Category: How to pass

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• False-positives – what you need to know: Fluoroquinolones

  Posted on November 1st, 2011 How to pass

  When submitting a specimen for a drug testing, you are required to disclose all the medication that you are currently taking or had taken in the past week or month. The reason why it is important to provide all the prescription names is that sometimes drugs interfere with each other and a test results comes up “false-positive” for something you had not taken. The detailed list of prescription or over-the-counter drugs that may influence the drug test results follows below.

  Last time we spoke about Ampicin.

  Today we will talk about Fluoroquinolones.

  General drug information:

  Fluoroquinolones belong to the family of quinolones which are drugs that are synthetic broad spectrum antibiotics. Back in 1962 nalidixic acid was first introduced as a treatment for urinary tract infection – that was the first generation of the quinolones used to treat human conditions. Compared to other antibiotics, Fluoroquinolones potentially have the risk of colonization with MRSA, so generally it is recommended to avoid this medicine in the cases when clinical guidelines permit so it can be substituted with anything else. Commonly, Fluoroquinolones are used for treatment of pneumonia for out-patient treatments. Due to the rising of the bacterial resistance to Fluoroquinolones, they are not recommended as a first-line antibiotics for acute sinusitis, but in some cases can be prescribed for a treatment of bronchitis.

  Possible side effects:

  Side effects of Fluoroquinolones are generally pretty mild and correspond to the intake of the medicine – as soon as you start feeling it, cut back on the amounts and it will go away. For more details you should speak with your primary doctor.

  Since Fluoroquinolones can cause a false positive reading on a urine drug test, take time to properly prepare yourself if you have one coming up. A false-positive drug test results do not happen too often, but it is better not to risk it if you have taken Fluoroquinolones recently. Such a “mistake” occurs when another substance in the body (medication) has a similar structure to the drugs being assayed in the screen. Something as simple as detox drink suitable for your body weight can make a great difference in the test results.

• Medicinal Use: Overview Part 1

  Posted on October 31st, 2011 How to pass

  So what does all this mean for our future? That at some point psychedelics would be a prescribed drug. You would go to a medical practitioner and receive a prescription for the use of a psychedelic drug as part of your treatment for a psychological illness. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well according to science and recent research this is most likely going to be a huge benefit to our future. The downside of course would be that the employers would now be able to draw up new Drug Testing Policies. Currently despite prescriptions an employer still has the right to refuse employment to a person based on the results of their drug test, despite the person having a legal prescription for the use of that substance.

  Despite all the research into the potential for psychedelics as medicine the truth of the matter is that our current government and those before it are unwilling to make what they feel would be the unpopular decision of either legalizing medical research so that a researcher doesn’t have to jump through hoops made of thick red tape in order to have a study sanctioned and funded. Drug testing is so prevalent in America at this time that making these drugs legal, or even simply legal to study would put too many employers into uncomfortable positions. Just because you have a prescription doesn’t mean they can accept that you’re taking something. And currently the law is not on your side.

• How Long Does this Stuff Stay In My System? Steroids

  Posted on October 28th, 2011 How to pass

  When you think of steroid use what usually comes to mind is some muscle bound guy who can’t scratch his head because his arms can’t reach or some female athlete with facial hair and a deep voice.  Well, steroids have become much more useful than that.  Steroids are now used to treat some cancer patients and AIDS patients to prevent the loss of body mass which would lower the mortality rate affecting those patients.  They are also used to help with menopause, osteoporosis and in the treatment of burn victims to help with the healing process.

  Steroids used to be just a supplement that was taken by Olympic or Professional athletes and amateur weightlifters and bodybuilders, but today we find the use of steroids trickling down to high school students and even younger kids.  The detection time of steroids in the urine can range anywhere from one week to one year depending on the person’s body weight and how often the steroids were used by the individual.

  Abusing steroids can have serious health consequences. Some of the health related hazards of steroid abuse are liver damage, high blood pressure, fluid retention, and severe acne, and jaundice, increase of bad cholesterol and decrease of good cholesterol.  There are specific dangers for both men and women.  For men, steroid abuse can lead to reduced sperm count, shrinkage of testicles, infertility, baldness, development of breasts and it puts them at an increased risk for prostate cancer.  For women the risks include male pattern baldness, the appearance of facial hair, a change or stoppage of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris and deepening of the voice.  The dangers of steroid abuse in adolescents include earlier puberty changes and a stunted growth pattern due to earlier development of the skeleton.  Steroids do have a legitimate and valuable function but only if they are used properly.

• False-positives – what you need to know: Ampicin

  Posted on October 27th, 2011 How to pass

  When submitting a specimen for a drug testing, you are required to disclose all the medication that you are currently taking or had taken in the past week or month. The reason why it is important to provide all the prescription names is that sometimes drugs interfere with each other and a test results comes up “false-positive” for something you had not taken. The detailed list of prescription or over-the-counter drugs that may influence the drug test results follows below.

