False Drug Testing (False positive)

[Danimanzi88]

I have been sober for going on a year March 18th. A while ago I went to my doctor's and as usual he screens my urine for drugs because I am currently on Suboxone medication. It came back positive for opiates, ex. pain killers etc, and I never took anything! I was extremely upset because I felt like I was being accused of something that I didn't do, and since last year I haven't even taken a sip of alcohol. The results after that have been fine and everything's been peachy. But when I went in today he went on to say that my last drug test came out positive for morphine, which I have never taken, and have no idea what it even looks like. I thought it was weird because #1 he always tells me my results first thing, and I thought it was funny that when I walked in today he decided to tell me about my "positive testing" from last time? #2 this is the second time that this has happened, and it's aggravating because my clean date remains the same, but somehow they're coming up with these numbers that tell them differently. My suboxone medication isn't cheap, so when this happens he makes me see him in 1 week, and my medication is $60 dollars regardless of how many there is in the bottle. It makes me feel like what's the point of being sober this long, if my doctor is going to sit there and make me feel like less of a person with these false results.
My question is, is there anything that I can do to prove this is false, or that their lab procedures aren't up to parr, and maybe they have cross contaminated the urine tests. I told him it was bull**** and that I was willing to take a lie detector test because he was looking at me like I was the criminal when in fact they obviously aren't doing the tests right.
This is the second time within a year and I am absolutely furious.

Someone help!

 

[army judge]

There might be a problem with your test results.

Why not ask for a blood test?

Blood tests are more accurate than urine tests.

Or, why not ask for a hair follicle test?

They are the penultimate in drug testing.

They can discover drug usage dating back 90 days or more.

You can also go to another laboratory and request testing.

You can ask your physician to refer you to another clinic for the testing.

Don't get upset, remain calm, and say this baffles you.

Don't accuse him or his laboratory of doing anything unsavory.

That won't help you.

Just say, you want to get to the bottom of this, because you are not using any illegal drugs.

Have you been prescribed any drugs by another physician?

Finally, maybe the tests are false positives.

If you have eaten some poppy seeds, they can create these false positives.

This is especially pronounced in cheaper urine tests.

Have you eaten any foods with poppy seeds in them lately?

Remember, poppy seeds can also be found in some salad dressings!

I represented a criminal defendant one time and proved the state's drug test to be faulty.

My guy ate bagels and rolls with poppy seeds, regularly!

 

[OttoReload]

First let me say that I'm not disagreeing with the Judge or his course of remedy but if you are clean and want to prove it get a hair test done, those go back 3 months. When speaking to your doctor you need to try and look at this from a healthcare workers perspective. Here is my experience; my first civilian job after separating for Army active duty (I was a medic) was at a major hospital in a large city. I worked as a Paramedic in the ER, and because I was the only male that worked in the ER on day shift I also had the pleasure of performing UAs. I only worked there for about six months but let me tell you that I saw it all and every time a person tested positive it was somehow our fault. So you must try and understand why your doctor may be jaded towards your emphatic denials.

Some useful info:

It may be the Suboxone that's giving you a false positive! Suboxone is a synthetic opiate and for the most part will not show up on STANDAR quantitative (says how much of what drug it finds) test. However if the doctor/lab is using a cheap and simple positive/negative test it is not unheard of for them to show a positive for opiate when in fact it is actually buprenorphine (in Suboxone).

Here is the important part; there are a number of legally available over-the-counter and prescription opiates that will produce a positive result! Below is a list of what I could think of off the top of my head

Anything with the word "Codeine" in its name, DHC Continus, Dihydrocodeine, Famel Original Cough Syrup, MXL Capsules, MST Continus Suspension / TabletsNurofen Plus, Nurofen Plus, Paracodol, Robitussin Night-Time.

 

[bluemann33]

When they do you ua do they seal it right in front of you. do they do the test on the spot? Basically what type of drug test do they use if you know. I would not think the sub would triger the false positive since your doc is saying its morphine. See morphine is not a synthetic opiate so a drug test can test for it specifically. Rather other synthetic opiates such as hydrocodone oxycotin etc will only show up as a opiate they cant tell which opiate just a opiate where like I said morphine can be pointed out. Is there anyway somone could have put one in a drink? Anyways I would talk more to your doc and see if it can be gotten to the bottom of the failed test. Good luck and false positives do happen.

 

[OttoReload]

Let me clarify what I was trying to say about Suboxone giving a false positive.

A simple explanation of an alkaloid would be that is a naturally occurring base compound or component of a plant.

In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant, as well as many semisynthetic chemical derivatives of such alkaloids.

The major biologically active opiates found in opium are morphine, codeine, thebaine, and papaverine. Semi-synthetic opioids such as heroin, oxycodone, and hydrocodone are derived from these substances.

Suboxone is a synthetic opiate – Made from a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opiate with some agonist properties.

Here is the reason I question the UA you were given. The first time you had a positive test you stated that your doctor said you were positive for "opiates". Using the term "opiates" is very general statement. That makes me think that he or the lab may be using some kind of simple panel test that lumps all opiates/opioids into one general category. If that is the case then you will most defiantly receive a false positive.

Like I stated before if a UA screen is to be considered reliable it must be a quantitative screening that not only shows what the UA is positive for but also how much was found.