False Negative Drug Test

[Cporovich]

I would be interested in finding out what became anyones situation with the false negative,  I have been on Morphine 2x daily as well for 14 months now yet my surprise drug screen test came back as Zero usage and positive for Marijuana.  I drive 4 hours to my Dr. I take my morphine 9:30 n 9:30 so i KNOW i had taken it on the way down to Pittsburgh.  Yet it came back negative? of course he immediatly gave me 30 days and dropped me.  In the process I have been trying to find new Dr. but my Dr. wrote a letter in my file.."patient tested negative on morphine with zero usage even though i have been prescribing it for many months" this letter he typed out as we were sitting there.  Both of us in complete shock, my husband telling him he gives me my meds, he KNOWS I take them. I also as you immediatly was on phone with lab, etc.  I also called a hair follicle place to find a local clinic that would do one for 109.00 out of my own unemployed pocket.  I called the lab back and said this test goes back 90 days, which exceeds your lab testing, will this negate the test and PROVE i have been taking it all along?? She says yes i suppose that it would. So now i am scrambling to get the money together to get this test done so that can be added to my file disproving the lab results.  Just blows me away to find out how many people out there are in our shoes.  
I hope it has all worked out for you I live in a rural area and finding a new pm is going to be rather difficult as my clock has started ticking.

[portia1lyn]

the worst thing is for your sister to doubt you we are both nurses and i would believe her if she said the sun was blue, not her to me . i suffer the pain of the body and pain of the heart, not being trusted by doctors i know and work with and my sister.

[rose521]

Hello, Today I had a visit with my pain management Dr. I take two percocet a day. My second urine test came back negative for any use of narcotics!! Ironically I have always been worried about a positive drug test!! Needless to say she refused me any more pain medicine. I told her at this visit and our last visit that I take a lot of herbal antioxidants, I use diuretics daily and a few other medications that online have said would inerfere with my urine tests. I dont know how to convince her that I am taking my medication daily and that I am not doing anything I am not supposed to with it!! I have a C5-6 pertruded disc and am recovering from two rotator cuff surgerys.. I am in a tremendous amount of pain right now and dont know how to handle this situation! Please any suggestions?

[precious_woman]

Hi Cporovich.. welcome to the forum. I have sent you a private message as well as I posted on my board where you originally posted. I apologize for my absence, however I did explain why on my board.
Regarding your doctor, results and retest. First of all, I am sorry you had to go through this... I know first hand how much it hurts to have a doctor who you trusted so much, turn on you and not believe you! I don't think he is worried about the marijuana., I know mine had said it wasn't that, it was that my urine came back negative for morphine!! I had taken my dose about 3 hours prior to my appointment, but I was ignorant to the "chain of command" with the urinalysis, gosh I didn't even know enough to make sure my name was on the label!! I literally trusted them THAT much!! So i was ignorant and I have learned the hard way! Now I not only make sure my name is on that label, I walk my sample to the nurse and make sure that everything is done properly.
I certainly hope that your doctor accepts the results of your independent test.. however, he may just ignore you like mine did! And since your doctor has put a letter in your file stating there was no morphine in your system you need to send a "letter of rebuttal" disputing his letter and stating why! He has to put the letter you send him in your file also, so any doctor that you see after will see that you dispute those results!
Start looking for a new PM doctor right away!! It took me months to find one! You can ask the doctor who let you go to give you a referral, as well as your primary can refer you!
With me, in the beginning I had one doctor (the Dr my PM referred me to) look me in the face and say "detox, because I am not giving you the morphine"... I cried!! I had another one say he was going to "ween me off" of my medicine, I ended up bed ridden, however he gave me the name of the doctor I see now who IS prescribing my morphine! He did the MRI's and CT's and stated that I am functional ON my medicine!!
good luck and please keep me informed!! I know that this forum was the best thing that ever happened to me!!

[Tuckamore]

There is a lot to be said for attitude....and a positive attitude at that!

I was recently reminded of that when I saw a top-notch surgeon in our state ten days ago. His staff and he marveled at my ability to still function let alone the fact that I was still among the living. I am considered by the medical profession to be a miracle, that one in millions that survives the dismal odds and just keeps going.  

