Narcotics Duration and Withdrawal Timeline
The narcotics withdrawal timeline is generally similar for most people, but there are some individual factors that may cause differences between individuals regarding the severity and duration of symptoms. These factors include :
- Age
- Gender
- General health
- Liver and kidney function
- Genetic and biological make up
- Concurrent use of other drugs
- Co-occurring mental health disorder (if any)
- Use of medically assisted detox
- Duration of narcotics use and amounts used
- Number of previous attempts at detox
Acute withdrawal symptoms usually start a few hours or a few days after the last use of narcotics and depend on the half-life of the opioid being used. For example, fentanyl has a short half-life, so withdrawal symptoms begin within hours. Methadone, however, has a long half-life, so it may take days before withdrawal effects arise.
For most people, acute withdrawal symptoms taper off and end after 4 to 10 days, depending on individual factors and the half-life of the specific narcotic being detoxed.
Some people may develop symptoms that last well beyond the acute withdrawal phase; these are known as protracted withdrawal symptoms. Protracted withdrawal symptoms may last for weeks or months.