Sick of these ghost faint lines/ need to vent

[valpak32]

Smoked almost everyday, 3 or 4 bowls for about 4 months ------>10 days Sober------>smoked 2 bowls a day for 4 days straight-------->Today is 11th day sober(again).

6"1 195lbs, active, good metabolism

First - anyone with similar characteristics to share a story?

Job Interview next Tuesday, pretty sure drug test to follow shortly after.


Home Tested on 5th day sober looked like a fail but my hopeful mind may have saw a "ghost line", I'll assume positive

Home Tested on 9th Day. The best looking faint line I've had. Made me feel good. Assume it was neg.

Home Tested first void on 10th day. Again another faint line. Assume Neg.

Home tested on Day 11. Fainter than both before.

What my point is, I tested twice today, and it just seems like everytime the line keeps getting fainter.

Now I've spent some time reading posts about these lines, and apparently if you can photocopy or take a picture of it then its a neg, its just that I'm not sure if you could with these last 3 tests, but you could with the 2nd.


Either these things are frustrating or I am just making it so.

Would it make sense to test a dilution even though I wouldn't be able to check integrity, or would that just be a waste of one of these tests?

I would assume a dilution method with 14 days of abstinence + would have a pretty good chance of working no?


I know you guys hate these, especially with someone with a low post count like mine, but it feels good to vent, since I cant hit the pipe to ease my mind.

valpak32 Reviewed by valpak32 on 03-25-2009. Sick of these ghost faint lines/ need to vent Smoked almost everyday, 3 or 4 bowls for about 4 months ------>10 days Sober------>smoked 2 bowls a day for 4 days straight-------->Today is 11th day sober(again). 6"1 195lbs, active, good metabolism First - anyone with similar characteristics to share a story? Job Interview next Tuesday, pretty sure drug test to follow shortly after. Home Tested on 5th day sober looked like a fail but my hopeful mind may have saw a "ghost line", I'll assume positive Rating: 5

[blackwater]

I can relate. I went form smoking everyday to abstaining for 11 days then a very small bowl then abstained for 24 days and a good size bowl. I then abstained for 7 days and took a home test. There was a faint line. I took another test after 11 days. The second test produced a darker but still faint line. But that is when I realized that I donâ??t think I had a line at all. When I looked at the control zone there was a straight dark defined line surrounded by a thick bar. When I looked at the first test there was no defined line just a faint bar. On my second test there was a darker bar and just the very start of an actual line starting on the sides. Just a little wee bit on each side. So then I realized that I may have failed both. The instructions show that a fail has nothing in the control zone at all, no line or bar. so now I am confused. Did you have a faint bar or a faint line inside a faint bar?

[blackwater]

In the last part of my message I ment to say that the instructions say that a positive test is indicated by nothing in the test zone not the control zone.

[valpak32]

the first was was a faint bar. one of the 2nd two was just part of one of the sides like you said. i hate these things but I guess thats why they are so cheap. Here is my question:

People have said that "even if a tech misinterpreted a faint line for a positive and sent to GS/MS for further review...it will still come back negative". How can you say this when these assays are at a cutoff level of 50ng/ml and the GS/MS is @ 15/20/25. Who says you cant pass a home test with your levels ~ 40ish then fail a GS/MS because its > 15/20/25

[Burnt Toast]

People have said that "even if a tech misinterpreted a faint line for a positive and sent to GS/MS for further review...it will still come back negative". How can you say this when these assays are at a cutoff level of 50ng/ml and the GS/MS is @ 15/20/25.

Very easy. Especially if you understand how the two types of testing devices actually work.

The 50 ng limit on the assay is functionally equivalent to the 15 ng limit on the GC/MS. Heres why:
THC enters the body in its ingested form and comes out the body as 31 different metabolite concentrations, the most prevalent metabolite being THC-COOH.
The assay recognizes the composition of all 31 metabolite concentrations.
The GC/MS recognizes only one metabolite concentration, THC-COOH.

[Burnt Toast]

Who says you cant pass a home test with your levels ~ 40ish then fail a GS/MS because its > 15/20/25

How would you know that your levels are at 40ish, when home tests are a "pass/fail" endeavor, and lack the ability to yield a quantitative value?

[valpak32]

SAy if you fail a home drug test on day whatever (so you are @ 50+ ng) then on day + 1 you pass (assuming you are < 50ng/ml)...IT has to quantify to the point where it is above or below a point right? Or these things would simply not work. You could just guess that your levels are in that range because you failed on that day, and then pass on the next, since you have only recently passed the threshold ( and it would be ~40ish if your half life is the appropriate number)

[Burnt Toast]

Like I said, home tests are pass/fail. They are calibrated at a fixed cutoff point. Therefore, they have no ability to give a quantitative value.
In order to obtain a quantitative value, a GC/MS test would have to be performed. Its fallacious to guess your levels on the basis of an assay.

[omnibuddy]

Your home kit is not as accurate as many professional methods. If you are working for an industry where security is very tight, then they might pay for high end tests. Some tests can also detect masking compounds, but again this is unlikely for most jobs.

I always suggest going cold turkey for a while so you can test clean. If you are still unsure then its a good idea to use a masker or diuretic or dilution or a mixture of techniques.

A failure due to being too diluted just means a retest. A failure due to THC detection could mean the job. It can also buy you a couple of days if you have to retest.

PS: Based on your description I wouldn't worry too much. The chemicals they test for are found naturally, so falling in that natural range is not suspicious nor considered positive.

[Burnt Toast]

Your home kit is not as accurate as many professional methods. If you are working for an industry where security is very tight, then they might pay for high end tests. Some tests can also detect masking compounds, but again this is unlikely for most jobs..

Actually, specimen integrity checks have become SOP in most employment-related U/A's since the rise of adulterated/substituted/diluted samples.

The "masking compounds" all rely on copius amounts of fluids, which is mere dilution. The dilution factor is what serves as the "mask".

Since they function on the same principle, the instant assays used by the labs for the initial screening are no more reliable or accurate than the home test kit.

A failure due to being too diluted just means a retest.

Not always so. In pre-employment situations, there are employers that wont accept a "too-dilute" test result and just simply move on to the next applicant for hire.