Positive Urine samples
Many of you have more than likely experienced a "false positive" urine test. You go in to receive your daily drink and take homes and the nurse tells you that you have tested positive for some drug or another, and you know full well that you have not taken a single drug at all. So what has caused this and why?
Speaking from experience, I had an allergic reaction to something and was prescribed hydroxyzine and ranitidine and was instructed to take in combination. One day at the clinic i was told that i had been postive on my urine test for methampehtamines. WHAAT! even at my worst in addiction that was not my drug of choice so why in the world would I take it now after being clean 4 years? If i'm going to relapse, it's going to be with my favorite drug.
Anyhow that was the only two new things that were introduced into my system in that last week or so. Well I did some research and submitted it to the nurse and doctor.
So what I had found, is that the drug hydroxyzine is available in two formulations, the pamoate and the dihydrochloride or hydrochloride salts.
Hydrochloride salts are also found in methamphetamines(I'm sure that's not the only thing or ingredient and since i am far from being a doctor I need to research much more to find the exact reasons for false positives)
Since my incident, I recommend you always tell the clinical staff about any new medication you are about to take, especially antihistamines, cough medicines, etc. this will allow them to chart when you began the medication in relation to the positive urine sample. You can also take it one step further and do the research on the ingredients yourself and also research the properties which make up the drug for which you tested positive. I take my recovery serious and having fingers pointed at me for taking a drug I never took angers me. If I have a weak moment and take drugs, then the clinical staff will be the first to know long before I fill my urine bottle! Honesty is the best policy in recovery, that is what i believe anyhow. The doctor wants to know about you taking drugs so that he/she can help to adjust your dose, or get you counselling for something that may have triggered a relapse, like stress in your life, etc.
A List of medications that can cause false positive urine tests.
If you have ever experienced a false positive, please share your story with us!
Your Friends in the Maze,
Chix 'n' Stixx
Hey! Thanks for speaking candidly about substance abuse and recovery. Drugs took my innocence from me. My mother was addicted to meth when I was a kid- started with doc giving her "weight-loss" pills. She used to take me with her every week to wait for that little brown envelop full of pills. The waiting room was always packed and I was sworn to never tell anyone where we were that day. I was so confused as a child..aren't doctors good people??? Anyway- I won't put my whole story here. Bits and pieces are at thesecretslayer.com <3
ReplyDeleteHey Pearl! Sorry about the very late response! You knew about my commenting problem!! I'm sorry that you had to endure that with your mother, i can understand how it feels as I too grew up in a family with many different types of addictions. It tears your life apart, and the fact she made you swear to never speak of it is very devastating. You had to hold all that inside while it tore you apart to pieces and caused you to be very confused for sure. We will always be here for you if ever you need to talk! Glad to see you are using your blog to express all that pain you endured and that it is helping you to heal! I'm so happy we were able to connect with each other and to share our stories!
DeleteHey, something similar to this happened to me last year. I picked up my carries and they called me to bring them back because they said I had tested positive for like 3 or 4 different drugs some of them being drugs I had never done before in my life. Worst part is they didn't believe me at first when I swore to them I was clean and to let me pee again right then and there so they could retest it. They said they didn't want to pay for another test and to hand my carries over. I started crying and said but I swear Im clean just let me pee again so I can prove it to you and they finally let me. Turns out I was completely clean, you better believe they were apologizing their butts off after that. I find the methadone system needs some changes because some of the way they handle things really affect others. Like when they screwed up my dose and gave me way less then I usually get although my bottle said the right amount I know that's not the amount that was in the bottle by the way I was feeling. They didn't do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteHey Chelsea! you are absolutely right that they need to make some changes to the way things are run, they don't seem to take into consideration the impact it has on us when they mess up something as simple as giving us our proper dose, or that being told our urine sample has tested positive for something we have tried so hard to avoid. They make it sound like its nothing, when it is everything to us! That also happened to me, I took my daily dose and started to feel shittier throughout the day, I had to go buy from the street to feel better, when I told them they ended up testing my bottles, turns out there was no methadone in it what so ever! They ensured me that my dirty sample wouldn't be held against me, as it was their fault! That's huge not to have a single drop of methadone in your bottle, and they don't seem to understand the impact on our lives! Thanks for commenting! Keep reading! I love your blog too!
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