Xanax is one of the most prescribed anxiety medicines in the USA. It balances out the chemical order in our brain to treat depression, anxiety, and panic disorder. It increases the number of neurotransmitters in the brain to help a person feel calmed, relaxed, and better. Since excessive stress on the brain leads to anxiety, this medication can help reduce its symptoms enough to treat anxiety. Moreover, taking this medication from the initial stages can help improve your mental health enough to tackle anxiety easily.
Taking Xanax on recommended usage brings uplifting and safe results. Its effects can last up to hours if the dosage is strong. Drug tests can detect Xanax, so the question is, how long does Xanax stay in your system? This article shares how long it stays in your blood, saliva, etc., and how you can remove its traces from the body faster.
Xanax Half-Life
Before we discuss its traces in your body, let’s talk about the half-life of this medicine. The half-life of a drug means how long its effects will reduce by half after its consumption. Xanax has an average half-life of almost 11 hours, but it usually depends on the dosage and body type. For some people, it might take more than 21 hours for this drug to lose its half-life, and for some people, it takes around six hours.
How Long Does Xanax Stay In Your System
Four kinds of drug screening can detect Xanax in your system: blood, urine, saliva, and hair. A urine test is the most common, as one urine sample can be used for multiple tests. The drug might leave your body within 21 hours, but its traces stay in your system for months. Depending on the dosage, the number of traces could be more than usual, making it easy for the tests to detect them.
Xanax abuse not only brings adverse side effects that include anxiety, depression, and distorted senses, but it also takes up to four months to naturally remove all traces from the body. Let’s look at different Xanax tests and see how long Xanax is detectable in those tests.
- Blood Test
Blood tests work on a very short timeline and are most effective right after the dosage. Your blood works relatively fast to remove Xanax traces, and the blood test becomes useless within 24-36 hours. So, if you are going for a blood drug test, make sure not to give your body 36 hours before taking a blood sample. However, if you are on Xanax addiction, the chances are that your blood might contain traces even after four to five days.
- Urine Test
Urine tests are the most common and reliable drug tests because collecting urine samples is easy and considerable. The best time to collect the sample is after you wake up as you are dehydrated, and your pee contains less water. Xanax traces in urine lasts for four days on average, but with heavy doses and excessive Xanax use, they can last up to seven days. However, removing traces from pee is relatively easy; drink lots of fluid so you can pee a lot to remove the traces. Another option is to get synthetic urine and provide that as a sample.
- Saliva Test
Samples of saliva tests are mostly collected at the lab, so there are no methods to hide the traces if you took Xanax two days ago. However, you can wait three days before providing the sample, as your saliva keeps Xanax traces for 2.5 days. The results will vary if you abuse Xanax, and your saliva can show traces even after a week. One way is to use mouthwash after every Xanax dose, so your saliva won’t keep the traces.
- Hair Test
Hair tests are pretty rare, and only a handful of companies do that, but it detects Xanax for months. On average, your hair contains traces of Xanax for up to 30 days, but with excessive usage, the traces can last up to 90 days. Detox shampoos can remove these traces for a short time. So, if you want to hide Xanax traces, take a shower and use detox shampoos before going for the test.
What Affects How Long Xanax Stays in Your System?
Some factors can alter the time Xanax takes to leave your body. The time we mentioned above is based on average results; they are not the same for everyone.
- Metabolism Speed
Your metabolism can easily increase or decrease the time of Xanax traces in your system. For example, if your metabolism is fast, it will clear the drug quickly, while slow metabolism will take longer. The reason why the half-life of every drug varies for each person and their results also vary. However, a quick metabolism might not let you enjoy the full potential of drugs that work slowly. It will start erasing its effects way before they can reach their peak.
- Height and Weight
Your body height and weight can also slow down the drug effects and how long it stays in your body. A person having more weight takes more time to feel the effects, and it takes more time for the drug to leave their body. The same goes for height, shorter people tend to feel the effects fast, and their bodies will release the substance faster, while the entire process is slow for taller people.
- Body Fat Content and Age
Many drugs can stay in your fat cells and take time to leave the body. So, the more fat you have, the longer it takes for the drug to leave your body. This is why you have to exercise more for the drug effects to leave the body in a short time. On the other hand, fat people might not feel the strong effects of drugs as they only get a short concentration while the rest is stuck in fat cells.
In general, as we age, the total body mass and water concentration get less leading to an increase in body fat. As we mentioned above, with more body fat and less water to dissolve the drug, it will stay for a long time in your system. This affects the time Xanax leaves the body and increases its side effects.
