I tested positive for alcohol on a UA despite being sober for 3 weeks — the confirmatory lab came back FALSE POSITIVE
I wanted to share my experience because I know there are a lot of people on probation who panic when they get an unexpected positive UA. I was one of them, and I think it’s important for people to know what actually happened in my situation.
I’m currently on probation and have alcohol-monitoring requirements. I had been completely sober for approximately 3 weeks when I went in for a urine test.
I wasn’t expecting any problems.
Then I was told that my initial urine screening was positive for alcohol/EtG.
I was absolutely confused and honestly terrified.
I knew I hadn’t been drinking.
My first thought was basically:
“How am I going to prove I didn’t drink?”
I immediately started going through everything I had consumed or been exposed to trying to figure out how an alcohol result could possibly happen. I had even had a couple of 0.0% beers a few days earlier, and I had been around various products containing alcohol in my normal life.
But the important thing was that I knew I hadn’t consumed alcohol.
Because this was a probation test, I was extremely worried about the consequences. I was concerned that the positive result could lead to an ankle CAM/SCRAM alcohol monitor being placed on me.
Then I got a voicemail from my probation officer.
My probation officer, Elise, contacted me while the confirmatory testing was still pending.
She explained that she had already sent the referral for the CAM monitor because of the initial positive result.
But she also explained that they were going to wait for the confirmation testing before moving forward.
She told me that if the confirmation came back showing that it was alcohol use, the CAM monitor would be the next step and they were already set up for it.
But if the confirmation came back showing that the original result was a false positive, she would cancel the CAM monitor.
That was a huge moment for me because I realized the initial screening wasn’t necessarily the final answer.
The process was essentially:
Initial screening positive → CAM referral initiated → confirmation testing → wait for laboratory result → determine whether CAM proceeds.
And then I had to wait.
That waiting period was honestly brutal.
I kept worrying that somehow the laboratory was going to confirm the positive even though I knew I hadn’t been drinking.
I was asking questions about false positives, EtG testing, incidental exposure, different products that could potentially affect testing, etc.
I was basically preparing myself for the worst while hoping the laboratory would show what I knew to be true.
Then I got the call.
My probation officer called me after receiving the laboratory results.
She told me:
“You were right. It was a false positive.”
She then told me that she was going to cancel the CAM monitor.
She even ended the call with:
“Way to go.”
I can’t really explain the relief I felt.
I had gone from thinking:
“I’m screwed. I’m going to have an ankle monitor because this test says I drank.”
to:
“The laboratory confirmed it was a false positive, and the CAM is being canceled.”
What I want people to take away from this
If you’re on probation and you get an unexpected positive screening result, don’t automatically assume that the initial result is the final determination.
I’m not saying every positive test is a false positive.
I’m not saying people should assume they’re automatically going to beat a positive.
And I’m definitely not saying someone who actually drank should expect the confirmation to magically make it disappear.
I’m saying that in my actual experience, the initial screening result was wrong, and the confirmatory laboratory testing caught it.
The initial result was serious enough that probation started the process for a CAM monitor.
But they waited for the confirmation.
The confirmation came back as a false positive.
And the CAM monitor was canceled.
That’s an important distinction.
My experience, in order:
1. I had been sober for about 3 weeks.
2. I took a probation urine test.
3. The initial alcohol/EtG screening came back positive.
4. I was extremely confused and scared because I knew I hadn’t been drinking.
5. The sample was sent for confirmatory laboratory testing.
6. My probation officer initiated the referral for a CAM monitor while waiting for the confirmation.
7. She explained that if the confirmation showed alcohol use, the CAM would be the next step.
8. She also explained that if the confirmation showed a false positive, she would cancel the CAM.
9. The laboratory confirmation came back.
10. My probation officer called me and told me it was a false positive.
11. She canceled the CAM monitor.
That’s my real experience.
So if you’re sitting there freaking out over an unexpected positive…
Take a breath.
If you genuinely haven’t been drinking, don’t immediately assume you’re done for.
Be honest with your probation officer.
Don’t make up an explanation.
Ask whether the sample is being sent for confirmatory testing.
Keep track of anything relevant that you’ve consumed or been exposed to.
And most importantly, wait for the confirmation before assuming the worst.
I spent a lot of time stressing over something that ultimately wasn’t evidence of alcohol consumption.
The initial screen said one thing.
The laboratory confirmation said something different.
And the laboratory confirmation ultimately cleared me.
I’m sharing this because when you’re on probation and you see POSITIVE next to an alcohol test, it’s very easy to think you’re the only person this has ever happened to.
You’re not.
An initial positive screening result does not necessarily mean the final laboratory result will be positive.
In my case, the confirmation mattered.
And because the confirmation showed a false positive, the consequence that had been set in motion — the CAM monitor — was canceled.
Hopefully this helps someone else who is sitting there right now scared out of their mind because of an unexpected positive screen.
There is a difference between an initial screening result and a confirmed laboratory result.