How Long Does Alprazolam Stay in Your System?

Alprazolam, the trade name of Xanax belongs to Benzodiazepine class of addictive drugs.  It is normally prescribed by the physician for minor depression, insomnia, anxiety disorder and panic attacks.

Restrictions in Usage

Medical practitioners prescribe the drug for the treatment of panic disorders. The drug intake is usually advised for a period of 8 weeks. The drug has been proven to be helpful in curing severe anxiety disorders within a time span of 2-4 weeks.  Escalating the dosage or sudden withdrawal is believed to result in adverse effects on patients taking the drug.

Consequence of High Dosages

Intake of higher doses of Alprazolam results in drowsiness, euphoria, jaundice, blurred vision, increased salivation or dry mouth, urinating less than normal or not at all and rapid heart beat etc. Immediate medical attention is required in such a case.  Sudden withdrawal of this drug may elevate heart beat and can result in minor tremors and depression.  So, it is always better to consult a physician before discontinuing the drug.  It has an exceptional history of severe withdrawal symptoms too.

Precautions to be taken

If alprazolam is taken in quantities of 0.5mg or greater, it tends to create sleepiness due to its tendency of depressing the central nervous system. So the drivers and other individuals who are working in vigilant activities should take special precaution before consuming the drug.

Why People Tend to Consume Alprazolam?

Injection of the drug is really dangerous.  As it dissolves in alcohol the combination of both is considered to be a serious one and a higher dosage is even more dangerous. So if this drug is abused in combination with alcohol, the scenario sometimes proves fatal too.

However, Alprazolam is used to eliminate the euphoric properties of marijuana and heroin. If you are a drug abuser or if you have been habituated to alcohol intake or if you are frequently suffering from severe chronic pain, personality disorder, it’s highly emphasized that you monitor the consumption of this drug because you might get addicted to the drug. Do not recommend alprazolam to any of your friends who have similar symptoms.

The dosage should start low, and then it has to be increased, if it is essential, and gradual reduction is recommended in order to avoid complications.

How long does Alprazolam stay in your system?

How long does alprazolam stay in your system depends on the various factors such as

1)Dosage taken by you.
2)Mass of your body.
3)Potential of the drug.
4)How your body metabolizes the drug.

It can be expelled out of your system within 2 days to a maximum of 2 weeks. It can be detected in a urine test for one week.

You don’t need to worry as to how long alprazolam stays in your system, if you consume the drug only for that purpose which was prescribed by the physician.

Self medication is always dangerous.

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15 Responses to “How Long Does Alprazolam Stay in Your System?”

  1. cindy on June 1st, 2010 at 11:44 pm

    if i took 40 mg methadone pill in 1 day.how long dose it take to be out of my system for a urine test?

    [Reply]

  2. Drugtest on June 6th, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    @cindy

    It depends on cut-off value of the urine test and how often you take such kinds of pills.

    I would say a maximum of 5 days for the methadone.

    [Reply]

  3. debbie on July 1st, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    if taking a urine test for a job will methadone show up or is there a special test that has to be run in order 2 detect it

    [Reply]

  4. Anita Brooks on July 10th, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    I used to be prescribed clonazepam by my MD; over 1-1/2 years ago. I haven’t had ANY ‘benzos” since, clean since the beginning of 2009! However, I had to leave a urine sample for a drug screen and it came back as ‘benzo’ positive. What could possibly cause this? I’m also aware of many other people who had a similar problem…

    [Reply]

  5. Debbie on July 14th, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    Anita Im not a Dr but 2 test positive 4 a benzo after a yr & 1/2 doesnt make sense. i no a person that tested positive 4 cocaine he is 58 yrs old w/a bad heart. COCAINE WOULD KILL HIM THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES SENSE IS THAT THE LAB MAY HAVE MADE A MISTAKE. ASK IF U CAN TAKE ANOTHER URINE TEST. GOOD LUCK

    [Reply]

  6. dog tags for dogs on December 3rd, 2010 at 7:15 am

    I had to leave a urine sample for a drug screen and it came back as ‘benzo’ positive.

    [Reply]

  7. Jay on December 26th, 2010 at 6:30 am

    My job started random urine drug test for its employees. They will be testing for illicit and prescription drugs. A question was asked what happens if one has a legal prescription for a Benzo(Xanax), the employer response was ok as long as the drug is in the therapeutic range your ok. If not, you will be terminated. So, just having a prescription doesnt keep one out of the wood. I have a prescription for Xanax 0.5mg t.i.d. I never use more than what is prescribed. So do I have to worry about going over the “therapeutic range” to keep, my job of 27years if I’m tested?

    [Reply]

    Brandom Reply:

    Jay, anything prescribed to you and taken at the prescribed dose will fall under your companies ‘therapeutic range’ policy.

    [Reply]

  8. j hampton on February 3rd, 2011 at 3:40 am

    i have a drug test if i quit by the 10th of febuary will i be clean by the 26 of febuary

    [Reply]

    jelliott Reply:

    I was taking benzo’s for a few months and still tested positive after 14 days. I am average height and weight????????????????

    [Reply]

  9. andrew on March 15th, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    i have doctor order for taking lortab and zanxa i been taking then on a dailey basic i was out for 4 day due to between appointmentand my doctor said my test came back neg. is that right?

    [Reply]

  10. Desiree on June 20th, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    I have an old prescription of alprazolam that was given to me by my doctor due to some postpartum. Last Wednesday I was signing papers to sell my house and was super stressed so I took one at 11am. I never took when they were given to me so still have the whole bottle. I took a urine drug screening on saturday in the afternoonso I can be a candidate for a medical study. Will my tt be positive and if so, will I be okay if I show them my old prescription? Like I said before, I never used before. Just last wednesday. And only one pil. It so wasn’t worth all of this!

    [Reply]

  11. Teddy Kemner on October 17th, 2011 at 10:15 am

    Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, has a half-life of 11.2 hours, which means that it takes 11.2 hours for half of the drug to leave your system. The extended release version has a half-life of 10.7 to 15.8 hours. Certain medical conditions and some medications can increase the half-life of alprazolam.

    [Reply]

  12. gjdfuis on November 15th, 2011 at 10:10 am

    I never use more than what is prescribed. So do I have to worry about going over the “therapeutic range” to keep, my job of 27years if I’m tested.

    gmat prep

    [Reply]

  13. joy on January 27th, 2012 at 11:18 am

    I have been suffering with a friend in work mentioned his father had been prescribed Xanax and had been very pleased with the results.

    [Reply]

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