On average, Lortab stays in the system for 15–20 hours. Although the exact answer to “How long does Lortab stay in your system?” will vary greatly, understanding how quickly the body metabolizes and eliminates this potent opioid is of utmost importance to anyone taking it. It can help you avoid dangerous drug interactions and reduce the risk of opioid toxicity.
This article will not only answer “How long does Lortab stay in your system?” but also explain this drug’s potential for dependence and addiction.
What Is Lortab?
Lortab is an opioid-based combination medication used to manage moderate-to-severe pain that cannot be sufficiently controlled with non-opioid painkillers. It has two active ingredients:
- Acetaminophen, a non-opioid analgesic also used to reduce fever
- Hydrocodone, a semi-synthetic opioid made from thebaine or codeine
Lortab is available as a tablet containing 325 mg of acetaminophen and 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg, or 10 mg of hydrocodone. Generic acetaminophen/hydrocodone also comes as an oral liquid. This drug combination is also marketed under other brands, including Vicodin®, Lorcet®, and Norco®.
Hydrocodone/acetaminophen is a very common opioid. It was the most frequently prescribed opioid medication and the 23rd most popular drug in the United States in 2022. That year, more than 23.5 million prescriptions for it were issued to close to 8 million Americans.
Before we answer the question, “How long does Lortab stay in your system?” let’s find out how this drug affects your body.
How Does Lortab Affect Your Body?
Lortab affects the body by attaching to opioid receptors throughout the central nervous system (CNS). By blocking pain signals from reaching the brain, it reduces pain perception. Once consumed, Lortab starts exerting pain-relieving effects in around 30 minutes and lasts 4–8 hours.
Furthermore, Lortab floods the brain with dopamine, inducing intense euphoria and relaxation. These rewarding effects enhance the drug’s potential for abuse and prescription drug addiction.
Besides pain relief, euphoria, and relaxation, Lortab can also cause various side effects, such as constipation, dry mouth, headaches, and nausea. Inform your doctor about any unwanted effects you experience after taking this drug.
Lortab Half-Life
Lortab’s half-life is around four hours. While it takes four hours on average for most people to eliminate half a dose of it, certain individual factors, such as poor liver function, can extend its half-life, causing Lortab to stay longer in your system.
However, this doesn’t mean that Lortab stays in your system for just a few hours. It takes around 4 or 5 half-lives for physiologically healthy individuals to eliminate drugs, including opioids.
With this in mind, let’s move on to the question, “How long does Lortab stay in your system?” and discover its detection windows for different drug tests.
How Long Does Lortab Stay in Your System?
Lortab stays in your system for around 15–20 hours since it takes several half-lives to clear it.
Nonetheless, its opioid ingredient—hydrocodone—remains detectable in some drug tests for far longer than that. Therefore, the answer to “How long will you test positive for Lortab?” isn’t always the same as that to “How long does Lortab stay in your system?”
Here are the average detection times for Lortab in blood, hair, saliva and urine:
How Long Does Lortab Stay in Blood?
Lortab stays in the blood and can be detected in blood samples for approximately 24 hours after the last use. Although highly accurate, blood tests are invasive and have a very short detection window for this drug.
How Long Does Lortab Stay in Hair?
Lortab remains detectable in hair follicles for up to 90 days after the last dose. Hair follicle tests have the longest detection window for opioids. However, they tend to be quite expensive.
How Long Does Lortab Stay in Saliva?
Lortab stays in saliva for around 48 hours, meaning saliva tests can detect traces of it for up to two days after the last dose. Saliva tests are non-invasive and quite accurate. They are usually performed by sending an oral swab to the laboratory.
How Long Does Lortab Stay in Urine?
Lortab can be detected in urine samples for up to four days following the last use. Besides having a relatively long detection window for opioids, urine tests are also quite affordable and easy to administer. As such, they are pretty commonly used to detect Lortab.
That said, the answer to “How long does Lortab stay in your system?” varies depending on certain factors, such as metabolism. Therefore, these detection windows may also vary from person to person.
Let’s examine the factors determining how long Lortab stays in your system in greater detail.
4 Factors That Determine How Long Lortab Stays in Your System
The main factors that determine how long Lortab stays in your system include liver and kidney function, metabolism, the extent of opioid use, and polydrug use.
Let’s break these factors down:
- Metabolism. The rate of your metabolism determines how quickly your body processes drugs. Therefore, factors that affect your metabolism, such as age, diet, and physical activity, may also impact how long Lortab stays in your system.
- Polysubstance use. Certain drugs may affect your body’s ability to break down Lortab, causing it to stay longer in your system. Do not take any medications, supplements, or herbal substances with Lortab without your doctor’s approval, as this increases the risk of adverse effects, such as opioid overdose.
