I have been drinking for weeks and it has been 6 days that I haven't had any alcohol.Friday night was my last night of drinking and I had an EtG test done on Thursday afternoon,days before the test I drank plenty of water and urinated a lot all 6 days before the test.When I was drinking I would drink whiskey.I am a male that weighs 155 lbs and am 5'9"

Watered down urine also raises red flags.

I find this: "With some urine alcohol tests, alcohol can be detected up to around 48 hours after a person has ingested alcohol. With the EtG Urine Alcohol Test, however the presence of EtG in the urine demonstrates that ethanol alcohol was ingested within the past 3 or 4 days, or roughly 80 hours after the ethanol alcohol has been metabolized by the body.

As a result, it can be determined that a urine alcohol test employing EtG is a more accurate indicator of the recent consumption of alcohol as opposed to simply measuring for the existence of ethanol alcohol (as is done many other urine alcohol tests)." How Long Will Alcohol Stay In the System For Urine Tests (http://www.alcohol-test-info.com/How_Long_Will_Alcohol_Stay_In_the_System_For_Urine _Tests.html)

Dr Bill has answered this so many times I'm sure he can chant it in his sleep - and I mean that in a good way.

He'll be along to answer...

I have been drinking for weeks and it has been 6 days that I haven't had any alcohol.Friday night was my last night of drinking and I had an etg test done on Thursday afternoon,days before the test I drank plenty of water and urinated a lot all 6 days before the test.When I was drinking I would drink whiskey.I am a male that weighs 155 lbs and am 5'9"

There is no record of EtG being detected at that time. Ever. You would be clear regardless of liquid intake. It is wise however, to drink an 8-ounce glass of water about an hour before the test. That prevents detection of EtG that might be created through incidental exposure, inhalation for instance.

Bet you were sick for a few days.

Out of curiosity, if you had been drinking for weeks, why an EtG test now?

On probation because I decided to walk home instead of driving 8 blocks away from home and kept my car at the bar instead of driving.no matter how much I drank in the past with all of those hours I will pass the EtG test after 6 days?I did drink a lot of whiskey and I will never understand if I don't drink no problem is ever present ever and I will never understand why to me if I don't drink I never have any physical problems at all and I seen people that don't even drink as I do have shakes the next day and they need their next drink as soon as possible but I have never been at that point ever in my life but drinking to me is not a problem because I never drink at home but the problem is when I go out I will not stop until I really have to.not being around alcohol is easy for me no problem at all but when I am around alcohol I do not stop until I have to,this is not a stage of denial either only the truth and I thank you...

You have more fear of someone turning you in, a friend who gets mad, someone who wants to do society a blessing by turning in a drunk. (This happens all the time) Or of course being caught drinking by the police again.

So you should pass this test but much higher chance of being caught by people who wish to help you with your drinking problem.

As long as it cannot be detected I am fine thanks for all the info.

One other question I just recently came across,I realize that I should not drink but at times I do and one other reason I should not drink other then probation is that I have a seizure disorder and I take 100mg of dilantin four times a day in total of 400mg daily,I went to the company's web site to look up information on the drug that I am prescribed and on their web site it has that an ingredient in dilantin has 10% of ethanol so I am totally lost relating to that but I have been taking dilantin for over 7 years to control seizures but what do you think will happen when I get the EtG results? The probation office is very well aware that I have a seizure disorder and take dilantin to control it and I know that drinking alcohol will either raise or lower the dilantin level but how could I pass a test when I haven't drank alcohol for 6 days at that time I wrote about before when I am prescribed a medication that has ethanol as an ingredient unless when I see my probation officer the 15th of this month proof of the medicines ingredients.I looked up many times dilantin but no ethanol was listed then I looked up dilantin ingredients and one of the ingredients is phenytoin sodium that is the one ingredient that has 10% alcohol,it took sometime to figure that out but if a person only looks up dilantin no ethanol would be listed but if the ingredients are looked up and you see phenytoin sodium and look up the ingredients to that chemical and you will see ethanol.I feel the lab where the EtG was sent will see that I take dilantin but will not find out it does through one of its ingredients contain ethanol.I had an EtG test last year that I failed and I once again did not drink for 6 days but failed the EtG test with a high reading now I understand why,so Dr.Bill and all others please give me the best that you can and know about thank you.

If you failed an EtG test with a "high reading" after being abstinent for 6 days I would suspect a metabolic disorder of some type or an intestinal disorder leading to endogenous fermentation of ethanol. EtG is a direct metabolite of ethanol meaning it is produced in proportion to dose consumed (or otherwise generated).

I ran a quick search for phenytoin-ethanol and found nothing indicating ethanol content. Only the result of intermixing. Could you direct me to your source?

