Ameritox Urine Drug Test has destroyed my doctor/patient relationship... literally.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Yes it is. I have friends who buy pills illegally and they are always talking about how the people they buy the scripts off of have to go to the doctor's office every now and then to get tested and make sure they have the drug in their system to keep getting meds.

Clearly this method isn't working, because anyone who is selling is wise to the game and knows to keep a few pills on hand in case the drug test comes up. And anyone who is actually on the up and up (like the OP) gets penalized with this because they aren't aware of the illegal practice associated with their prescription.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: new_here

If all this is true, contact a lawyer. Immediately.

Every.Single.Word = True.

The pharmaceutical slave drivers are at it again. This is very sad news. Guess its a win-win situation for these pharma companies now. Either you become dependant on their "medicine" or get fined and rejected any further medical treatment. Either way they're are gonna ensure they rob everyone blind. Hopefully you find a lawyer to help you get this resolved and possibly stick it to the man.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: MystikMushroom

Yes it is. I have friends who buy pills illegally and they are always talking about how the people they buy the scripts off of have to go to the doctor's office every now and then to get tested and make sure they have the drug in their system to keep getting meds.

Clearly this method isn't working, because anyone who is selling is wise to the game and knows to keep a few pills on hand in case the drug test comes up. And anyone who is actually on the up and up (like the OP) gets penalized with this because they aren't aware of the illegal practice associated with their prescription.

You are correct. No way in hell I would sell/give my medications away. I was a school guidance counselor for 28 years. I have witnessed first hand the risk of even 'sharing' a medication. I don't go there. I never will.

originally posted by: new_here

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: new_here

If all this is true, contact a lawyer. Immediately.

Every.Single.Word = True.

I've had dealings with unscrupulous insurance companies in the past not trying to pay out when they are supposed to. Like others have said, use a site like Avvo to contact a lawyer and relay everything you said to us to him. He will then let you know if he can pursue a case.

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: new_here

Contact a lawyer immediately. This is a new feature of medical totalitarianism. You must make every attempt to stay off the radar. Make them purge the record and drop the pill pusher.

Thank you obamacare

Thanks a bunch to any fool reading this who voted twice for the most destructive President in history.

You have given us the gift of Orwellian medicine.

a reply to: Lgbtlivesmatter

a reply to: OpenMindedRealist

This has little to nothing to do with Obamacare or Obama being the President and everything to do with the FDA trying to clamp down on the rampant prescription pill epidemic that has swept the country in the last decade. Also, this drug testing thing has been going on longer than Obamacare has been in effect.

a reply to: new_here

I would strongly advise you to acquire an attorney. That is very disturbing, and the fact that the physician is participating in something that is unethical makes it even more so. Urine drug screens are not a reliable method of gauging medication compliance anyway...getting a positive amphetamine result only means that a person is taking amphetamines; it is by no means proof of which one the person is taking, so for them to document that as some sort of "proof" that you're taking Adderall is patently ridiculous. This is seriously shady stuff you're describing.

ETA: Not that I think it's even remotely ok for them to be forcing you to take a drug screen as a contingency for continuity of care...just wanted to be clear on that.

That is the same company name that caused me to be dropped by my Dr. I was in a car accident 3 years ago. Fractured the 2nd and 3rd vertebra in my neck and broke my right leg and foot in 3 places. I've had several surgeries over the years with the last one in July last year. I was prescribed lortab 7.5, 4 Xs per day. I have 3 small kids so I was clear that I would not be taking that amount, only PRN. They said that was fine and continued to prescribe 112 per month. I had to do the urine test every other month. They told me this was to make sure that I wasn't taking anything else other than what was prescribed to me. On November 17 last year I had an appt. Peed in the cup and waited to see the Dr. At this point I was only taking one pill a day for the most part. The nurse came in after a very long wait and told me I was being dropped for testing positive for METH!!! I told her that I have NEVER done drugs in my life other than smoking Moms pot in high school a few times. I was so upset that they would think this. Finally another nurse came in to talk to me and we when over all my medications. I take 3 meds for high blood pressure, thyroid meds and had recently been prescribed Previcid for acid reflux. She said the previcid caused the test to be positive for METH. I was never given an explanation for this. I was still dropped from that practice. They said I would need to find another Dr to prescribe the pain meds as I was most likely addicted. I never did call another Dr and I only took the pain pills I had for another 2 weeks then threw out the rest. It's just not worth the drama they caused. I was humiliated. I don't do drugs, I don't drink, I don't smoke. I'm boring as Hell. This company and their test caused me to lose faith in healthcare. I still see my Cardiologist and my Family Dr, but I feel so embarrassed by all of this. I feel like maybe they all think I did something wrong.

