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Other causes of failed PEth test for alcohol abuse?

Mental Health | Last Active: Nov 6 9:09pm | Replies (446)

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@milo262

Hi, I wanted to give everyone an update on my situation. I posted in January and February.
I did have a second False positive PETH. As I stated before I do not drink. I went to rehab for substance abuse.
I have not been released yet from my rehab center back to my State Board.
My only option by my rehab center was to agree to Sober Link 4 times a day. This is a breathalyzer that measures BAC just like law enforcement uses for field sobriety. My results are sent wirelessly to my rehab center daily. This cost $499 for the device plus an Additional $150 per month and I had to sign a year’s contract. I have over 30 days or 120 tests and all are .000 BAC.
My rehab told me that if I had another Positive Peth the BAC results would nullify the Peth.
I wanted to let you know that at least they will admit a possible Positive Peth now. This is a long way forward since last year. Again I now spend $450 per month. I cannot afford this. Breathalyzing 4 times a day is an incredible commitment. If I go out I have to take the device with me. They send me a text 4 times a day and I have a 2 hour window.
I’m convinced the error is in the physical performance of the Peth test. I have done several tests with Toothpaste, Mouthwash ect and I always blow .000 BAC. There is no way the Peth is picking up a true blood level. It is in the way the blood spots are performed that you see various positive. I may never get my license back but I’m going to continue with monitoring so they will have to admit there is such a thing as a false positive.
If anyone thinks your Board might allow the breathalyzer just Google Sober Link. They are located in California. If you You Tube
Sober Link there are several great videos by the company.
Thanks, Stay Safe

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Replies to "Hi, I wanted to give everyone an update on my situation. I posted in January and..."

A word of warning on the soberlink thing... be careful how much you trust it and you need to be extra careful with any hand sanitizer you may be around with all the covid stuff going on - especially do not let it in your car at all. Let me explain why...

My wife got one of these as well after the bad USDTL peth tests. All was good for probably four months of testing 3-4 times a day (at her schedule vs theirs). We had read some bad things about the soberlink and having such bad issues with USDTL we did not trust soberlink either so my wife was doing her own separate tests with a backtrack device prior to doing the soberlink one. All was fine until we went on vacation...

First, my wife's backtrack blows "hot" (like 3x the legal limit hot) but it also does so for me too... and we were both together and neither of us drink... so I told her it had to be a bad backtrack unit and to take the soberlink. Guess what... it goes off too. And it was through the roof too; with no drinking; Stayed that way for 4-5 hours but the decay rate was WAY too high for it to be consumed alcohol. Something major screwy was going on... we just did not know what.

The "analysts" (who have business degrees at best and are not scientists based on talking to them myself) at soberlink are a joke and cannot interpret the results for crap; It is not humanly possible for the human body to reduce alcohol at the rate my wife's results were going down. More so I was seeing the same thing on the backtrack (as were our kids). We had to hire a real expert to argue the test results with the soberlink clowns which we succeeded in but I wanted to know what happened.

Best we (and our expert) could guess was it was us riding in the enclosed car on a 5 hour road trip. My wife and daughters had alcohol based cosmetics in their suitcases and we stopped for lunch in the hot texas sun. My guess is one of them "leaked" into the car cabin and then we breathed in fumes for multiple hours. Based on the device readings... we were all multiple legal limits drunk.

So the punch line is be extra careful about enclosed spaces and anything with alcohol in it. I would be terrified to be taking these tests and being anywhere around hand sanitizer but especially in my car... but also be wary of what may be released into the air from others...

I would also caution testing such units with mouthwash... I tried it for "fun" with the backtrack and purple Listerine and I can assure you it will set off a backtrack. It deteriorates really rapidly (way too rapidly to be consumed) but it will set off at least the backtrack device. Did not test this with the soberlink... but I would not try it. And I would not want their "experts" to interpret the results on my behalf it it was for the record...