gingerplum

Hey Wish Me Luck. Thanks for your understanding. Again, it's not entirely about the products, even though my resentment at having to give them up is huge, but about spending 5 yrs living in fear and anxiety over a possible positive test. It's about complying with something I find outrageously unreasonable. However, I am vain, and I do color my hair, which means breathing in alcohol-saturated products every 2 wks. At 42, I'm prematurely gray, and otherwise still very young looking. No room for compromise on this one. I would absolutely feel regret about giving up my license. Fortunately I have a husband who makes a six-figure salary; still we'd be giving up a LOT that we're used to. I'm thinking about trying the IPN program, while going back to school for something else where my background as a nurse would be an assest, such as paralegal. I figure the 5 yrs is going to pass regardless of what I do, and I should at least make an effort to save my license. Anyone reading have ANY idea what IPN is using for lab thresholds for this testing? Florida or otherwise? It would really ease my mind to know, thanks!

The crux of the issue is, it's neither that simple or easy. It's not even about the cosmetic stuff, per se,even though that's really, really important to me; it's about being held to unrealistic and unreasonably high expectations. Unfortunately, being "100% true to myself" can't guarantee inadvertent incidental exposure to ETOH. Taking away my fragrances, which are somewhere between hobby and obsession for me? That's a crushing blow. Not being able to eat sushi because there's rice wine vinegar mixed with sticky rice, and the soy sauce is fermented? We're getting into pretty Draconian territory here. Incidental contact with ETOH is inevitable. Just about every liquid product that contains sugar also contains some amount of ethanol. Even breathing vapor of ethyl alcohol in topical products can cause a positive EtG. Alcohol can be produced by the body even with consumtion of yeast (such as baker’s yeast) and sugar (such as in drinks or foods), metabolized into EtG and EtS. One study showed that EtG was produced after consumption of ripe fruits and soda. That alone leaves ample room for concern. So, that's why I'm fishing for specific thresholds for IPN lab values. I can easily commit to not drinking, but I refuse to spend 5 yrs living in apprehension and fear about some absurd zero tolerance for everyday environmental contact. Even if I could survive on room air, I'd have to worry about contaminants. I'm also speculating that IPN cutoffs are "very low," but I'm hoping someone has experience with specific values. As stated previously, I have retained an attorney who specializes in this area of practice.

Currently faced w presenting to the Fl BON for failure to complete an intensive inpt program. Without all the details, I sought help for an addictions problem voluntarily & spent several days in detox. On return to work, I was told I had to sign an IPN contract to remain employed at Shands Hospital, where was employed in excellent standing for 18 yrs. I signed, thinking I'd be monitored & allowed to return to work w/o further issue. I was naive. I spent 30 days at Florida Recovery Center, owned by Shands. At 2 wks my insurance stopped paying; however, I was certain FRC would allow me to remain in tx regardless, as an 18 yr employee in good standing (at their own facility) who had come in voluntarily. BEYOND naive. Not only would they not allow me to "complete" tx or clear me to return to work after 30 days, they d/c'ed me and reported to the BON that I left AMA (!). Finally, the point: While in inpt tx, I had a pos etG test of 40; while this is insanely low, 0-25 is WNL, & anything >25 is considered pos for ETOH. I can only guess it was due to incidental exposure, as I was using products like hairspray, perfume, & Sinex. (All of which were cleared as ok by their MD). The question: Does anyone know what Fl IPN uses as cutoffs for lab values w etG/etS? I can't deal w the idea that every day of my life for 5 yrs, I could inadvertently expose myself to ETOH & fail a test. So, does anyone know what cutoff values are used? Often labs use 100 or even 500, but I have the feeling that won't be the case w IPN. I'm seriously considering surrendering my license, as depressing as that is. Any info or ANY experiences w IPN are much appreciated! Incidentally, I have retained an attorney to negotiate w the BON.