You have my sympathy and I hope you get this straightened out soon.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Lgbtlivesmatter

a reply to: OpenMindedRealist

This has little to nothing to do with Obamacare or Obama being the President and everything to do with the FDA trying to clamp down on the rampant prescription pill epidemic that has swept the country in the last decade. Also, this drug testing thing has been going on longer than Obamacare has been in effect.

Actually, it is the DEA. it would not surprise me in the slightest if the DEA were investigating the OP's doctor.

Anyone who has been on Aderall for any length of time [years] knows that around Oct - Dec of any given year the drug becomes difficult to obtain. This is because of production limitations imposed by the DEA and the rising number of prescriptions being written every year.

I know an individual who obtained a script and when he went to fill it, noticed it wasn't his name on the script. He googled the name - and lo and behold the name was that of a local DEA agent. Whether or not that was a slip by the doctor or done on purpose is up for speculation.

a reply to: LeslieD

You're right. Sorry I got my alphabet soup agencies mixed up. Probably because the FDA is at my company doing an audit of our pharmaceutical manufacturing processes currently at my work and they were just on my mind.

a reply to: new_here

No solution, sorry. But I feel so bad for you, after 15 years they just throw you away? Too bad we don't have good old fashioned family docs anymore that you & your kids grew up with.

As we say on 'some random social site' (((Big Hugs))) I'm sending you my best, most positive vibes.

I see a pain management specialist for degenerative arthritis & bad back. I was taking 2 different pain pills a day. He tested my levels as they do, because so many people sell their pills. One was normal, the other did not show. He tested me again the following month,and again, only one med showed. I just looked him in the eye & said, "I don't know doc, I took my pill 3 hours before the blood test. I have no idea what is going on, then I went on to discuss my dx's again, told him my schedule, & said, I'm in pain doc, I take my pills, the one that didn't show didn't seem to work anyway, so lets do away with it & maybe just up my dosage of the one pill?" He just looked at me, wrote the script, & sent me for an RA test & another x-ray.

Sorry to blather, but just wanted relate a 'kinda sorta' similar event,(it really scared me because I need to be pain free & functional for the family.

But what I was thinking is this. My current meds come from 2 different manufacturers, sometimes they are white, other times, yellow. The white one don't work as well as the yellow, same dosage. The makers are messing them up, or counterfeiting them maybe? Or even just using cheap ingredients. That could really get someone in trouble or make them sick. Maybe they should test the pills too?

Just a thought that I had. Best of luck to you.

a reply to: whyamIhere

Very well said. I agree wholeheartedly. Mockery. I took my pharmacist aside, and said," I am not a druggie. I am in a lot of pain. Please don't think ill of me." We are medical patients!! Irks me to no end.

Great reply!

a reply to: new_here

Yes, you are correct. Well, it's this:
*I you have illegal drugs detected, they will dismiss you and report you.
*If you have legal substances not prescribed by them, they will dismiss you.
*If you do not have the right levels of what they prescribe you, they will dismiss you.

I don't understand how they could possibly get away with this legally, Obamacare or no. There are no urine drug tests out there that will yield a quantitative result. Only qualitative, positive/negative. Therapeutic drug monitoring is done via a serum blood test, where a specific drug is isolated and measured...and it won't do any good on a lot of prescription drugs because they simply don't stay in the bloodstream long enough; even controlled substances. And never mind the length of time to metabolize; anyone who drinks a lot of water on a routine basis is going to have inconclusive urine results due to dilution.

