How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your System?

How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your System? – Effective Cocaine Detox

If you have ever asked, ‘how long does cocaine stay in your system?’, this may be because you’ve noticed that you or a loved one has a problem with cocaine abuse. Anyone who is concerned about testing positive for cocaine should know the dangers of cocaine addiction and consider stopping use. If they find they are unable to stop using, they may have a cocaine use disorder. Those who struggle with cocaine addiction should seek substance use disorder treatment as soon as possible.

Cocaine addiction is a major health problem. Individuals with acute cocaine toxicity presenting to the emergency department (ED) may need urgent treatment for dysrhythmia, tachycardia, hypertension, and coronary vasospasm, which may lead to pathological sequelae such as acute stroke, coronary syndrome, and death.

What is the half life of cocaine? How long cocaine stays in the body depends on its half-life. The half life of cocaine is roughly one hour. Its peak concentration in the blood, saliva, and urine is around five to ten minutes after taking the drug. The “half life cocaine” in the saliva is two hours, which means that it can be detected for only about one to 2 days after use.

Cocaine Addiction Statistics

Cocaine is a highly addictive illegal drug used by 14-21 million people worldwide. In 2018 there are 874,000 new cocaine users. Users can be from all economic statuses, all ages, and all genders. Since cocaine is combined or ‘cut’ with other chemicals, people have no idea if the dose will be weak or strong. Among people aged 12 or older, 1.9% (or about 5.2 million people) reported using cocaine in 2020. Among people aged 12 or older, 0.5% (or about 1.3 million people) had a cocaine use disorder in 2020. In 2020, approximately 19,447 people died from an overdose involving cocaine.

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What Cocaine Does to the Body?

Cocaine impacts the central nervous system (brain and the spinal cord) and can cause effects that range from mildly irritating to extremely dangerous. And since it’s both fast-acting and short-lasting, the symptoms can be unexpected and quick. The severity of cocaine and crack effects depends on how often you use it and how much you take at once. If used to excess, it could put you in the emergency room.

Even sporadic use can lead to health complications such as high blood pressure, hardened arteries, bowel gangrene, and loss of gray matter in the brain due to the expansion of the brain’s reward center. Because cocaine eliminates appetite, many who use cocaine are also malnourished.

Factors That Determine How Long Cocaine Stays in the System

How long does cocaine stay in your system for? Many factors, such as the length of your drug addiction, can affect how long cocaine stays in your system. Frequency of use and amount of use are two of the biggest factors that determine how long a drug screening can detect cocaine. But there are others to consider.

Method Of Administration

The method of cocaine drug use can determine the effects of crack cocaine on your brain. In other words, the faster it gets to your brain (like when you smoke or inject it as opposed to snorting it), the faster you feel the high or rush of the drug. But the manner of ingestion also affects the time it remains in your body. The quicker it gets into your system, the quicker it leaves. Some methods of crack cocaine use can shorten the window of detection.

Body Fat Composition

One of the cocaine metabolites is benzoylecgonine, which generally is stored in fat. So, the more fat tissue a person has, the more storage room, as it were, there is for benzoylecgonine.

Cocaine Metabolites

Cocaine metabolites are the compounds that result from cocaine being metabolized into the bloodstream. The metabolites eventually work their way into the urine. A few things can slow the exit of metabolites through your urine. One is dehydration. The more dehydrated you are, the longer crack cocaine will stay in your system. The second is drinking alcohol or caffeine while using cocaine. If you take either of these things with cocaine, they can slow the metabolization of cocaine.

Cocaine Drug Test

How long does cocaine stay in your system drug test? Cocaine drug tests work not by searching for the presence of cocaine but for proof that the body has recently metabolized (proving the ingestion of) cocaine. While cocaine takes roughly 6-24 hours to leave the body, the product created when the body metabolizes cocaine, benzoylecgonine, can be detected up to 5 days after the last consumption. Metabolites are substances that our bodies create after metabolizing a certain toxic substance. The process of metabolizing cocaine usually takes between 6 and 24 hours, depending on the height, weight, and metabolism speed of an individual.

How long does cocaine stay in your system if you mix cocaine with alcohol?  Another factor that plays an important role in cocaine drug testing is the consumption of alcohol during and after the consumption of cocaine. Unlike most other drugs, cocaine reacts with alcohol to create a new substance called cocaethylene.

This substance has a longer half-life than benzoylecgonine, meaning it will be detectable in one’s system for a longer period of time. In most cases, it takes up to seven days for cocaethylene to be completely cleaned out of a person’s body, provided they do not consume more cocaine or alcohol and remain properly hydrated during this period.

