Check out some similar questions!

LLW1979 · Nov 11, 2013, 02:02 PM

I have severe back problems as well as sciatica due to a bad car wreck. I have been taking Lortab 10mg, 4-10 a day for the last 2 years up until 2 days ago when I got a job that has a strict drug free policy. I've told them my situation and they are willing to work with me by giving me 2 weeks to get them out if my system. I know all about the withdrawals. I've tried to quit before but this time I actually want to, as well as need to! My question is this; given how long I've been taking them and so many, will they be out of my system in 2wks? I am only 5'2in tall and weigh around 185lbs. I drink a lot of water but hardly exercise. I need this job in the worst way! Please some help answer this question! I am DESPERATE to say the least! Thank you in advance!

CravenMorhead · Nov 11, 2013, 03:19 PM

The half life of hydrocodone is about 3.8hrs. This means that after your last dose, half of it will be gone in four hours. In a day 1/8th of it will still be in your system. Worst case scenario is that a day after a 10pill day you will have 1mg in your system. Two days only trace amounts. If you quit cold turkey and stay off, it is an addictive drug after all, you will probably not fail the test.

LLW1979 · Nov 13, 2013, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by CravenMorhead

The half life of hydrocodone is about 3.8hrs. This means that after your last dose, half of it will be gone in four hours. In a day 1/8th of it will still be in your system. Worst case scenario is that a day after a 10pill day you will have 1mg in your system. Two days only trace amounts. If you quit cold turkey and stay off, it is an addictive drug after all, you will probably not fail the test.

Cmh, Tysm for the Info! It is reassuring. Is there a site or something I can learn more about it and configure my exact numbers and all? Or is this just something you've heard? Learned elsewhere? Im Just curious, not questioning your answer or anything. I appreciate the response! I would like to learn more about this! Again, thank you!

LLW1979 · Nov 13, 2013, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by CravenMorhead

The half life of hydrocodone is about 3.8hrs. This means that after your last dose, half of it will be gone in four hours. In a day 1/8th of it will still be in your system. Worst case scenario is that a day after a 10pill day you will have 1mg in your system. Two days only trace amounts. If you quit cold turkey and stay off, it is an addictive drug after all, you will probably not fail the test.

One more question CMh (great name by the way lol) is this per pill? Like 4hrs each pill taken? I'm not sure I fully understand. I mean, I get what you're saying to a point but I have questions and I don't want to keep bugging you is the main reason I asked if there is somewhere I can reference this info and research, learn for myself... Could you recommend a website, book, PDR, etc...

CravenMorhead · Nov 13, 2013, 08:16 AM

You can learn a lot by searching for Hydrocodone and Half life.

The way most drugs work is that they get into your system and are broken down and excreted. It works the same way with Tylenol, Advil, pot, and aspirin. Some drugs will stay in your system a long time and others will be gone in hours. The rate of which these drugs are metabolised and removed is called their half life or how long until half the drug has been removed from your system. So if your drug has a half life of 4 hours then the initial dose of 10mg will be 5mg in four hours and 2.5mg four hours after that. This is a additive effect.

The math for 12 10mg tablets through out the day, assuming they're taken every 2 hours, is:
Hour 0 - 10mg
Hour 1 - 8.125mg
Hour 2 - 17.5mg
Hour 3 - 14.1mg
Hour 4 - 21.5 mg
Hour 5 - 17.5mg
Hour 6 - 24.22 mg
Hour 7 - 19.76mg
Hour 8 - 26 mg
Hour 9 - 21.1 mg
Hour 10 - 27.15mg
Hour 11 - 22 mg
Hour 12 - 27.9mg
Hour 13 - 22.69 mg
Hour 14 - 28.43 mg
Hour 15 - 23.1 mg
Hour 16 - 28.77 mg
Hour 17 - 23.37 mg
Hour 18 - 29mg
Hour 19 - 23.55 mg
Hour 20 - 29.19 mg
Hour 21 - 23.68 mg
Hour 22 - 29.23 mg
Hour 23 - 23.75 mg
Hour 24 - 29.3 mg.

That is using rough math that approximates a good number of things. These numbers are probably worse then life but it is dependent on the person. If you had, worse case, 30mg in your system and you went cold turkey. After:
4 hours - 15mg
8 hours - 7.5mg
12 hours - 3.75mg
16 hours - 1.85mg
20 hours - 0.95mg
24 hours - 0.48 mg

So you don't really need to worry about it. It is curious that even with your prescription you would be tested for this. Have you talked to your HR about this?