Dirty UA

[Amanda6900]

Hi all,
I had a follow up doctor appointment today for my suboxone... The doctor gives me regular UA's every time I have an appointment.. (I'v had two appts so far) He said I came up positive for opiates (oxy's) and I havent taken any since the 5th (my last day to start withdrawals). How could this be? And please dont say because I took oxys. I didnt!! Im being serious... The last time I took any pain pills.. and I mean any, was the 5th.. I went though 48 hours of withdrawals for the suboxone.. He tested me on the 14th and I was fine, no opiates.. Now he doesnt believe me. My question is.. How can this be?

[Gypsi43]

oxycodone is a straight opiate and is always tested for. It's the methadone and the suboxone that aren't routine screening drugs. Still, you will find both on a 14 panel test. Doctors order their tests from medical places but a lot of places order theirs the same place we can. Amazon. The tests on there are the same ones used in rehab facilities and employers. Most often an employer isn't going to go to the expense of buying higher than a five or six panel test. Ten at the most.

[Gypsi43]

If it's in his office it's not a lab test,right? Just a 12 or 14 panel dip strip or cup with a bunch of strips on the lid that they submerge in the urine. Some suboxone drs actually send it to the lab. I am on parole dropping for the court. They use simple strip tests also. I've tested positive for marijuana,opiates, and benzos over the course of six months. The marijuana time they used a second strip test. It came up negative immediately. The test was faulty. The benzo test they just told me to throw it away and did nothing to me. The opiates which is my drug of choice they threw me in jail and refused to retest it. These tests are not accurate. They buy the cheapest ones the can get in bulk. It's a serious problem they refuse to admit and they throw people in jail for something they haven't done.

[hanginginthere125]

when i was in rehab, this also happened to me. i had been there approximately 2 weeks and the place let me go out to a  support group for medical professionals with addiction problems. as they routinely did with anyone who left for groups, etc. they tested my urine when i returned back to the rehab hospital about 2 hrs later. the next day, they informed me that the test was positive for benzodiazepines.  i had not taken any for the two weeks i had been there. the test was positive due to my body storing the drug in my fat tissues and this was why it came back positive. females have this problem because of their increaesd amount of body fat.. i wanted to be tested every 3rd day after that, and sure enough the diazapam levels gradually dissipitated and disappeared finally.  hope this helps you or someone else out there because it sure is an added stress when you're fighting hard for your sobriety.

[Amanda6900]

Thanks all for you comments..
I tested positive for Benzos, the suboxone and for opiates (oxy) that was the box that was checked.... I did get in trouble for the benzos.. I have high anxiety, so I did take an anxiety pill four days before my test.. I had a feeling I was going to come up for that.. But the oxy... no...

[sue41]

So sorry this happened to you.  Please don't let it discourage your sobriety.

[SableZen]

Just for education, that's the same reason that most lab tests for narcotics will not detect oxycodone (and Suboxone for that matter). Chemically, it's metabolites are different from most other opioids.

Legally, oxycodone and Suboxone are not even reported by NIDA standards even if detected (they aren't even tested for). So for general pre-employment and random drug screenings, people using oxycodone (or on Suboxone) aren't normally detected. Unless *specifically* tested for.

[SableZen]

It's interesting because what they actually test for are metabolites (what the opioid breaks down into). Most common opioids break down into codeine, norcodeine, morphine, and normorphine. And that is what most tests actually look for.

However, out of all the opioids, oxycodone and buprenorphine are both semi-synthetic thebain derivatives and do not turn into those metabolites.

(Thebain is just a minor chemical constituent of opium by the way.)

And surprise, surprise... naloxone is also one of the few other thebain derivatives on the market... which Suboxone also happens to contain.

If you were going to have a false positive - it's not too surprising to me that the false positive would be for oxycodone for those reasons.

In theory, the test should differentiate between suboxone/naloxone and oxycodone. But stranger things have happened...  

[sadinmichigan]

this kind of stuff happens more than you might think..When I was on methadone..i had to drop 2 times a month..for them to check if you had any other drugs in your system AND to check that you had methadone in your system..My test came out negative for methadone??? I had to take my daily dose of 65mg at the dosing window..go figure..don't be too upset..all tests can produce false positives or negatives..they are not infallible. So go for the blood test..and it does sound like they may have had things switched...either way..you didn't take them so they were wrong..I'm sorry you have to drive so far..

[wait2long]

this happened to me twice in 3 days...i had a UA at one hospital, i tested positive for THC, negative opiates and negative for benzos (i dont smoke pot and i do take a low dose of benzos)  so my doc sent me to another hospital 3 days later, i tested negative for THC, negative again for benzos and positive for opiates...' she tested me herself the next day and i was negative for everything but benzos...LOL!  
so it DOES happen...hospitals DO mess up...he should have retested you then...it could have been the test...has he tested you yet to make sure your taking the sub?

[Amanda6900]

I heard about poppy seeds, but you have to eat like a dozen just for that to happen and I havent even eaten one, so thats not the case. I took two Benadryls last night and I told him about that he said that wouldnt do it. It was specific... Oxy's.. He test right there in his office. So, I dont know if that makes a difference. This has made me very discouraged and depressed.

[worried878]

I bet he believed you and that this happens sometimes...it will be ok...demand a re-test tho and that will assure him that you are being honest...most urine tests can not differentiate narcotics from each other...some can but blood tests are more often used for that specific of a test

[Amanda6900]

Thanks all,
I started crying I was so in shock, I did ask to take a blood. I cant retest again tomorrow, he is 2 hours away from me. After I started to cry he then said something about a false positive. I have no idea what that even means.. How could I test positive if I havent taken anything?? He did not pull me off the suboxone thank god. Now Im afraid of this happing again. If it happened once, whos to say it wont happen again.. Im so depressed now.

[SableZen]

First, a retest should always be given as an option.

The thing is, with a positive most labs will isolate what type of opiate it is exactly (whether it's heroin to hydrocodone - they can tell the difference). Which sounds like the case since you specifically mentioned oxy's.

More than likely that would have to be the result of a lab mix-up of samples - which you should be retested ASAP so the lab can be notified.

[worried878]

agree...ask for a blood test..what ther meds are you taking just in case one is mimicking a narcotic?  no cough medicine or anything?  just checking as i am sure you know what is in your meds...poppy seeds i have heard can cause a positive result!

[avisg]

I agree with everyone retest, go for the blood test .......

[sadinmichigan]

they absolutely make mistakes..i would demand a retest..and offer your dr to come in anytime for one..he didn't take you off the sub did he?

[GoingToMakeIt]

I would ask for a blood test. It's more accurate.

[sonie413]

what about a retest. labs do make mistakes too.

[allaboutmary]

So sorry , I don't know how that could happen. Can they give you another test tomorrow ?  It really doesn't make sense because taking oxy's while on sub would either make you sick or do nothing. Sorry I'm not more help.