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Methadone positive in a UA and I haven't taken any...

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FullofGrace

Greenlighter
Joined
Dec 17, 2010
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Location
Florida
I recently got dismissed from my pain management doctor because of methadone coming up in a drug screen.

I'm prescribed 2 30mg roxycodone every 4-6 hours. Why would I take methadone?

I've always been honest with my doctor, she's kind of a friend outside of the office too, and I HONESTLY can only come up with one idea of how I might have tested positive for it. I know it's far fetched, but I SERIOUSLY haven't touched methadone.

My husband is prescribed it, he's got some problems with his shoulder and was on the same meds as me. His dosage was different, but still the same meds. Last visit he asked to be switched and they gave him methadone. I've done a lot of research on it, mainly because I've wanted to get off opiates since our daughter was born, but methadone seemed like going from the frying pan to the fire...I don't handle withdraw well AT ALL and I'd read that the withdraw from methadone was pretty horrendous compared to the roxycodone.

Could it even be possible that it got into my system (sorry if this is TMI) because I swallow? IF so, how long would it stay in my system if this is, mostly and at least, a daily act?

I just can't think of any other way it could have gotten into my system and am looking for answers. I apologize if this is a subject that's been talked about and is in another thread, I DID try searching, but nothing showed up on this topic.

I appreciate any help, in advance, in figuring this one out.

Thanks.
Mary
 
Sorry but this is in the wrong section - Im not sure where this should go so Ill try Basic Drug discussion for now and see how it goes.
 
You know :) this one's really got me wonder'n myself... I have no idea but I think that this is gonna be a great topic and I'd love to hear some of the coments on this.. Lol
 
It is virtually impossible that you got it from his semen. There are cutoff levels that indicate a positive, for example one might use 50ng/ml of methadone's metabolite. A very small amount may not even be enough to trigger a positive response. Aside from accidentally taking his meds, there is no other way for you to test positive for methadone. Even if some of your pills got contaminated with methadone powder, it's impossible to make that cutoff. You would need to actually consume methadone to trigger a positive.

Consider this example: I were to take 100mg of methadone. My urine may show 100ng/ml of metabolite the next day. That's 1/1,000,000th of what I took. If I urinated 100ml (about average) and 1% (1ml) of that remained in my urethra and was then mixed with the semen, of which you swallowed all, you would have ingested 100 nanograms of a methadone metabolite. That means that it will too be metabolized, perhaps leaving 50% by the next day (~24hr half life) your urine would have 1/2,000,000th of that amount, which would be 50 femtograms.

A lot of times at these labs samples and equipment can become contaminated, usually by carelessness. I've seen places slap a sticker on a cup of pee without looking twice. I would not take the blame if you know you are clean. You should insist on re-taking the test. Since something as important as a good pain mgmt doctor is on the line, I would call the doctor up ASAP and insist on a re-test. I'm sure if you insist on your innocence, he won't have a problem of letting you re-test.

Be sure to label your sample. And the sooner you do it, the better chance you have of clearing up your name.

Your body metabolizes the drug at a given rate, and the level of the metabolite will decrease over time. They test for the metabolite and may have a cutoff of lets say 50ng/ml. Where if you have more than that amount, the test shows that you are positive. You can be negative but still have some metabolite in your urine. Methadone has a lengthy half life so it would take some time for it to clear out entirely and the level of metabolite goes down logarithmically.

One day it might be 100ng/ml, the next 50ng/ml, 25 the next, 12.5, and so forth. If you tested positive, it most likely means you were above the cutoff. If you haven't taken methadone as you claim, your level should be close to 0. It's unfortunate that some people won't fess up to their errors, even if you prove to them they fucked up. In that case you may need to seek another doctor. But I would rape up their phone and insist on re-taking it, because a good pain doctor is a bad thing to lose.

Life does not always mimic Seinfeld (Elaine and the poppy bagel)! Though that was a good episode.
 
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Drug testing discussion is not allowed unfortunately. I'm studying addictions counseling and we spent weeks covering drug testing issues and my teachers said they've heard this dick sucking excuse before and that its completely impossible... it really makes me wonder if you DID take some methadone and are just floating an excuse here to test its viability.

If your doctor only used an in-office urine screen then its likely just a false positive. They try to prevent these but especially with old/expired tests they do happen. The doctor should be keeping some of the specimen to send to a lab if there is ANY question about the test results.
 
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