How Long Does Cocaine Last In Your System? : Timeline And Recovery

Cocaine is a fast-acting stimulant that causes the brain to release excessive amounts of dopamine.  Abuse of cocaine can result in elevated levels of dopamine that can create a sense of euphoria and make people feel more powerful and energetic. It may take a lot to eliminate cocaine and its metabolites because the length of time cocaine is detectable in the system can be determined by a lot of factors. 

What is Cocaine?

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant and a kind of sympathomimetic drug that was acquired from the leaves of Erythroxylon Coca, which is native to South Africa. It affects the central nervous system, which can cause trouble with sleeping, seizures, paranoia, hallucinations, loss of smell, increased blood pressure, and many more.

It is also one of the most frequently consumed stimulant drugs worldwide. It has two forms: the water-soluble hydrochloride salt and the water-insoluble cocaine base. There are four ways to consume the drug: inhalation, intranasally (snorting), intravenously (injection), and oral (rubbing the drug onto the gums). 

The Big Question: How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your System?

Cocaine use is metabolized more quickly than other drugs. The half-life of cocaine is about 1.5 hours. The duration that cocaine remains in the body and produces effects is different from the time it can be detected in a drug test for cocaine. Several factors can impact how long cocaine can stay in your system, such as the amount of cocaine, purity of the cocaine, the human metabolism, etc. 

How the Body Processes Cocaine

When someone takes cocaine, the body undergoes a process known as cocaine metabolism. This process starts when an enzyme in the blood plasma called plasma Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) breaks down cocaine into Ecgonine Methyl Ester (EME).

Following this, other enzymes further break down cocaine into benzoylecgonine, the compound that most drug tests detect. Cocaine is metabolized further and breaks down to benzoylecgonine, and it travels to the blood, urine, hair, and saliva. 

Factors Affecting How Long Cocaine Stays in Your System

Cocaine stays in the body beyond the realization of both patients and their families on how long it takes. The following are factors that you can consider to determine how long cocaine can stay in your body. 

Cocaine and Alcohol

Cocaine can stay in the system for more extended periods once it is taken with alcohol. This can become fatal if done consistently because alcohol stops the metabolism process of cocaine, which causes the production of cocaethylene, which is thirty percent more toxic than cocaine alone. 

The alcohol then slows down the elimination of cocaethylene, which means twenty per cent is left in the liver, causing it to pass into the bloodstream with further alcohol consumption. 

Concentration of Cocaine 

In some instances, cocaine can contain contaminants or other substances that can tamper with the timespan of how long it stays in your body.

Frequency

New cocaine users may notice the high fading within a couple of hours, while habitual users or heavy cocaine users might start experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and the effects of cocaine last just a few hours after their last dose.  

Amount of Cocaine Taken 

The higher dosage of cocaine ingested means it will take longer for cocaine to leave your system. 

Method of Choice 

There are four methods by which you can take cocaine:

Usually, in each method, there is a difference between how long the high takes to take effect and how long it lasts. 

• Intranasally- less than three minutes to take effect; duration is fifteen to thirty minutes
• Inhalation-less than three minutes to take effect; duration is five to fifteen minutes
• Intravenously- less than five minutes to take effect; duration is five to fifteen minutes
• Orally- it takes between one and two hours to take effect, and the duration is fifteen to thirty minutes

Detection Time in Different Tests

The length of time for cocaine and its metabolites to be detected differs based on various factors that can affect the reliability of the following tests in which the metabolized cocaine travels. 

Hair Tests

The timeline for cocaine to remain in your body stays the longest among the four tests. It remains detectable for up to 90 days. However, it may pose some reliability issues in circumstances such as for people who cut their hair shorter and can expect a shorter positive testing window. People can also test positive for cocaine by direct exposure alone. 

Saliva Tests

The detection window for cocaine using saliva lasts around twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the person’s last use. 

Cocaine in Urine Tests

Cocaine can be detected in urine from a span of one to two days. It can be tested for both cocaine directly and cocaine metabolites (benzoylecgonine). 

Blood Tests

Tests done through blood plasma can detect cocaine and cocaine metabolites. It can stay in your blood from a few hours to 7.5 hours. It has the shortest cocaine detection window, and it is used to measure whether someone is currently under the influence and not if someone currently uses it. 

Long-Term Effects of Cocaine on the Body

How long does cocaine stay in your body?

Before you get cocaine out of your system, you need to understand the long-term effects of cocaine in the body. After the consumption of cocaine, you will experience what we call a comedown which means, the switch from being high to sober, depending on how much cocaine you have ingested the day before, you will be experiencing an array of symptoms, however, one of the most common ones is excessive fatigue. 

Here are some of the long-term effects that you may experience after going through a comedown and withdrawal: 

• Psychosis
• Paranoia
• Anxiety or Panic Attacks
• Mood Swings 

Signs of Cocaine Addiction

The elimination of cocaine from your system can only happen if you become aware of the signs that you are slowly descending into a problem with cocaine abuse. 

The use of cocaine can lead to various manifestations, such as the following:

• Deteriorating physical features- dilated pupils, rapid weight loss, pale or gray-toned complexion due to reduced blood flow. 
• Financial problems include accumulating debt or stealing money to sustain each urge they feel.
• Risk-taking or impulsive behavior- becoming impulsive to satisfy cravings.
• Tolerance to cocaine- requiring higher dosages to feel something
• Changes in sleep patterns- some may have trouble sleeping while others may oversleep. 
• Higher blood pressure.

Cocaine Addiction Treatment Options

Struggling with cocaine addiction is one of the biggest fights a person could ever experience. There may be a lot of ways to detect the presence of cocaine, but the crucial part of it is accepting that cocaine addiction rehab will become a significant part of your life.

Here at Resilient Recovery, not only do they treat the addiction itself, but they also offer treatment for the underlying mental health problems that can arise alongside addiction. 

For each patient, there will be a personalized treatment program that will surely accommodate the unique needs you need to eliminate the cocaine in your system.

Resilient Recovery has a team of experienced professionals that specializes in dual diagnosis, ensuring that both addiction and underlying mental health issues are treated simultaneously. 

Inpatient Rehab

Cocaine addiction is a serious issue that needs to be given more attention, and that is what the Inpatient treatment or the residential program at Resilient Recovery can do for you. It may seem difficult, mainly because it would mean a few weeks until a few months away from family, friends, and loved ones. It would also mean another round of adjustment away from everything the patient has been used to. 

Some patients choose to take more cocaine instead, hoping that without understanding how long it could affect them and how long it would take for it to leave their system. This happens because they have not yet developed the strength and other values they need to live a newfound sense of sobriety, stopping the metabolism of cocaine indefinitely. 

The Right Cocaine Addiction Treatment at Resilient Recovery

To find cocaine addiction treatment that suits you, it must let you learn how long cocaine can affect you and your family and friends’ lives along the way. It will raise awareness of the risks associated with cocaine use and how it can be managed because here at Resilient Recovery, we will always remind you that cocaine addiction is treatable! It is possible to help the body to eliminate cocaine. 

Cocaine addiction treatment program is nothing to be ashamed of, especially for individuals who use cocaine. It shows a sign of strength to face problems that could be a result of years of trauma or any other underlying reason. It reminds us that no matter what, help for cocaine abuse is not the end of life but rather the start of a new chapter. 

Contact us now and make recovery your reality here at Resilient Recovery!