Other causes of failed PEth test for alcohol abuse?

@hulalupa If you are able, can you keep us updated with the outcome?

@gjones1956 - you'd talked about your daughter having routine PEth testing and failing regularly. How is that going, and how is the custody dispute situation?

Essentially all of the "research" published on the accuracy and validity of these tests is generated by those promoting (and profiting) from them. Because these tests are only being used in the criminal justice/ family court/professional health program settings and it is not a competitive market there is no impetus for research aimed at contradicting any of it so no counter-studies exist, If these tests were being used on, for example, employees represented by a union they certainly would but no organization that has anyone looking out for the best interests of its members would ever allow this testing to begin with. The accuracy of those performing these tests needs to be questioned. So too does their integrity. https://disruptedphysician.com/2014/11/07/integrity-and-accountability-the-declining-state-of-physician-health-programs-and-the-urgent-need-for-ethical-and-evidence-based-leadership/

Sorry for the delay....I didn’t realize you’d replied!

From what I can tell one gram of oral honokiol taken twice daily will block the PLD enzyme and therefore block the formation of PEth.

Now...everyone’s different and probably some people have a more active PLD system than others. But from what I can tell, one gram by mouth twice a day should block it.

No overdose or toxicity has ever been reported with Honokiol...but you might want to start slow with it. Some people say it makes them tired.

You can get Honokiol over the counter at health food stores...it usually comes in 200 mg or 250 mg capsules. So that means you’d need to take four or five capsules by mouth twice a day, depending on the capsule size.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for the response!!! I have been taking 250 mg of Honokiol at night... for about 2 weeks... I know I have a Peth test in 3 weeks... should I increase the 250mg? and do you have any idea how long it takes to block PLD? I know that my peth was high because I work with pure ethanol in doing patina for Bronze sculpture... of course my Dr's think I am full of it, but I don't drink!!! Thank you

From what I’ve seen I don’t think 250 mg once a day will do it. It MIGHT (because everybody’s different) , but I doubt it. I would at least do 500 mg twice a day and see how the next PEth looks.

Very hard to say when it will kick in. I imagine it will start working against PLD right away...but in terms of when it will work OPTIMALLY, we might assume that that will require the drug to reach a “steady state.” We really don’t know about Honokiol to address these issues, but there are some GENERAL rules we can apply.

In rats, doses of Honokiol given IV (rather than by mouth) have a half-life of about an hour. But it’s hard to apply that to our situation because we’re requiring absorption from the bowel rather than direction injection into the blood. Plus Honokiol is primarily metabolized in the liver, and that can complicate things when you’re dealing with an oral drug.

An educated guess is that you’d be a steady state in five to 10 hours. That’s just an educated guess.

Another, maybe less reliable rule of thumb is that you’ll steady state after seven doses of the drug. Whatever the car, it’ll start working quickly.

All of this info just highlights the overarching point that these mendacious, unethical test developers are really putting a lot of people on the spot by trotting out a test without sufficient study. How they can look at themselves in the mirror every morning is beyond me. And, no, that’s a comment on their lack of ethics, not their lack of looks...though....I’ve done some. background on these punk test developers and seen photos of some of them. Shhhh...just between you, me, and the wall....the mug on each one of them would make a freight train take a dirt road on a GOOD day. But shhhh on that.

I dang wish a good lawyer would get on this issue and take these for-profit test developers and companies to school. In Federal court!

I am dealing with a custody issue and having similar problems. The court REFUSES to consider that tests are false. How is your case going? I would like to see if we can change this....we need a voice, surely there must be a lot more like us. Strength in numbers is my thought...

I agree a lawyer who would go to bat for good ppl getting railroaded! Surely there's someone out there willing to take this on!

If I drank I non alcoholic beer the day before a Peth test would it show positive?

I joined specifically to comment in this group. I have regular and random alcohol use screening from two separate providers. I consistently pass GGT and CDT test but one provider decided to give me a PEth and Ethyl Glucuronide test. I passed the Ethyl Glucuronide test but had a 653 ng/mL PEth result well above the 20 ng/mL cutoff. Slightly worried and working on my rebuttal. Although this provider is not my primary care physician who actually handles and controls my case she can influence him. I just had an appointment with him and he has little concern about my abstinence. However, non-FDA approved testing can derail that apparently according to peoples posts.

I wanted to share this, it came directly from my lab results which I have full access to:
"Comments: Analyzed compound: PEth 16:0/18:1. 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanol. Analysis performed by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Detection limit: 20 ng/mL PEth levels in excess of 20 ng/mL are considered evidence of moderate to heavy ethanol consumption. However, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) advises caution in interpretation and use of biomarkers alone to assess alcohol use. Results should be interpreted in the context of all available clinical and behavioral information. Reference: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2012). \"The Role of Biomarkers in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders\", 2012 Revision. Advisory, Volume 11, Issue 2. This test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by LabCorp. It has not been cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration."

I hope the comments will help someone else bolster their case as to the lack of validity using PEth as a sole biomarker.