Pre-employment medical

[joshyb]

Hi guys,

Apologies if most of these questions have been asked already (I'm pretty certain they will have) but I just want to be sure as my circumstances or a bit different to the usual drugs test.

I've been a HEAVY user for about 3/4 years (couple of times a day at least) but have been clean for 27 days now. I'm 5"11' but very skinny (I only weigh 125lbs) and have been running and working out regularly to try and clear my system a bit. I have a pre-employment medical for a job coming up and obviously part of that is a urine drug screen. Now because I'm in the UK I'm not sure about any differences in the test, the form says that they will do a test for THC, amphetamines, cocaine, opiates and Phencyclidine but they will do a full urinalysis on my sample (it says "microscopic urinalysis only if dipstick positive").

Basically what I want to know is, can I get away with synthetic? (assuming I don't get caught subbing) It might work on a THC test but would it stand up to a full urine test? The stuff I have is the UrineLuck synthetic and the site does mention a lot of the stuff they will need to find in the sample (Glucose, Protein, Bilirubin etc...) but I really need to be sure as this is a very important gig (also testing positive would lead to some VERY awkward questions from people). I've also been testing myself regularly with dipsticks but none of them have been negative (a couple of ghost lines is all) which is why I went synthetic but if I can eventually self test negative the problem will have solved itself.

Sorry if I rambled a bit, but any help you guys could give would be great. It sucks that a pretty harmless drug can ruin job prospects, especially when a) it hasn't been taken in a month and b) I was fine at my job even when using, but I just got to deal with it.

Thanks.

[Burnt Toast]

Youre misinterpreting your home test results. A "ghost" line (a.k.a. faint line) counts as a negative. In order for the sample to be non-negative, the "T" window (or 'THC' window on multi-panel kits) must remain completely blank.

If youre indeed taking a full-blown medical test, using synthetic urine is not recommended. The synthetic urine would conceal any diseases present (that you may not ever be aware of ) that would have to be brought to your attention.

[joshyb]

Thanks for the quick reply :) I wasn't sure about the home test because they alternate between definitely 'not there' and EXTREMELY faint, also I'm only using a THC dipstick, not a multi-panel (I'll get some to try). The medical is just to clear me for work, I understand that it would conceal any problems but I'd prefer to clear this and then have a personal medical later (I wouldn't be having one if it wasn't for this job), I don't mean that to sound irresponsible but getting this job REALLY is a priority. Would the synthetic stand up to the tests (i.e. give the results as a normal sample without any 'giveaway' signs that I subbed)?

Again thanks for the reply, knowledgeable guys are hard to find in the UK!

[Burnt Toast]

I'm only using a THC dipstick, not a multi-panel (I'll get some to try). If the only drug that youre concerned about is THC, then you dont need a multi-panel drug testing kit. Save your money.

[joshyb]

Thanks for the advice. I bought some more THC strips and I'm still testing positive or really faint so I'm not going to risk giving a proper sample (my fat cells must be pretty saturated, its been over a month now since my last smoke). I've looked over the medical form and there's going to be a scrotal hernia (hold balls and 'cough' test) so I was wondering about where to hide the synthetic? My plan is to velcro it to the inside of my jeans, I'm worried that if I store it in my underwear it'll get seen or fall out at some point. I'm not sure about whether I'll have to 'drop em' at any point but I want to be extra sure. Does anyone see any problems with that? I don't think they'll be really strict about checking before I give the sample as it's a privately funded pre-employment medical but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Any advice would be great, you guys are life savers!

[deandavidmartin]

When you say "faint lines", does it look anything like these two tests?

Imageshack - 20120809063258660.jpg (http://imageshack.us/f/837/20120809063258660.jpg/) <--these are passing.

[joshyb]

Most of mine are like the one on the right, although some are definitely positive. Does the 'faintness' depend on the person? ie. Do some people always have faint lines, even if they're totally clean? I used one on the synthetic as a comparison and it was the same as the control line so it's not down to the type of stick. I wish I had a way of getting the actual measurement in ng! Does the idea for hiding the synthetic sound OK? That's the thing I'm most worried about, as long as the tests don't catch the fact that I'm subbing.

God I hate drugs laws

[deandavidmartin]

Faint THC drug lines are a normal indication of a negative result (passing). Also you can get an "actual measurement" if you get the right test - FirstCheck Home THC test. It comes with a specimen collection cup as part of the test. It has the normal i/a test built in to it. Then you can mail the collection cup into FirstCheck labs (it comes with everything you need to ship it) and they will anonymously run your sample through their GC/MS test and give you a quantitative measurement in nano grams. I highly recommend you perform this test using the first urination of the day and mail it off asap (usually takes a week to get results back if you use standard mail). This will tell you exactly where you stand. If you are passing, they'll just say it's <15ng. If not, you'll get the actual reading. My first failure was at 21ng. You can buy this test at your local drug store (I bought mine at CVS). You should read my thread "My u/a experience so far.. (http://boards.cannabis.com/drug-testing/202907-my-u-experience-so-far.html)" and "Observation about faint lines (http://boards.cannabis.com/drug-testing/203111-observation-about-faint-lines.html)". They will probably answer a lot of your questions and quickly bring you up to speed. Below is a picture of the test you will need to buy if you want to be able to send it off for the complimentary GC/MS. The test is about $18.

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/3672/20120802213654114.jpg



PS: If you can't be confident you're clean in time for the test, consider subbing. See the sticky thread - SUBSTITUTION: tips, tricks and guidelines (http://boards.cannabis.com/drug-testing/1146-substitution-tips-tricks-guidelines.html)