question about specific gravity

[mrjohnnytruant]

hi all...thanks for the extremely informative posts. there's a lotta misinformation out there that this board could help clear up.

i took a drug screen yesterday (UA, eCup) -- beforehand, i used a home kit to test my first void and passed with a decent enough line. i drank a 20-ounce gatorade, plus a sip or two of orange juice, about an hour or so before the test, both so i could successfully void on time and as a little extra insurance. at the lab, my urine was not quite completely clear, but had a fairly yellow tinge to it. it was not quite vitamin yellow.

what i'm worried about of course is a negative dilute result. i've been scouring the forums trying to figure out whether it's the color that triggers the sample to get flagged as negative-dilute, or if the laboratory testing itself is able to detect that the sample is diluted. i'm figuring it's the latter, but i don't know enough about laboratory testing to say (and i'm not even certain it went to a lab at all). i have read a little bit about specific gravity, which is why i think it was probably good that i drank gatorade and no water, but i just needed someone with more expertise to confirm, if possible.

any help would be appreciated. thanks.

mrjohnnytruant Reviewed by mrjohnnytruant on 08-11-2012. question about specific gravity hi all...thanks for the extremely informative posts. there's a lotta misinformation out there that this board could help clear up. i took a drug screen yesterday (UA, eCup) -- beforehand, i used a home kit to test my first void and passed with a decent enough line. i drank a 20-ounce gatorade, plus a sip or two of orange juice, about an hour or so before the test, both so i could successfully void on time and as a little extra insurance. at the lab, my urine was not quite completely clear, Rating: 5

[Burnt Toast]

With creatinine and S/G checks becoming lab SOP in recent years, sample color became the least aspect in determining an overly-diluted sample. Even samples with a nice yellow color to them can still be ruled "too-dilute" due to low S/G and creatinine levels.

Therefore, when utilizing dilution techniques, it is now more important to make sure the creatinine and S/G are within satisfactory ranges - more important than "coloring" of the urine.

[mrjohnnytruant]

thanks, BT -- i was actually hoping you'd reply. so if i'm understanding your reply correctly, a lab technician may not necessarily examine a sample and think "oh, this appears to be diluted, let me send it to the lab for further testing". rather, it's a matter of whether or not it gets sent to the lab in the first place, unless the eCup technology/tester is sophisticated enough to successfully detect creatinine or S/G levels. and i doubt there's anyone with enough knowledge of the ecup/ereader technology to definitively say.

the conclusion i'm drawing here is that the 20-ounce gatorade, unless i am extremely unlucky, will not be enough to trigger a negative-dilute result. does that sound about right?

thanks again. i am approximately 90% positive that i am fine, based on the negative home test with the first void and the fact that i drank what amounts to a normal-sized beverage. but one never knows.

[Burnt Toast]

so if i'm understanding your reply correctly, a lab technician may not necessarily examine a sample and think "oh, this appears to be diluted, let me send it to the lab for further testing". rather, it's a matter of whether or not it gets sent to the lab in the first place, unless the eCup technology/tester is sophisticated enough to successfully detect creatinine or S/G levels.

Cup-type assays are available with additional validity panels for creatinine & S/G.

Did the technician perform the cup test in your view? If so, you would notice the type of cup test being used.

the conclusion i'm drawing here is that the 20-ounce gatorade, unless i am extremely unlucky, will not be enough to trigger a negative-dilute result. does that sound about right?

That would depend on how much fluids youve consumed prior to consuming the gatorade and what was your creatinine and S/G levels were before consuming the gatorade - and you will not know this unless youve ran your own validity test on a urine sample before (and after) consuming the Gatorade.

[mrjohnnytruant]

Cup-type assays are available with additional validity panels for creatinine & S/G.

Did the technician perform the cup test in your view? If so, you would notice the type of cup test being used.

unfortunately, i wasn't looking closely enough to see whether there was a reagent strip for specific gravity. however, i am 100% sure it used trademarked escreen technology, based on the paperwork i received. from what i've been able to figure out from the website for escreen, it would appear that the eCup does, in fact, check for specific gravity and creanintine levels, as well as pH and anything else that could indicate adulteration.

it's also worth noting that the computer screen of the lab tech was in full view as he scanned the sample barcode. there are checkboxes for a total of three items -- i only caught a glimpse of two, as i did not want to look suspicious or like i was prying. the two i saw were for temperature and adulteration. i will say that the checkbox for "adulteration" was very clearly marked "no".

That would depend on how much fluids youve consumed prior to consuming the gatorade and what was your creatinine and S/G levels were before consuming the gatorade - and you will not know this unless youve ran your own validity test on a urine sample before (and after) consuming the Gatorade.

this part i would have to check myself via home assays that measure for those levels. however, i see no reason that a 20-ounce bottle of gatorade would affect my creatinine or S/G parameters to the point that my sample was flagged for dilution. based on the facts you've presented and coupled with my own research -- plus the fact that if a negative-dilute was triggered, i would have likely known that day, as the company i am applying for has been extremely fast with everything related to background checks thus far, PLUS that company was in touch with me for hours after the drug test on unrelated matters -- i feel extremely confident saying that i passed without a negative-dilute. if my anxiety levels return, i'll simply purchase a home test that checks for creanintine and s/g levels to confirm.

based on the facts presented, does that sound about right? this post could be pretty good for people having the same anxiety-related questions.