Adderall is a stimulant drug that can be detected in the blood up to 46 hours after use. It has a half-life of 9-14 hours, meaning that after this time, only around half of the drug will remain in the body. Adderall should be eliminated entirely from a person’s system in three days.
Testing can also be conducted using urine, saliva, and hair follicle samples. Detection windows for these tests include the following:
- Urine – 4 to 7 days
- Saliva – 20 minutes to 48 hours
- Hair – 7 to 90 days
If you have a prescription for Adderall, you should need to worry about “failing” a drug test for this medication. If you do not, however, we urge you to seek help to stop abusing it.
What Is Adderall?
Adderall is an amphetamine and nervous system often prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These are conditions in which a person finds it challenging to concentrate on a single task. Individuals with ADD/ADHD generally use the medication daily on a fixed therapeutic regimen, and rather than getting the user “high,” it induces a calming effect, allowing them to focus on tasks at hand.
Because it is a stimulant, Adderall increases dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. When stimulants are ingested, they boost the amount of dopamine that is available, but they also impair the body’s ability to produce its own dopamine after long-term use.
How Is Adderall Misused?
Like so many psychoactive substances, Adderall can be abused and has the potential to result in both dependence and addiction. When taken in a way other than as prescribed, Adderall can produce feelings of euphoria. To continue achieving this effect, a person may need to increase the amount of medication he or she uses over time as the brain adapts to the drug’s presence and diminishes its response accordingly (also known as tolerance). This effect can trigger a cycle of misusing Adderall that results in dependence, full-blown addiction, and overdose.
Dependence, like tolerance, develops over time with repeated use of a psychoactive substance. As the brain has now adjusted to a drug’s presence, it is not able to immediately function without it. Moreover, if a person stops using Adderall abruptly, they will experience many adverse side effects as a result. In an attempt to avoid unpleasant symptoms, people who are dependent on Adderall may find themselves compelled to relapse and unable to quit without professional help.
Determining Factors for How Long Adderall Stays in the Blood
Body Composition and PH Levels
Body composition can affect the length of time it takes for a person’s system to eliminate Adderall. Height, weight, muscle mass, and body fat percentage all play a role in this timeline. A person with relatively low muscle mass and high body fat will likely expel Adderall more rapidly than a person with high muscle mass and less fat. This is true because having more muscle means that a person has more water in their body, and more water means that Adderall is allowed to circulate in the body for a longer amount of time.
PH levels in the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts may also impact how long Adderall stays in a person’s system. If a person has a relatively high PH level, his or her kidneys will take longer to process Adderall.
Food Intake
Food consumption can influence how rapidly the body can eliminate Adderall. When food is in a person’s system, the body will be working to metabolize the food as well as the drug, meaning it may take a longer amount of time to process both.
Organ Function
Organs such as the kidneys and liver and play a key role in clearing the body of potentially toxic substances, Adderall included. When an organ does not function as it should, these metabolic processes can be slowed. If kidney or liver function is not healthy, the drug may stay in the system for longer than it should, or it may be recirculated.
Dosage Amount and Frequency of Use
The drug dosage will significantly affect how long it takes to be eliminated from the system. The more Adderall a person has used, the longer it will take for the body to expel it since there is more of the drug accumulated in the system to metabolize. The systems of people who have been using Adderall routinely for a prolonged period will probably take longer to eliminate it in comparison to those who only used the drug occasionally.
Treatment for Adderall Abuse
The longer an individual has been abusing Adderall, the more severe an addiction can become. As noted, withdrawal symptoms that onset shortly after discontinuing use can make it very challenging for users to quit on their own.
Fortunately, Adderall abuse and addiction are very treatable, and there are many effective options available. Recovery By The Sea offers an integrated approach to drug and alcohol abuse that includes behavioral therapy, individual and family counseling, group support, aftercare planning, and much more.
If or someone you love needs help overcoming an addiction to Adderall, please contact us as soon as possible! Discover how we help people free themselves from the shackles of addiction for life!
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