On this blog, we are lucky enough to have people visit our site for a variety of reasons. We do, however, see some people returning to our blog for some issues more than others. The main reason people visit our site is because they have questions about getting sober themselves, and how long it might take to sober up. We also get many people who are interested in the time that various drugs stay in your system. How long does Percocet stay in your system? How long does heroin or oxycontin stay in your system? These are questions we see quite often. When I see people asking those questions, I assume they are getting drug tested by an employer, or probation, or some other similar situation. For those of you in that situation, I just want to say that I think drug testing people sucks. I would rather live in a society where we openly discussed addiction like we discuss other illnesses and offered people treatment without judgment or serious consequences hanging over them. Of course, there are certain jobs where heavy machinery is being operated and drug use is a serious infraction, but that is the exception, most employers who drug test employees are misguided and out of their depth, in my expert opinion. Regardless of how I feel, if you are facing an issue with how long opioids might be staying in your system, such as Percocet, heroin, fentanyl, or anything else, you might be trying to manage an addiction. If you are not yet taking an opioid (heroin, oxycontin, Vicodin) every day, you may still have time to discuss your situation with a doctor and get off opioids before you develop a serious dependency. Opioid dependency is the situation when you have been taking opioid medications or drugs regularly, and you feel sick from withdrawal when you stop taking them.
What is Unmanageability?
People that seek help for a drug or alcohol problem from a 12-step program, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, will often come across the term manageability, or unmanageability. Alcoholics who are actively drinking often feel like their life and living situation has become unmanageable. If you have been taking Vicodin, heroin, or fentanyl everyday, that situation will quickly become similarly unmanageable. I feel bad for people who have begun taking opioids every day, and some people begin taking other drugs on top of the opioids in order to try to manage the habit. Manageability is often threatened by the economic issues that come from needing drugs. Manageability issues also stem from the responsibilities that we have in life, and they begin suffering because of the time and effort we are putting into managing our addiction every day. Even if we had all the money in the world, the other problems that addictions cause would be enough to turn our lives upside down.
Options for People Using Opioids (Percocet, Heroin, Fentanyl, Vicodin, etc.)
If you have developed a dependency to opioid drugs, and possibly other drugs as well (Benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium are extremely dangerous to mix with Opioids, but people mix them in order to try to manage their growing addiction problems. It makes things worse, but the options for fixing these issues remain the same). People who feel sick from withdrawal when they stop using opioids have limited options when it comes to mending the situation and entering a life of manageable recovery and sobriety. Because opioids and some other drugs like alcohol and Xanax require medical attention in order to manage withdrawal, people wanting to get sober and improve their life that are using these drugs must seek medical detox in most cases. Places like Florida Springs Wellness and Recovery offer medical detox. That period of medical detox should be followed by an intense program of education and focused recovery. These are the decisions that people with an addiction to opioids or other substances, including alcohol, must make with their loved ones and their primary physician. If you are asking questions like “how long does Percocet stay in your system, how long does heroin stay in your system, or how long does Vicodin or hydrocodone stay in your system” then thinking about recovery is a better option than continuing to try to manage a growing opioid addiction. I don’t think anyone deserves to get drug tested and have serious punishment hanging over their head, but if you are in that situation, let’s try managing the problem in a more positive and proactive way, instead of worrying about passing just the next drug test that comes along.
If you need more information on opioid addiction and drug testing, you can click here.
If you call our team today, we can discuss your insurance and medical situation, and options for treatment and recovery.
By T.A. Cannon (Contact me at TACannonWriting@gmail.com)
