False Positive Benzodiazepines (Page 2) (Top voted first)

I have been taking suboxone for almost a year and had to move to a new doc. They drug tested me and said I tested positive for benzos. The funny thing is I have not taken ANY benzos. I have to go take another test today at 5 and I am scared s**tless cuz they said if benzos are still in my system then they can not see me. Knowing that I haven't taken any benzos makes me wonder if I might still test positive for it again. I did take some cough syrup and some percs but that is it. What could cause this?

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I tested positive for benzodiazapines on a UA toxicology screening .. I HAVE NOT AND DO NOT TAKE ANY ... I am currently on (1) 20 mg of lexapro (3-4)10/325 mg of hydrocodone (3) 300 my of gabapentin (3) 10 my of baclofen and (1) 100 mg of trazadone DAILY ... Could ANYONE SHED LIGHT as to Why or HOW this occurred ???

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Wow. My story is so much like Nancypants story. I too am on methadone maintenance and I keep testing positive for benzos and cant figure out why. About 6mos ago I did take some benzos and got caught. Ive been to pre-IOP, then IOP, a benzo group, etc. About a month ago i had a routine UA at the clinic and boom, it was positive for benzos with no explaination. I hadn't touched them in months. My counselor didn't believe me so she said I either had to go to rehab or they were going to detox me from the program. I went to a rehab that allowed you to remain on methadone. My 1st day back I went to the clinic to dose and of course i had a UA. I couldn't wait for it to come up clean. Boy was i wrong. It was still showing positive for benzos. I cannot figure out what is causing this. I take Lasix, Lopressor for my high blood pressure, and Ambien to sleep. None of these meds will cause a positive. The only thing different is while i was in rehab, i was treated for a UTI with Bactrim. I had the urine sent out and if it comes back positive they said i can pay $40.00 for a different kind of test to be ran on it that breaks things down. I'm afraid they are going to kick me out of the clinic. HELP.

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I truly agree with that. I was stuck on methadone for about, 14 years and been off about 8 yrs and I still don't feel right. Bad accident's. Falling asleep at the wheel, it almost killed me. And I'm still sick after being off methadone for about 8 yrs. I'm still tabled a drug addict. The only thing I took was Vicodins. All it is is a legal drug that's worse. Than what a lot of people don't even need. There all privately owned and all they want to do is get you addicted and take your or the governments money.

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I know exactly what you are going through. I have 6 years clean and my drug of choice also opiates. I can't stand benzos. Who wants to be zombied out all day. I recently switched methadone programs because I moved relatively far from the one I had been going to for 5 years. I had always had clean ruined at my previous program and as soon as I switched, I have had 6 false positive benzo urines in 7 months. I do not take anything else except biotin 10,000 mgs which is to promote healthy skin and rapid hair growth. Of course this new clinic dosent believe me because I have only been there for a short period of time, and no one will help me. I'm transferring back to my old program which really I was reluctant to leave in the first place because of the excellent level of care I received there. It's just a pain in the ass of a commute which is going to be difficult to make before they close every day. I have a feeling people are selling the clean urines at the lab, and in turn giving us dirty urines. I just don't get it?? But it's ruining my life and the 6 years sobriety I worked so hard for. I feel like your damned of you do and damned worse if u don't.

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Ambien can sow up as a benzo. It is I've, just won't get you high. I was taking them and my drug test facility told me they were in fact a benzo and i never got in trouble for it

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i am in a drug court program-i have been clean for 55days-yesterday i had a false positive for benzos-two weeks ago EVERYONE tested positive for benzos-i was the only one whovtested positive yesterday-the only thingvi can think of thatvi did different was i ate a greek gyro with homemade greek dressing-could it have been something in the dressing?

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I just went to a suboxone dr with friend and boyfriend. All 3 of us failed for benzos. No way either. I also just read that out of 100 dipsticks tests. 8-10 are false positive. I used to b on methadone. Best of luck

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I know this is an old post but wanted to comment for future reference. I'm also in MMT and have been clean for 5 years. I've also had several benzo positives. There IS a follow up test refered to as a GMass (GMCS- gas mass spec) which will tell EXACTLY what is in your system. I always run one and always prove i'm clean that way... hope this helps someone in the future.

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I'm not sure how old this post is but I just read it and wanted to reply. I am a heroin addict turned methadone patient turned back heroin addict. Its a horrible cycle. I'm sorry your going thru such a hard time. When us addicts get clean or get on a maintaince drug like Suboxone or Methadone and gain control of our lives it's like a rebirth for us. We are so grateful that life is giving us a second chance but then something happens like what is happening to you and it feel like it's being ripped away. I don't know what to tell you to do here. I would just talk to your doctor and explain how well this treatment has helped you and there's got to be something they can do to test you. How about hair follicle test? You might have to pay for it but it would be worth it to prove your telling the truth. I will keep you in my prayers. I truly believe you and if you've never been an addict you don't know how important it is to have ppl who believe you bc we have lied so much to ourselves and others during our addiction. We work so hard to fix relationships and prove to everyone that our lives are getting back on track. I have a friend who is in methadone maintaince treatment and she use to take benzos but had to stop due to the severe interaction she had taking them with the methadone. I will talk to her and see if she has any advice for me to give to you. Keep your head up and remember the truth will prevail in the end. It always does.

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Nancypants, that is incorrect, there are tests that can show the specific medications you took, they are more in-depth and much more expensive, but there are ones that can distinguish more specifically by detecting the specific metabolites. Some medications do share the same or similar metabolites, so they can't always precisely tell everything someone has taken, but in many cases, they can tell whether someone has taken Oxycodone or Methadone, for instance. There are even broader panel urine tests that can do this.

