Did Satan vomit on my doorstep??? Since I got canned last month (thank you for your kind support on my behalf for sticking up for patient safety and unfair labor law violations...see "I got Canned!) I have attempted to join an new registry. This has been going on for over a week. After spending 4.5 hours taking wriiten exams and compliance evaluations which could not EQUAL sitting for my boards, I am providing blood, urine, happy factor, access to my personal life and am now informed by an MD that my urine came back positive for benzodiazapine. Cricky balls! If everything I've been thru over the past few weeks doesn't merit a little valium, I don't know what would! I do have a scrip for ativan and did succomb to it's evils a few fort nights ago, provided a copy of the RX to the agency, but the MD is not satisfied. He states that the by product that came back positive was from a sedative like ambien, valium, traxene, etc. NOW, I have an old scrip for ambien on file with my MD but I have not taken any. What would you do ?
Dixielee, if you have a script for Ambien and are using it as prescribed not to worry.
However, if you don't have a script for back pain and take an old script or even a family members percocet and test positive, then you might be in trouble. Be careful. We never know when we are going to be tested.
I would demand a re-test and I believe there's a test more specific to what agent it actually is. I have a coworker that had to go through this they retested her to see if her positive drug screen was percocet (her script) or demerol (the missing narc).
Good luck. :)
Having seen alot of drug screen results at work, I know ours comes up as Benzo's, etc......Not by specific drug name such as Valium or Ativan. I think there's a stink there , however, I would not want that job as it would be starting off in a bad way. The MD will never trust you. Good Luck!
Having seen alot of drug screen results at work, I know ours comes up as Benzo's, etc......Not by specific drug name such as Valium or Ativan.
Same here. The initial tests are very general, identifying class of drugs, not type.
There are further tests though, probably more expensive, if one is looking for a specific drug. In this case the person said he took Ativan and the docs are saying it's something else. I would demand proof as to what that something else was, not some heresay opinion of "it could be this or that".
I agree, something is fishy here. A benzo is a benzo is a benzo. They can't differentiate like that! PURSUE THIS FURTHER.
I once came up positive on a pre-job urine screen - for barbituates! BOY was that occupational health nurse mean to me when she called! But then as she's looking through my chart she says, "Oh wait, you're on Librax..." and tells me it has librium in it and thus is a barbituate. I honestly had no clue - I was just a sophomore in nursing school and hadn't even taken pharmacology or passed patient meds yet! All I had to do was bring in the prescription bottle (with a date BEFORE the drug test) to show them. Agree - the Rx has to be used within a year or it's considered self-medicating. If you have recurrent problems, just call your doc for a new script so it's legal.
I'm just going to let this Drug Doctor who reads the test results report back to the agency that I failed the drug screen. I have a scrip for ativan, I showed it to the registry guy. He can come to his own conclusions. I have already jumped through so many hoops with this agency . HEY! Maybe somebody slipped me a MICKEY at that RAVE I attended last week! Things got pretty hectic in the MOSH PIT!!!! I'm just shaking my head at the way things have turned out for me since getting canned last month, someone turned me in to animal control for owning ferrets, my homeowners association is forcing me to remove an umbrella from my patio, and PS, my cat is dead!
All I need is a nice, warm and fuzzy TAX AUDIT! Yeah, that would be the cherry on the cake of my day. Quick, someone post the "silver lining" chestnut! :angryfire
I'm just going to let this Drug Doctor who reads the test results report back to the agency that I failed the drug screen. I have a scrip for ativan, I showed it to the registry guy. He can come to his own conclusions. I have already jumped through so many hoops with this agency . HEY! Maybe somebody slipped me a MICKEY at that RAVE I attended last week! Things got pretty hectic in the MOSH PIT!!!! I'm just shaking my head at the way things have turned out for me since getting canned last month, someone turned me in to animal control for owning ferrets, my homeowners association is forcing me to remove an umbrella from my patio, and PS, my cat is dead!
All I need is a nice, warm and fuzzy TAX AUDIT! Yeah, that would be the cherry on the cake of my day. Quick, someone post the "silver lining" chestnut! :angryfire
whoa what an awful time this must be for you! Try to keep your head up, we all go through cycles of crap being thrown at us, things will turn around for you soon!
whoa what an awful time this must be for you! Try to keep your head up, we all go through cycles of crap being thrown at us, things will turn around for you soon!
I agree...Haunted, you take care...tomorrow is another day (at the risk of throwing out useless cliche's...LOL)Seriously, I've had a bad month myself so (((HUGS)) to you...things can only go up from here for us both, right?
So on a related topic of interest to all of us: how long WILL Benzos show up on a drug screen? I had a Xanax premed prior to a mylogram done last month...will Benzos still read in urine and blood? Down in my parts they look for any reason not to hire, so doubt a doctor's note will help...best to wait to test till its safe. How long will that be?.
Thinks stay around even longer when they take a hair sample and test that.
One other thing I havent seen mentioned but did the OP list the meds he was taking when he took the test. Also they are looking for abuse, one valium or one what ever a week ago is probably won't show up as a positive or may show up at a level the medical review officer and the test doesnt consider positive.
I had a test following a endoscopy by a couple weeks noted that I recieved demerol and versed and nothing ever came of it.
One last note some doctors- the ones that decide the positive or negative dont like it when you even for get to tell them you take tylenol- even when they dont test for it and will fail you for that reason alone.
I've got Lortab pills left from a year ago when I had a tooth extracted. Since the pills are from an old prescription does that mean I would not be allowed to take them?
This has me worried now, because a couple of months ago I took one of those Lortabs when I had a stress headache. I'm supposed to start nursing school in January, what if they give a drug test?
There is some kind of racket going on here...has to do with a lot more than having a prescription or not having a prescription.
I feel for you. Maybe another doctor could give another opinion?
The laws here in Tennessee state that a prescription a year old is not a valid prescription. Our MRO (Medical Review Officer) for drug screens will not accept it. Also, Valium is not Ativan- 2 different drugs showing 2 different substances in the urine. I know, I collect drug screens and monitor employees in our drug screening program. :)
Same here. The initial tests are very general, identifying class of drugs, not type.
There are further tests though, probably more expensive, if one is looking for a specific drug. In this case the person said he took Ativan and the docs are saying it's something else. I would demand proof as to what that something else was, not some heresay opinion of "it could be this or that".
Labs can be very specific when screening, depending if you want qualitative or quanatative results.
Since lorazepam is a benzo how could they differentiate it in a drug screen? ambien is another class of drug imidzopyridines. I assume all their metabolites come up the same.
As for old prescription use, I have read that it is considered to be inappropriate, if not illegal.Check your board of nursing laws.
By doing a quanatative test: breaks down all the metabolites of a drug.
, however, I would not want that job as it would be starting off in a bad way. The MD will never trust you. Good Luck!
Tweety, BSN, RN
36,286 Posts
Dixielee, if you have a script for Ambien and are using it as prescribed not to worry.
However, if you don't have a script for back pain and take an old script or even a family members percocet and test positive, then you might be in trouble. Be careful. We never know when we are going to be tested.