Oh Steph. I am so sorry. Reason~ma for Tim's doctor, pronto.

I think he needs to ask his doctor to double-check and be 100% sure that the lab test specifically tests for methylphenidate

Absolutely!

Ugh, I hope the doctor listens to reason on this.

False reading are an absolute thing. Favorite horror story from a dear friend. One of the tests his wife took while pregnant showed a false positive for an STD. The doctor flat out said the only way she contracted this was that her husband got it elsewhere and gave it to her. Fortunately the wife's mother was an RN and knew that one of the meds her daughter took always gave a false positive for that STD. Poor dude, he said he really had to worry that his preggers wife in overly emotional state could have shot his ass.

Steph, what a pain in the ass. I hope the sitch gets resolved without further problems.

Tim thinks his doctor will get irritated with him for asking him to double-check what specific meds the drug screen tests for, but I told him it's worth the irritation, because if the screen isn't looking for his Ritalin, then of course the result will come back negative. Gah. So frustrating.

It's a valid point, though (that the test should be double-checked, I mean), especially since Tim knows damn well he took Ritalin before the test

It's a valid point, though (that the test should be double-checked, I mean), especially since Tim knows damn well he took Ritalin before the test

It absolutely is a valid point. And it's apparently a common problem -- drug screens that test for amphetamines (Adderall is methamphetamine, for example), won't pick up Ritalin.

I am super stressed about this on his behalf. Like, disproportionately so.

Can you buy a over the counter drug test to check? Like the kind they sell to parents? And make sure you have one that just says meth and one that gets Ritalin?

Tim talked to the people at the lab that did his drug screen, and he said they were very helpful and are going to talk to his doctor about Ritalin not being included in the test. There's a different lab that has a methylphenidate test, and if Tim's doctor pushes back and says that the original test is fine, Tim's plan is to do the follow-up pee test at his doctor's (he has to do that later this week) and then go to the other lab immediately afterward and take the Ritalin test.

I can't believe what a pain in the ass this is. I mean, I understand the doctor's POV about the test *in general* -- the DEA is being unbelievably strict with doctors who prescribe controlled substances, and so doctors have to test their patients to make sure that their patients are taking the meds and not selling them/giving them to friends or family. That's fair.

But what's ridiculous is testing Tim for a drug with a test that literally doesn't test for the drug. That would be like me taking a Hep C test to see if I was pregnant. That's not how this works. Sheesh.

Anyway, please send drug-test-ma to Tim, that this shit will get sorted out easily and his doctor will understand the problem and he'll keep getting his Ritalin prescribed.

I'm glad Tim talked to the lab and that they are being helpful. I hope his doctor apologizes for giving him a hard time.