He attributed that to me, to my attitude and intestinal fortitude. I attribute that to the talented skills that God gave the instrumental medical professions in my life and to God's grace. However one cannot diminish the importance of a positive attitude and sheer willpower. So you keep it up. There is a lot to be said for positive energy! :)

~Tuck  

[Cporovich]

The worst thing is that it has been literally years since i ever touched marijuana, i was going thru chemo for leukemia, but, then it was the only thing that truly helped.  And even under a lie detector i can pass not knowing that the caramel green tea actually had marijuana in it..lol i have never heard of such thing so was furthest from my mind..native american lady gave me a jar and said drink this..it is herbal and it will help you..and she was soooooo right..i for the first time felt so relaxed and able to function just a bit better..until i went back for more..lol then i didnt get more because she verified what was in it..we were on the reservation..just figured was a native american remedy and at that point it seemed harmless to try...yet..if i could do it again..it would be hard to resist that temptation...if i were back in california i would get my med card just to drink that....drs ought to be a bit more flexible, i would rather drink that then take morphine and vicodiene just for the side effects alone, but that is then and this is now..so..hard day..but no matter how much each day i hurt, I find that happy place and vow to smile thru the pain..keep positive..its the only way i know..every day is a good day above ground!

[Tuckamore]

I hope you are correct. We all wish you the very best.

You have a great weekend also,
~Tuck

[Cporovich]

oh i know there is no doubt about that..as far as the thc...I immediatly let him know for it was the weekend before my test, which was on a monday, and I informed him right then and there.  So he expected that one, and yes..am still searching will find one, am sure..either way there isnt thc in my system any longer nor was it there in all the other test he gave me, so am sure that one can be taken care of..though technically, when I prove that I have been taking my morphine that test in itself and all, will and should be considered null n void, for if one part is wrong how is it that others may be as well?
Thanks again, have a great weekend!

[Tuckamore]

Flower is correct. Unfortunately the THC alone gives reason for discharge. You will have to make some choices. I will not judge you as I beleive it is your choice.

I beleive that someone reminded us that a physician is responsible for the opiates they prescribe even after they are in your possession. So they are very cautious. And how can we hold that against them. They worked long and hard for their medical licenses. Why would they risk that for us? They wouldn't.

But I do beleive that you will find a PMP to treat you. It'll just take some time.

I too am so glad that you have found our forum. It is a wonderfully supportive and informantional community.

~Tuck

[flower12345]

Hi. Well, I hope that your PCP will treat you. The thing is, since you drank that tea, I think (even though your doc. says he's not worried about marijuana) that alone (even w/o negative morphine) gives him a reason to drop you.

I'm sorry that no one is in your corner. I'd say that maybe they switched up the samples, but since they found the marijuana, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I think that you will have difficulty getting the test marked as unusable, because of the marijuana. Maybe you can start over with a new PM doctor. I know that it's much easier said than done though. Maybe the hair test will help. It's good that you're trying to figure out to have the morphine part of your record accurate.

Flower

[Cporovich]

Mellie,
Ironically enough, my doc said he was not worried about the marijuana test, before i started to explain it to him he says..what bothers me is the morphine...and it went from there..wow...still a shocker...I think they are far more worried about you NOT taking your Opiates than anything else since they are the ones that prescribe them to you.
In reading other areas I have come across the level of testing that is making me question it..maybe my dosage did not meet the amount they were testing for? I dont know am grasping at straws, have been on the phone since the moment I left there, No one is in my corner, they ALL say is NO way that the lab test is wrong.  Well Christine, maybe you should have taken your meds was one answer...wow...

[Cporovich]

thank you all for the comments and support.  In short order, I did demand a retest, I had also had blood drawn that day as well, am thinking that was for the liver check? Unsure as Doc hasnt let me see the actual test as of yet.  I know it is at least 6 weeks out to get an appointment, my only hope is the hair test will negate it and my family Doc may pick up the scripts while I wait.  My PM doc says no, no in working with me, no in redoing the test and no in extending it beyond 30 days.  I have read up thru out this site and all of you have information so useful to myself as well as others , some things you say just help turn on lights in the head!  The sad part, is the reality of this sort of testing forcing people to go underground and get meds another way.  I am not going to do that nor do I have the way to do it.  My home is in California, I am currently in western NY and I have been driving/riding to Pittsburgh 2-3 times a month for treatment and to pick up my scripts. Yes, almost 4 hours to drive and pick up my scripts because of the contract I am not allowed to pick them up anywhere else.  Sometimes I have had to drive there specifically to pick them up, lol that alone should prove I have been taking my morphine that ride isnt fun!  As for the Marijuana, smoke it no, but, I did have tea, and i know it sounds cliche but for an entire weekend i drank caramel green tea that I was given on a camping trip, herbal, yes, and it truly did help me relax and ease the pain that is the irony.  I found out what it was when I asked the lady where I can get it or how do i make it afterwards.  Yes i have used marijuana in that wayyyy past..I did inhale....smiles...but a user of it now? no.  I am hoping though...if I can negate that test then its entirety should be marked off as usable.
whew..think i talk to much...thank you all will keep on reading and thank you for at least somewhere we can turn to!

[Tuckamore]

Hello and Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum.

I am so very sorry that this has happened to you. If you have searched our archives you know that unfortunately this is not all that uncommon.

