False Positive When Taking Numerous Meds

I am court ordered to be in a treatment program and found out today that I had a UA come back positive for methamphetamine. I am not a user (I smoke marijuana), I am however Bipolar 1, have high blood pressure for which I take meds for, and am being treated for Parkinson's and am in the process of being treated for cancer (skin). Long story short I am a medical mess. Except for the skin cancers, I am on medications for everything, which I take as prescribed. Is it possible for the 13 different meds combine to give a false positive on a UA? I'm sure my Probation Officer is going to ask me about it and I would like to have some 'semblance of an answer for him. BTW the concentration that showed up was not high, it was just there. TYIA

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Yeah, this kind of thing can definitely happen. Drug tests (like UAs) are super sensitive, but not always super smart. They don't look for the actual drug molecule in detail - instead they look for "markers" or chemical shapes that are similar to meth. The problem is that some totally legal prescription meds can have parts that look close enough to fool the test.

A few examples: medicines for Parkinson's, depression, and even some cold meds (like pseudoephedrine or bupropion) have been known to cause false positives for amphetamines or meth. And since you're on a bunch of meds (13 total, like you said), the chances of something tripping the test go up. It doesn't mean your meds "combine" into meth, it just means the test can mistake one of them for it.

Also, the fact that your test was just barely positive ("not high, just there") fits with the idea of a false positive. If you were really using meth, the levels would usually be a lot higher.

What usually happens next is that if anyone questions it, they can order a follow-up test called GC/MS (gas chromatography / mass spectrometry). That one is way more exact, and it can tell the difference between your meds and actual meth. If you get that done, it should clear things up.

So if your probation officer asks, you can honestly say: "I don't use meth. Some of my prescriptions can cause false positives, and the level was really low. A confirmation test would show the real answer."

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