Saliva test for hydrocodone and fetanol, false negative?

[Ed_jones]

I was recently tested for fetanol and hydrocodone and it came back negative, well, not me but my father, I thought I'd sign him up and maybe get some answers. Anyway, he was tested and it came back 100% negative which would be a good thing for someone on probation, but not as a pain patient. Due to this, they suspect he's selling them or giving them away. I myself and his doctor have seen him wearing the patch and taking his Norco. But, even so, the paper says it, so his doctor can no longer prescribe it to him. I have seen a few posts on here about this but I need too know if saliva tests have any particular problems. Or if maybe my father has built up some kind of tolerance to it and it just runs through his system too quickly or something of that sort, because lately it hasn't helped him much with the pain. But please if anyone has any answers or reasons, please tell us.

[troubleinohio]

hmm so it seems maybe i wasnt barking up the wrong tree entirely since there is a history of addicts visiting the home and have stolen and used his drugs in the past. definitely makes me more suspicious. could these people have come back when no one was home? or even put the word out that there are drugs in the home and someone else could have did somethign with them? If your father doesnt lock his stuff up by now, I would suggest he get a safe to keep them in and keep the key to himself. Good luck and let us know how this turns out.

[Tuckamore]

No feathers ruffled here. I am not an addict and I can be so naive. I didn't even consider the fact that the mediation could be drained from the patch. It can be deadly as it is time released but I forget that an addict doesn't consider those things.

Thanks for reminding me of those possibilities.

Peace,
Tuck

[Nick_Jones]

My father said he's passed urine tests plenty of times but the saliva test came back negative. And yes,troubleinohio,  an addict stayed for a day or two a couple months ago and he would suck on the used patches, but his daughters boyfreind stole his meds and only left him with liquid morphine. He is also a pain patient with no leg above the knee, but he hasn't been here since then. And btw this is my fathers account, I just want e to get him started.

[troubleinohio]

trust me Im not trying to stir a pot that doesnt even exist or anything but Ive seen my fair share of addicts and the things they do. and btw, someone I know uses fentanyl patches and she used to ask me to help her change them -so ive seen and touched them with my own hands- and they dont have the name of them written on them at all (maybe these were generics brand? (I dont know about that aspect) but all im sayin is they were clear plastic lookin patches with gel inside and i imagine a crafty addict could find something that looks similar to swap them with (or maybe drain the gel out??) I know thats a far stretch and not the likely case with this person but I just had to raise that possibility because it seems strange to me that they tested negative AND the meds arent helping them anymore either, thats all. Hope i didnt ruffle any feathers or anything!

[Tuckamore]

Hi Ed,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am sorry that his has happened to your father. If you have read through our threads you know that drug screening is not the fail safe testing method it is cracked up to be. Some articles claim the failure rate is as high as 40% or more. Much as to do with the test itself, where the level is set to determine the drug, how the person metabolizes the drug and of course the skill level of the technician that is conducting the test. And lets face it human error contributes also.

Troubleinohio brings up a possibility however I highly doubt that could account for the Fentanyl Patch. There is not a "fake" available to my knowledge. It would be next to impossible.

Even had your father built a tolerance it should still detectable in his system. It's more likely that either the test or technician was faulty. Unfortunately you cannot fight city hall so to speak. Oral fluid based testing most closely mimics results found with blood. The detection period in case of saliva drug test is around 20 hours to 1 day approximately, whereas it is around 3 days in case of urine drug test. The accuracy rate of urine drug test results is much higher than that of saliva drug test results. It is a fact that the risk of false negatives is high in both of the these tests. It is also a fact that there are no set of standards in place that require lab validation.  One would assume some labs are more accurate than others.

I wish I had an answer for your Dad. Unfortunately, it is what it is and it's doubtful your father has any recourse. Even if his physician said he personally administered the medications the test would hold up and be considered accurate. Sad in my opinion.

Your father can and should be able to locate another PMP.The fact that the pain medication was no longer effective for him may mean he needs a change or an increase. His current PMP should provide him medication for withdrawal symptoms until he is able to find a new PMP.  I hope you will keep in touch and let us know how he is doing.

Peace,
Tuck

[troubleinohio]

hmm that is strange. I have heard of many wrong test results (both negative and positive results being incorrect) but the one thing that sticks out to me in your post is that you also state it doesnt help him much anymore either... I would suspect perhaps someone is stealing his meds and replacing them with fakes possibly which would explain both the Negative result and them not helping his pain anymore.  Is this a possibility? You can do a search on several websites that identify a pill by its imprint #.  I would start there and see what his pills turn up as that are in his bottle and make sure.. keep us posted and let us know how this turns out