Tested Positive for a Pain Med Im not suppose to be taking. Will my Doc cut me off?

there is a strong possibiity you will be cut off.  And as for your story, taking Methadone is not something most people would forget; unless of course, one was tolerant to it before.  You might want to practice up on that story........I don't buy it...but then again, that's just me 

Hey JBradley. I think you double-posted... anyway, I wrote a response in the other thread, so here it is just in case it wasn't seen:

"Ooh.

Well, I don't know 100% what will happen, but he may very well do something about it. If another opiate was detected in your system, he has every reason to believe that you might be abusing drugs. A lot of people mess around with that stuff, and even if it was an innocent mistake on your part, doctors can't afford to let things slide.

When I was young and, admittedly, VERY foolish, I did stuff like that as well. I pinched a nerve in my neck and it hurt so bad I could barely move. The doctor gave me T-2s, but they didn't do anything for me, and I actually had the gall to go buy Vicodin and start self-medicating. Really, I just did it because I was fed up with the ridiculous pain that wasn't letting me sleep or move properly, but that doesn't matter- I went to a DEALER and bought a NARCOTIC, ILLEGALLY. It is what it is, regardless of your intentions.

Never take prescription meds that aren't yours. Even if you aren't a druggie, you'll have to suffer the consequences. And it's stuff like this that makes it harder for people who need those drugs to get them. Know what I mean?

I'm sorry if this is long and rambly. I'm going on zero sleep and far too much studying, ugh."

As for being honest on this site- you *should* be honest. There is nothing wrong with that. Yes, you made a mistake, but as long as you learn from it, you aren't a bad person. Don't let the snotty comments deter you; some people have nothing better to do, it would seem.

at this site, we hear everything.  Because of that, many of us have lost our sense of humor when it comes to "stories".  It is difficult enough for CP's to receive adequate care.  We stand in line behind a whole lot of people who abuse the very drugs we need to remain functional.  We are not beleived when it comes to the amount of pain we live with, and pain which never sleeps takes a heavy toll on our psyche.  This is an honest site, you can say whatever you want, but do not expect anyone here to sugar coat their answers. 

I answered your question honestly.  If you tested positive for unprescribed methadone, regardless of the reason, due to the waiver you signed with the Pain management doctor, you most likely will be dropped from care.  Now, your physician did the fair thing, she sent the specimen to a more exact lab as there are times a false positive can occur.  If it comes out that the initial screen was inaccurate, with no actual methadone in the sample, take this as a very valueable lesson - you cannot take unprescribed drugs, of any kind or from anyone.  As a fellow CP, you are now held to higher standards.  Welcome to our world.  Read the waiver you signed.  These doctors are serious...and for every patient who doesn't follow the rules, another of US is not believed.

Just let it go.  Do not bring it up to her and she will forget it.

even while taking Your medication, there may come a time that your oxycodone might test negative, this has happened to my spouse with hydrocodone, an Me with Xanax, if ever this happens ask your Dr. to perform a observation test, where you consume the medication in front of her, she draws blood an tests the medication, if the medication tests negative You have receive ineffective medication an should contact the manufactor for a refund.

WOODSTOCK

Pain is no fun, and it looks like you are able to control yours with a relatively low dose of medicine. Hopefully this situation will end up nothing more than a lesson learned, and a little worrying.

Try not to take offense to anything, I didnt see anything but constructive criticism and suggestions as to what could happen, exactly what you asked for. Some people cant handle it though, so many would rather have their hands held and told all is well and will be ok. Thats not always the case, and personally I would rather have some honest feedback then to have the wool over my eyes.

To some of you guys, come on now! We are not baby sitters or pre school teachers. Someone who says whats on their mind so that they can get and give the best possible information is not nosey, and it sure is not inconsiderate. You think that the doctors, nurses, PAs, staff etc etc etc are going to want to baby a pain patient who tests dirty? (no offense to the OP) No, they are going to be firm, and there is a good chance of an unfavorable outcome, thats just the way it is, even with well established patient relationships. I dont know if I am just grouchy tonight, but enough with the baby coddling! Its NOT constructive and its NOT helpful.

will discharge for a violation like that with NO warning.  Very unpleasant.  I would just play it by ear and see what happens..Ray

leave it alone for sure,the less said the better,my pain contract actually says will not use other peoples meds,so let it go and say nothing

I think everyone is right....don't say anything, especially since you're not even sure it was Methadone. I mean, why put the doubt there when you're not even sure? You may end up in a mess over something that wasn't even Methadone! It's totally not unheard of for people to test positive for things that they didn't take. One time I tested positive for Cocaine when I was in the ER in a urine test and the doctor said it in front of my husband and started to treat me like cr*p! I swore up and down I didn't do any cocaine (fortunately my husband never doubted me for a second). The doctor kept telling me that the test was accurate. I asked him if my other meds could have caused a false positive, he said no, the test was accurate. Fortunately his shift was ending and another doctor was coming on and I convinced him to test me again because the other doctor suggested discharging me once my blood sugars were down since I was "just having a bad reaction to cocaine." The new doctor tested me again and only found the things in my urine that were supposed to be there. To this day I don't know why the 1st test showed otherwise. The doctor said it was definitely my urine in the first test because of the blood sugars, ketones, etc. that also showed up. He theorized that it had something to do with the fact that I was in DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) and was on opiates. He said that diabetes is one of the things that can cause false positive for all sorts of things. Fortunately, I haven't had that poblem since. Anyway, point of the story is that you may have just had a false positive on your test. There's no need to incriminate yourself if you're not even sure you did anything wrong. Even if it was Methadone you didn't intentionally take it and I'm sure you won't ever take anything unidentified again. Unfortunately doctors hear the "I didn't know what it was I was taking" or "they said it was something else" story all the time from people who are lying. If your doctor finds it weird that you called just stick to your story about misplacing the script. If the lab tests come back positive for Methadone I'd still play dumb and act like you can't imagine how it got in your system, then maybe say something like, "The only thing I can think of is a week ago (or however long ago it was) I had a migraine and I asked a coworker for some Ibuprofen, Aspirin, or something and she handed me a pill. I assumed it was Ibuprofen or Aspirin since that's what I asked for. It was just a plain white pill, so it looked like Ibuprofen. I can ask her to verify what she gave me, but I really don't think she'd give me something like Methadone without telling me what it was." That way it shows that it was an innocent mistake like it was. Then ask your doctor if the lab results showed how much of it was in your system and ask if it is consistent with just 1 pill if she wants to take it further.