False Positive on Drug Test, page 186

False Positives Forum

This forum is intended to help those who Do NOT Abuse Drugs. We do NOT support the illegal use of any substance. If you have experience with false positives, share your experience. What would you tell someone about drug testing and false positives? Please remember that we do not give medical or legal advice.

Time Release Melatonin
Date: 3/21/2012
The time release is Vitamin B6 pyridoxine hydrochloride. This was the only thing i was taking.

Arla

AskDocWeb: Did you get a positive drug test result, if so, for what?

Steroids
Date: 3/22/2012
I was tested postive for opiates. All i have taken is Zantac 300mg, byaz, and a steroid shot of Depo-Medrol 80mg (aka pregnazone). I know Zantac can show as a false postive for Meth but can the steroid show a false postive for opiates?

Cynthia

AskDocWeb: If they are testing for steroids it would show up but otherwise no. Steroids do not show up as a false positive for opiates.

Failed drug test for PCP and THC
Date: 3/22/2012
I just did a pre employment for a job and failed the drug test for pcp and thc. The med I take are celexa, trazadone, zoloft, ibprofen, benadryl. Which one would cause me to fail it?

Cindi

AskDocWeb: Welcome Cindi. There are several sources that say Ibuprofen may appear as a false positive for THC (See references 1, 14, 16, 18, 20, 26, and 29). A false positive for PCP might have been caused by the Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) according to reference 45. Getting a GC/MS confirmation test could eliminate such false positives however employers are not required to do confirmation testing so you may have to fight for it.

Tested positive after accident
Date: 3/24/2012
Hello my name is Julio. I was recently in a car accident and was hurt in the accident. I had to go for a urine drug test because it happen while I was on the job. I was sent to the hospital rite after the accident and I was given percocet that day. About two hours later I was sent to take a drug test and was positive for benzoylecgonine. I also take Zantec everyday because I get really bad heart burns everyday. Could this be the reason I tested positive for cocaine?

Julio

AskDocWeb: ZantacĀ® (Rantidine) may test false positive for amphetamines or methamphetamines on urine drug tests but not for cocaine. Keep in mind that there are other reasons for testing false positive. If you believe the test result is false then getting a confirmation test may be worthwhile.

Positive for Clonazepam
Date: 3/24/2012
I keep testing positive for clonazepam. I have NOT taking any. I am prescribed zoloft and alprazolam and was just wondering if that could be what keeps causing these false-positives?

Abby

AskDocWeb: Clonazepam contains benzodiazepines. If that is what they are testing for, Zoloft has been reported to show up as a false positive for benzodiazepines (Reference: 31). Also Alprazolam contains benzodiazepines.

Positive for cocaine
Date: 3/24/2012
I was taking Percocet for pain and Zantac for heart burns then later on that day I went for a urine test and came back positive for cocain – dont no how cause I dont use drugs.

Julio

AskDocWeb: It doesn’t take drug use to get a false positive, ordinary tonic water may cause that. People with diabetes or kidney disease have also been surprised with a false positive for cocaine. You may want to check with your doctor to see if you are due for a physical.

Custody of baby was taken because of false positive
Date: 3/25/2012
Please help! My infant daughter was taken
from my husband and I straight from the hospital and put into foster care because the hospital claims that her meconium test came back positive for amphetamines. I don’t understand how this is possible, I passed all the tests they did for drugs while I was pregnant but this doesn’t seem to matter in court at all. I haven’t used meth in almost 10 years and frankly, just the thought of it makes me gag. I had a terrible
and traumatic experience because of it and haven’t had any desire whatsoever to even look at that crap since… yet I’m being called a drug user by her foster mother even to my daughters pediatrician! (she insists on waiting untill AFTER our visits to wash her because she thinks we are going to get meth on her skin!!!). We are only allowed 2 see our infant daughter twice a week, and only supervised. I was nursing her when she
was taken but only the mecconium tested positive, not her urine or blood. They wouldn’t even accept my breast milk 2 feed her even though all my tests were negative, and they refused to send the milk in for testing.

I’m at a loss as to what may have caused this or if the lab messed up my baby’s sample with another. After speaking with my family doctor, he agreed that some medications will cause false positives but he didn’t know anything about meconium testing and if it works the same as urine testing. He also reminded me that in the weeks before delivery he treated me for pneumonia and I had been taking many over the counter cold and cough remedies weeks before I even went to see him for the coughing. I was also suffering from sinus headaches and had used nasal sprays as well… I continued to use these things along with the inhailer and antibiotics he perscribed. I also used my sons nebulizer sometimes at night when the inhailer wasn’t helping… untill I was better. could that have caused this mess?