I ran through your list of medications and checked them against the substances known to cause false positives for various substances and I am not finding anything.

However, there is a slight, very slight possibility that it could be the Elavil if you had taken it close to the time you had the test, because even though it isn't listed as doing it, I did notice that other medications in the same class have been shown to cause a false positive for Benzodiazepines on urine tests.

I am not a professional chemist, so this wouldn't stand up in court, but to me, it only makes sense that if other medications in the same class can cause it, there would be a possibility that this one would do the same.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Elavil/­

Are there any other questions?

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I have just had benzo and THC show on a routine drug test. I do no drugs. I have had no prescription or over the counter drugs. I took diclofenac for 3 days over a week ago. How could this be possible?

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confusedperson, I am not sure what may have shown up for you as a Benzodiazepine, are you sure you didn't take anything else? Even an over the counter product?

As to the THC, that is easily explained, because many of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, including the Diclofenac that you took can cause false positives for that. It can even happen with over the counter doses of Ibuprofen (Advil).

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Diclofenac/­

Are there any other questions?

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ok, thank-you for all your help, deeply appreciated.
I will just have to wait for the lab results.
I must say I am at a complete loss, and concerned that at 48 my integrity, job and life is in the hands of something so fallible and baffling.
Thank-you : (

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Benadryl, or its active ingredient Diphenhydramine, which is used in many over the counter products, might cause a false positive for Benzodiazepines.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Diphenhydramine/­

There are several Chinese herbal supplements that have been found to contain them. Such as Cow's Head Pills and Miracle Herb. In these it has been found as an undeclared drug ingredient.

The herb Valerian Root has also been recorded as causing a false positive for them.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Valerian_(herb)/­

Are there any other questions?

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Elisandra, what else have you taken? Please post back and make sure that you even include over the counter products.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Methadone/­

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To Nancypant....Currently in very similar situation..I have been on Suboxone for over 2 years, and not a single relapse. Had an old script of Elavil..used it a few nights to sleep..and came up positve for opiates/benzos. Still fighting to prove my case also. Of course, my urine is long gone, they dont hold it long enough for anyone to contradict the findings. My doctor wasnt even aware of false positives. It is extremely upsetting to go through this, since noone believes you once you have become addicted to a substance, and admitted it. If the doctors who prescribed methadone and suboxone actually cared about their patients, instead of the money they make off of them, they would pause at a situation like ours..2 years clean, no past infringes or relapses, and put a hold on the urines to further test , even at patients expense, to give someone a second chance. There actually are addicts out there who do clean up, and are decent, honest human beings.Good luck to you. Fingers crossed.

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My daughter has regular drug tests, wears a patch for drug court and recently went to her dr. for illness. She was drug tested and it showed positive for benzos. She has been clean for almost two years. She swears she didn't use anything. She asked the nurse to repeat the test and it still showed positive. She had to test for drug court later in the day.

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Any of you taking heroin or any other street drugs, you may find they are cut with benzoes, also if your buying meds from online pharmacies many of the fake tabs around contain benzoes so some possible answers but i think the most interesting evidence someone posted above was the fact about the testing kits being up to 50% inaccurate and showing false positives, can someone post a link to the actual research that was done on this? i am sure this would help your cases no end. As many of the community drug teams use those instant testing kits which are very cheap.

Another possibility, are the testing centers giving you brand new containers to put urine samples in? or washing out old ones? just a thought.....

I tested positive for amphetamines once while in a detox and got thrown out, i had not taken any speed or any amphetamines at all. So sad how these testing kits effect peoples lives. I am pretty convinced that most of these positives are coming from the testing kits used. You might ask they carry out a test on their testing kits by getting none users to give samples.

Poppy seeds can test positive for opiates as can diaorrea tablets which have loperamide in which is an opiate.

Someone mentioned having their doc threaten to take them off weekly pick up if they tested positive, doctors should not be able to do this, it is punative and wrong. If this is happening to you look up the UK methadone alliance for help, they have letters you can download to give to your doctor.

I had all these probs when i was younger and it's the last thing u need when your trying to get stable, as an addict your stigmatized by doctors alot of the time and they think that we are all lier's. Luckily i now have a good doc and am on weekly pickup and have been for several years.

Good luck.....

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im having the same problem im in a methadone clinic and have only been there for three months i am on nothing else there is no way i could have anythng cause a false pos for benzos so my belief is that is was human error. dirty equipment or something like that but how do i get someone to look into this? they just started usuin new saliva ones because they said ppl were getting away with using benzos with the old saliva ones but the numbers are crazy 32ppl out of 60 test positive in one day?? wtf is really going on how to i get to the botttom? i even asked didnt they think the numbers were awfully high theysaid no that there just catching all the ppl omg i know i am crystal clear and regardless if i pass the next ten tests im ot letting this rest ive seen to many ppl bein screwed over in the last week to let it go but how do i start? where do i start? the lab where they get the results the ppl the lab answer to? idk

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Okay, when a lab is not required to use certified tests, such as those that would be required for federal government jobs, they often go with the test provided by the cheapest bidder.

Unfortunately, it is known that these non-certified tests can cause false positives anywhere from 4 to 50% of the time.

And the other things you have to keep in mind are that some of them will cause false positives even if you weren't taking anything else, at all. On top of that, there are also over the counter products that can cause false positives, including some common cold and flu products.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Benzodiazepines/­

Unfortunately, like many other people on our site have discovered, you really don't have any recourse to go after anyone, or do anything. Since they aren't required to use certified test, they are free to just trust the results of whichever lab they chose to use.

Are there any other questions?

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