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Thread: ETG testing

  1. #51

    Re: ETG testing

    Hi Debbie,

    There are many things that can cause a positive in the absence of drinking. Hand Sanitizer, Hairspray...anything that has alcohol. But you can also show a false positive if you have a UTI. Also you can have a false positive if you are a diabetic.

    Good Luck.

    Diane

  2. #52
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    Angry Re: ETG testing

    Quote Originally Posted by HCDC View Post
    I am not a nurse, but I do know something about etg testing. Thought I would share with you all.

    Etg tests are sensitive to alcohol metabolites as you have mentioned. It would be interesting to know how many ng's you all tested for. Anything under 500 ng's could/should be considered incidental exposure. Anything OVER 500 is definite alcohol consumption.

    That's not to say that anything under 500 is not alcohol consumption, just that it is too low to be positive that alcohol was consumed. Low levels could also indicate incidental abuse (ex: drinking high doses of cough syrup, vanilla extract, mouthwash, etc).

    After reading your post I guess I am wondering what makes you such an expert on ETG testing? I have tested positive 4 times in the past two years and have not had a drop of alcohol to drink. I am however, pre-diabetic and have frequent urinary tract infections, but the courts choose not to look at these facts. I am now facing time in prison because of these ETG tests and the fact that Dr. Skipper is claiming that these tests are highly innaccurate, so for you to tell me that anything above 500 is definite alcohol consumption only shows me that you don't know to much about ETG testing at all. This test is destroying lives, everyones body is different and ETG testing doesn't take that into consideration.

  3. #53
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    Re: ETG testing

    Quote Originally Posted by outraged View Post
    After reading your post I guess I am wondering what makes you such an expert on ETG testing? I have tested positive 4 times in the past two years and have not had a drop of alcohol to drink. I am however, pre-diabetic and have frequent urinary tract infections, but the courts choose not to look at these facts. I am now facing time in prison because of these ETG tests and the fact that Dr. Skipper is claiming that these tests are highly innaccurate, so for you to tell me that anything above 500 is definite alcohol consumption only shows me that you don't know to much about ETG testing at all. This test is destroying lives, everyones body is different and ETG testing doesn't take that into consideration.
    So please enlighten me on what you know about ETG testing.

  4. #54
    Member Extraordinaire hppygr8ful's Avatar
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    Wink Re: ETG testing

    Quote Originally Posted by outraged View Post
    So please enlighten me on what you know about ETG testing.
    Having been in the California Diversion program and a victim of false positive Etg tests I have made it a point to learn as much about this test as I could. It is highly inaccurate and it's use is affecting not just nurses and medical professionals but many others in mandated recovery programs. I have heard countless stories of people losing their children, and livelihoods due to this test.

    This test came from Sweeden and was originally thought to indicte proof positive for alcohol consumption. The fact is there is only one clinical study ever done and it included just 55 people who were tested ater they drank a prescribed amount of alcohol. There was no non-drinking control group, and as you can see the initial cohort was quite small.

    There are lists of foods and drinks to avoid floating around the internets - I found it best to eat only whole fresh foods and vegetables propared at home. Avoid sauces, marinades, and ethnic foods. Also avoid use of Balsalmic vinegar and anything that goes through a fermentation process such as sourdough breads.

    If you have any kind of underlying medical condition such as diabetes, kidney disease, frequent headachs or migraines - Make sure this is documented by your medical professioinal and sent to your monitoring board.
    Medications like Tylenol have been know to cause + Etg. Also some anti diabetic medications and medications used during dental procedures. especially epinepherine which is routinely given with Novacaine to lesson bleeding during procedures.

    Of course it goes without saying to avoid waterless hand cleaner which is also pure alcohol - but did you know that Lysol spray is 95% alcohol, and Fabreez in almost as bad. One of my false positives was caused by Pam cooking spray which is 92% alcohol.

    Hope some of this is helpful to you.

    There is a class action lawsuit re: this test and if you have had a false + it would behoove you to at least register with the suit.

    In the meantime

    Peace and Namaste

    Hppy

  5. #55
    Super Moderator cougarnurse's Avatar
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    Re: ETG testing

    Why not show the Boards the incidence of the test being inaccurate? That may behoove you.

    Kinda reminds me of the 'fire-breather' incident in a way.

  6. #56
    Member Extraordinaire hppygr8ful's Avatar
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    Re: ETG testing

    Quote Originally Posted by cougarnurse View Post
    Why not show the Boards the incidence of the test being inaccurate? That may behoove you.

    Kinda reminds me of the 'fire-breather' incident in a way.
    The boards largely do not care about the evidence that the test is inaccurate. Although there may be some change happening as some states are now no longer using the test and others have raised the cut-off levels. One has to remember that the Board as a general rule does not care about any individuals recovery. They are charged with public safety and when they thought they had a tool that could show positive proof of alcohol ingestion they thought they could make their jobs so much easier.

    But as with all things that happen in "Officialdom" change happens very slowly. Once the boards admit that they have known for some time the test is inaccurate then they open themselves to a huge pool of potential lawsuits and legal actions. This is something they don't want to deal with.
    Plus the labs are making a ton of money on this test and so they are vigorously defending it's efficacy.

    All I can say to anyone caught in this is to perservere and work the strongest program you can. Ultimately it was evidence of the strong program I worked plus my otherwise 100% compliance with the Boards rules that got me through.


    Peace and Namaste

    Hppy

  7. #57
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    Hi Guys,
    I personally have not had any problems (that I know of) with Etg, however here in CA a number of the nurses in my support group who are now on probation due to being kicked out of diversion have a class action suit going. Interesting how it is all about money and now the Doc who brought it here is acknowledging it's limitations. Since we have changed labs this year there doesn't seem to be so much trouble for the folks that were getting the positives before. Apparently there is also another motabolite called Ets that is supposed to be more accurate but WAY too expensive...

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