  Last time we spoke about Efavirenz.

  Today we will talk about Ampicin.

  General drug information:

  Ampicin is an antibiotic that belongs in the penicillin group of medications. It is used to fight off various types of infections that were caused by bacteria, such as bladder infections, ear infections, pneumonia, E. coli, gonorrhea, salmonella infection, gastrointestinal infections and bacterial meningitis, respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, etc.

  The uses for Ampicin are not restricted to the above mentioned infections.

  Possible side effects:

  Among common side effects of Ampicin is allergy to the drug itself. Hypersensitivity to penicillin derivatives can produce rash, stomatitis, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, inflammation and/or redness of the tongue, etc. This is not the full list of possible side effects, for more information please speak with your primary doctor.

  This drug can cause a false-positive drug test result for opiod use. Although the chances that this will happen are very small, it is still possible. A false-positive drug test result occurs when another substance in the body (prescribed or over-the-counter medication) has a structure similar to that of one of the drugs being assayed in the screen.

  If you had taken Ampicin not long before submitting for a drug testing, be sure to prepare yourself with the use of fast-acting detox products: either a detox drink or detox pills, to ensure the successful results.

• Medicinal Use: Psychedelics Part 9

  Posted on October 26th, 2011 How to pass

  Studies are currently coming to a close on forms of psychedelics, and the findings that have thus far been published have gone a long way to the understanding of the medicinal uses of these drugs for patients suffering from mental disorders caused by stress, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. But again, these studies are not funded by the government as they should be. Government funding includes many medical research projects, but the second a street drug is involved in the research the government shuts their doors and pretends that no such thing could possibly ever be useful information. Studies like this are not state-funded, but merely state-tolerated.

  The reasoning behind these studies isn’t just to see medicinal properties of the drugs, but also to measure as quantitatively as possible the effect that the drugs can have on a person’s behavior, emotion, and thought processes, and for medical practitioners to hopefully be able to build a successful treatment plan that will benefit the patient in every way possible. The underlying theme is that by studying not only the drug but the effects it has on a person’s brain at a chemical level we can also learn and ideally begin to treat those suffering from psychological illnesses that until now were considered untreatable. So hopefully someday – those people that we have locked away in the back cages of mental institutions with a labeling of clinically insane will be able to function and enter normal human society again. That those who have lost loved ones to mental illness may not have to do so for the rest of their lives, and could one day share a meal or drink with said loved one without being surrounded by white linoleum and barred windows.

• How Long Does This Stuff Stay In My System? Alcohol

  Posted on October 25th, 2011 How to pass

  Alcohol tests are not just taken by police officers on the side of the road after you have been pulled over for suspected drunk driving.  More companies are requiring alcohol testing as part of routine drug screenings to see if their employees are drinking on the job or after industrial accidents happen at the workplace.

  In the United States alone, alcohol abuse or alcoholism accounts for over one half of the automobile related deaths and over half of the industrial accidents.  There are basically five different types of alcohol tests that companies will run on employees or potential employees.  They are urine tests, blood tests, breathalyzer tests, saliva tests and hair tests. Detection time of alcohol in a urine drug test can be up to eighty hours or longer after use if EtG detection is used.  EtG stands for Ethyl Glucuonide and it is a metabolite of ethanol alcohol.  The presence of Ethyl glucuronide in the urine is sign of recent alcohol consumption even if there is no trace of ethanol alcohol present in the urine. In the urine, alcohol can be detected for up to two to four days and in the saliva, usually up to four hours.  The traditional method of alcohol testing just detects the presence of alcohol in your body.

  Once the alcohol dissipates in a few hours then it appears that the person is clean.  More stringent testing used to find EtG metabolites present in the urine can reveal a more accurate depiction of the actual alcohol intake of the person.

• False-positives – what you need to know: Efavirenz

  Posted on October 24th, 2011 How to pass

  When submitting a specimen for a drug testing, you are required to disclose all the medication that you are currently taking or had taken in the past week or month. The reason why it is important to provide all the prescription names is that sometimes drugs interfere with each other and a test results comes up “false-positive” for something you had not taken. The detailed list of prescription or over-the-counter drugs that may influence the drug test results follows below.

  Last time we spoke about Edecrin.

  Today we will talk about Efavirenz.

  General drug information:

  Efavirenz is a special medication that is used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) – being classified as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) this drug slows the spreading of HIV in the body, and a part of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). It is important to understand that Efavirenz does not cure the infection and does not prevent a patient from spreading the virus to other people, but prevents the body from developing HIV-related illnesses. It is always used in a combination with other drugs; do not change or skip the doses of medication unless approved by your doctor.

  Possible side effects:

  You should not take Efavirenz if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. Also, before consuming this medication you should consult with a doctor if you have any of the following conditions:liver or kidney disorders; epilepsy or other seizure disorder; hepatitis B or C infection, or any other serious condition that your doctor should know about. Keep in mind that alcohol can increase certain side effects of Efavirenz.

