1. < Mental Health

Other causes of failed PEth test for alcohol abuse?

Posted by gjones1956 @gjones1956, Nov 14, 2017

My daughter undergoes periodic peth testing for alchohol abuse. She fails regularly, although swears she drinks NOTHING. We have reason to believe she is telling the truth. Assuming she is indeed not drinking, is there a physical condition or ailment that might produce positive peth tests? She is 29, has enlarged lymph nodes, some kind of mysterious condition that gives her severe hives, etc. We are wondering if some type of autoinflammation or autoimmune condition might explain elevated levels. Our daughter is FINALLY discussing this with her regular doctor but if it is some unusual condition a specialist will be needed. The reason the peth test is required is due to a nasty custody dispute with lots of allegations of misconduct. I just want to know if there is ANYTHING other than alchohol consumption that can lead to positive test results. Any thoughts or knowledge of cases? Thanks for reading.

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flyboybray | @flyboybray | Dec 16, 2020

I really really hope that in the near future all 100 of us (if not more) that were affected by this sues their pants off. Careers are being lost and peoples lives are being affected and ruined.....like literally. Melanie6598. I am so sorry that you and your husband are going through this. This has impacted you the most since your husbands life is literally on the line. Someone needs to go to the media and get something going on this topic. The peth test is flawed. Either they know it and are corrupt or they can't figure out why abstinent people are getting positives, either way its not good. I was a 28ng. Barely over the cutoff and am not working now for the past 8 months over this bs. And I haven't had a drink in 4 and a half years.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Dec 16, 2020
In reply to @melanie6598 "I don’t know how to work this site, but I need someone’s advice. My husband just..." + (show)
@melanie6598

I don’t know how to work this site, but I need someone’s advice. My husband just got told tonight that he has to be deferred from the liver transplant list due to a positive peth test. This was even after we had an out of state lab run his blood work and he had a negative and then Vanderbilt ran it again and it was negative. They are saying that they cannot trust labcorp bc it is not the standard of theirs. My husband has been sober since June 2019 and has had negative tests this entire time. Before and after this false positive which was at 23 and the test states on the bottom that all circumstances must be considered. The transplant coordinator at Vanderbilt said we do not take case by case basis bc everyone is the same in our standards. They gave my husband until January to live, but now they say he has to test three months in a row for negative peth. We have sent them every article we could find. They just signed my husband’s death warrant. I told them when they finally figure this out, my husband will be dead. Please advise and give me the name of someone. They are only accepting “peer reviewed “ facts bc they cannot go by us layman. Please post or send me a private message, only serious please bc I am at my wits end. We live in Alabama and went to Vanderbilt bc they were supposed to be the top in transplants

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Hi @melanie6598, I recommend that you also post your question to the Transplants group here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/transplants/

I'm confident that the members in the PEth group here will give you great advice and documentation regarding the PEth test results. There may also be some members in the Transplants group who share a similar situation.

Can you please clarify, Melanie? Did you talk to the transplant coordinator or perhaps a transplant social worker at Vanderbilt? They may be able to help you navigate this tough path.

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toolsd | @toolsd | Jan 12, 2021

Kinda quiet... notice how when the weather turns cold, false positives seem to vanish?

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2 replies
melanie6598 | @melanie6598 | Jan 12, 2021
In reply to @toolsd "Kinda quiet... notice how when the weather turns cold, false positives seem to vanish?" + (show)
@toolsd

Kinda quiet... notice how when the weather turns cold, false positives seem to vanish?

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I completely disagree. We are in the process of getting a transplant. Not everyone is in the same boat.

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1 reply
toolsd | @toolsd | Jan 12, 2021
In reply to @toolsd "Kinda quiet... notice how when the weather turns cold, false positives seem to vanish?" + (show)
@toolsd

Kinda quiet... notice how when the weather turns cold, false positives seem to vanish?

Jump to this post

Oh, by the way, my arbitration hearing is done, now writing the brief. We now have GREAT testimony from Jones of usdtl to start using against them. We now have these snakes pinned down in the sand... bad for them.

I’m more convinced than ever what is happening most often is simply fermentation caused by now allowing the spots to dry. I’m also more convinced than ever other false positives are simply mysterious, BECAUSE THEYVE NEVER RESEARCHED. We have that in testimony.

USDTL claims 30 percent precision (with LCMSMS!! Which is WILDLY accurate) is “simply what we’ve seen. We don’t know why.” WOW!! That’s nearly a direct quote from memory... And yes, I’ll share the transcripts.

Oh, and at the end of the process, it’s a SUBJECTIVE determination by the technician if it’s a positive or not! WOOOW!!

As I await my fate, a quick shout out to several contributors here. Some were actually involved in my arbitration, and the testimony was COMPELLING!! Thank you! Couldn’t have been easy...

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1 reply
flyboybray | @flyboybray | Jan 12, 2021

What does it mean "when the weather turns cold, false positives seem to vanish"?

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clearofclouds1234 | @clearofclouds1234 | Jan 12, 2021
In reply to @toolsd "Oh, by the way, my arbitration hearing is done, now writing the brief. We now have..." + (show)
@toolsd

Oh, by the way, my arbitration hearing is done, now writing the brief. We now have GREAT testimony from Jones of usdtl to start using against them. We now have these snakes pinned down in the sand... bad for them.

I’m more convinced than ever what is happening most often is simply fermentation caused by now allowing the spots to dry. I’m also more convinced than ever other false positives are simply mysterious, BECAUSE THEYVE NEVER RESEARCHED. We have that in testimony.

USDTL claims 30 percent precision (with LCMSMS!! Which is WILDLY accurate) is “simply what we’ve seen. We don’t know why.” WOW!! That’s nearly a direct quote from memory... And yes, I’ll share the transcripts.

Oh, and at the end of the process, it’s a SUBJECTIVE determination by the technician if it’s a positive or not! WOOOW!!

As I await my fate, a quick shout out to several contributors here. Some were actually involved in my arbitration, and the testimony was COMPELLING!! Thank you! Couldn’t have been easy...

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Look forward to hearing more about this.

REPLY
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jan 12, 2021
In reply to @melanie6598 "I completely disagree. We are in the process of getting a transplant. Not everyone is in..." + (show)
@melanie6598

I completely disagree. We are in the process of getting a transplant. Not everyone is in the same boat.

Jump to this post

Hi @melanie6598, I hope things are moving along with the transplant process for your partner. I encourage you to connect with other members in the Transplants group. Click this link to see the discussion about all stages of the transplant process. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/transplants/

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toolsd | @toolsd | Jan 12, 2021

No no no, I think you’re taking this wrong! Cold weather seems to lessen the chances of fermentation bring the cause of the false positive with respect to DBS PETH.

Does not eliminate that pathway, but clearly lessens the odds. Other causes of false positives, like inter individual PLD activity, etc, we have no clue. But they seem to be less LIKELY altogether.

That’s all. I get calls from people EVERY WEEK during warm and hot weather, practically none during winter. This is my third season of tracking this.

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