zenbean Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 OK, this is part of my post from the employment board, but i thought i'd put it here too in the hopes of getting an answer: i have to take a drug test for my new job. i'm not sure if any of my psych meds will read as a false positive on the drug test. i don't know if they'll ask what rx's i'm on - if not, i'd just as soon keep it to myself for now, as i prefer not to disclose my mi at work if i can avoid it. do any of you more scientific types know? thanks in advance - bean edited to add this p.s.: i'm not currently using the ativan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 edited to add this p.s.: i'm not currently using the ativan Good. They do test for benzo's. I don't know about the other ones. sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 It doesn't matter what you are taking. No, you won't get "false positives" you will get "true positives" if one of your drugs is in a class they test for. If you get a positive result, they will give you the opportunity to explain it. Go to your doctor and and get a letter from him stating that you are prescribed the pertinent drug. No diagnosis or additional explanation is necessary. I once ran a urinalysis program for over 350 people for 14 months and never had any false positives, and never had any prescription meds come up positive. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null0trooper Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 It doesn't matter what you are taking. No, you won't get "false positives" you will get "true positives" if one of your drugs is in a class they test for. The presumption behind drug testing in the first place is that anything coming up positive is the result of illicit drug use, on or off the job. So yes, properly-prescribed oxycontin would cause a "false positive" on the test for the HR intent of finding people to fire. From a chemist's or a doctor's point of view, it's a "true positive" - what was found was what there was to be found, out of the things being looked for. In the "old days" there were reported to be "false positives" with OTC drugs like pseudoephedrine (very closely related to amphetamine,) and dextromethorphan (closely related to codeine,) and maybe a few others. HOWEVER, by now I would think that most reputable testers will have a second screening test that distinguishes among the lookalikes found in the initial round of screening. Even if that fails, if an employee is not capable of producing a legit prescription bottle or written document from a doctor to document legal use, maybe the company really doesn't need that person around anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenbean Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 thanks for the answers and clarifications. turns out, i have to fill out a med hx with all rx's on it anyway, so they'll already know what i'm taking if it shows up on the test. oh well.... bean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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