  Efavirenz has been known to cause a false positive test reading for marijuana as a result of testing for illicit drug use. Since it is not recommended to discontinue the regimen of Efavirenz unless directed by doctor, use other means of preventing the unwanted drug test result – synthetic urine will provide a toxin-free sample for any drug test so you can rest assured that your medication will not interfere with your plans.

• Medicinal Use: Psychedelics Part 8

  Posted on October 21st, 2011 How to pass

  In order to continue studies into the medicinal uses of these street drugs, as well as others, Doctors have to fight very hard to prove that they will be very responsible with both the research, the lock up of samples, and the administration to patients. There is a very fine line that Doctors and researchers must walk in the balancing act between the benefits of the research and the risks to the patients and the data that would be collected. One of the bigger issues forcing Doctors and researchers to fight for the continuation of these studies is patient care. A terminally ill patient has every right to receive full freedom from pain and symptoms if such a freedom exists. The side effects are just as important though, while a patient could become pain free, would they also then by use of psychedelics become mentally ill instead?

  The main challenge is funding. It is the government’s responsibility to provide funding into research for medical practices, but currently the research being done on street drugs and their potential for medicinal use is only being funded by private interest groups. A Doctor who is passionate about researching the subject will have to raise the funds for the research on his own. This is not the way it should be, but sadly until more of the public gets involved and starts to raise their voices to their government to make it clear that this type of research is not only warranted, but necessary at times like this in our country the red tape will continue to block the way.

• How Long Does this Stuff Stay In My System? Nicotine

  Posted on October 20th, 2011 How to pass

  If you are considering buying a life insurance policy then you may have to undergo some tests if you want a good rate or proper coverage.  One of these tests may be for nicotine content.  They may ask you if you are a smoker or have smoked in the past and depending upon your answer and/or your test results you may be denied coverage or pay a higher rate.  The test may be a blood test or a urine test which is then sent to a laboratory for analysis.

  Cotinine is the nicotine metabolite that the test will detect. The urine test strips for cotinine usually have a cutoff level of about 200ng/ml and can detect cotinine from a small amount used from 2 to 5 days. More sensitive tests like the GCMS have a cut off level of 5ng/ml and can detect a one time use for up to 7 to 10 days.  Hair tests for cotinine have a detection cutoff level of 2ng/ml for nicotine and have a much longer detection time since there is no mechanism in your body to flush out the toxins from your hair.  Saliva testing for cotinine is very sensitive and can detect amounts as little as 1ng/ml and can have a detection time from seven to ten days.  Blood tests can reveal the cotinine metabolites from 7 to 10 days for a single usage.

  Surprisingly, some foods contain nicotine which can trigger a false positive.  Potatoes, tomatoes and some of the black tea varieties can give a false positive for nicotine. It is always best to be upfront with the insurance company about your history of smoking.  If you lie to the insurance company and say you have never smoked and then the tests prove otherwise then you may be denied coverage or have to pay a higher rate.

• False-positives – what you need to know: Edecrin

  Posted on October 19th, 2011 How to pass

  When submitting a specimen for a drug testing, you are required to disclose all the medication that you are currently taking or had taken in the past week or month. The reason why it is important to provide all the prescription names is that sometimes drugs interfere with each other and a test results comes up “false-positive” for something you had not taken. The detailed list of prescription or over-the-counter drugs that may influence the drug test results follows below.

  Last time we spoke about Apo-Naproxen.

  Today we will talk about Edecrin.

  General drug information:

  Edecrin is a drug used to treat fluid retention in the body cells that was caused by various medical issues; active ingredient is Ethacrynic acid. It is a loop diuretic that makes kidneys eliminate larger than normal amounts of water and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium salts. Edecrin is also known as a water pill because it helps your body to excrete excess water into the urine. In some cases this medicine is used to treat high blood pressure and diabetes insipidus (in the cases where there is no response to other treatments.) Such conditions as salt and water retention (swelling, edema – a condition of abnormally large fluid volume in the circulatory system or in tissues between the body’s cells) may also require the assistance of Edercin since it brings a higher rate of urine excretion.

  Possible side effects:

  Dehydration is listed as a main side effect of Edecrin – since it makes you urinate more, so there will be less fluids in your body. Make sure you speak with your doctor regarding additional potassium supplements to add to your diet while taking Edecrin.

  You should not take Edecrin if you are pregnant, or breast-feeding, allergic to any ingredient in the medicine, or unable to urinate.

  Edecrin was known to cause dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting; such external factors as consuming alcohol, being in hot weather, exercising, and high fever can increase these side effects.

  If you have a drug test coming up, keep in mind that daily intake of Edecrin can lead to a false-positive reading on a test. If you cannot stop the regimen for a few days before the test, consider taking one of our detox products to ensure your urine test results are what you need.