Do Adderall and Adipex show up the same on a drug test?

Do Adderall and Adipex show up the same on a drug test?

Adderall and Adipex may both show up as Amphetamines on a drug test. Adderall is an Amphetamine so it’ll definitely show up as that. Adipex, on the other hand, is Phentermine – a weight loss medication. 

Phentermine is not an Amphetamine but it can cause a false positive for this class of controlled drugs (1). So yes, there is a chance of both of these meds showing up the same on a drug test if you have been taking them together. 

However, this is common in a 12-panel drug test. If we talk about 5 or 7-panel drug tests, it is highly unlikely for Phentermine to show up. False positives are more of a possibility in standard urine immunoassays. 

If we look at other – more accurate testing procedures – false positives are not common. However, accurate testing procedures like Gas Chromatography – Mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) are quite expensive for everyone to afford (2). 

How long does Adderall stay in your system? 

Adderall has a half-life of about 10-14 hours, after which the initial peak concentration of the drug reduces to half. The concentration keeps declining to half after every 10-14 hours until the drug is entirely eliminated from your body. 

The entire process can take up to 5 half-lives, which means Adderall should be removed from your body within 2-3 days. However, some people may take longer than that. 

How long does Adipex stay in your system? 

Adipex has a half-life of about 20-24 hours, which is usually the time taken by the drug to reduce to its half in your blood. The remaining concentration of the drug further reduces to half within the next 20-24 hours. 

The process continues until the drug is completely washed out from your body and it could take up to 4-5 days. The drug can stay in your urine for about 2-4 days.

How to avoid Adderall and Adipex showing up on a drug test? 

There is no exact way to avoid Adderall and Adipex showing up on a drug test. Both of these medications are used for various therapeutic purposes and there is nothing wrong in taking them if you’re just following your doctor’s directions. 

Adderall is considered a drug of abuse, but it is still prescribed to treat conditions like ADHD. Adipex may not show up on a drug test at all, but Adderall most likely will. 

As long as you’re taking prescription medications properly, you shouldn’t worry about these drugs showing up on a drug test. 

Just talk to your healthcare provider and submit your prescription prior to the test to let them know that you’re using prescription medications that can get detected on the drug test. 

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References

1.-

Alyson Schwebach, Jennifer Ball. Urine Drug Screening: Minimizing False Positives and False Negatives to Optimize Patient Care. US Pharm. 2013;38(12):1-6. Available at: https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/urine-drug-screening-minimizing-false-positives-and-false-negatives-to-optimize-patient-care

2.-

Ramoo B, Funke M, Frazee C, Garg U. Comprehensive Urine Drug Screen by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Methods Mol Biol. 2016;1383:125-31. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3252-8_15. PMID: 26660182. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26660182/