How Long Does Tapentadol Stay in Your System? A Comprehensive Guide

How long does tapentadol stay in your system? This is one question about Tapentadol patients often wonder. Medical providers and users need to know how long the pain medication stays in the system to prevent potential drug interactions and side effects. 

This guide evaluates how long Tapentadol lasts and the factors that contribute to how long this medication lasts. 

What Is Tapentadol?

Tapentadol is an effective analgesic that was approved by the FDA  in 2008.  It belongs to the drug class known as opioid pain medication. 

Tapentadol is marketed under numerous brand names, such as Nucynta, Aspadol, and Topcynta, to name a few. 

Tapentadol is available in the following formulations: immediate-release (IR) and extended-release (ER).

The immediate-release formulation of tapentadol disintegrates quickly after consumption in the stomach.

The extended-release (“ER) formulation is slowly released in the body over an extended duration. This allows for longer-lasting effects. 

What Is Tapentadol Used For?

Tapentadol is used for the following: 

• Tapentadol provides relief from chronic pain.
• It is used for postoperative pain management.
• This opioid pain medication treats moderate to severe pain caused by fibromyalgia, arthritis, and diabetic neuropathy [1]. 

Explore our collection of Tapentadol options for treating moderate to severe body pain on our main category page.

Pharmacokinetics Of Tapentadol

The pharmacokinetics of tapentadol describe how the body absorbs, distributes, and eliminates the medication. 

Understanding The Half-Life Of Tapentadol 

Half-life is the time required for the amount of a drug’s active compound in your body to reduce by half.

The half-life of tapentadol extended-release tablets is 4.4 to 5.9 hours [2], whereas the half-life of the immediate-release tablets is 3.93 hours [3]. 

How Long Does Tapentadol Stay In Your System?

Generally, it takes about 4 to 5 half-lives for Tapentadol to be eliminated from the system. 

As mentioned above, tapentadol IR, with a half-life of approximately 4 hours, gets cleared from the system within 20 to 22 hours [4]. At the same time, the extended-release formulation of this pain medication required approximately 1.25 days for complete elimination from the system. 

How Long Does Tapentadol Stay In Different Parts Of The Body?

Discuss how tapentadol remains detectable by various drug tests [5]. 

• Blood – Tapentadol remains in the blood for 24 hours after being consumed, though certain types of blood tests may be able to detect its presence for up to 48 hours. These tests are highly accurate, but they have a short detection window.
• Hair – Tapentadol is detectable by hair follicle tests for up to 90 days after taking the last dose. The tests are expensive, but they have a long detection window.
• Saliva – Saliva tests can detect the presence of tapentadol for 1 to 3 days following administration. This drug test is relatively standard, with a reasonably short detection window. 

What Affects Tapentadol’s Duration in Your System

Some of the factors influencing how long tapentadol stays in the system are [3] – 

Dosage and frequency of use 

The consumption of a higher or more frequent dose of tapentadol can result in drug accumulation. In such cases, it takes longer to eliminate them from the body. 

Metabolic Rate

As mentioned above, tapentadol is metabolized in the liver, and people with a faster metabolic rate eliminate the medication quickly. Individuals with slower metabolic rates take longer to break down the drug, making Tapentadol stay longer in the system. 

Individual physiology

A few biological characteristics may help determine how long tapentadol stays in the system, including age, body mass, hydration level, and organ functioning. 

Individuals with higher body mass store the drug in fat molecules that act as reservoirs. This slowly releases the drug into the bloodstream, extending the medication’s effect. 

Drug interactions 

Tapentadol can interact with other medicines, which can alter its efficacy and increase the risk of adverse events. Moreover, the interaction of tapentadol with other drugs can alter its metabolic rate; thus, it increases or slows down the drug elimination process. 

Find out which medications may interact with the opioid pain medication by checking the detailed interaction information of Tapentadol available on Drugs.com. 

Tapentadol Withdrawal 

If you have tapentadol for a longer duration, especially at higher doses, it can lead to physical dependence, which can ultimately lead to addiction. Once an individual develops an addiction or physical dependence on tapentadol and, in an attempt to reduce its dosage and quit the drug, will experience tapentadol withdrawal symptoms. 

The most common symptoms of Tapentadol withdrawal include shivering, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, breathing difficulties, stomachache, runny nose, muscle aches, blurry vision, increased blood pressure, restlessness, hallucination, and difficulty falling or staying asleep [6].

Tapering off tapentadol slowly can help reduce the intensity of its withdrawal symptoms. You can learn more about Tapentadol withdrawal, its symptoms, and treatment on the ANR website.

Conclusion

Tapentadol can remain detectable in your system for different durations based on the type of test done. Understanding how long this medication stays in your system can help you manage its use and prepare an individual for any drug testing. If you doubt how long Tapentadol is detectable in your system, it’s better to consult a healthcare provider.