Common reasons for performing a drug test include:

• Pre-employment drug testing
• Drug-free workplace programs
• Prescription drug monitoring
• Court-mandated drug testing
• Suspicion of illicit drug use

A doctor may order a blood drug test if you have a history of substance abuse and are showing signs of cocaine use.

How to Detox Cocaine?

There are no medications FDA-approved for cocaine detoxification at the moment. This means no medicines will be administered to the user while detoxing to lessen cravings. Some effective medications can still treat other cocaine withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, paranoia, or despair. During cocaine detox, doctors may prescribe various medications to help the addict feel better.

How to get cocaine out of your system faster? No matter how severely addicted you may be to cocaine, assistance is available! Choosing a cocaine detox program to assist you in sobriety is the first step in your recovery. Despite the odds, you have a number of options at your disposal to assist you in achieving and maintaining sobriety. First, consider the intensity of your addiction; if you often use cocaine, a residential facility or a cocaine detox program that includes 24-hour care may be suitable for you.

Cocaine Addiction Treatment

First and foremost, if you think a loved one is abusing cocaine, you should research the substances and their associated addiction to understand better what you loved one needs.  Next, you must plan an intervention to provide your loved ones with options to battle the effects of cocaine addiction in a safe and supportive environment. During this intervention, offer compassion and support instead of judgment. Lastly, show your support throughout the entire treatment process.

In addition, prolonged drug use can have severe physical and psychological effects on you, so it is essential to seek treatment as soon as possible. Inpatient drug rehab offers intensive care that can help you promptly get through the early stages of cocaine withdrawal. 

Cocaine Detox

Medical detox is often considered the first stage of treatment. It will help you navigate the complicated cocaine detox withdrawal but doesn’t address patterns of thought and behavior contributing to drug use. Various treatment approaches and settings can help provide the ongoing support necessary to maintain long-term sobriety after you complete the cocaine detox.

Cravings are very common during drug detox and can be challenging to overcome. This often leads to relapse. Constant medical care provided during inpatient treatment helps prevent relapse. Clinicians can give medication and medical expertise to lessen cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

Inpatient Cocaine Addiction Rehab

There isn’t one treatment approach or style that will suit everyone. Treatment should speak to the needs of the individual. Inpatient rehab and addiction treatment aren’t just about drug use. the goal is to help the patient stop using cocaine and other substances, but drug rehab should also focus on the whole person’s needs.

Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior. When someone or their family is considering different treatment facilities, they should account for the complexity of addiction and the needs of the individual. The objective of attending an inpatient rehab center for addiction treatment is to stop using the drug and re-learn how to live a productive life without it.

Following a full medical detox, most people benefit from inpatient rehab. Inpatient drug rehab can last anywhere from 28 days to several months. Patients stay overnight in the rehab facility and participate in intensive treatment programs and therapy. Once someone completes rehab, their addiction treatment team will create an aftercare plan, which may include continuing therapy and participation in a 12-step program like Narcotics Anonymous.

Psychotherapy 

Many rehab programs will also have early morning classes or programs. Group sessions occur during inpatient rehab, as do individual therapy sessions. Family therapy may be part of inpatient rehab when it’s feasible. Alternative forms of therapy may be introduced during inpatient rehab, like a holistic therapy program, yoga for addiction recovery, or an addiction treatment massage therapy.

Several different modalities of psychotherapy have been used in the treatment of mental health disorders along with addiction, including:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – is an effective treatment that involves changing both the patterns of negative thoughts and the behavioral routines which are affecting the daily life of the depressed person for various forms of depression.
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy – is a comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment program whose ultimate goal is to aid patients in their efforts to build a life worth living. The main goal of DBT is to help a person develop what is referred to as a “clear mind.” 
• Solution-focused therapy is an approach interested in solutions that can be quickly implemented with a simple first step leading to further positive consequences.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Drug abuse and mental health disorders often co-occur. Traumatic experiences can often result in mental health disorders and substance abuse. Dual-diagnosis rehabilitation treats both of these issues together. The best approach for the treatment of dual diagnosis is an integrated system. This strategy treats both the substance abuse problem and the mental disorder simultaneously. Regardless of which diagnosis (mental health or substance abuse problem) came first, long-term recovery will depend mainly on the treatment for both diseases done by the same team or provider.

How Long Does Cocaine Stay in your System, Urine, Hair & Blood Video