Documented Reasons for False Negative Drug Screening Results

[graceinchrist]

Are there any documented specific reasons as to why U.A.'s and/or Blood Test's for Amphetamines/Opiates taken regularly still show up Negative?  Please Advise.  Thank you so Much for shedding some light on this ongoing issue.

[philnoir]

False negatives are not uncommon in UA drug testing.

Since you have a long relationship with your doctor, I suggest that you talk this situation over with him, and bring with you some data about testing errors.

Print out the following article:

http://www.hodsdon.com/wiki/uploads/Main/21083064.pdf

and the two suggested by ok2bejaded in the post above. Give them to your doctor. Suggest that there's something amiss here with the testing process. You are not alone -- many pain patients receive anomalous drug screening results and face being dismissed from a practice.

Explain how you follow his orders and your amazement with what is happening to you. Finally, suggest that you somehow work out a plan to discover why you are now receiving false positives.

[beverlynickerson]

Hi Tuck and all that are VICTIMS of these false negatives,

I am also a VICTIM.  My doctor sent me a registered letter in the mail that I had to sign for.  It stated he would no longer treat me even as my family doctor!! because of two false negatives.  I have been with Dr Lawrence Williams for over 13 years!  Yes, I had to sign a paper stating I would follow HIS instructions with my meds or he would no longer treat me.  I had no problem with this because I knew I would follow them 100%.  I took ALL my meds the way he instructed and I was never worried about any ramdom testing!   Then came back the two false negatives.  My world as I knew it disapeared.  All I wanted to do was just get a gun finish my pain forever, but I'm still here.  Tuck what can we do now?  Our medical records are tared forever now!  Every doctor we try to go to will see the negative reports and will believe the previous doctor over us!  Tuck I need help, I am holding on by a very thin string.  Why is it the dopers can get all the meds they want from the doctors and we the victims of these false negatives are left paying the price of them?????     ginny

[ok2bejaded]

I am experiencing the same issue as many of you.  I recently was discharged from my pain management office after a restructuring and my doctor of 12 years retiring.  I missed an appointment, (that I knew nothing about) and was subsequently discharged and now am having difficulty finding another pm doctor due to all of them being associated with the same medical group.  Okay, enough of that.  I finally did find an out-of-network doctor to treat me and during my first visit, he did a urine screen.  He stated that my results showed negative for Norco which I am prescribed 5-  10/325mg per day. (I guarantee I take them) He subsequently refused to treat me.  After extensive research, I have found several articles related to false negatives and false positive urine screen results.  Both are from legitimate medical sources and not just regular people like you and I.  Here are the links:

http://www.annclinlabsci.org/content/37/4/301.full
-This article discusses the levels on inaccuracy and outside factors that can affect your drug screen results.   It states that many doctors, including pain management doctors are not educated on the ins-and-outs of drug screening, appropriate levels or outside influences that can result in false negative or positives.

The next article:
http://www.wardelab.com/22-2.html
-This article discusses that something as simple as OTC cough suppressant can result in a false negative and that at the occurrence of a false/positive drug screen, that blood, hair or saliva testing should occur.

Hope these help!

[AngryOlman]

I know you mean well in stating drug testing may come up incorrect or produce false negative perhaps 1 in 10,000 as if this is acceptable and perfectly ok. But even one persons life being destroyed with faulty testing is unacceptable in our society.

We should not tolerate, as a society, the Medical Professionals or DEA questioning  the honesty and integrity of citizens with a testing system less than 100% acurate at all times.

My wife, as a senior citizen, has lived in pain and debilitating illness for many years now. Her situation can only be managed to some degree with pain management with no hope for cure, etc..

Recently she has been subjected to drug testing in which have come back as false negative results. Particularly with Hydrocodone. My wife must take her pain meds in order to function at 50 to 60 percent of normalcy. The testing which is part of the health care provider in house system scoffs and emphatically exclaims " our tests are accurate and never wrong".  
We are very concerned and worried she may lose her Health Care and pain management system.

After researching I have discovered my wife's situation is not an anomaly. I find this very disturbing as honest citizens have been subjected to being called liars and are actually suffering  with their loss of pain medicines, etc.. This is unacceptable and disgraceful for our society.

I find it hard to believe that we don't have some medical professionals willing to stand up for their patients and realize "WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE" when this situation continues to happen. PLEASE will some one with authority and connection help in investigating this problem and right the wrong being done here!!

This would be a newsworthy story by " 60 Minutes" or similar news organization.

[Tuckamore]

Hello GraceinChrist,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum.

In my research of this subject for our members I have found numerous articles addressing the results of Drug Screens. Some are very detailed and come from reliable sources. If you search you can find them too.

We would all like to believe that a false reading will not happen to us.... and that it is rare. Unfortunately false results occur more often then one would believe.

From AskDocWeb:  "The chances of you getting a false positive depends on the quality of the laboratory that does the testing. There seems
to be about 1,200 of these labs in the United States currently
testing for drugs. Less than a 100 of these meet federal
standards and most of the individual states do not regulate
drug test labs. The number of false positives returned range
from 4% to over 50%, depending on the lab."

From Another Trusted Site: "Urine drug testing accuracy is variable depending on how the testing is done. Drug testing is extremely accurate and reliable when all aspects of the testing process are done properly. On the other hand, the information obtained may be very misleading and inaccurate when poor procedures or testing methods are utilized. Drug testing will only be reliable when the consumer knows how it should be done and then demands from the industry that it is done properly.  Unfortunately, the majority of drug testing is poorly done and plagued with unreliable information."

There is much more information then the brief quotes I have provided. Yes there are sites that list food and substances or "documented specific reasons"  that can change or may change the outcome of drug screens. According to reliable and recognized studies most false results appear to be related to human error but again sometimes substances can change the results.

I hope this helps. Again I encourage you to search the web as I believe you will find the documented results that you are seeking.

Best of Luck,
~Tuck

[Weathergirl21]

While there are some rare instances with the way someone processes medication as well as their are user errors when giving or performing the test....it's something that shouldn't happen on a regular basis...

It may 'seem' like it happens a lot as people look this up on the internet as most people will put bad experiences online and not the good...So for everyone 10,000 tests that are fine...one will be wrong and this will get mentioned...

It also depend on the type of test....If it's just a basic urine dip stick marker test...those are much less detailed...

The one's that my PM office uses are where they send the urine sample to a lab across the country that uses both gas chromatography and mass spectrometry....These are the most detailed and accurate tests out there. They can tell both whether a medicine is present or not, but the exact level...

So if someone is taking even one or two more pills..it will show up...

The key to all of this is bringing in your medicine bottles EVERY time you go to the Dr.s if you are getting random urine tests...This way...if you are coming up 'short'...they are documented THAT day by counting all your pills...that you should be on target...

The next step if you want to dispute a test is immediately doing a blood test or hair follicle test...

It's really about the Dr. and patient relationship and if there is an error, working with them to figure out the situation...

But again...I just want people to realize that it doesn't happen as often as it 'looks' like when you research online comparing the amount of tests given daily to the one's with errors. The statistics are actually less than 1% with the detailed tests I mentioned..

I wish you luck...