Published on 10 October 2021

How Long Does Valium Stay in Your System?

Valium (Diazepam) DefaultImage
Table of Contents

The average sleep every human is 7 to 8 hours during the night; moreover the US, about 50 to 70 million people are affected by sleep.

People must need peaceful sleep for health because, during this sleep, your body will rest and recover for a new day Case if you are not getting enough sleep, it will impact your health negatively.

Sleep depends upon your age, and your health generally will sleep more. Valium is a drug used to treat Anxiety, and alcohol withdrawal, Recommended by FDA. Valium can be used for sleeping issues to get a whole night's sleep. You must understand how long the drug stays in your system; let us know in detail.

What Is Valium?

Valium is a well-known brand name for Diazepam, which belongs to the benzodiazepine class of drugs. Valium is a long-lasting benzodiazepine that stays in the body long. Valium takes effect in the central nervous system by increasing the production of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). This chemical decreases its function, thus resulting in a feeling of calm and relaxation.

Like other benzodiazepine drugs, Valium is also addictive due to its euphoric effects. The addiction eventually leads to problematic health conditions. People can misuse Valium; that's why it is not available over the counter, which means you will need a prescription from a doctor to buy Valium from your drug store or online pharmacies.

It is prescribed for various conditions, including muscle spasms, seizures, restless legs syndrome, insomnia, and alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

How Long Does Valium Take To Work?

Manufacturers report that some people who take Valium have a longer half-life. Roche Products says that the total half-life of Valium is 48 hours, while the half-life of active ingredients is 100 hours.

The time it takes for Valium to take effect in the body varies according to the method of administration. Valium can be taken by mouth orally as well as administered by injection or rectal gel.

  • For oral administration: Valium, when taken orally, requires 15 to 60 minutes to start showing effects.
  • For administration by injection: it takes Valium 1 to 5 minutes to start showing its effects when taken through an injection.
  • For administration by rectal gel: the rectal gel is used for patients that experience a seizure, and it starts showing its effects almost immediately.

How Quickly Does Valium Leave System?

Valium is a long-lasting benzodiazepine with a long half-life that affects the brain chemistry and stays for a considerable amount of time in the body (48 hours). Its metabolites may require an even longer duration.

As the name implies, the half-life of a drug is how long it takes for the concentration of the drug to decrease half in the body. If you take Valium before midnight, the effects begin, but the half-life is when the drug is half as effective as it was at the beginning. On average, Diazepam has a half-life of 4.3 hours, meaning that 50% is removed from the body.

When Valium is consumed, our body breaks it down into metabolites. Valium and its metabolites all have a varying half-life. They can also be harder to eliminate due to different hindrances such as age factors, hepatic conditions, etc.

The body metabolizes Valium by breaking it down into three metabolites, namely:

  • Oxazepam: possesses a half-life of 4 -15 hours
  • Temazepam: has a half-life of 8 22 hours
  • Nordiazepam: has a half-life of 40 99 hours

When Valium breaks down into these substances, it can be eliminated from the body within 1 to 3 days. However, since nordiazepam has a half-life of 40-99 hours, it remains in the body for a more extended period.

These metabolites can be more challenging to eliminate from the body. The patient's age affects this process as a person ages; their liver function deteriorates; therefore, aged adults may have difficulty removing Valium. Liver conditions from hepatitis, alcohol dependence or other states will also make eliminating Valium more difficult.

Frequently asked questions

Valium 5mg physiological effects last about 4 to 6 hours; it is a longer-acting drug. It depends upon the dosage you have taken.
After taking Valium, you may feel drowsiness, dizziness, tiredness, and blurred vision. If you think any of the effects into more prolonged side effects, consult your doctor immediately.
It is never advised to take two at a time. As the medicine calms the brain activity, if alcohol is added to the drug would lead to severe side effects.

What Factors Determine The Half-life Of Valium?

Doctors use the term half-life to describe how long the body takes to eliminate half a drug dose. Multiple factors determine the half-life of Valium; some of them are:

Kidney Functioning:

Hepatic condition is a prominent point to remember to know how long Valium will be in your system. If you have any liver or kidney impairment due to some injury, disease, or condition like cirrhosis, the elimination process increases five times the average.

Metabolism rate:

Although it has not been scientifically proven, it has been found that your metabolic rate affects how fast or long it takes to eliminate a drug from the body. Therefore, stopping the medication will require more time if you have a slow metabolism. If you have a fast metabolism, the elimination process will be shorter. A person with a low base metabolic rate may take longer to remove Valium from their body than someone with a higher metabolic rate.

Age:

Age factor is also responsible for the half-life of Valium. Eliminating the process in a 65+year-old patient will require double the time needed for the elimination process in a teenager or 20+year-old patient.