- Extent of Lortab use. Those who take Lortab in high doses, frequently, and for an extended time will need more time to clear it than those taking it in minimum doses for a short period.
- Kidney and liver function. Since Lortab is metabolized in the liver and undergoes renal excretion, kidney and liver health are key factors that determine how long it stays in your system. This drug is generally not recommended for people with hepatic impairment because both hydrocodone and acetaminophen can damage the liver.
Lortab Withdrawal Symptoms
Lortab withdrawal symptoms occur when people dependent on this drug stop taking it or reduce their dosage.
The most common Lortab withdrawal symptoms include:
- Chills
- Fever
- Anxiety
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Insomnia
- Sweating
- Joint pain
- Headache
- Depression
- Runny nose
- Dilated pupils
- Muscle aches
- Opioid cravings
- Loss of appetite
- Excessive yawning
- Tearing of the eyes
- Elevated blood pressure and heart rate
Withdrawal symptoms from Lortab typically start within 12–24 hours after the last dose. Acute withdrawal symptoms usually last around a week, but psychological symptoms, such as cravings, depression, and sleep disturbances, may persist for several weeks or months in some people. This condition is known as post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS).
Abrupt discontinuation of Lortab can result in particularly severe, long-lasting withdrawal symptoms. It can also lead to complications, such as dehydration, and significantly increase the risk of relapse, overdose, and death. Therefore, you should seek professional help to get off Lortab safely and increase the chances of successful recovery.
Is Lortab Addictive?
Lortab is addictive, as evident from the fact that it is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance. Due to the high potential for abuse, dependence, and addiction, hydrocodone products, such as Lortab, were moved from Schedule III to Schedule II in 2014.
Prolonged Lortab use and abuse considerably amplify the risk of opioid dependence and addiction. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they describe different—yet often co-occurring—conditions.
Lortab Addiction vs. Lortab Dependence
The difference between Lortab addiction and Lortab dependence is that dependence refers to the physical reliance on this drug, whereas addiction is primarily psychological.
Anyone who takes Lortab for a prolonged time will eventually become dependent. This is because repeated exposure to this drug alters brain chemistry, hindering the production of endorphins and stimulating that of opioid receptors. Increasing the number of these receptors leads to tolerance, causing your initial dose to lose its effectiveness.
Furthermore, opioid-dependent people rely on these drugs to prevent opioid withdrawal symptoms, i.e., to feel and function normally.
Without proper treatment, Lortab dependence can grow into an addiction, which takes away your ability to control your opioid use. Those addicted experience an overwhelming urge to take opioids, even when it harms their social, physical, financial, and emotional well-being.
Thankfully, both Lortab dependence and addiction can be treated by seeking comprehensive opioid dependence treatment.
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Key Takeaways
“How long does Lortab stay in your system?” is a complex question, as the answer depends on various individual factors.
Let’s summarize what we covered today:
- Lortab (acetaminophen/hydrocodone) is an opioid analgesic prescribed for moderate-to-severe pain management.
- Some factors that determine how long Lortab stays in your system include metabolism, kidney and liver health, and the extent of your opioid use.
- ANR is a state-of-the-art opioid dependence treatment that can help you overcome Lortab dependence quickly, safely, and effectively by restoring your brain to its original state.
How Long Does Lortab Stay in Your System FAQ
The body metabolizes Lortab in the liver. Both hydrocodone and acetaminophen, its active ingredients, undergo hepatic metabolism. Its opioid ingredient—hydrocodone—is metabolized into hydromorphone with the help of the CYP2D6 enzyme before being excreted in urine.
Lortab is highly addictive because it contains hydrocodone, a potent opioid. While you won’t get addicted to acetaminophen, anyone taking hydrocodone products for a prolonged time can develop dependence and opioid use disorder (OUD).
Lortab is very dangerous, as it has a high potential for abuse, dependence, and addiction. Besides increasing the likelihood of opioid addiction, hydrocodone abuse (i.e., taking it in other ways than prescribed) significantly increases the risk of potentially lethal adverse effects, such as organ damage, opioid overdose, and death.
Lortab can show up in a drug test as an opioid. Although drug tests won’t detect acetaminophen, those used to screen for opioids can detect hydrocodone. How long Lortab can show up in a drug test depends on the type of test administered.
You should never stop taking Lortab abruptly. Sudden opioid discontinuation can cause severe withdrawal symptoms and complications. Plus, it increases the risk of relapse and subsequent overdose. If you’ve become dependent on Lortab and want to stop taking it, it’s in your best interest to seek professional opioid drug addiction treatment.
