Failed drug screen after being in alternative to disciple program for 1 year!

[bella14b, BSN, RN]

Hi everyone,

So I had an accidental exposure (genuinely did) b/c my child hood best friend's mother died. My friend has always had a heroin addiction and was smoking it in my bathroom. And I didn't use proper judgement and I walked into the bathroom as I had to go to the bathroom really bad. And I must have inhaled it. I also fell asleep at some point so she might have been doing it in my tiny studio apartment while I was sleeping, and I know she didn't go on my balcony because it's out in the open. I know how it sounds but those drug screens are extremely sensitive.

I was sober for a year until this happened (still sober but you know what I mean). I was about to get my narcotic restriction lifted. I had a job interview at a hospital. I don't know what's going to happen. But my program that I am in is under the impression that I this was in fact an accidental exposure (based on the urine levels of fentanyl., yeah, I guess there was fentanyl in it) and I'm going to hear back from them tomorrow. I had a drug screen the following week (after the positive urine screen) and they are going to do an add-on of fentanyl to see if the levels are coming down as they should in an accidental exposure. Also, I am on a vivitrol shot. I was supposed to get the shot a few days prior to this drug screen (but there was a delay in shipment), but they did detect vivitrol in my system. I must have a slow metabolism or something.

 

I'm not sure if anyone has experience with this situation, or at least some helpful advice. I was so close to moving on with my life. They educated me on how to prevent this from happening again, and I have changed my number because I decided to cut off contact with her. I can't make the mistake of hanging around the wrong people anymore, and I definitely had a lapse in judgement just by being around her.

Any advise is appreciated. Thank you.

[rn1965, ADN]

On 6/29/2021 at 8:21 PM, bella14b said:

I'm not sure if anyone has experience with this situation, or at least some helpful advice. I was so close to moving on with my life. They educated me on how to prevent this from happening again, and I have changed my number because I decided to cut off contact with her. I can't make the mistake of hanging around the wrong people anymore, and I definitely had a lapse in judgement just by being around her.

Any advise is appreciated. Thank you.

Do NOT stop moving forward. You have already made the decision to cut contact with her.  A best friend would NEVER put you in this position.

Stay on the right track, do what they say and keep putting one foot in front of the other!

[K. Everly, BSN, RN]

I am very sorry to hear this took place. 

I second what rn1965 said about not allowing this setback to keep you from moving onwards and upwards.

I don’t necessarily agree that a best friend with an addiction wouldn’t have put you in that position though. People become all consumed by addictions and it doesn’t matter how much they love you, they will put you in FUBAR situations *if you allow them to*. Frankly people in that dark of a place are not able to be a friend, neither to others nor even to themselves. 

It sounds like what comes next is proving that you learned the lesson that it’s never okay to be around that type of situation. My DOC was alcohol (I assume yours was narcotics?) and I wouldn’t be in the situation you mentioned, nor a situation where someone with alcohol dependence was drinking at my house to excess or sneaking it - even if you had lost a loved one, though my heart would go out to them. I can be around people using alcohol but context is everything. You could probably be around your grandma who wears a pain patch but it wouldn’t be healthy or safe to your recovery to be around someone smoking or shooting dope. Likewise I can be around someone drinking a glass of wine with Italian food but would choose not to be around somebody who was binge drinking or clearly had a problem and was drinking in my presence. I wouldn’t be around someone smoking or shooting dope drugs either. 

You can get through this, and at the same time I am sad that something growth and learning happens in the context of so much pain. Boy, do I wish it were easier sometimes!