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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sarahcat on July 24, 2002, at 12:27:57
Hi all,I lurk here off and on, and I wanted to ask if anyone else has had this experience:
After I accepted a job offer on Monday I was drug tested and found positive for PCP (of all things). I have never done illegal drugs in my life, but interestingly enough I had been inconclusive for PCP in a tox. screen done during a recent hospitalization.
I'm wondering if my meds could be causing these false positives. I take Effexor XR (300mg), Lithium (600mg twice daily), Risperdal (1mg in the morning, 2mg at night), Neurontin (300mg in the morning, 600mg at night), and Lamictal (25mg in the morning, 50mg at night).
Any similar experiences? Any thoughts?
I have lost the job based on this test.
Sarah
Posted by oracle on July 24, 2002, at 13:18:28
In reply to Failing a pre-employment drug test, posted by sarahcat on July 24, 2002, at 12:27:57
Ask them if this result was verified
with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
or GC/MS.
This will ID for sure what they are finding.
Any other tests have can give "false positives"
Find out what molecule the GCM/MS is
finding and see if this could be caused
by the meds you are taking.http://www.shsu.edu/~chemistry/primers/gcms.html
Posted by Compucat on July 24, 2002, at 14:19:07
In reply to Failing a pre-employment drug test, posted by sarahcat on July 24, 2002, at 12:27:57
Sorry to hear about this ruining your opportunity for employment. Hopefully with the good advice given, you can at least clear your name, which should give you some strength and knowledge should this happen again.
What a drag that "we" might have to disclose a personal illness/drugs that we might not want to share with others, so that we can clear our names ahead of time if drug tested. Good luck to you, Compucat
Posted by sarahcat on July 25, 2002, at 18:07:54
In reply to Re: Failing a pre-employment drug test, posted by oracle on July 24, 2002, at 13:18:28
Thanks, Oracle!
I will definitely ask these questions. It's amazing how much everyone here knows.
Posted by shar on July 29, 2002, at 23:56:57
In reply to Re: Failing a pre-employment drug test, posted by Compucat on July 24, 2002, at 14:19:07
> What a drag that "we" might have to disclose a personal illness/drugs that we might not want to share with others...
>I agree strongly with your position on this. I wonder if it is even legal to test for drugs in a way that may force one to reveal a 'disability' because of the false positive issue. It's like a setup for anyone using psych meds (and maybe other legal meds also).
This is all rhetorical, of course. Since we are in a drug craze phase in the U.S. it is doubtful that anything would be done to alleviate the situation. A nice company would take their false positives to a higher level of testing, to determine if PCP is really PCP, in this instance.
Shar
This is the end of the thread.
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