Tested positive for dilaudid

[bobertsmith]

Was recently tested for "erratic behavior" (eventhough they couldn't say what was erratic about my behavior) and got a call and to my dismay I tested positive for Dilaudid. How this happened I do not know. I hear certain things can cause false positives. Especially things like diet pills etc...(took some of my wife's phentermine...maybe that caused it.) Is this true?

What will happen next? I didn't take any dilaudid and Im especially not addicted to anything in any form or fashion. What do I do?

Do I request retests? Do I even have a leg to stand on? Or am I condemmed to TPAPN?

Please help.

[Michelle Turner RN]

I just joined this site and posted a message, but can't find it and no one has responded I don't think. It's about addiction & IPN....can anyone find it and let me know if there are any responses? I did it on a thread..I'm a newbie, named Michelle Turner, you can look at my profile :)

[jackstem]

I just joined this site and posted a message, but can't find it and no one has responded I don't think. It's about addiction & IPN....can anyone find it and let me know if there are any responses? I did it on a thread..I'm a newbie, named Michelle Turner, you can look at my profile :)

Here ya go Michelle...

https://allnurses.com/nurses-and-recovery/license-inactive-due-476370.html

I posted a response as did one other person. If you get stuck let me know.

Jack

[Dixiecup]

You're attorney is going to ask you to get a hair follicle test almost certainly. and it will cost about $200 out of pocket but totally worth it!

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

Before I read ANY of the replies, I want to put in a reply of my very own that is not influenced by what anyone else has suggested.

You see, I read your title and here's my brain thinking "yeahh, let me go to allnurses, I'm bored.... "click click click ..

haha, yeah I think it's funny now, because it has been many years and probalby more than a thousand aa/na meetings since I tested positive.

I am sorry but unless your urine got switched, then at some point whether awake or asleep, you ingested or were injected with hydromorphone. Add to the test results an eye witness that has said you were acting strangely.

I doubt that, even with an attorney, you will get away with this. Because, once you are diverting dilaudid/hydromorphone, your addiction and tolerance level has gone beyond the point where you can stop it on your own. So, even if you do talk your way out of this one (wwhich rarely if EVER happens in Texas) then there will be a next time... Unless you seek treatment for your problem(s).

I know this, because at first I tried everything that I could to get out of the trouble that I was in. IT DIDN'T WORK because I was a addicted to opiods. I had graduated up to the really good stuff. You see, dilaudid is the really good stuff. Supposedly it is 13 times the stregnth of morphine.

And this... is why... I know ,,, it is HIGHLY unlikely that you would show up with the very best IV drug-pain reliever that is available on most hospital floors... .... .and you would have it in your urine by accident?

No. They test the urine more than once and they do a special test on it once you come up positive for opiods.

I don't mean to sound rude, and you might hate me... but I feel like right now is the time to be brutally honest. Even if it is sacrificing my need to be nice all the damn time.

Now, I will read the other replies and probably write another reply to those replies.

Mags.

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

Ok...I will definately hire an attourney. And Ill definately request a repeat uds though I dont know about a hair follicale test...money is kinda tight...Will the board perform a hair follicle test?

No, in Texas you must prove you are innocent after a report such as this... for example: laboratory evidence and collaborating witnesses. Texas BON and most other states are looking out for the interest of the public. Once documentation like this has been handed to them, they take it very seriously.

I was called and asked if I was on any medications or had a reason why I would show positive for dilaudid. I said I have no reason why that would have shone. The only medication I take is adderal for which I have a prescription and my job knows about it.

Then it was not prescribed. If you have access to narcotics at work, it will be assumed that you diverted this medication. Don't be surprised if management goes through your medication records with a fine tooth comb. If you ingested the drug, it's best to just enter into a TPAPN agreement. If you want to hire an attorney, and they end up finding that your MAR's and your pharmacy access do not match up and there are missing doses or even just ONE unwitnessed wastage,,, then they will have grounds to file criminal charges (diverting is theft of a narcotic/ posession of a control substance or prescribing yourself a narcotic without prescriptive authority? well, it could be any of those charges if they find documentation of even one tenth of a millileter or even a half a tablet that wasn't wasted wth a witness.). If you enter TPAPN in good faith, you will have immunity to such charges in Texas.

For now I am suspended from work until HR calls me. I guess they will try to make me sign something saying I was diverting meds. Then I guess I will have to answer to the board so they can determine if I am an addict.

What does this board interview consist of?

The board will not have to determine if you're an addict. They will look at the proof that was sent to them and they will rule on that. If they think you are unsafe for the public then they will take away your nursing license. YOU will have the burden of proof. Not the board. I suggest you go ahead and go to http:/www.tpapn.org and read it thoroughly. Then, maybe search these forums for "facing the board of nursing" and see how these nurses handled their situations. You could literally spend DAYS on this website just reading about nurses issues with the board.

Or, if you really are innocent, I'd be sending in CSI to find out who's urine they tested.... because it wasn't yours right? What about the hair test ? You don't have the money? Just think of the money you won't have if you are innocent and you DON'T take a hair test...

Once again, just being brutally honest, because I remember that it was the thing that I needed. I didn't need someone to say "aww, I'm so sorryy they really did a number on you! okay, let's just tell them that this one urine doesn't count and that you can go do another... poor thing! Those darn drug testing labs! they're always getting it wrong!!"

Okay, now so you can be mean right back, but I can take it!

