Feedback on False Positives from Drug Testing, page 21
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.
Subj: Gabapentin
Date: 9/10/2007
Can Gabapentin cause positive on drug test?
Terri
AskDocWeb: Gabapentin has not been reported to cause a false positive.
Subj: Demerol, Leviquin Phenergran and Loritabs
Date: 9/10/2007
I am currently on probation through the department of corrections and had a urinalysis this morning to be discharged from my supervised probation, but came up positive for cocaine. I have recently been to the ER and was given via IV Demerol, Leviquin and Phenergran plus a script for Loritabs after leaving. Would any of these possibly cause a false positive for Cocaine. I am devastated after spending two years on supervised probation and now all of that for nothing. Please respond ASAP. Thank you for your help
Amber
AskDocWeb: Sorry Amber, there are no quick answers here. Demerol and Phenergran are on the list of products reported to cause a false positive. Lortab is an opioid analgesic.
Subj: Poppy seeds
Date: 9/11/2007
I have been going to rehab as a mandation from court. According to my program, my drug of choice would be vicodin. I have not taken it since I started the program since I take court very seriously. Anyway, I was tested yesterday with a 5-panel dipstick and the opiate section tested positive. I requested another test, and gave another sample of urine. The second reading displayed a faint line, which would mean negative. The counselor decided to have my urine sent to the lab. I am very upset because I know I did not take any painkillers. The only medication I am taking is monistat. And as cliche as this sounds, earlier that day I had an everything bagel, which as we all know has poppy seeds. Should I be worried????
Lis
AskDocWeb: Poppy seeds have been known to cause problems, why take the chance?
Subj: Foods that could cause a positive test
Date: 9/11/2007
I have a friend who took a test in July that was negative, she’s taken another test in august and this one is positive but she has not smoked since July. How can that be and is there any foods that could cause a positive test?
Demiaus
AskDocWeb: Poppy seeds, prickly lettuce, and blue lettuce have been reported to cause problems.
Subj: He swears his innocence
Date: 9/12/2007
My son tested positive for meth in a urine test. He swears his innocence. He is on Sudafed, Motrin 800mg twice a day and Zantac 150 mg twice. Could any of these medications have a bearing on the results of the drug test? You input will be greatly appreciated. Please e-mail your reply to xxxxxxx@xxxx.com Thanks,
Debbie
AskDocWeb: Sorry Debbie, we don’t have time for individual replies. The Sudafed and Motrin have been reported to sometimes cause a false positive and Zantec a false positive for Amphetamines.
Subj: Positive for cocaine
Date: 9/13/2007
I took a 35304n nida 5 panel w/wit random drug test n it came back positive for cocaine. I am on amoxiclin prescription. Do I have any grounds on rebuttling the charge of positive, if so where do I need to look? Please help me.
Linday
AskDocWeb: The quest 35304n NIDA 5 panel w/NIT is a test for five different drugs which also tests for nitrates to avoid the false positives that might be caused by Mountain Dew. We have no data on the accuracy of this test but suggest you ask to be retested with a GC/MS confirmation test to prove your innocence.
Subj: Faint positive for cocaine
Date: 9/13/2007
Recently social services gave me a urine test for drugs in my system and they said I had a faint positive for cocaine in my body. I’ve never taken the drug in my life. I’m on effexor, xanax, phenergan, tordal, been using oral gel for my tooth and latocaine from the doctor for my tooth. I also take a vitamin called vitacon forte, also had taken tylenol for my tooth pain and at the hospital they had given me darvocet2 days prior to my test. Could any of this have caused a faint positive in MT test? Because I know xanax is a benzodiazepine and it didn’t even show and I had taken that the morning of the test.
Tonya
AskDocWeb: Although the spelling of a drug may end in “caine” that doesn’t necessarily mean it will test positive for cocaine. It may just have an affect like an analgesic or anesthetic. Tylenol with codeine has been reported to test positive for Opiates such as cocaine.
Subj: Adderall
Date: 9/18/2007
I fail for cocaine I don’t do cocaine what could have made me fail for random drug screen? I do take adderall.
Dylan
AskDocWeb: Adderall is an amphetamine.
Subj: What is an EMIT test?
Date: 9/19/2007
Can you explain to me what an EMIT test is?
Donna
AskDocWeb: EMIT stands for Enzyme Multiple Immunoassay Test. It’s the most commonly used method of screening for drug use and tests for five different substances; THC-COOH (marijuana), Cocaine, Amphetamines (including methamphetamine), Opiates, and PCP. The EMIT test monitors the conversion process of two enzymes to measure specific drug metabolites. One is from the donor’s urine and the other from the drug lab. These metabolites compete to bind with one antibody. The results from the screen depend on which of the two metabolites bond with the antibody supplied by the lab. A “Positive” result occurs when a metabolite from the donor’s urine bonds to the lab’s metabolite.
The accuracy of EMIT tests was studied by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and results are in a government publication entitled “Field Test of On-Site Drug Detection Services,” available online at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/pub/onsitedetection/Drugs_Ch1.htm.
Results: Overall, the field tests were fairly accurate but when it came to the amphetamines class the results were surprisingly bad: “of the 39 samples that tested positive using the on-site devices, only 6 had MS measurable concentrations of amphetamine, methamphetamine or phentermine (the target analytes).” That means 33 of the 39 samples were false positive for methamphetamine. That’s an error rate of 85%.
Interestingly, though, 16 of the field tests indicated a presence of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), or “ecstasy.” Apparently, ecstasy can be a cause of a false positive. Still, that leaves 17 out of 39 field tests which were false positives without any GC/MS confirmation of the target drugs. That still comes out to a 43% error rate.
The error rates listed in the study are different than these due to the method of calculating error rates used by the study. Their error rates were figured after taking into account all samples and all drugs, including the statistical analyses for false positives, false negatives and unconfirmed positives. This resulted in a much lower error rate in general. There were no false negatives when it came to testing for amphetamines.
Subj: To whom it may concern:
Date: 9/21/2007
Any and all help would be appreciated; I am a high level paraplegic, who suffers chronic UTIs from straight cath 4-6 times a day, antibiotics do not seem to help and I am in the process of trying to see a urologist, (I have a chronic UTIs, that I can’t seem to shake) but my biggest problem is my pain management (chronic pain from a spinal cord injury, not to mention that the entire city/county of Spokane is refusing to prescribe pain meds) is saying that I am failing my drug test’s, I am hypotensive and hypoglycemic, a list of current meds diazapam anbesol keflex, cipro, ciproflaxen, sulfa’s, macrodantin (some of these at the same time, usually they put me on something till the c-n-s comes back midodrine subligual b-12. that is all I can think of, they say I tested + for cocaine in November of last year and now in September of this year but I did read somewhere that this could happen,(kidney disease/infection and bladder infection) I know my culture and sensitivity reports tend to come back with abnormal results and usually more than one bacteria. If you can help or point me in the right direction or person, I would be forever in your debt.
Rick
AskDocWeb: The urologist should be able to help with the urinary tract infections. If you test positive for drug abuse and are innocent then get a GC/MS test to prove it.
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