THANK GOD I have finally found you guys! I have been in the CA diversion program for 4 years, and will celebrate my 4th year sober b-day on Sept 20th; This etg testing thing is ABSOLUTELY OUT OF CONTROL...I was due to finish in May of this year, but THREE WEEKS before my final meeting with the diversion eval comittee (DEC), I was told I had a etg result of 2400!!!, that I HAD relapsed, that my "transition" status was taken away, etc. etc., and that I would have to start over. I DID NOT DRINK, and was suspended from work for over 3 weeks (while I have a new mortgage, etc.). When I frantically called the lab and kept saying that there had been a serious error, I was told, "oh honey, we don't make mistakes..." Not believing me, my case manager told me that I would have to write a paper on relapse, etc., and I insisted I would not do that since I HAD NOT relapsed. So instead I wrote a paper on how this, (like someone else posted), has been the most upsetting thing in, and biggest challenge of my sobriety and turned my life UPSIDE DOWN, and that if one DIDN'T have a strong recovery or good support system, I could totally see how someone WOULD probably "go out" over something like this...

So, at my DEC meeting in May, after a grueling 45 min conversation with these people, I was told, basically, that they "believed I didn't drink," but in order to "preserve the presidence of their diversion program," they couldn't just "let me go," and as an alternative, would extend my transition status six more months. Yes, I AM very grateful they did not start me all over, but man was I PISSED and had to really pray hard for acceptance, which I finally found. However, since then I have been living in FEAR that something else is going to happen. And wadoyouknow! Today I get a call from my case manager saying that 2 WEEKS ago (and as someone else had also said, I KNOW it doesn't take THAT long to get results, and don't EVEN get me started on how much these testing companies ARE RIPPING all of us off) I had a + etg of 270. Again, I DID NOT DRINK. She said they would "probably consider it incidental," and thank God I was not told I couldn't go to work or anything this time, but COME ON, WHAT THE ****????? This is SOO upsetting, and I have had so many friends in the program that I really believe WERE NOT DRINKING come up with so many +'s, especially lately, so there is a big group of us that have just completely had the life sucked out of us R/T this issue. (OF NOTE, THEY ARE ALL WOMEN...Does anyone know of any MALES that say they didn't drink that have come up +? I have not heard of ANY, and its been mentioned among my peers that maybe it has to do with a hormone thing??? Or female metabolism??)

Anyway, with this seriously erroneous test, and NO ONE BELIEVING US BECAUSE WE ARE THE "BAD, lying ADDICTS," HOW ARE ANY OF US GOING TO EVER GRADUATE and get the **** OUT of THESE FLAWED PROGRAMS???? That's why I said at the beginning, I am so glad to have finally found this forum, cause MY GOD, I can't believe there are SOOO MANY OF US!! WHAT CAN WE DO?? There has GOT to be something, now that our numbers are so huge, across the COUNTRY, and that more is being found out about possible causes for "incidental," or "accidental" +'s... Also, VERY IMPORTANT: Did you guys see the article in the Wall Street Journal from August 12th, called "A New test for Alcohol, and its flaws?" If you have not read it, FIND IT, on line or wherever, cause its the first thing I have heard of PUBLICALLY that kind of backs us up. When my friend who tested + a couple weeks ago asked the case manager if the DEC was aware of the article, she said quietly, "yes, they are aware..."

It is truly unbelievable, and SOOO sad to me that at this point, it is not even CLOSE to enough to just not drink and use and work a good program, when as an alcoholic or addict you are encouraged to "voluntarily" enter this program that "will help you..." Don't get me wrong, diversion has saved my life and I am more grateful for my sobriety than anything, but something along the way has gone terribly ARRY...Anyhow, thanks for letting me vent, and PLEASE think of how we can take some sort of action...I know as individuals we are powerless over the boards, but the world DOES need WORKING, WELL nurses, and if enough of us come forward, backed with our collective research, and threaten (in an adult way, of course) that to get another career or something might be the only way to get out from under a flawed system where no matter what you do, you can't win, I don't know, maybe someone will listen (even if its a lawyer...)! Please let me know your thoughts...