Feedback on False Positives from Drug Testing, page 64
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: Ranitidine
Date: 5/15/2009
My fiance recently has been released on parole. He is currently prescribed Ranitidine, and is afraid a false positive with catch him trouble when he’s really trying. Are there alternative medicines he can talk to his doctor about that do not possibly give false positives? And how long after he quits taking the Ranitidine, will it be out of his system so we can not fear a false positive?
Wendy
AskDocWeb: An alternative to Ranitidine would depend on what was being treated as this medication is prescribed for several different gastric problems. The elimination half-life of Ranitidine ranges from 2 to 2.5 hours but it may take a day or two to completely leave his system.
Subj: Advair
Date: 5/15/2009
Will advair show up on a drug test as an illegal drug use?
Mike
AskDocWeb: No.
Subj: Keep testing positive for THC
Date: 5/18/2009
Pantoprazole, dapsone, acyclovir, reyataz, zolpidem, norvir, lexapro, epzicom, andazithromycin. Please help me I keep testing positive for THC.
Debra
AskDocWeb: Most likely it is the pantoprazole, which has shown up as a false positive for THC on urine drug tests (Reference 37). None of the others are on the list.
Subj: Diabetes
Date: 5/19/2009
I tested positive for phenulbarbital twice. I take diabetes med and skelaxin, zolpidem, oxycontin for intense back pain after surgery with titanium implants. How could I get a positive…Hctz, amitiza also.
Barbara
AskDocWeb: It may not be the drugs you are taking. It seems that just having diabetes can cause false positives for a number of things, amphetamines, cocaine, THC, ecstasy, meth and opiates (Ref: 3, 15, 16, 20, 21).
Subj: Tested positive for amphetamines
Date: 5/20/2009
Hi I recently tested positive for amphetimines and the day before I tested I got injections from my pain management doctor. They told me that they are non-narcotic but I’m wondering if it is possible to get a false positive. The injections were bupicicaine and Depo-mebrol.
Mary
AskDocWeb: Neither drug has been reported to show up as a false positive on urine drug tests.
Subj: Fluoxetine generic for prozac
Date: 5/21/2009
Can fluoxetine generic for prozac give a false urine screen for BENZODIAZEPINE. What if you also drank alcohol beverages within the last 24 hours?
PP
AskDocWeb: Fluoxetine (Prozac) has been reported to sometimes show up as a false positive for amphetamines but not benzodiazepine (Ref: 31).
Subj: Testing positive for oxazepam
Date: 5/25/2009
I’ve been testing positive for oxazepam (serax) for the last month…I am taking nothing illegal but cant seem to have a clean test? What could be the reason?
Terrie
AskDocWeb: Oxazepam contains benzodiazepines so you may be taking something that the urine test is confusing with benzodiazepines. The cause may not be something illegal. Many anti-anxiety medications, prescriptions sleeping pills, and several legal herbs (mostly from China) can test positive for benzodiazepines.
Subj: Tested positive for methamphetamines
Date: 5/25/2009
I was recently drug tested, and to my surprise I tested positive for methamphetamines. I have never tested positive for any drugs, as I do not use any medications that are not prescribed. I need to know what medications can cause a false positive. Can Pre Natal vitimins and B-12 effect the drug test? Please help as this test reading could have caused me a job. Many Thanks,
Diana
AskDocWeb: We are building a comprehensive list of all the products that have caused false positives here. If your job depends on the test results then make sure you know about the GC/MS confirmation test. That is the test that confirms or denies the results of the urine test and reveals false positives.
Subj: Anyone have any idea what I can do?
Date: 5/25/2009
I have been getting random drug screens for the past five years. I get one usually every week or two. For the entire time I have been taking the orasure test because I cannot urinate on command. In the past year I have had three false positives. One for opiates and two for cocaine. My husband also had one come back for cocaine. Out of my three tests I had them all retested and two came back clean but one for cocaine is still positive. My husband’s test was retested and it came back positive as well. Does anyone know if the Orasure company has been using something different in their tests? I do not use cocaine and I lost a lot because of this false positive. Anyone have any idea what I can do since this has already been retested?
Rachel
Subj: Positive for Benzodiazepine?
Date: 5/26/2009
Our daughter is taken Bactrim for her acne and she is about to start a summer job and her drug screen may be showing positive for Benzodiazepine and the only other med she takes prn for leg pain is lyrica could either of these cause a false positive?
JRM
AskDocWeb: While Bactrim is not on the list, urine tests do seem to have a problem correctly identifying some antibiotics.
