Hello 5150611,
I?m not sure from your question if you want to know if Ambien
(zolpidem) will show up as a false positive in a drug screen, or if
you are interested in blood testing for Ambien levels. Typically, for
pre-employment screening, a urine test only, is required. Urine drug
screens generally test for the following drugs of abuse: barbiturates,
benzodiazepines, cocaine metabolite, cannabinoids, opiates and
amphetamines. If any one of these gives a positive result, the sample
is tested further with a confirmatory GC/MS test. This test is
specific, so if a substance other than a drug of abuse causes a false
positive, the confirmatory GC/MS test will not be positive.
Ambien is not a benzodiazepine, and does not test as one, but it
acts like one in the body, binding to the same receptor sites as a
benzodiazepine would.
Ambien does NOT show up as a false positive in any urine drug
screens, as shown in the following study: ?CONCLUSIONS: These data
indicate that zolpidem will not cross-react in standard urine drug
screens with benzodiazepines, opiates, barbiturates, cocaine,
cannabinoids, or amphetamines.?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9140309&dopt=Abstract
?Zolpidem tartrate, is a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic of the
imidazopyridine class and is available in 5 mg and 10 mg strength
tablets for oral administration.?
?Zolpidem tartrate is a white to off-white crystalline powder that is
sparingly soluble in water, alcohol, and propylene glycol. It has a
molecular weight of 764.88.
Each Ambien tablet includes the following inactive ingredients:
hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, lactose, magnesium stearate,
microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, sodium starch
glycolate, titanium dioxide; the 5 mg tablet also contains FD&C Red
No. 40, iron oxide colorant, and polysorbate 80.?
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/zolpid.htm
Testing for Ambien:
===================
Should you WANT to be tested for an Ambien level, your doctor can
order a blood test for you. ER staff may order this test for a
possible Ambien overdose, but it is not routinely ordered.
Ambien (zolpidem) can be tested in whole blood, serum/plasma and
urine, by a method called Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
(GC/MS)
Ambien Blood Testing
Reporting Limit: 2.0 ng/mL
Critical Value: n/a
Reference Range: < 250 ng/mL
This means the test?s ?cut off limit? is 2.0 ng/mL, which means the
test can not detect levels lower than 2.0 ng in blood. The ?normal?
range is less than 250 ng/dl in blood.
Ambien Urine Testing
--------------------
Reporting Limit: 2.0 ng/mL
Critical Value: n/a
Reference Range: n/a
Ambien Serum/Plasma Testing
----------------------------
Reporting Limit: 2.0 ng/mL
Critical Value: n/a
Reference Range: < 250 ng/mL
http://www.aegislabs.com/test_dir.asp?get=A
?Interpretation of Blood Concentrations: Single doses of 5 mg zolpidem
(Ambien) resulted in average peak concentrations of 0.06 mg/L at 1.6
hours; 10 mg produced 0.12 mg/L at 1.6 hours; 15 mg produced 0.20 mg/L
at 1.5 hours; and 20 mg produced 0.23 mg/L at 2.1 hours.
Interpretation of Urine Test Results: Urinary excretion of unchanged
zolpidem is less than 1%.?
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/job185drugs/zolpidem.htm
These drugs may interact with Ambien:
-------------------------------------
What drug(s) may interact with zolpidem? (Back to top)
?bupropion
?caffeine
?flumazenil
?certain antidepressants, like citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine,
paroxetine, sertraline, or venlafaxine
?medications for fungal infections, like ketoconazole, fluconazole, or itraconazole
?some medicines used to treat HIV infection or AIDS, like ritonavir
?St. John's wort
Certain medications may cause additive drowsiness or decrease
alertness with zolpidem:
?alcohol
?allergy, cough, or cold medications (antihistamines)
?kava kava
?melatonin
?medicines for anxiety
?medicines for pain
?medicines for treating mental problems
?melatonin
?other sedatives given for sleep
?some medicines for Parkinson' s disease or other movement disorders
?valerian
http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,712%7CAmbien,00.html#uses
More information on Ambien Testing
http://caag.state.ca.us/bfs/toxlab/evidence.htm
There you go. If you are about to undergo a pre-employment drug
screen, be sure to tell the person administering the test any and all
medications you are taking.
If any part of my answer is unclear, please do not rate this question
without asking for an Answer Clarification. This will allow me to
assist you further, if possible.
Regards,
Crabcakes
Search Terms
zolpidem + therapeutic range
zolpidem + blood test
Ambien + false positive + drug screen |
Clarification of Answer by
crabcakes-ga
on
04 Mar 2005 17:08 PST
Hi eddie_eagle,
No, Paroxetine will not show up as a false positive. "Note that
other types of antidepressants are not detected, including selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's; e.g., fluoxetine, paroxetine,
sertraline), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's; e.g., phenelzine,
tranylcypromine), bupropion, trazodone and venlafaxine."
You can see by the chart near the end of the page that diphenhydramine
can give a false positive test for methadone, on one brand of drug
screen test kits.
http://www.lindesmith.org/library/grmorg2.cfm
"Urine screening tests for drugs of abuse detect general classes of
compounds, such as amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, or
opiates. Drug screening also includes testing for cocaine, marijuana,
and phencyclidine (PCP). The screening test for cocaine detects
benzoyl ecgonine, the major metabolite of cocaine.The marijuana test
detects D-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, a principle product of marijuana
smoke. The screening tests themselves cannot distinguish between
illicit drugs and prescription compounds of the same class. A patient
taking codeine and another taking heroin would both have a positive
screening test for opiates. Some over-the-counter medications can
cause a positive drug screen in a person who has not taken any illegal
or prescription drugs. For instance, over-the-counter sympathomimetic
amines such as pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine may cause a
false-positive screen for amphetamines.Substances which give a false
positive screening test for cocaine are rare. Being present in a room
where marijuana is being smoked, and inhaling secondary smoke, is
generally not enough to cause a positive screening test for marijuana.
Because D-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the major marijuana metabolite, is
highly fat-soluble, it remains in the body for long periods of time
and can be detected in the urine for weeks after marijuana has been
smoked.
Eating food containing poppyseeds may result in a positive urine
screening test for opiates, since poppyseeds contain
naturally-occurring opiates. However, confirmation testing will
distinguish between positive opiate tests resulting from poppyseed
ingestion and those resulting from heroin or other opiates, because
different metabolic breakdown products are present."
http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/pathology/CLIA/DrugMonitoring/04Screening.html
"I checked with the toxicology department of the Oregon Medical
Laboratory, and they had not heard of this. However, drug *screening*
can be done by a variety of different kits utilizing different
immunoassays, and some of them could have a false positive result.
One needs always to follow-up positive *screening* with *confirmatory*
testing by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, or GCMS, which gives
a molecular fingerprint for the substance present.
Any company that relies on a positive *screening* test to make hiring
or firing decisions is hanging out legally in terms of its own
liability, since false positive results can occur with any screening
test."
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/SSRIs-bupropion-and-urine-.html
Again, my esteemed colleagues, pinkfreud-ga and umiat-ga have answered
similar questions that may interest you:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=478497
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=361737
Another similar answer by my colleague redhoss-ga
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=205477
I DO recommend telling the test administrator of any prescription
medications you are taking, before the test. Remember too, there are
numerous kinds/brands of drug screens; some are more likely to have
false positives than others. Again, confirmatory testing can discern
between drugs of abuse and diphenhydramine and Paxil.
Hope this helps you! Thank you for the clarification!
Sincerely, Crabcakes
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