BuSpar Half Life | How Long Does BuSpar Stay In Your System?

BuSpar has a half-life of 2-3 hours and is cleared from the body in around 12 hours depending on the individual. Its active metabolites have different but still brief half-lives.

Buspirone hydrochloride, also known by the discontinued brand name BuSpar, is an anxiolytic medication used for the short-term treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD.

Unlike benzodiazepines, which have an immediate and powerful effect on the body and mind, the effects of buspirone can take between 1-4 weeks to begin to improve anxiety.

Buspirone is typically only prescribed for limited treatment periods of 6-12 months in total.

Buspirone is not routinely screened for in drug tests, but is detectable in urine for between 24 and 36 hours after a person’s last dose.

BuSpar Drug Tests & Detection Times

Buspirone has a low bioavailability and is degraded very quickly inside the body, being rapidly converted into its various other metabolites. Each of the substances can potentially be detected for varying periods using different drug tests.

However, buspirone is not a controlled substance and is not typically screened for in the same way that opioid narcotics, cannabis, benzodiazepines, and other drugs are.

How Long Does BuSpar Stay In Urine?

If special testing methods are used to search for traces of this drug in particular, buspirone use can be detected in a person’s urine for up to 24-36 hours after their last dose.

How Long Does BuSpar Stay In Blood?

The detection period for buspirone in the blood is even shorter, and use of the drug is only detectable for 18-24 hours after administration in this way.

How Long Does BuSpar Stay In Saliva?

Buspirone may be detected in saliva for up to 24 hours after a person’s last oral dose.

How Long Does BuSpar Stay In Hair?

Hair follicle testing can usually detect a pattern of heavy or regular drug use within the previous 90 days, excluding the most recent 5 days or so. Buspirone most likely falls into this pattern.

BuSpar Half-Life

Half-life describes the amount of time it takes the body to metabolize one half of a single dose of the drug. 

Buspirone has a relatively short half-life of 2-3 hours, though this period can vary from individual to individual depending on metabolism and other factors including hepatic or renal impairment.

Because it typically takes the body 5-6 half-lives to effectively eliminate any particular substance, a normal dose of buspirone will be fully metabolized after around 12 hours.

During this process, buspirone is converted into active metabolites including various forms of hydroxy buspirone and 1-(2-Pyrimidinyl)-piperazine. 

In this way, buspirone medications continue to affect the body and be detected by specialized drug tests even after the medication, in its original form, is gone.

BuSpar Mechanism Of Action

Alprazolam (Xanax) and other benzodiazepine drugs bind to GABA receptors in the body and reduce neurotransmitter signaling to slow down the central nervous system as a whole.

In contrast, buspirone and its active metabolites appear to be partial agonists for 5-HT1A serotonin receptors, which influence heart rate, blood pressure, and peripheral vasodilation. 

However, the exact way buspirone’s action on these receptors, in addition to certain other dopamine receptors, ultimately results in decreased symptoms of anxiety is not clearly understood.

BuSpar Side-Effects

Commonly reported side effects of buspirone treatment include:

• nausea
• headaches
• dizziness
• lightheadedness
• difficulty concentrating
• restlessness
• nervousness
• unusual excitement

Chest pain, drowsiness, sleep problems, diarrhea, and other uncommon but potentially serious adverse effects have also been reported.

BuSpar Drug Interactions

Buspirone can interact with a variety of different drugs with greater or lesser potential risks. These potential interactions include:

• MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), which are contraindicated for use within 14 days of buspirone use due to the risk of serotonin syndrome and/or elevated blood pressure
• antidepressants, including SSRIs, SNRIs, and serotonin modulators (nefazodone, etc.), which can contribute to the development of serotonin syndrome
• other serotonergic medications or supplements
• CYP3A4 enzyme inhibitors like erythromycin, diltiazem, itraconazole, verapamil, and grapefruit juice, which can increase buspirone plasma concentrations
• CYP3A4 enzyme activators, including certain anticonvulsants, which can increase the rate of buspirone first-pass metabolism and limit buspirone blood plasma levels
• CNS (central nervous system depressants) including sedatives, muscle relaxants, and opioids, the effects of which can be intensified by use of buspirone

BuSpar Withdrawal

Buspirone is often used as an anxiolytic drug for the treatment of anxiety instead of benzodiazepines like diazepam (Valium) as it has a lower risk for physical dependence and abuse and is very well-tolerated.

However, healthcare providers do caution that the drug shouldn’t be discontinued suddenly, as this can sometimes cause temporary rebound anxiety and other withdrawal symptoms like burning or tingling feelings, confusion, headache, irritability, nausea, nervousness, cramps, sweating, and sleep problems.

Instead, a healthcare provider should taper down your dose of the drug to give your body a chance to adapt to its absence.

If you or a loved one struggles with prescription drug misuse or addiction, contact us today to learn how we can help.