How Long Does Xanax Stay In Your Blood?

Xanax is a medicine that is used to help ease tenseness, anxiety and nervousness, and is prescribed by many doctors for individuals suffering with anxiety and depression. The drug is addictive, and works by slowing down the central nervous system. By slowing down the central nervous system and the part of the brain that controls emotions, an individual will feel less anxious and be affected less by the anxiety that might be a side-effect of several medical complaints.

Studies have proven that the immediate release tablets, Xanax, are able to show peak concentrations within the blood plasma between just one or two hours. The known average half-life of Xanax is 11 hours and 12 minutes. This time it takes the blood to eliminate half of the drug. 

Since only half the drug is metabolized every 11 hours and 12 minutes, the actual amount of time it takes for xanax to be undetectable in your bloodstream is dependent upon many factors, primarily the amount of xanax you take and the detection limits of the lab.  In 22 hours and 24 minutes (two half-lives), your body will have metabolized 75% of the xanax in your system. In summary, the more xanax you take, the longer it will remain in your bloodstream.

If you take Xanax XR, then it’s still about the same. This is an extended release kind of Xanax that has a slower absorption rate, but again, studies have shown time and time again that the drug takes about the same amount of time as normal Xanax to leave the body altogether.

Xanax belongs to a category of drugs known as benzodiazepines. This family includes antidepressants like Valium and Librium. This category of drugs usually gives good results if taken at a correct dosage. The dosage depends from person to person, but if there is no sedation it would not usually be regarded as excessive.

Xanax is an addictive drug if used in a high dosage over a long period of time, and has the side effects of sedation and decreased agitation. It also causes withdrawal symptoms if stopped, and can even be the cause of seizures if stopped suddenly. One should consult the doctor and decrease the dosage gradually and then stop if one feels the need.

Xanax generally stays in the blood for around 24 to 36 hours, it can be detected in urine test for up to a week or so.

Just to clarify, Xanax-the brand name, also known as Alprazolam-the generic name. Is indeed a Anxiolytic. It is not an Anti-depressant. It is sometimes used in conjunction with anti-depressants due to the high number of people that have anxiety with their depression. The time that it will remain in the system really depends on how much and how long you have taken it. If there is any serious question about how long it is in your system, maybe you should re-evaluate your use of the medication.

When posting these comments please be careful about the information that you give, because some people will believe anything that they read. This can be very important because one should have the proper education before replying in regard to medication, dose, use and side-effect.

B. H. Wells, Pharmacist PhD

I work in a forensic toxicology lab. One thing you have to keep in mind is the immunoassay they do first in urine screens test for a broad amount of stuff but it's just giving a yes or no. So they test benzodiazepines in general. Since a positive is met by reaching a certain threshold of it in your system, it'll go by the amount of drug taken milligram-wise. People who take Valium often test positive simply because they have to take 20mg to equal 1mg of Xanax. Xanax users, especially people taking 1 mg or less a day will often not show up on this test simply because they set the same threshold on all benzos regardless of the normal dosage. If a person comes up negative on this test, they'll never do a quantitative test to pinpoint the exact drug in your system.

I am pregnant and last wk I took a piece of a 3mg xr on wed. And thursday. I could go into labor at anytime... I took a in home urine test yesterday and it was negative. But the line was very light. When I go to deliver they take blood... Is it out of my system if I've been drinking' a lot of water

Ive always heard 3 days but was recently tested after last time use was about 25 days ago and I still came up dirty for it I weigh about 185  5'8 and was taking about 3 -6 a day for about 14 days... Hope this helps some people to not break probation like did

Xanax contains alprazolam which is benzodiazepine. If you are taking xanax as prescription drug then positive test will not harm you. Because drug test can differentiate between therapeutic use and drug abuse. Single dose of xanax can be tested in blood for 6-48 hours and in urine, 3 days for therapeutic use and 4-6 weeks for chronic use.

I took like 4 xanax like about a month or so ago and I'm joining the military and I been Woking out hardcore and lost 17 lbs should I be good

A rough guide to how long something stays in your system is to multiply the half-life by 7. Only a few substances will vary according to the amount or length of time you use, and the ones that do are typically ones that are stored in fatty tissue (like marijuana). No amount of water or green tea or hot showers or exercise whatever will lessen the amount of time it stays in your system.

How could xanax be a benzo if its an antidepressant? Its a benzo, that's it. Xanax is a benzo with a very short half life. It could be out of your system in 2-3 days with a half life of 6-12 hours. It is actually bettter than other benzos in terms of half life. For example, the half life of valium is 20-100 hours and if you take it regularly, can accumulate in your system and be detectable for up to 2 weeks or more.

I'm was using 6 x 2mg a night to go to sleep it was not working any more I quit in 1day . So lets see the site effects now

In my experience of recreational use  it will leave your system in 2-3 days ...ill take xanax for up to three days before a test and be fine if I stop three days before...but remember I'm not talking about binging I'm talking about maybe one or two days of use

Normally it stays in your system at least 7-10 days, depending on how much water you drink and how much fat tissue you have.