I have read all I could find over the past twenty-four hours on this topic. Let me start by saying "I don't know you...you don't know me." Please accept what I'm saying as truth and help me figure this out before I totally lose it. I have had lower back pain for almost two years now, and I've seen two neurosurgeons who both recommended surgery. I always thought they opted for the conservative path first, but in my case, that has not been the case. My primary suggested I contact a pain clinic to see if there was some alternative treatment because I am 100% against surgery. I made an appt. with a wonderful group and went in. On my first visit they asked for a urine specimen(which was weird but if that's protocol it's totally fine with me). The doctor set me up for an injection and it went well. Upon my next visit to follow up after the injection we discussed more permanent options such as radio frequency laser that would burn the nerves giving me trouble. Just as I started to leave the doctor asked me to sit back down. He said I had failed my drug test!!! You could have knocked me over with a feather! I tested positive for amphetamines! I don't even know how or where to get a supply of such things! We live in a lovely community with decent people...not some inner city with thugs on every corner selling their dope stuff! At first I was speechless, then I got mad. I told the physician that I had listed every medication I had been on at the time of the test. It was an awful period for allergies, which subsequently led to a sinus infection, so there were several meds on my screen sheet. I listed my Provigil 200 mg 2x daily, Bronkaid 4x daily, Wellbutrin 300mg 1x daily, Mucinex 2x daily, Benzonatate 200 mg 3x daily(script for cough), and an alteration of Tylenol and Ibuprofen for pain. I asked my doctor if any of these meds could have given the wrong result and he said "No." After everything we discussed about future treatment, he told me we would have to put things on hold until I got the matter cleared up. I spent the entire day on my cell phone yesterday calling the lab in TN who produced the tainted results and they wouldn't budge. After pulling my hair out I got online and began researching the matter myself. There are well over a thousand site that specifically state that ephedrine can and does throw false positive results for amphetamines! This is the primary ingredient in the Bronkaid sinus medication that I purchase from my pharmacy(25mg per dose @ 4doses per day)! I called back to the lab and the technician assured me this was not the case with my results. I don't give the first care about seeing this particular pain management group again...but I want justice! I have no idea if this is something that gets reported, is sent to my primary, etc. This is ludicrous! Every visit I've had with these people including my very first set up visit I've been made to list any and all meds I was on as well as listing them on the screen sheet. That list has not changed. I am still suffering with allergies and still on all the same meds. When I saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face, I pleaded to retake the test. I told him that I had no idea such results had come back against me and I wanted to vindicate myself. He said it wouldn't matter because the results he was holding were the ones that counted. Even the lab tech. in TN asked why he didn't just collect a new sample(?). My question to him was..."If I had some illegal drug in my system, and I knew I had submitted to a drug screen three weeks before, why on earth would I have shown back up in the first place??! What can I do if ANYTHING to fix this nightmare. This isn't fair at all....I have no history whatsoever of drug use. None! Why would a woman in her 40's begin such a filthy habit?
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