Lab Test on Urine - a very strange result

[jrwebe]

I am a 45 year old male in good health. I recently voluteered to have my urine analyzed for a clinic I assist in, and the lab said it tested positive for cocaine .. I was shocked as I don't do drugs!

Due to a herniated disk in my lower back, I was talking cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) as a muscle relaxant and Hydrocodone with Ibuprofen for pain. That day, I drank lots of Gatorade and Orange Juice as I was outside in 100 degree heat.

How in the world is it possible to get tested positive for cocaine when I don't do drugs???? Could there be a possible interaction with the Gatorade that caused this false positive test result? (as I believe hydrocodone is an opiate, which isn't in the same drug class as cocaine). I also take Paxil and Zocor. Could this have cause an interaction or wrongful test result.[/

[sdekivit]

the chance is very likely they found an opiate in your urine indeed. When they base the the urine of a cocaine addicted, they find metabolites and cocaine in unchanged form in the urine.

[jrwebe]

so, are you saying it's possible that the opiate from the pain medicine can, in fact, give a false positive result for cocaine? They said this wasn't possible as it's a different class of drugs, but I disagree. Any reference material you could recommend to prove my point to these "lab experts"?

[gruvytune]

what happened with this false positive?
did they retest and confirm?
was it indeed false positive and did they acknowledge it could happen?

let me know
in similar situation

false pos for cocaine using gc mass spec is nearly impossible as i know

[MrMistery]

Also eating a lot of bagels and other farineceous products might lead to a false posizitve. I saw this one on mithbusters. Did you eat anything like this that day?

[biostudent84]

The Hydrocodone would have given a positive for heroin or morphine, not cocaine. As far as I know, there is nothing that will give a false positive for cocaine, but I could be wrong. What had you been doing the past three days before the test? The chemicals that the drug test tests for for cocaine leave your body in a couple days. Maybe you were exposed to it unknowingly?

[jrwebe]

found out the lab messed up ... I tested postive for opiates, not cocaine. They marked the wrong drug down. Of course I tested positive for opiates as I was taking hydrocodone for my herniated disk. All this apprehension due to an idiot in the lab ....

[ERS]

glad that worked out for you, mistakes happen though. In the meantime, you learned some more about different drugs/chemicals and what they will leave in your body.
ERS

[pilipit]

i might be deviating a bit, but can anyone tell me how glucose and NaCl intake affect urine specific gravity and why? this is a lab experiment in class and im still not that smart to figure out how and why.

[MrMistery]

What do you understand by urine specific gravity? Eating more salt will result in a higher salt concentration of urine(homeostasis). Extra glucose intake should not have any effect on urine content since urine does not contain glucose. Only in a pathological gondition, if you have diabetes and you don't treat yourself your urine will contain glucose(glicosuria)

[pilipit]

thanks for that prompt reply.
well, specific gravity is the measurement of the amount of solutes present in the urine. i had the same hunch and it makes me feel better seeing you have the same ideas.
anyhow, maybe you could help me a little bit more? can you tell me how exactly does solute concentration increase with NaCl? as in the mechanism of the tubules? im really having difficulty with that in class.