Subj: Sleep aids and benzos
Date: 5/26/2009
I have a friend that is taking methadone and an over the counter sleep aid that you can get at any store. But when she takes her annual monthly drug test with the clinic her test is coming back positive for benzo. Is there anyway that the sleep aid mixed with the methadone would do that? What if she is taking more then the recommended dose for the sleep aid would that have something to do with it?
Taylor
AskDocWeb: Taking more then the recommended dose of an over the counter sleep aid may add up to several problems. We have no idea what combining sleep aids with methadone might produce but prescription sleeping pills are known to test positive for Benzodiazepines (Ref: 3, 20)
Subj: Anything to worry about?
Date: 5/26/2009
I have a hair drug test in about a month. I have been drinking this quite frequently since it’s on sale at the local grocers: Red Bull Cola. Is there any possibility it will lead to a false positive? I was also sick quite a bit recently and relied on pseudoephedrine quite a bit, as well as had stitches to my face where some kind of anethesia was administered locally via needle. Do I have anything to worry about?
KC
AskDocWeb: Our concern would be the pseudoephedrine. It may be detected as amphetamine or speed (References 3, 11, 18, 21, and 30). The Red Bull Cola is too new yet to know how or if it will show up on urine tests. Officials in Germany examined Red Bull Cola and found traces of cocaine. They have prohibited the soda’s sale in six states across the country and may recommend a nation-wide ban. According to their analysis, the 0.13 micrograms of cocaine per can of the drink does not pose a serious health threat but it is enough to cause concern.
Subj: EtG drug test
Date: 5/26/2009
What medications would cause my EtG drug test to come out positive, or false positive? Thank you,
Sophia
AskDocWeb: EtG (Ethyl glucuronide) is a widely-used urine test, utilized by drug-testing laboratories to detect alcohol consumption. The problem is that they may be too inaccurate to be reliable, according to an advisory issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. According to that advisory, “The EtG (Ethyl Glucuronide) test, which has recently come into popular use by many laboratories, is too sensitive to distinguish between actual alcohol consumption and exposure to small amounts of alcohol found in many household and personal hygiene products.”
Subj: Rantinidine
Date: 5/27/2009
I tested positive for methaphetamine and I heard that it could of been caused by my acid reflux medication rantinidine! I was recently pregnant and it came up positive 3 times different times but now I’m not and am scared to take it but it works if so what other acid reflux mediciations can I take that won’t make false positives because I get drugs tests twice a month?
Cassie
AskDocWeb: Sorry Cassie, rantinidine is not on our list of possible causes of false positives.
Subj: How could this happen?
Date: 5/28/2009
I switched pain management doctors and this new one wanted to make sure I was taking my Pecocet. I took a Drug Test at the hospital twice and both came up negative. I do take my medicine (he just wants to be sure I’m not selling them on the street). Which, I’ve been taking Percocet since 2006 till` present (May 28,2009). How could this happen? I was on Methadone, Morphine, Pain patches and Kadian I itched so much I had to stop taking it, I even took Benadryl and Attrax, I still itched like crazy. Thank You!!! This site is “Awesome”.
Dawn
AskDocWeb: When you say that you had to stop taking it, which drug did you stop taking? If you are not taking the medication according to the instructions then it may not show up in your system.
Subj: Urine drug test
Date: 5/29/2009
I have an employee who is taken cyclobenzapine, cefdinir, vicodin, and benzonatate. She tested positive on TCA on our facility’s urine drug test. Would any of these meds cause a false positive for TCA?
Debbie
AskDocWeb: We would suspect the Vicodin because it contains synthetic opiates.
Subj: Vistaril
Date: 5/29/2009
Can vistaril show up as amphedemine on a drug test?
Sherrie
AskDocWeb: We can’t say for sure but Vistaril is not on our list of possible causes of false positives.
Subj: Legal actions?
Date: 5/30/2009
I was wondering if there has been any legal actions taken pertaining to false positives on drug test?
Sharon
AskDocWeb: Yes there are lawsuits pending in the courts across the country attacking false positive drug results and the privacy issues around drug testing. If you have lost your job due to a random drug test, or if there is a chance that the test might result in legal consequences beyond losing your job, then the employer or testing authority should run the more expensive GC/MS test on the original sample to confirm or deny your drug status. If the employer refuses, or if they did not retain the original sample, then you may have an actionable legal case against the employer.
Subj: Paxil
Date: 6/1/2009
Can the SSRI, Paxil cause a false positive urine screen for barbituate?
Tony
AskDocWeb: No, Paxil is not on the list.
Subj: OTC Fastin
Date: 6/2/2009
I have been taking the new OTC fastin. Could this cause a positive test for methamphetamine? I am applying for a new job and don’t want any problems.
Karen
AskDocWeb: There have been no reports of Fastin causing any problems on urine drug tests.
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