I only took 10 mg for a head CAT scan prescribed by my doctor and still was detected 19 days later?
How Long Does Valium Stay in Your Urine?
Question posted by jwgiii62 on 30 March 2010
Last updated on 29 December 2018
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Answers

Valium (diazepam) or it's active metabolite can be detected in your system for up to 23 days. It's active metabolite has an elimination half life of approximately 100hours. It takes 5.5 x elimination half life for a medicine/metabolite to be cleared from ones system so it would take approximately 550 hours or 22.9 days (5.5 x 100 hours) for it's metabolite to be cleared.
https://www.drugs.com/pro/valium.html
Elimination of diazepam: The initial distribution phase is followed by a prolonged terminal elimination phase (half-life up to 48 hours). The terminal elimination half-life of the active metabolite N-desmethyldiazepam is up to 100 hours. Diazepam and its metabolites are excreted mainly in the urine, predominantly as their glucuronide conjugates. The clearance of diazepam is 20 to 30 mL/min in young adults. Diazepam accumulates upon multiple dosing and there is some evidence that the terminal elimination half-life is slightly prolonged.
this was posted 7 years ago so i hope you, or anyone else who can answer this sees it.
you're taking 5.5 × X, where does the 5.5 come from? also, does this work on all drugs/medicines?
is it possible to calculate the detection time in blood?
Yes the number comes from half life mathematics and can be used on ALL drugs but be careful b/c it can be the half life of the METABOLITE the are testing for and the reasoning for (actually "6" is safe number to use) because after 1 half life, 50% of medicine or half of tested metabolite (which can be a LONGER half life number) that is tested is gone. After TWO half lives 75% is gone and 25% remains. Then after THREE half lives half the 25%/2=12.5% of drug remains. Then after FOUR have lives 12.5%/2= 6.25% remains. Then after FIVE half lives 6.25%/2=3.125% remains. Then after SIX half lives 3.125%/2=1.512% remains of the metabolite tested.
Just be careful because in case of Oxycodone the half life is approx 3.5hrs and theoretically is out in 6 x 3.5hrs= 21hrs BUT there is also can be DRUG CONVERSION in a case like this drug where portion is metabolized and converted to oxymorphone whose half life is nearly 15hrs and so oxymorphone will show for 6 x 15hrs= 90hrs which is FAR longer than 21 hrs despite it beginning just as an oxycodone pill. Even Adderall is MIXED amphetamine salts and one has a 7hrs half life, the other 13.9hrs so best to pick the bigger half life that would indicate use and use it. So that would mean 13.9 x 6 = 84hrs that Adderall is technically detectable if text looking for that particular ampetamine salt. You have to be careful because the continue to discover new both "active" and inactive" of metabolites of drugs that indicate use and inactive ones (meaning no longer act on the body) can hang around long after active ones and tend to have always have longer half lives of the drug they indicate. So trick is make sure there is no drug coversions like oxycodone where a portion becomes oxymorphone and significantly increases detection because the converted drug having longer half life and ALSO make sure they aren't looking for METABOLITES and THEIR half live which also tend to be much longer. Either way almost REGARDLESS OF QUANTITY TAKEN, start from LAST DOSE taken and begin to calculate the hours since that dose. If you took 100mg of a drug, once it gets to 1.5125% of whatever number it becomes so small the usually has no effect on calculation b/c number so small it is often well below a "background cut-off" for testing for a drug. People always make mistake thinking amount matters and 0% of 100 is same as 0% of 3000 so will techinically 1.5% not 0% after 6 half lives it still is a tiny number not usually detectable.
This helps me immensely. My doctor is convinced I am sneaking Valium on the side because I had 2 drug tests come back positive for all 3 metabolites in less than a month from my last consumed prescription dose. Because of that she cut off my pain meds. But I'm not taking anything on the side and nothing I say is changing her mind. I did convince her to get me in for an appt and get the toxicology lab on the phone while I'm there so this research and your answer helps me alot when I speak to them!
I was cut off my pain medications because I still tested positive two weeks after quitting diazepam
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valium, diazepam, drug test, urine test
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