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

Much good advice as always Jack. However, if he doesn't have money to get a hair test, then he really really REALLY wont have the money for an attorney. Yeah, good advice for someone that maybe didn't have a witness that is reporting his behaviors .. and then a uds at the same time. I would say that is one heck of a consipiracy. Yeah, I am a little bit mean tonight, but only because he reminds me of myself back then. And this is exactly what I needed....

ADMIT THAT YOU NEED HELP. period.

Suck it up.

Go through TPAPN.

and then,, you will be happier than you have ever been in your ENTIRE LIFE. You will look around and wonder how you got so lucky to be alive. And, you will be healthy enough to be a nurse.

I agree with purple_peonies...retain an attorney who practices administrative law and has experience facing the board of nursing in your state. Do not speak with ANYONE! Tell them to contact your attorney if they have questions...this means employer, colleagues, friends, board investigators, or any law enforcement agencies. Ask any nurse if they wish they would have hired an attorney BEFORE talking with the board or investigators and most will tell you YES! The board is there to protect the public, they do not advocate for you or any nurse being investigated. It is an adversarial system, you against them. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say (or write, or sign) can and WILL be used against you. You have the right to an attorney to be with you anytime you are being questioned. They DO NOT have to tell you this because it's not criminal law...yet. The board WILL forward any and all information to law enforcement agencies should they determine there may have been illegal activities involved. While hearsay evidence cannot be introduced during criminal trials, it CAN be introduced during the board's investigation. This is why you don't talk to anyone without your attorney present. This is serious business!

As for the hair test, the board will not pay for any testing that is done (blood, urine, or hair). That will come out of your pocket. A 1.5 inch sample of hair provides information for 90 days.

If you are innocent (and I'm not saying you are or you aren't) why would you agree to sign anything or enter any kind of program? You worked hard to get your license. Your ability to practice and get a job anywhere at any time is on the line. Ask the folks who are in a monitoring program if things are fun and running smooth. It can make it difficult to find a job, get a license in another state, go back to school, etc. So, if you have to borrow money in order to pay for your attorney, borrow it. Trying to represent yourself throughout all of this is like trying to treat your own brain tumor...not a wise move.

The American Association of Nurse Attorneys referral hotline: [phone]

Jack

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

Oh, and one more thing, I crown myself forum expert on Texas and recovering nurses.... :bowingpur:bowingpur:bowingpur Thank you! Thank you! You may stand... please please... stop bowing...

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

If they told him it was Dilaudid, then it wasn't a 'dipstick'.

The first sample is tested and when it comes back positive for opiods, they retest with a different, more detailed test that shows the dilaudid. A'dipstick' will not show dilaudid.

It's likely the hospital performed a dip stick test as a screen. If that is so, the positive result could be a "false positive". Do you know if they performed a GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry)? If they did you will have a tougher time refuting the results. That doesn't mean it's impossible. Read the tutorial at the link provided regarding GC/MS. This is another reason to have an attorney. They can subpoena all documents and test results.

Did the folks involved in all of this follow chain of custody protocols? If there was a break in the chain of custody process and protocols your attorney will have more ammo in your defense.

TIP 5: Appendix C - Urine toxicology Guidelines

This explains SAMHSAs guidelines for forensic testing for toxicology

Jack

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

adipex will show as a amphetamine during a drug test....good luck

[jackstem]

Judas Priest! Aren't we (no.....YOU MAG) a testy little....thing tonight/this morning? Ain't no way I'm bowing to some recovering addict nurse! We know all about your kind...don't we.

And I love ya just the same. And my sister thinks I'M a hard....liner! GEEZ!

I don't recommend the attorney in order to "get out of the situation". I recommend the attorney to prevent the BON, TPAPAN, or anyone/anything else from stepping all over the person's civil rights. Sometimes, in the aftermath of being confronted, the person says and signs things that can make things very difficult later. Since we all know things can become extremely difficult during this process, preventing self induced difficulties is extremely important. We don't need to become our own worst enemy...at least no more so than the disease already makes us our own worst enemy.

You're right...if they said dilaudid, then it's more than a dipstick. But...fentanyl is 80 - 100 times more potent than MS and sufentanil is 1,000 times more potent. They are the good stuff. And, because they are so potent, the person misusing them will progress from first use to almost dead in 3 - 6 months. That's the equivalent of about 20-25 years of alcohol misuse. So what? The further the disease progresses, the more difficult treatment becomes and the less likely long term remission is UNLESS treatment is long term (i.e. 90 days or more). The more potent the substance, the faster the disease progresses. We don't have the luxury of waiting until someone "hits bottom". Intervene now when we suspect a colleague has this disease. They aren't bad or weak. They are ill, and they don't even know it.

Perhaps this incident is the one that will save a life.

[elleNY]

Side note..mixing Adderall with Phentermine is like..well..mixing cocaine and meth...I can't imagine how you hold your hands still let alone function on that combination! P.S. Phentermine may cause mitral valve problems..

Elle

[anangelsmommy, ADN, BSN, RN]

uh...you say that you DIDNT take the dilaudid BUT you DO admit to taking your wifes prescription drug. That is just as wrong. You took a presciption drug that wasnt prescribed to you. Why did you take it? Did it give you a Rush? And it seems to follow that if you can one drug that is not legally prescribed to you, it seems that it would be easy to believe you could take another drug that wasn't as well such as the dilaudid, the BON may see this also. So either you have a very big problem you need to fess up to.

Or if you truly didnt do this you need to find out if they DID or DID NOT find your adderal assuming you were taking it and if they didnt find it, I would challenge the validity of this test. Perhaps they switched your sample. If you definately were taking the adderal and it is not in the sample, why is it not but the dilaudid is? what happened? seems like something happened here....?

angelsmommy