramadol stay in your system:

1. Gender: Research found that tramadol stays in the female body longer than the male body due to physical differences.
2. Age: Researchers found that older people have much weaker organ functions³ and a lower metabolic rate ⁴than younger people. So, their body takes more time to break down tramadol.   
3. Quantity of dose: If you take a higher amount of tramadol, it will last for a longer period.
4. How frequently you take it: If you take a single dose after a long time, it won’t stay for a long time.
5. Type of tramadol taken: It will be easier to extract tramadol if it is taken in the form of drops or injections.
6. Metabolic rate: The higher the metabolic rate, the faster it will break down tramadol and vice versa.
7. Organ function: If your kidney or liver doesn’t function the way it should, tramadol can stay in your system for a longer period of time. 

7. Testing For Tramadol

After knowing how long tramadol stays in your system, it’s time to understand how tramadol can be detected. You cannot detect tramadol by using a standard drug screening panel. Testing for tramadol can only be possible using advanced drug screening tests⁵. Drug tests like urine tests, hair tests, saliva tests, and blood tests.

1. Urine tests: Tramadol can be detected in urine for up to 4 days.
2. Hair tests: It can be detected in hair for up to 30 to 90 days
3. Saliva tests: Within two days, tramadol can be detected in saliva.
4. Blood tests: Tramadol can be detected in blood for up to 1-2 days.

8. Withdrawal Of Tramadol

If you choose to detox from tramadol, you will generally feel the withdrawal symptoms within 10 to 12 hours, and they can last for about three days. Here are some withdrawal symptoms listed below:

1. Insomnia.
2. Hallucinations
3. High anxiety.
4. Panic attacks.
5. Depression.
6. Yawning.
7. Goosebumps
8. Diarrhea.
9. Nausea and vomiting.
10. Body pain.

9. Tramadol Addiction

There is a high chance of becoming addicted if you misuse or abuse tramadol. If you don’t follow the direction prescribed by the doctor, you could risk addiction. You will likely need additional treatment to manage the addiction, like medication, counseling, and therapy. Some are mentioned below:

1. Group therapy
2. Family therapy
3. Cognitive-behavioral therapy(CBT)
4. Motivational therapy
5. Yoga therapy, and many more.

10. Conclusion

In the article “How long does tramadol stay in your system”, we have discussed some vital points along with some life-saving treatments. It is requested that, if you are addicted to any kind of drug, like tramadol, feel free to consult with your doctor.

FAQ

Read more

1. Grond, Stefan, and Armin Sablotzki. “Clinical pharmacology of tramadol.” Clinical pharmacokinetics 43 (2004): 879-923. ↩︎
2. Qu, Zhong-huan, et al. “Exploring the scientific rationality of the phenomenon of “different dosage forms of the same prescription” of Chinese proprietary medicine based on biopharmaceutical properties of powder and pill of Chuanxiong Chatiao prescription.” Frontiers in Pharmacology 13 (2022): 893552. ↩︎
3. Huh, Dongeun, et al. “Reconstituting organ-level lung functions on a chip.” Science 328.5986 (2010): 1662-1668. ↩︎
4. Djawdan, Minou, Michael R. Rose, and Timothy J. Bradley. “Does selection for stress resistance lower metabolic rate?.” Ecology 78.3 (1997): 828-837. ↩︎
5. Nam, Ki-Hwan, et al. “Biomimetic 3D tissue models for advanced high-throughput drug screening.” Journal of laboratory automation 20.3 (2015): 201-215. ↩︎

Last Updated on April 13, 2024 by laibaarif