- Alcoholic Liver Disease
The liver helps break down Xanax or other drugs you use. If your liver doesn’t work properly, it won’t break down the drug quickly. The longer it takes to break down the drug, the longer Xanax takes to dissolve in the blood. It will stay in your system for a long time and can easily be detected in drug tests.
- Drug Dose and Frequency
How much Xanax and how long you have been taking it can drastically change the time it takes to stay in your system. If you don’t let your body remove the previous traces while you add the new ones, the drug traces will build up, taking more time to leave. Xanax potency also alters this time as your blood takes time to dissolve the potent doses of any drug.
Withdrawal From Xanax
Xanax is one of the illicit drugs that are highly addictive despite being a good option for treating anxiety. It is a prescribed central nervous system depressant, which is not easy to quit if you have been using it for a long time. If you quit using Xanax, you’ll experience some withdrawal symptoms.
- Anxiety and Panic
Since Xanax is commonly used to lower anxiety symptoms, abrupt discontinuation of this drug will bring back the anxiety. However, your anxiety symptoms will be much worse this time as the drug holding them back is unavailable. This leads to panic attacks; in extreme cases, you’ll have panic attacks for no reason. You can also look for CBD gummies for anxiety.
- Headaches and Sweating
Leaving any drug you use for relaxation brings headaches as your brain refuses to work properly. Since your brain is used to relaxing, a little stress will call for the drug, and you’ll face headaches upon unavailability. On the other hand, your body will be under high stress since it now relies on body functions to recover. You will sweat a lot during that time because everything will act like a fever, and your body will raise the temperature as a countermeasure.
- Sensitivity to Light or Sound
Using relaxation drugs like weed or Xanax can enhance your senses, and as long as you use those drugs, your brain will make those enhancements look natural. However, as you start leaving this drug, your brain won’t be able to control the improved senses. What this does is that it makes your ear and eyes extremely sensitive to sound and light, and even a light bulb will cause you pain in the eyes. Even if you normally talk to someone, they’ll feel like you are screaming in their ears.
- Tremors
You can experience tremors while using Xanax and after quitting it. It means your body is negatively reacting to its side effects requiring quick medical treatment. The rest of the withdrawal symptoms are easy to handle, but not this one.
- Seizures and Paranoia
Since Xanax affects your central nervous system, leaving this drug might cause sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain. This leads to sudden changes in behavior and movement. If you have more than two seizure attacks within 24 hours, visit your physician as quickly as possible. Paranoia is another potential withdrawal symptom where you feel like everyone is threatening you despite having no proof.
Xanax and Pregnancy
Doctors won’t conduct tests on pregnant women as they value their and their baby’s health. Minimal studies have concluded that Xanax passes through the placenta and can affect a baby’s health.
Yes, Xanax can pass through breast milk, as stated in a study. The average half-life of Xanax in breast milk is around 14 hours. This means you cannot feed your baby for 14 hours after taking this medicine. It can affect your baby’s health and sedate their breathing. On the other hand, your baby might have seizure attacks, as it is one of the withdrawal symptoms of Xanax. Children can easily develop epilepsy, so it is advisable to quit Xanax until you breastfeed your child.
How to Remove Xanax Quickly From Your System?
If you have an upcoming drug test and know that you’ll fail it because of Xanax traces in your body, some ways are available to pass the test. First, you must check which test you will undergo to prepare accordingly. If it is the blood test, don’t take another Xanax pill 36 hours before the test, and eat food to improve your metabolism. Your blood will clear the traces within 24 hours; wait ten more hours as a precaution and give your blood for a sample.
If that is a urine test, you must stop using this drug at least four days before the test. Moreover, drink plenty of water to speed up the urine process to remove Xanax quickly. Another option is to purchase a synthetic urine kit, which might be costly. A detox is the best option if your test date is tomorrow and there is not enough time to wait.
Use a mouthwash for the saliva test to temporarily remove Xanax traces; for the hair test, you can use detox shampoos at least three times before the test. However, your hair might keep the Xanax traces despite using the detox shampoo, so call in sick to avoid giving a hair test.
Conclusion: For How Many Days Xanax Stays In Your Body?
Xanax stays in your body for 1–30 days, depending on which test you must undergo. Your blood removes Xanax within 24 hours, your saliva keeps it for two days, and it will show in your urine for up to seven days. If you opt for a hair drug test, Xanax traces are still visible for up to 30 days.
Here is the thing, it is not common for labs to take tests for Xanax. Since this is a prescription drug, most tests won’t check for their results; instead, they’ll pay more attention to THC and marijuana tests as people use them without a prescription.
