Pre-employement medical examination

[JamesCole770]

Hey guys. I just received a job offer down here in Georgia and it said something about a pre-employment medical examination. I am not sure if that means it will include a drug screen, but I am assuming it will since this is an office job with very little physical demand so I do not know why else they would require an examination. I am supposed to start in a week or two, but I have not been contacted about the examination yet.

As of today, I am 28 days clean. By the time I take the test, I will be 32-35 days clean. I have taken three at home drug tests (one at 14 days clean, one at 18 days clean, and one at 25 days clean) and passed the first two with extremely faint lines and the third with a significant line. I sent the samples off to the lab for confirmation, and I just received the results from the first sample which indicated that I tested positive with a concentration of 129 ng/ml which is making me doubt the validity of the at home test strip results. I have been reading this forum for a while and have seen it stated several times that these tests are 99.9% accurate and that a "line is a line is a line", but obviously one of these statements is false considering that I had a faint line on the testing strip yet the lab results indicated that my concentration was almost three times the threshold limit (experts please chime in).

Do you guys think I should go ahead and inquire about the medical examination so that I can find out exactly what it is (urine, hair, and what threshold they use) and know exactly when in order to be prepared, or should I hold off in order to buy time and in hopes that they overlook the examination completely? If I do in fact have to take a drug screen, can I call the testing facility in order to find out details about the test and after the test, can I call the testing lab and check my results (so I know when I am in the clear) without my employer knowing? What are the patient confidentiality terms when it comes to drug screens? I have been reading into dilution, however, I am concerned about the flags that this might raise. Do you guys think that dilution will be necessary at 32-35 days clean, considering that I was at 129 ng/ml at 14 days clean? Has anyone ever tried a light dilution method and if so, can you please share?

Thanks for the help. Any advice would be appreciated.

[JamesCole770]

Also, I took the first at home test in the afternoon and the other two tests in the morning.

[killerweed420]

It also depends on what time of day you test yourself and your amount of activity. More active and it will release more thc into the urine stream. Early in the morning, first pee of the day is when your thc levels will be highest. You're still testing high evidently because the confirmation test doesn't lie. You may want to check into subbing with synthetic urine. Dillution might work but its never a sure thing.
A line is a line. They vary in intensity.
The drug testing facility will not release any information about your drug test. They only release that to the people that are paying for it. Drug test results can not be released to anyone else unless you sign an agreement to release that info. All medical info is confidential and either requires your signature to release or a court order.

[JamesCole770]

It also depends on what time of day you test yourself and your amount of activity. More active and it will release more thc into the urine stream. Early in the morning, first pee of the day is when your thc levels will be highest. You're still testing high evidently because the confirmation test doesn't lie. You may want to check into subbing with synthetic urine. Dillution might work but its never a sure thing.
A line is a line. They vary in intensity.
The drug testing facility will not release any information about your drug test. They only release that to the people that are paying for it. Drug test results can not be released to anyone else unless you sign an agreement to release that info. All medical info is confidential and either requires your signature to release or a court order.

I am nervous about subbing because of the risk of getting caught. From my understanding, the worse that can happen with a diluted sample is a request for a re-test. So the facility cannot even release the information to me if I request it? Would you suggest that I push the issue of the medical examination so I can know whats going on?

[Burnt Toast]

From my understanding, the worse that can happen with a diluted sample is a request for a re-test.Not always the case.

In pre-employment situations, it depends on the employer as to how a "negative-diluted" result will be handled. Some employers will grant a retest while others will simply move on to the next applicant for hire.




So the facility cannot even release the information to me if I request it? No because youre not the party that is paying for the test.

Never push the issue about the test results. A person who is drug-free would never do this because, being drug free, there is no reason to do so. Doing so will only raise suspicion. You do want to be viewed as a "drug-free" person, is that right?

[sacchrone]

So a faint line still yields positive under scrutiny. Irregardless of when you tested, you still got a faint line, and you still got a positive result. I am in the same boat, but did not send my results off to the lab. You just made me much more nervous for my test on Friday.