I have also suspected my husband of meth use because he sometimes dissapears for a few days at a time and he goes into these irrational rages pretty frequently, I was told that having a (male) sex partner who uses amphetamines may lead to a positive urine test if a condom is not used…but again we can’t find any info on a false positive mecconiun test, and neither of us has ever tested positive for amphetamines in our lifetimes (even though I tried it when I was younger) as we planned this pregnancy (my 6th child) we have never used any kind of protection. We are both catholic and prefer to leave such matters in Gods hands. I have developed post pardem depression as a result and am diagnosed bi-polar besides, so I’m sure you can immagine
how difficult this has been for our family.

We have court again on April 3rd and I am at a loss as to what to do. Could you please let me know if there is anything I can do? My daughter has been in foster care over 3 months now and I barely know her… shes teething already. We need her home… she needs to be with her family, we aren’t whole without her. Both my husband and I have been going into our local clinic and getting COMPLETE drug screens twice a week since this started and the visitation center tests us both randomly as well, both of us have never tested positive for anything other than our perscriptions (I am on cymbbalta for the depression as well as long-term methadone maintenance and he sometimes takes flexeril for shoulder/back pain) Please, anything will help at this point. We’re desperate and haven’t found any help despite months of searching for answers.

As a mother, I understand the neccessity for these tests in newborns, and I agree that ‘chances’ should never be taken with a childs life and health when drugs are suspected to be involved… I’m sure many children and families have been able to get the help they needed because of this process, however, I will not admit to using drugs I haven’t used in over a decade…. I won’t go through a drug treatment program that isn’t called for and will only delay my daughters homecoming yet another month as well as waste time and money we don’t have… Thanks for taking the time to read our plea.

-Alexis

AskDocWeb: Please see the “Help beating a false positive” post. We don’t know enough about the meconium testing to commment on that but maybe a reader can help with this.

Positive for meth
Date: 3/25/2012
I had to get blood work done because I was having a baby and it came out positive for meth, but I’ve never touched it in my life. This scares me cause I’m afraid they’d take my babies away.

Amber

AskDocWeb: We encourage you to get a confirmation test because there are several dozen substances that may cause a false positive for meth. If it is a false positive, that is not something that you want to remain in your medical records.

Positive for Marijuana
Date: 3/26/2012
Hello I recently had a urine test at my PCPs office. It came back positive for Marijuana or THC… I do not smoke… I take Ibuprofen 800 mg also take an energy pill with ephedrine, other than that I take pharmaceutical grade co enzyme Q10 with potent B vitamins, C and D, would any of these give me a positive reading, thank you.

Shaun

AskDocWeb: Your test result may have been the result of using Ibuprofen. Several sources have reported false positives for THC from those using Ibuprofen. The others you list have not caused this problem. If your test result was a false positive then getting a GC/MS confirmation test would be a good idea. However, if you did smoke marijuana then that test could send you to jail.

Drug testing for employment
Date: 3/26/2012
recently my fiance took a rapid drug screen for as part of a pre-employment screening. This was the least of his worries in the process as he does not use any illegal drugs. his test apparantly did not give a clear enough answer for the PCP portion of the 9-panel. They had to send it out to their lab and being that the test was on Thursday- it is now Monday and the weekend days are not business days, the lab has not even recieved the specimen yet. I did some research and came across the fact that ibuprofen (which he takes the maximum dosage of almost daily) is a cross reactor with he PCP panel. I have 2 questions:

When the lab does recieve the specimen and the sample, will their testing rule out the possibility of any cross reactivity before labeling the screening as positive? Being that this has taken so long and may, therefore, effect his employment process to the point where the employer may even move on to the next potential candidate, would the outpatient source (Concentra) take any responsibility for this?

It is hard enough to find a job nowadays without something unexpected like this effecting it. I personally would hate to see anyone lose their chances at a job because of a drug-screen error. I would hope drug testing facilities might have the same concern. It would appear that the 9-panel rapid screening has a lot of margin for error. Is there any way to fix this? Maybe even advise employers not to use it, or AT LEAST inform them of the potential error associated with this form of screening?!

Rule out of cross

AskDocWeb: When you use the term “lab” that is too general to give you a specific answer. Are you talking about an independently certified laboratory for a confirmation test? If so then the answer is yes, they will rule out cross-reactive substances in the confirmation test. For a list of certified labs see Help beating a false positive.

As for advising employers not to use the rapid urine tests, that is unlikely to happen. Drug testing is a multibillion-dollar industry and they aggressively promote their wares. Most drug testing experts and researchers are employed by the drug testing industry so they have a vested interest in promoting drug testing. Insurance companies promote drug testing because they can deny benefits and compensation claims from post accident drug tests that result in positives. Such tests also allow the government to deny unemployment benefits. Add those together and it seems highly unlikely to change anytime soon.

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