How Long Does Klonopin (Clonazepam) Stay in Your Body?
Klonopin is a drug that many Americans rely on for medicinal purposes. It can treat seizure disorders, panic disorders, and anxiety. Doctors throughout the country regularly prescribe it to help with a range of issues, and because a doctor gives it, it’s often thought of as safe. And while Klonopin technically is safe when taken as directed, it’s also a drug with a high potential for abuse.
When Klonopin is misused enough or for long enough, it can lead to dependence, and ultimately, this dependence can become an addiction.Physical addiction to Klonopin is different because your body cannot function properly without Klonopin once you are addicted. A body physically dependent on Klonopin will go through withdrawal and get sick when it’s not given the medication, and the withdrawal from Klonopin can be intense. People withdrawing from Klonopin on their own can face various fatal risks, including seizures.
Here’s what you need to know about taking Klonopin, how long it stays in and affects your body, how it might show up on drug tests, and what the next steps are to take if you’re ready to fight and defeat your Klonopin addiction today.
How Is Klonopin Detected on Drug Tests?
Klonopin is a drug that is not often included on standard drug tests. After all, it is a drug that many people are prescribed by their doctors. Many people take it regularly—even daily—to manage health and medical situations. So, most five-panel drug tests don’t include Klonopin in them.
However, specific tests can be given to people or done to test if someone has taken or consumed Klonopin recently. There are several ways that Klonopin can be detected in your body on these tests.
Here are different ways that you might be tested for Klonopin and how the tests might show whether or not you have taken the drug:
- Hair test: Sometimes, your hair will get pulled and tested for Klonopin. Experts will test the follicle of your hair. Klonopin will show up in the follicle of your hair about 28 days after you’ve taken it.
- Urine test: This is the most common way people are tested for Klonopin. Klonopin will remain detectable in your urine for about a month after you consume it.
- Saliva test: Though less common, your saliva can be tested to see if you have taken Klonopin recently. Klonopin only shows up in your saliva for a short amount of time—about five or six days after you took the drug.
Ultimately, Klonopin was designed to be a long-acting drug. For that reason, it remains in your body for a long time. In turn, Klonopin isdetectable on drug tests for a long time.
So, if you will be tested for Klonopin and have done Klonopin any time in the past month, there is a good chance that a drug test will show that result. Klonopin can be deceiving because it can result in a positive drug test long, long after you feel any euphoric or relaxing effects that usually come with consuming the drug.
How Is Klonopin Metabolized in the Body?
Once consumed, Klonopin must be broken down and metabolized so the active ingredients can help calm your central nervous system (the intended main effect of the medication). When you consume Klonopin, your liver is the organ that works to break it down. It will break Klonopin down into several different metabolites.
These are the substances that have different physical effects on your body. The metabolites leave the liver and circulate through your system.
Once the substances have circulated through your body, many of them will leave your body in your urine. (This is one reason that Klonopin can show up in a urine-based drug test). Experts say that only 2% of the Klonopin in your urine is “unchanged.”
This means that 98% of the Klonopin in your urine will be some metabolite or different form of Klonopin after your liver has broken it down. The rest of the metabolites from Klonopin are expelled from the body in the feces.
How Long Does It Take for the Effects of Klonopin to Wear Off?
When you consume Klonopin, you’ll experience a variety of physical effects. Often, these effects cause addiction in the first place because they can be very pleasurable while they last.
These effects include:
- Decrease in anxiety
- Decrease in agitation
- Decrease in panic
- Decrease in nervousness
- A feeling of sedation
- A feeling of relaxation
- A reduction in alertness
- An increase in feelings of sleepiness
- A slight euphoric feeling
- A light “buzzed” feeling (depending on how high a dose you take)
All of the effects will last as long as the drug is circulating in your system. However, as Klonopin circulates through your system and gets broken down, it stops working. The effects that you may find pleasurable or helpful will go away.
Experts believe that it can take around 12 hours for the effects of Klonopin to completely wear off. It is a long-acting benzodiazepine, which means that it continues to work in your system for a significant time after you take it. It can take Klonopin an entire day or 24 hours to work its way out of your system, so you may be feeling the effects of Klonopin up to a day after you take your dose.
If you have been on Klonopin for a long time, you may depend on it. The effects of Klonopin wearing off will be followed by a sequence of health-related events if you have become dependent on the drug.
Here is what you can expect to happen if you stop taking Klonopin and then decide to detox from it, not giving yourself another dose:
- First, you will experience rebound anxiety or panic. This is usually accompanied by insomnia. This happens in the first one to three days after your last dose. It can last at least a week.
- In the second week of detox, you can experience the more serious and dangerous health symptoms of your body adjusting to not having Klonopin. This means that you can experience seizures. You may also have digestive issues like diarrhea, or you may experience extreme nausea and vomiting. You will also lose your appetite. Many people lose weight in week two of Klonopin withdrawal and cessation.
- After the second week of Klonopin withdrawal, most people are through the worst of the severe symptoms. Some people, however, can experience severe and risky conditions like hallucinations and delusions. However, even if you got through the worst of your symptoms in week two, because the drug is so long-acting—and especially if you’ve abused a lot for a long time—you will continue to experience unpleasant symptoms for two to three more weeks. Some of these symptoms include brain fog, deep depression, lack of motivation, continued anxiety, continued insomnia, and more.
Having Klonopin wear off can be quite unpleasant even after just one dose. The best way to avoid any of the above experiences is to not take Klonopin in the first place.
If you are prescribed Klonopin by your doctor, make sure you take the medication as prescribed. That can help you avoid any risk of becoming dependent and ensure you don’t have to go through the harrowing experience that is Klonopin detox and withdrawal.
No matter how scared you feel about your substance use, there is help for Klonopin addiction. Zinnia Health offers comprehensive treatment plans to help you “heal for good.” Find out more about our substance abuse services.
Klonopin Addiction Treatment – Zinnia Health Can Help
At treatment centers that offer help for Klonopin addiction, you can go through the Klonopin withdrawal process while under the supervision of a medical doctor and the rehab staff. That way, they can ensure you are safe medically while detoxing, and they can keep you as comfortable as possible while you get the drug out of your system.
A professional treatment center will also help you understand what drove your usage, what triggers kept you using and how you can build a new life once you’re back at home that doesn’t involve drugs or substance abuse.
If you or a loved one are struggling with Klonopin addiction, help is available. Zinnia Health is proud to offer treatment facilities nationwide, ranging from California to New Jersey.
Zinnia Health treatment centers provide individualized care to help you overcome addiction while supporting your mental health. These evidence-based programs will also help prepare you for life outside of rehab—so you are set up for success when you complete your inpatient or intensive outpatient program.
Are you ready to get Klonopin addiction help? Call Zinnia Health to speak to our professional, caring team. We will guide you on your road to recovery today.
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