How Long Does Xanax Stay In Your System?

In today’s world of drug abuse of both legal and illegal drugs, the pre-employment process often includes drug screening. If you are asked to undergo a drug test you may be concerned about how long a prescription drug may stay in your system and whether the drug will show up in your drug screen? Will it cause you to lose your job?

Fortunately, medication prescribed by your physician is excusable although it may require your duties at your job to change to prevent the possibility of accidents or issues of liability. One rather frequently prescribed drug is Xanax, a drug prescribed for anxiety. Xanax can remain in your system for anywhere from three days to four weeks. The length of time that Xanax stays in your system may be of concern to you if you are facing a drug test and you don't want the results to reflect any Xanax in your system.

Drug tests look at the amount of a particular drug that is present in your urine sample. Unfortunately, taking a drug leaves telltale traces of the drug in the form of the breakdown products of the drug or changed levels of other components of blood in your urine sample. The amount of drug that you have been taking will also affect your test results.

A single use of Xanax will be eliminated from your body in somewhere between three and seven days. There is no hard and fast rule on the time required to clear the body because everyone is different and each of our bodies work slightly differently. If you have been using Xanax for a longer period of time or at higher doses, it can take between two and four weeks for your urine levels to drop back to normal.

Many people will give you advice on the Internet on how to prevent Xanax and other drugs from showing up on a drug screen, but don’t count on them being correct. The best advice if you do not want to have Xanax in your system is to stop taking the drug, under doctor’s supervision of course.

However, if you are taking the drug legitimately, you shouldn't be concerned if it shows up in your drug test. Just be prepared with proper documentation from your doctor to explain why the drug showed up in your test results. Your doctor can provide the documentation that the drugs were prescribed for a specific condition and not used recreationally.

What Is Xanax

Xanax is the trade name of the drug Alprazolam. It is a member of the category of drugs called benzodiazepines. Xanax is generally used to illicit calmness in the patient and is prescribed for cases of anxiety and excess worry.

The general dosage of Xanax in most cases is between one and ten milligrams per day in cases of panic disorders. The exact dosage for a given patient is determined by trial and error. Once the dosage is discovered, it is not generally changed for the duration of the treatment.

The daily dosage is usually given in divided portions throughout the day to maintain a constant level in your body. The dosage may need to be adjusted if it loses its effectiveness later in the day.

When use is to be terminated, it is important to come off it slowly to allow your body to adjust to the removal of the drug. It is a highly addictive type of drug and you should allow your doctor to determine the reduction of the dosage until you are completely off the drug.

Other Uses for Xanax

Many doctors will prescribe Xanax or Valium to their patients that suffer from insomnia or have problems coping with stress. The dosage of these drugs is generally smaller for these problems than they are for depression or nervous disorders.

You should generally attempt to avoid taking drugs when possible due to the side effects that they cause. Many alternative natural remedies for these disorders are available and do not give the side effects of prescription drugs. For example, one all-natural herbal remedy for insomnia and depression is a product called SleepWell. It can be obtained without a prescription.