My dear you are stuck between a rock and a hard spot. Your search will take you at least the 30 days you have of supply pain medications. Be as assertive as you can be in your search. Call every PMP in your driving distance and expand it. You may have to make a longer drive than you want to begin with but once you find a clinic than you can take your time and look more locally.

Don't neglect your PCP. He/she may have some suggestions for you. Your PCP may be willing to prescribe for you on a short term basis. Or if the worse happens prescribe you through withdrawal.

In my state it is our PCP that treat, follow and prescribe for the chronic pain patients not a PMP. We have PMP at major PM Clinics, far and few between but ALL they do are treatments and procedures. I wouldn't have it any other way and frankly don't understand why other states have elected to have all these PMP prescribing for chronic pain patients.

I agree that you should follow through with the hair drug testing. I wish you would have also insisted on a blood draw immediately as that would have revealed exactly what was in your system on that day. Blood draws are basically indisputable.

Urine drug screens have a high rate of inaccuracy. One of the most recent studies done was performed in a controlled environment where they knew exactly what the patients were given. The study revealed that drug urine testing had an almost 80% inaccurate rate. Why?  Human error seemed to be on top of the list. But there were just plain failures when the test itself proved to be in error.

I don't know of one person that has come to this forum (or been a member) that after failing a drug screen did not locate another PMP. If I had to guess I would say that it took between 4 and 8 weeks to actually get into see a new PMP. A very few have been luckier and even fewer have had to wait longer than eight weeks.

I assume you understand that your PMP is under close scrutiny and had no choice but to dismiss you. Sadly some PMP do not even provide a 30 day supply of medications, they just boot you out.

As you said, the clock is ticking. I hope you have made your calls if not please begin today. I can assure you that your former PMP will not take you back.

I wish you the very best. Please let us know how your search goes. Hopefully other members will have fist hand experience and be able to offer you additional suggestions.

Take Care,
~Tuck

[dontundertand]

I left you a note, but I am going to write to you here as well in case you have not seen it. Something similar happened to me. I was at an appointment with my mom and the doc asked if she could speak in front of her. I said yes, this was the last thing I expected to come out of her mouth. We spoke about it for awhile. She sent me to get a serum test. My unexpected result was on a disptick done in the office so I went to the lab, gave them some blood and waited for the results. 5 days later I found out they sent the original urine for confirmation testing, along with the serum. She had 3 different tests with 3 different results. That goes to show you how much of a varience can occur with the different tests and such. So I went back into the lab and gave them urine again. This time they got the expected results. I think she believed me when I spoke to her, probably didn't hurt that my mom was there. But she needed a confirmation test that actually confirmed what I was telling her to put in my file. These doctors are just covering their patooties and unfortunately many patients are getting hurt in the process. A little over a month ago I switched doctors for a different reason. My old doc where all this happened called me the other day asking how I was doing that she hadn't seen me in awhile. I told her where I had switched to and what he was thinking of doing as a treatment plan and she said that I was welcome back there anytime with open arms. That's how big of a turn around she had. I mean, don't get me wrong. I had to prove myself. The month after the second urine sample got sent to the lab they sent ALL their patients to the lab for ua's. I had extensive testing of my urine for several months after that incident and although they regained trust in me I don't think I trusted them. Like I felt at any time they could accuse me of anything. Feel free to go to my profile and read my posts back from April. They may help you. You are definetly not alone.
Good luck, and please keep us updated as to your progress.

[mellie4]

This scares me to death!  I just did my first UA the other day.  The way my luck is these last few years, I feel like I wouldn't be surprised if the results were off.  I am so careful with what I take.  What looks worse to the PM clinic, a false positive for something or a false negative?  And do they test levels?  My script allows me a little leeway with my BT medicine; I can take up two extra a day.  From my dealings with the pain clinic, I don't THINK it would be a problem if I was ever to stop taking the BT meds and tested negative.  I think that would be a good thing (though I don't seem to come close to that.)  The longest I've ever gone without a BT med is 7 hours, and that day was unusually good for me (but what a day it was :)

Personally, I think you should get a retest, especially if you've been a patient of the clinic for a while and you have a relationship with them.

[RunningMom]

I think you are smart to go ahead with this extensive test.  This will prove to your new pain management doctor that the last test was false.  Were you using Marijuana?  You didn't say that you were not.  If you were not using the illegal drug, I would say that your test was mixed up with someone else.  If not, you could get into trouble with that too.  Pain management is very strict with their rules and they can red flag you very quickly.  You need to be on top of this if you want care in the future.  I know how hard it is to find good pain management care.  You may have to drive a ways for your new doctor.  I live out in the boone docks as well and I drive 60 miles one way.  Good luck.