Which home test did you use? Was it always the same one?

[JamesCole770]

Just got the lab results from my sample taken at 18 days clean (1st void) and it was 86 ng/ml. This is significantly lower (43 ng/ml less or 1/3 lower) than my first test 4 days earlier where the lab test results were 129 ng/ml (afternoon sample), so I am hoping that two weeks later (this week), my level will be below the cutoff. As with the first test, I also got a faint line on the at home test with the second test and still tested high for the lab test. I am curious to what this may mean and remain unconvinced of the validity of the at-home tests. I am still waiting on the results from the third sample I sent off to the lab (taken in the morning 25 days clean with a decently visible line on the at-home strip), but I am not sure if I will get the results back in time. I took a fourth at-home test yesterday in the morning (30 days clean), and again a decently visible line showed. Does it sound like I am good to go? Should I mess with trying to dilute before taking the test (if in fact I do have to take a UA test, I still have not been informed of the details of the medical examination, if it will include a drug screen, and if so what type)? I am thinking about just drinking 32 oz the morning of the test if I have to take one and popping a few vitamin pills. Does this sound reasonable for my situation?

[JamesCole770]

So a faint line still yields positive under scrutiny. Irregardless of when you tested, you still got a faint line, and you still got a positive result. I am in the same boat, but did not send my results off to the lab. You just made me much more nervous for my test on Friday.

Which home test did you use? Was it always the same one?

I tested high for the lab results for my first two samples which showed faint lines. I am assuming that this means one of three things: faint lines show borderline results, these at home panel tests are not accurate, or the cutoff used by the at home panel tests is much higher than 50 ng/ml. Based on what is being said on this forum about faint lines being the same as darker ones and that these at home panel tests are the same as the ones used by testing facilities, I am starting to believe that the at home panel tests use a cuttof higher than 50 ng/ml. I would appreciate any advice from those who are more knowledgeable with figuring this out.

I have been using the quickscreen test from walgreens for all of my tests.

[Weezard]

I'd say you are probably good to go.
I had a very faint line the morning of my test and read that any line at all is a negative for THC metabolites.
That seems to be the case.
Passed a heavy duty test with no problem.
Relax, brah.
Once the die is cast, worrying is a waste of energy.

Aloha,
Weezard

[sacchrone]

James-

Your first lab result wasn't borderline. It was almost three times higher than borderline. Even the results instructions of those W*lgr**ns tests show passing with a faint line. If you look at customer reviews of the product, all customers report a faint line. I saw no one report an intense line.

I have been using the exact same tests these past few weeks. All of my tests were labeled as expiring in '12. I administered them exactly as instructed. I am going to look into getting another test-brand pronto. For what it's worth, will let you know what the results are. We look to be in about the same boat. Thanks for sharing your findings.

[sacchrone]

James- BTW, did you call the 877 number in the instructions and ask what the nature of the disparity between your results and theirs might be?

[JamesCole770]

I just got my results back for the sample I took at 25 days clean (distinct line on at-home strip) and it came back negative. If I have to take a UA this week (30+ days clean), I am planning on drinking some gatorade the morning of for a light dilute just incase there is any fluctuation or if a lower cutoff is used and I am thinking I should be good to go. I am no longer worried about passing a urine test, but I am still worried that I may get hit with a hair test. Thanks for the input to everyone that commented.

[JamesCole770]

James- BTW, did you call the 877 number in the instructions and ask what the nature of the disparity between your results and theirs might be?

I was planning on doing this, but I am not really worried about it anymore now that my at-home panel tests are showing visible lines and now that I got a negative lab test result.

I would suggest that you send a sample off to the lab for an exact result, if there is enough time. It took about 7 business days for me to get my results back for the first two samples I sent off, but I used 2nd day ($18 shipping) for the third sample and got my results in 4 business days including the day I sent them off. If you send your sample today 2nd day, you may get your results back on Friday or Monday. You may want to try to push your test back if you can.