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Urine drug test conundrum
Greetings everyone, I just found out today that my urine drug test came back positive for codeine! I have never taken codeine. I don't even like taking medication for a headache let alone taking Codeine. I googled this tring to find the reason for my test coming back positive for an opioid like this and I found online that poppy seeds can cause a false positive on a urine drug test for codeine. I have been eating everything bagels for breakfast and I also have been snacking on everything pretzel crisps which both have poppy seeds in them. I know this is the reason for my false positive drug test but I am in great fear and very sick about losing my dream job over such a weird situation. Has anyone else had this happen to them? And if so what happened? The lady in occupational health said she will send the results over to the next step where a doctor will review the results and make a determination. Until them I have been literally sick because of it. Pleaas help!!!
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I worked in a controlled substance clinic area where we drug tested using basic urine samples. We had several false positives and I began working closely with the Medtox scientist to run the basic urines as send outs to them for a comprehensive panel. Poppyseed and other dietary foods under (I believe it’s 2000 indicates dietary value where above is the actual drug). Hope that’s helpful and best wishes!!
Thank you for your response! I just hope they check for the consentration and see that. I am glad to know that it is common though. Some relief, thanks!
A presumptive or screening test will generally have a higher rate of false positives; its job is to flag which samples need further in-depth testing. The next step with urine or blood testing is usually a gas chromatograph, which can very precisely tell the difference between poppy seeds, opiates and opioids. So long as they are planning to take that next step with your test, there should be no problem.
From Wikipedia:
"Laboratory-based drug testing is done in two steps. The first step is the screening test, which is an immunoassay based test applied to all samples. The second step, known as the confirmation test, is usually undertaken by a laboratory using highly specific chromatographic techniques and only applied to samples that test positive during the screening test.[34] Screening tests are usually done by immunoassay (EMIT, ELISA, and RIA are the most common).
After a suspected positive sample is detected during screening, the sample is tested using a confirmation test. Samples that are negative on the screening test are discarded and reported as negative. The confirmation test in most laboratories (and all SAMHSA certified labs) is performed using mass spectrometry, and is precise but expensive. False positive samples from the screening test will almost always be negative on the confirmation test. Samples testing positive during both screening and confirmation tests are reported as positive to the entity that ordered the test. Most laboratories save positive samples for some period of months or years in the event of a disputed result or lawsuit. For workplace drug testing, a positive result is generally not confirmed without a review by a Medical Review Officer who will normally interview the subject of the drug test. "
I hope that answers your question. Good luck!