What is the Difference Between Valium and Xanax

The key difference between valium and Xanax is that valium has a quicker onset and takes a long time to eliminate from the body, whereas Xanax has a slow onset and quickly eliminates from the body.

Both valium and Xanax are benzodiazepines. These are medications that are useful in treating panic attacks.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Valium  
3. What is Xanax
4. Valium vs Xanax in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Valium vs Xanax

What is Valium?

Valium is a medication consisting of diazepam, and it belongs to the family of benzodiazepine, which acts as anxiolytic drugs. Commonly, this medication is important in treating a range of conditions such as anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, etc.

The routes of administration of this drug include oral administration, inserting into the rectum, injections into muscle, injections into a vein, or as a nasal spray. If we take this medication from the mouth, the effects will begin in about 15 to 60 minutes. But if it is given as an injection into a vein, the results will appear in 5 minutes, and the effects tend to last for about an hour.

The other common trade names for valium include Vazepam, Valtoco, etc. The addiction liability of this drug is moderate. The bioavailability of valium is around 76% when the drug is taken orally. The metabolism of valium occurs in the liver, while the excretion occurs in the kidney.

There can be some side effects of valium, including anterograde amnesia, confusion, and sedation. Generally, elderly people tend to get more adverse effects like confusion, amnesia, ataxia, and hangover effects.

What is Xanax?

Xanax is a medication consisting of alprazolam, which is useful in treating anxiety disorders such as panic disorder. Xanax is the most common trade name of this drug, while other trade names include Xanor and Nivravam. Apart from treating anxiety, we can use it in treating chemotherapy-induced nausea along with some other medications. Also, it is helpful in treating generalized anxiety disorder and will result in improvement within a week after taking the drug. The route of administration of this drug is oral administration.

The bioavailability of Xanax is about 80-90%, while the protein binding ability is about 80%. The metabolism of this drug occurs in the liver. The onset of action of this drug is about 20-60 minutes. However, the excretion of Xanax occurs in the kidney.

There are some side effects of Xanax: anterograde amnesia, ataxia, drowsiness, dizziness, hallucinations, jaundice, seizures, urinary retention, muscle weakness, etc. However, overdoses of this drug can cause fainting, coma, and death, hypoventilation, somnolence, etc.

What is the Difference Between Valium and Xanax?

Both valium and Xanax are benzodiazepines. These are medications that are useful in treating panic attacks. The key difference between valium and Xanax is that valium has a quicker onset and it takes a long time to eliminate from the body, whereas Xanax has a slow onset and it quickly eliminates from the body.

The below infographic presents the differences between valium and xanax in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Valium vs Xanax

Valium is a medication consisting of diazepam, and it belongs to the family of benzodiazepine, which acts as anxiolytic drugs. Xanax is a medication consisting of alprazolam, which is useful in treating anxiety disorders such as panic disorder. The key difference between valium and Xanax is that valium has a quicker onset and it takes a long time to eliminate from the body, whereas Xanax has a slow onset and it quickly eliminates from the body.

Reference:

1. “Xanax Oral: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing.” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Diazepam structure” By User:Mysid – PubChem (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Alprazolam structure” By Vaccinationist – PubChem (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia