How long ephedrine stays in urine

You may be required to take a drug test for any number of reasons, such as if it is requested by your doctor or an ER staff member. It may also be a requirement for a drug rehab program, sporting event, or be enforced as a workplace policy. Instead of trying to beat a drug test, it might be time to get professional help and treatment for your drug abuse.

This is called withdrawal. Drug withdrawal symptoms will vary in type, intensity, and duration depending on:. Certain types of drugs, such as benzodiazepines, can also produce more severe psychological or physical symptoms, which may require professional medical and clinical treatment. Detoxing from drugs can take several days or weeks, so trying to quit drugs on your own is often very difficult, uncomfortable, and can even be life-threatening. Medical detox programs provide inpatient treatment for drug and alcohol detox.

Before you are admitted to a detox program, treatment staff will provide a comprehensive assessment to determine your current needs and design a program that addresses those needs.

During detox, a doctor will oversee your treatment and work together with a team of nurses, clinical therapists, and recovery specialists to modify and adjust your detox regimen as needed. This may include administering medications that reduce severe withdrawal symptoms, providing clinical therapy, and recommending the next steps in the treatment process.

This type of professional support during detox can greatly improve your chances of success and provide access to continued treatment through residential rehab, outpatient rehab, or community support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous AA or Narcotics Anonymous NA.

Drug addiction is a chronic disease that requires ongoing treatment to manage. The thought of being in detox or rehab for months may seem overwhelming, but healing physically and emotionally, addressing your triggers, and learning how to live a sober life are all important aspects of recovery that require a time commitment.

Fortunately, with the right treatment and support, you can succeed. If you struggle with chronic substance abuse or addiction, drug testing might be a stressful topic. A positive test could mean you lose your job, you get kicked off the college football team, or you spend time in jail.

Fortunately, it is possible to stop abusing drugs with the right detox treatment , behavioral therapy , and ongoing addiction treatment.

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease, but long-term professional treatment can provide sustainable life skills and recovery resources to prevent relapse and encourage lasting sobriety. Reference value is a negative result for all drugs tested. A positive result on a drug screen is not evidence that the person providing the specimen was under the influence of that drug at the time the specimen was submitted.

A positive result only indicates previous use of the particular drug that was detected in the urine. Most hospital laboratories use a rapid immunoassay to screen for drugs of abuse in urine.

The major problem with all rapid immunoassays is their less than perfect specificity for each drug class. Recently, all positive drug screen results reported in one month were reviewed to determine the false positive rate. Marijuana THC , benzodiazepines and barbiturates had the highest number of false positive results. Interestingly, most of the false positive screening results occurred when 2 to 4 drugs were positive in the same specimen, suggesting some nonspecific interference in the screening assay.

Prescription drugs, over the counter medications and herbal supplements may also cause false positive screening results. Chlorpromazine and dextromethorphan can produce false positive results in the phencyclidine assay.

Oxaprozin and sertraline have been reported to cause false positive results for benzodiazepines. Herbal supplements containing ephedra may produce a positive amphetamine reaction. Other drugs that can give a positive result for amphetamine or methamphetamine include phentermine, pseudoephedrine, adderall, selegiline, benzphetamine and Vicks inhaler.

Ingestion of poppy seeds may produce a positive opiate reaction. Physicians need to be aware of the limitations of urine drug screens.

If a falsely positive drug screen is suspected, a confirmatory drug screen should be ordered. There are at least five instances in which confirmatory testing might be warranted:. False positive results may occur. Freshly voided urine specimens should be collected in a clean, previously unused glass or plastic container.

Stat drug screens are available 24 hours a day. Turnaround time is approximately 30 minutes. Urine specimens are stored for at least one week, so that confirmatory testing can be done at a later time. Specific plasma drug levels are also available if overdose of a particular medication is suspected.

Dilute urine samples may give falsely negative results. Amphetamines: Amphetamines are a class of phenethylamine compounds with varying degrees of sympathomimetic activity, which means that they mimic the actions of endogenous neurotransmitters and strongly stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. The amphetamine class of drugs includes:. The therapeutic indications for amphetamines are obesity, narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Derivatives of amphetamines such as ephedrine, phentermine and phenylpropanolamine are consitituents of over the counter diet pills.

The l-forms of amphetamine and methamphetamine cause vasoconstriction but lack potent sympathetic stimulating activity. For this reason, drugs such as pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine and phenylephrine are present in over the counter cold medications. Because of their stimulant properties, methamphetamine and Ectasy have become some of the most frequently abused drugs. Their desirable properties include increased wakefulness, alertness and energy, decreased appetite and an overall sensed of euphoria.

Undesirable side effects include headache, palpitations, dizziness, agitation, confusion, dysphoria, delirium, aggressiveness and hallucinations. Many over the counter sympathomimetic amines may produce false positive screening results. Amphetamines are highly lipid soluble and well absorbed orally. Their circulating half is approximately 10 hours. Amphetamines can be detected in urine within 3 hours of any type of administration and remain detectable for 1 to 3 days after single use and 7 to 10 days after chronic use.

Administering ammonium chloride to acidify the urine can accelerate amphetamine elimination. Symptoms of amphetamine withdrawal include:. If you experience any of the above symptoms when you try to cut back or stop using amphetamine, you should seek medical advice immediately.

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Verstraete AG. Detection times of drugs of abuse in blood, urine, and oral fluid. Ther Drug Monit. National Institute on Drug Abuse. What is methamphetamine?

Updated May American Association for Clinical Chemistry. Drugs of Abuse Testing. Lab Tests Online. Updated November 20, LabCorp, Inc. Drugs of Abuse Reference Guide. The ugly side of amphetamines: Short- and long-term toxicity of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine MDMA, 'Ecstasy' , methamphetamine and D-amphetamine. Biol Chem. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. Drugs of Abuse. National Library of Medicine.

Updated November 15, Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellMind. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents.