[nurseamyinCA]

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...

[FloridaJudy]

Have you tried this group yet?

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ethylglucuronide/

There are a LOT of us there. And if you really want to vent and curse the boards, the monitoring, the whole sorry business, try:

http://www.voy.com/140037/

One of the few good things about my positive EtG is that it happened after I discovered the Internet. It's nice to know you're NOT alone.

[nurseamyinCA]

Thanks for the websites, I have discovered the yahoo one, and since I am calmer now my last posting there (if I did it right, oyy) was more professinal and less extreme! But GOOD to know about the one where I CAN curse the "whole sorry business!" I'm gonna check it out! I have a whole gang of friends in recovery and diversion programs that have also had false + etg's, that don't know about these groups, so they are going to be FLOORED...Thanks for assuring me that I am, or WE are not alone!

[onlyme]

I'm so glad I found this forum. I tested positive for alcohol July 3rd. Since I know I didn't drink, or take an over-the-counter med that I know of that contained alcohol, I just got the results of the retest - which still said positive. I'm in the PA recovery monitoring program for a little over a year now, but am out of work for the last week or so until they make their decision. It's even in my file that I never drank alcohol - maybe 1 or 2 glassess a year. The only think I can think of that would've caused the positive was eating a casserole that was made with cooking sherry 4 days prior to the urine test. I really felt alone in all of this until reading that others are going through the same thing. Does anyone know of anyone actually losing their license because of this super over sensitive test??

[joyous1_1210]

ONLYME: glad you found this....I have had my license suspended d/t this test, check out the following discussion group: ethylglucuronide@yahoogroups.com There are many of us + EtG, some in PA like me.

this web site had a TON of information about EtG>

check out:: www.ethylglucuronide.com
Hang in there..........joy

[joyous1_1210]

This is a summary that was reported to us on the EtG Yahoo discussion post. Good news on the Horizon for EtG victims: Three of the ladies(Nancy, Lorie and Tina)from the EtG group attended the SAMHSA conference in DC this Wed (9/20/06). SAMHSA (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration) issued an 8 page advisory on Alcohol Biomarkers that included information on EtG, while it suported many of the things that we have known and been saying, it was long and weak, HOWEVER, when the the ladies (Nancy,Lorie and Tina) presented their stories and the negative impact EtG testing has done to their life, THEY WERE HEARD! Donna Bush, a forensic toxicologist fromt the Drug Testing Advisory Board at SAMHSA, prorposed a "Black Box Warning" to include that the test is experimental, its scientific validity has not been proven, and therefore action based soley on a + EtG test should not be taken. They made a motion to strengthen the wording with regard to taking action based solely on a level for Etg and also supported an educational program for boards and others using this test. Ms Bush stated that the advisory was a result of the compelling stories of these 3 ladies. Thank you NANCY, LORIE and TINA and all the others that sent in their stories. This advisory should be available on the website by 9/30/06. More will be revealed.................joy

[hppygr8ful]

Originally Posted by joyous1_1210

This is a summary that was reported to us on the EtG Yahoo discussion post. Good news on the Horizon for EtG victims: Three of the ladies(Nancy, Lorie and Tina)from the EtG group attended the SAMHSA conference in DC this Wed (9/20/06). SAMHSA (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration) issued an 8 page advisory on Alcohol Biomarkers that included information on EtG, while it suported many of the things that we have known and been saying, it was long and weak, HOWEVER, when the the ladies (Nancy,Lorie and Tina) presented their stories and the negative impact EtG testing has done to their life, THEY WERE HEARD! Donna Bush, a forensic toxicologist fromt the Drug Testing Advisory Board at SAMHSA, prorposed a "Black Box Warning" to include that the test is experimental, its scientific validity has not been proven, and therefore action based soley on a + EtG test should not be taken. They made a motion to strengthen the wording with regard to taking action based solely on a level for Etg and also supported an educational program for boards and others using this test. Ms Bush stated that the advisory was a result of the compelling stories of these 3 ladies. Thank you NANCY, LORIE and TINA and all the others that sent in their stories. This advisory should be available on the website by 9/30/06. More will be revealed.................joy

Do you know where I can get an actual copy of this advisory like a website or something. I'm building a file.

Thanks

Peace and Namaste

Hppygr8ful

[joyous1_1210]

www.samhsa.gov is the website, I do not see anything yet, but they are supposed to have this in writing by 9/30/06. I will let this site know when I find out from the ethylglucuronide@yahoogroups.com site
happygrtful: have you visited this yet? try it! joy

[morgandog]

Originally Posted by NurseDeeb

****o all,

I am glad to see this forum for nurses in recovery. I have been in the California Diversion Program for 2 years, and now I have been completely clean and sober for over 1 year. I am very grateful for this program. I am able to work and use my license and I should be in jail. I forged a prescription and went to work impaired too. Got fired, took 9 months off to work on my recovery then went back to work in non patient care in hospice. Unfortunately, my disease would not let me give up alcohol right away. It took getting caught drinking while in Diversion to get serious. I had a positive ETG test (it is a metabolite of alcohol) in July 2004.

The issue I am facing now is that I have had 2 more positive ETG tests this year in the absence of drinking. The board does not believe me that I'm sober and I had to take 2 months off work again. I am back to work now but they have mandated daily meetings, and if I have another positive I am out of the program. Does anyone here know about this test? What else might make it positive? Be careful about what you eat if you are random tested is my advice. I'm still grateful to be sober!!!!!!!! Good luck to all!!!

Debbie

I will contact you

[RN4Recovery]

WOW!! I am absolutely terrified by these postings about ETG testing. I am new to the California Diversion Program, but have been successfully testing for North Carolina for about 16 months. It's very distressing to learn that a program which is designed on the premise that addiction is an illness and that nurses should be rehabilitated rather than punished, would rely on such a controversial and unreliable test. Changing people's sobriety dates?? This program is supposed to be about RECOVERY. When someone has relapsed, there are going to be other signs. And we can not always control what might be in our food. I have begun to wonder if my Caramel Macciatto might have vanilla extract in it's vanilla syrup! I have gone along believing that as long as I stay in recovery, one day at a time, the rest will take care of itself. Now I have to worry about being falsely accused of relapse? Ouch!!