Questions about False Positives in Drug Testing, page 227

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 this forum is not for medical or legal advice.

Staker 3
8/23/2012
Will staker 3 cause a false positive for amphetamine?

Ida

AskDocWeb: It appears that the original Stacker contained ephedrine, which sometimes caused a false positive for amphetamines. The Stacker 3 now on the market is reported to be ephedrine free so that shouldn’t cause any problems with urine drug tests.

Dibucaine Ointment USP 1%
8/23/2012
I am in DUI court and I take urine tests randomly. The court and my probation officer look to see if my levels for marijuana go down. A couple of weeks ago I did a urine test and my probation officer told me it was positive for marijuana, that my levels went way up. I haven’t done any drugs or drank for 3 1/2 weeks. I would like to know if Dibucaine Ointment USP 1% can cause a positive drug test.

Liz

AskDocWeb: Dibucaine Ointment has not been reported to show up as marijuana on urine drug tests. However, on the modified cobalt thiocyanate test (Scott Test) the presence of Dibucaine has produced false positives for cocaine. (Source: http://dcmetrosftp.org/newsletters/NL20080731.html)

Dibucaine is an over the counter local anesthetic of the amino amide class.

Tested positive for THC
8/23/2012
I just took a drug test and tested positive for thc on the urinalysis. I do not smoke marijuana. Nor ingest it or smoke spice. Is it possible that my daily use of hydroxycut has something to do with this? Please help

Laura

AskDocWeb: That seems unlikely but there are other reasons for the test to show a false positive. The only way to know if your test result was a false positive or not, is to get a confirmation test.

Combivent inhaler
8/23/2012
Can Combivent inhaler cause a false positive in urine drug testing? I found that it contains an ammonium compound related to Atropine.

Bonnie

AskDocWeb: The Combivent inhaler has been reported to cause a false positive urine test for meth. (See post by Nurse Lynn 2/9/2007).

Positive saliva test but negative urinalysis
8/23/2012
My husband was given a mouth swab by CPS and it came up positive for amphetamines. Knowing there’s absolutely no way the test could be correct, and being that he is on no medication that would show a false positive, he scheduled a urinalysis immediately. He also took an at-home urine test within a couple hrs after the positive mouth swab which was negative. The UA at the lab came back clear, but before closing the case CPS mouth swabbed him again. For a second time it was positive for amphetamines. So that’s twice now that a mouth swab came up positive, while two UA’s were negative (one lab/one home test). We’re now completely dumbfounded. Shouldn’t that be scientifically impossible, since the UA covers more time than the saliva? Is there any way AT ALL that a saliva test could accurately show a positive result, when a urinalysis shows negative?

Janna

AskDocWeb: If you can find out what saliva test was used you could look up the manufacturer’s website to check on the accuracy. As far as we know, any screening test can give a false positive result. That is the reason for confirmation testing. It verifies the presumptive positive results and rules out other drugs that potentially might interfere with results. We checked the accuracy of one saliva test, the Oratect® III. That manufacturer says it has shown to be greater than 97% accurate when compared to confirmation testing. If you turn that around you see 2 or 3 false positives per 100 tests. The only way to tell if your husband’s test was a false positive is to get a confirmation test.

Absurd positive for alcohol
8/23/2012
Hello. I have to take weekly urine tests for alcohol/drugs which is no problem for me because I do neither. I have been doing this for about 3 months now with no problems. On August 3rd I was told that I was positive for alcohol, which I know is impossible because I don’t drink. My question is, how can this be? I didnt do anything out of the ordinary any days prior to this. I paid for a retest because it is so absurd. But what could cause this to happen?

Ashley

AskDocWeb: Please see Positive for alcohol with EtS and EtG test

Septocaine
8/24/2012
At the dentist, i was given 4 cartidges of 1.70 ml of septocaine. The next morning i tested positive for cocaine. i did not use. please advise. thanks

Audrey

AskDocWeb: Although the “caine” anesthetics have a similar name, this refers to the numbing action that is similar that of cocaine, not the chemical structure. Septocaine has not been reported to cause a false positive for cocaine. Of course that does not rule out the possibility of a false positive for other reasons. If you believe that your test result is inaccurate then additional testing with a GC/MS confirmation test may be necessary to show that you are not using cocaine.

Septocaine
8/24/2012
Could septocaine come up as cocaine in drug urin test?

Jon

AskDocWeb: No, see the post above.

Trazadon
8/24/2012
Can Trazadon show up as a false positive for barbitiuates?

Rafael

AskDocWeb: Trazadon is a common misspelling of Trazodone. The metabolite of Trazodone is meta-chlorophenylpiperazine, which can cause a false-positive for amphetamine on urine immunoassay results. However, it is not known to show up as a barbiturate on urine tests for drugs of abuse.

Could prescriptions disqualify me for a job?
8/24/2012
I recently took a drug test for a company in which I was offered a position. I just got a call saying the doctor needed to speak with me to go over the results. I do not take illegal drugs at all. I take ibuprofen occasionally for headaches, do think I had taken any that day but possibly the night before. I take women’s one a day, 300mg Bupropion (generic for wellbutrin, D-Amphetamine Salt (generic for adderall), Clonazepam (generic Klonopin), and Mirtazapine (Generic Remeron), sometimes an over the counter sinus pill. I realize that if not prescribed, this would probably be a failed test but I told the nurse everything I take. Could any of these or combination of these cause a false negative? Could the prescriptions alone disqualify me for a job, even though prescribed?

RLM

AskDocWeb: Women’s one a day, Remeron and Mirtazapine should not cause a problem but your other meds are all on the list. Theoretically once they do a confirmation test any false positives caused by those medications should be ruled out. In reality employers can easily, and without the applicant’s knowledge, request a complete medical screen to find out what medical conditions an applicant has and base hiring decisions on that information. It may be illegal but it is common practice. (Source: DuPont RL. Medicines and drug testing in the workplace. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 1990;22:451-9) This is one of the unintended consequences of the War on Drugs.

My company is accusing me of doing drugs!
8/24/2012
I recently tested positive for cocaine on a random urine drug screen. I do not use any illegal drugs. I am a heart patient, cancer survivor, and avid health nut. The prescription drugs I take are plavix, simvastatin, fish oil and a low dose aspirin every day. Just before the test I also was taking naproxen and a pill for acid reflux. My company where I have been employed over 20 years is trying to fire me. I also ordered and paid for them to test the split sample, which also was positive. Seventeen days after the results I decided to pay for and do a hair follicle test to prove my innocence. I went to the same lab that did the urine test. I also forgot to add the reason I waited 17 days is because my company didn’t notify me of the positive result for 13 days after my test was taken. The hair follicle came back negative. My company is not recognizing the hair test and accusing me of doing drugs. Can anyone or anything out there help?

Frank

AskDocWeb: It sounds like you may need to ask a Lawyer. Laws vary from State to State.

Back to prison
8/25/2012
My boyfriend was at a halfway house.he takes urine drug test every week.he had hurt his back and had taken a few lorcet 10 for the back.when he took the test he failed it for cocaine and demarol and he drinks the store bought water all day .what do u think could have done this?he got sent back to prison for something he has not done..

Renee

AskDocWeb: Drug tests used in court cases are typically confirmed by testing with either GC/MS or LC/MS/MS.

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