Weight:

Elimination of Valium may take longer in obese individuals. A person's body mass and fat percentage may impact the time it takes to eliminate. If you are considered a significant person or have a larger body mass than others, the drug spreads in various areas and stays in your body longer. The research noted; nonobese patients took eight days to eliminate Valium from the system, whereas obese patients took 19 days.

The Total Dosage Of Medication Consumed

If greater doses of Valium are consumed, the accumulation of Valium in the body will affect the system and prolong its half-life. If the duration of the intake is more significant, then it will take time to excrete Valium efficiently.

Consumption Of Valium With Other Drugs

Valium can have dangerous interactions with other drugs and substances. It may also affect the half-life of the metabolites in the system.

How Long Does Valium Stay in Your System?

Although Valium is quick in presenting its effects in the body, it is persistent and expects a longer duration to leave the body.

How long the effect of Valium lasts depends on the dose, method of administration, frequency of use, and individual and biological factors.

Drug screening tests are designed to detect the presence of substances such as Valium. As a long-acting benzodiazepine, Valium can stay in a system of people long enough to trigger effects that last longer than any drug in this class. This means that Early detection tests can detect Valium for a very long time. Valium possesses a long half-life; it requires at least ten days for total elimination from the system.

How Long Does Valium Stay in Urine?

Valium and its metabolites can be detected in the body with a urine test for 1-6 weeks. The urine test is the most common method of early drug detection, but it is more expensive and less reliable than other tests. Urine tests are the most frequently used method to determine whether a person has used Valium in the recent past. Since Valium does not appear in a drug test, its metabolites (the constituents of Valium broken down in the can) do.

How Long Does Valium Stay In Blood?

Valium and its metabolites can be detected in the body with a blood test for 6-48 hours. A blood test is considered more effective and better for long-term users. It is a less conducted test due to its shorter detection window and invasive nature.

How Long Does Valium Stay In Saliva?

Valium and its metabolites can be detected in the body with a saliva test within 1 to 10 days. The rate at which an average saliva test can detect Valium and its metabolites is approximately 7 to 9 days after the last intake of Valium. It is a less intrusive test than blood or urine tests. It has a long detection window. Some side effects of Valium are dry mouth and excessive salivating. This hampers the ability to collect accurate samples and dilutes detectable substances.

How Long Does Valium Stay In Hair?

Valium and its metabolites can be detected in the body for up to 90 days. The hair follicle test is considered to be not so accurate. Valium can be found more quickly in the hair follicles of people who have abused Valium for a week or more than a person who has used Valium only twice or thrice.

When people undergo a drug test for Valium as part of a pre-employment agreement, potential employers hope to spot drug addiction problems before they are hired.

It takes time for a substance to appear in urine, hair, blood, or saliva, and since it does not remain in these substances for very long, it is possible to achieve a negative result if a person is suspected of drug Abuse.

Valium And Pregnancy

Professional physicians do not advise the consumption of Valium during pregnancy. It might affect the fetus and cause various health risks or defects. Discuss with your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant. Also, discuss if Valium is necessary and if any other nonharmful medication can replace it.

Valium And Breastfeeding

Since trace amounts of Valium can be found in breast milk, exposure to Valium or any other benzodiazepines while breastfeeding may cause harm to the baby. Maternal dosages won't cause much damage, but it is recommended to avoid this medication. 

Valium Withdrawal Symptoms

If people who have been abusing Valium for a long duration and suddenly decide to stop, they experience severe withdrawals symptoms like:

  • Depression
  • Nausea
  • Hallucinations
  • Vomiting
  • Fever
  • Headaches
  • Insomnia
  • Abdominal pain
  • Anxiousness
  • Fast heart rate

When someone who misuses Valium stops taking the drug, they reduce their medication, and their body withdraws. The duration of leave and severity of symptoms may vary depending on the person taking medicine and the dose's high.

For individuals who use Valium without a prescription, it is critical to understand how long Valium remains in your system and what factors affect its release by the body.

Valium poses a risk of dependence and addiction, which will cause severe withdrawal symptoms when you suddenly stop taking them. Therefore, seeking professional medical help is the best solution for a smooth recovery from Valium addiction or withdrawal. If you are dealing with the abovementioned issues, issues doctor will put you in therapy or a detox treatment for your recovery towards a healthy life.

Bottom Line From Practical Anxiety Solutions

Valium (Diazepam) is a long-lasting benzodiazepine that plays its part in the central nervous system by reducing GABA secretion (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the brain to induce calmness and euphoric feelings in the mind. Valium's half-life is 48 hours, which may vary according to its other metabolites and various factors that affect the half-life.

Valium has addictive qualities, and people tend to misuse it for personal pleasure, which is highly risky. It poses harmful threats to their health, such as chances of an overdose, addiction, and future health complications, which could eventually lead to death.