They also cannot test urine for specific drugs in each class...they'd have no way of knowing what legal substances you're taking, prescribed by them or otherwise, unless they performed blood analysis searching for a specific drug. Ditto therapeutic drug levels of any kind. They can't even do a quantitative pregnancy test on urine, much less narrow down medication usage. Get an attorney.

originally posted by: tigertatzen
a reply to: new_here

Yes, you are correct. Well, it's this:
*I you have illegal drugs detected, they will dismiss you and report you.
*If you have legal substances not prescribed by them, they will dismiss you.
*If you do not have the right levels of what they prescribe you, they will dismiss you.

I don't understand how they could possibly get away with this legally, Obamacare or no. There are no urine drug tests out there that will yield a quantitative result. Only qualitative, positive/negative. Therapeutic drug monitoring is done via a serum blood test, where a specific drug is isolated and measured...and it won't do any good on a lot of prescription drugs because they simply don't stay in the bloodstream long enough; even controlled substances. And never mind the length of time to metabolize; anyone who drinks a lot of water on a routine basis is going to have inconclusive urine results due to dilution.

They also cannot test urine for specific drugs in each class...they'd have no way of knowing what legal substances you're taking, prescribed by them or otherwise, unless they performed blood analysis searching for a specific drug. Ditto therapeutic drug levels of any kind. They can't even do a quantitative pregnancy test on urine, much less narrow down medication usage. Get an attorney.

Well, for $1300 they say they can. They bill you and your long-time doctor drops you if you don't pee out the results they want.

Rx Guardian CDSM is now part of the Rx GuardianSMprocess. Rx Guardian CDSM features a unique reference database of patients who were clinically assessed as adherent supported by a proprietary normalization algorithm. Your patients’ normalized results are compared against the reference database, giving you added confidence in assessing whether your patients are taking their medications correctly.

Ameritox Methodology

Problem is, their 'unique reference database of patients clinically assessed as adherent' (whom they compared ME to) were not in a controlled environment where their intake of medication was certifiably ingested as prescribed. They were 'clinically assessed' to be taking it correctly. Meaning, to the doctor's best knowledge, they were. That's some faulty-a$$ science there.

But even so, they failed to ask me when I took the last dose. And they did not record the correct dosage instructions before sending in the urine.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

This may not be a direct result of the ACA, but increased Federal involvement absolutely is characteristic of the Obama administration. He can't make a speech without announcing new uses for bureaucrats.

A few things I think are going on concurrently.

The first is a patient can be dismissed for any reason, the reason they give you may not match what's actually going on. Keep that in mind please.

The second is generic medications keep causing my family memeber issues. These are different people with different issues on different medicine. Not all generic is created equal. There are people on here that have argued this with me. (Fair warning) as far as I can see the evidence speaks for itself. I wish you well resolving this.

a reply to: rukia

I just got off the phone with him. He was very nice but said it was way beyond anything he dealt with and very complex. He asked me what I hoped to accomplish. I told him: get that out of my records, and have a physician to go to (but not that one... the trust is forever broken from my end.)

He said it would likely cost thousands of dollars, with expert witnesses and lots of research, and I could possibly contact my state's Bar for advice as to what area it would best fit.

Times like this you wish you had a lawyer in the family!!!

To me this is:
A) Libel (the letter which will accompany my records to any future physician.)
B) Patient Abandonment (Total disregard for ongoing/unresolved high blood pressure issue, which is WHY I was going light on the Adderall and they KNEW that... and condoned it.)

Should I call the American Medical Association and make a complaint?

Their claims about the ability of the test is plainly bs!
Oh boy! I would go on a mission with this if I were you!

Its not just you!

This bs will go world wide if people like you dont PUBLICLY kick up a very noisy fuss about it.