Dr. Bill thank you so very much,I will post my results from my December 15th probation appointment as soon as I get back and my appointment is at 2:30PM I thank again.

At the time I know I failed the first test that was held on a Friday and I know for a fact I failed that test but my probation officer also wanted to test me the following Tuesday and I personally don't know if I failed the second EtG test but a probation officer being the way some are told me that I failed and wanted me to admit that I was drinking which I did not admit to.Relating to dilantin I found it at pfizer the original manufacture of dilantin and now it is being made by another company(mylan) after I am done writing this I will have at the bottom of the page where I found the info.I am sorry that you will have to copy and paste instead of just clicking on that which I will someday learn how to do but I may have just read way to deep into detail that I hope was wrong dealing with dilantin-thanks again.

Www.pfizer.com/files/products/mg_dilantin.pdf

Dr bill
I thank you so much along with other people that answered my questions.i passed with flying colors and now i actually know how to come back negative.going back to what i first typed how i drank and i drank so much (nothing to brag about) all came out that scared me and i was drinking every day i started at one bar (cheap)with a small glass of jack daniels and coke along with a shot of wild turkey 101 and i always order that 4-5 times until i go to another bar and i drank so much but i do have a very high tolerance level but i was still thought i would fail the etg test and thank god i did not and going back to reality i faced 90 days in jail,if anyone out there has a doubt about an etg test this is the place to be to ask questions and all answers are so to the point,and i thank all people that answered the questions that i had and dr bill you i thank much more then words can say.

Jeff,

Predicting the outcome of the test in your case was relatively simple. The time span was beyond the capability of the test.

My concern, at this point, has more to do with your excessive drinking.

If the test doesn't catch you then your liver will. Our bodies aren't capable of processing large amounts of alcohol continually. What you refer to as "high tolerance" is a physiologic defense mechanism to accelerate ethanol clearance. It is taxing your system, liver in particular. As you continue to over-tax the liver it's quite possible that the tolerance will begin to reverse.

During your contact with the court system has anyone spoken with you in relation to treatment alternatives? Or are you interested in reducing your drinking?

I go to the Veterans Hospital for drug and alcohol therapy,I have never in my life done any drugs except the ones that were prescribed to me but alcohol is to me a lot worse then any drug out there I realize that it caused so many problems to me and I am such a nice person to everyone but when I drink whiskey I totally turn myself around where no one could handle to be around me the difference between night and day with out a doubt,I will never understand if I only drink beer I don't change at all but whiskey its crazy,another bad thing is I am not allowed in at least 8 different bars where I live all relating to alcohol and I was in jail over public drunkenness to many times because I was on probation and was caught drinking but this last time when I asked about the EtG test it opened my eyes to things I could easily face but thanks to you and the other advice I received here I now think before I drink I am now to the point where I can control what I do and I truly never though that was possible until now.Thank you once again

Jeff, I'm glad to hear that you're involved in some type of counseling. Is VA using any sort of pharmacotherapy?

If you have time you might look into a couple of methods currently available. One is called the Sinclair Method and the other was developed by Dr. Oliver Ameisen. These come to mind because they deal with the drinking alcoholic.

Neither system is well known in US treatment circles but widely used in Europe.

Sinclair Method:
Success with The Sinclair Method - Page 8 - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information (http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/alcoholism/183528-success-sinclair-method-8.html)

Ameisen a book about his use of baclofen, End of My Addiction. There has been several independent studies about the effectiveness of this method.

National Health Service, Gloucester (http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Baclofen%20poster%20243774%20Masson_A0.pdf)

Inst of Internal Medicine, Rome (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20482507)

Whether either system is right for you is an unknown but they do address the drinking alcoholic a subject that is widely ignored in most of standard US programs. Might be worth looking into.

Please keep in touch. Let us know how you are faring.

I had about 10 drinks on the 15th from 9pm-1am. If I am a 5 10 male at 160 pounds is there any chance I will fail my ETG test on the 22nd?

There is no record of anyone still having detectable EtG at that time.

I had one shot of vodka on the 30th of July around 3pm. I had a random urine screening today, the 1st of August, around 6:00pm with the court system and was told that alcohol could be detected 80 hours after your last drink ( I'm assuming it's the EtG urine screen ). I am most likely going to fail, right? Does height/weight even matter to the EtG test?

I had one shot of vodka on the 30th of July around 3pm. I had a random urine screening today, the 1st of August, around 6:00pm with the court system and was told that alcohol could be detected 80 hours after your last drink ( I'm assuming its the EtG urine screen ). I am most likely going to fail, right? Does height/weight even matter to the EtG test?

The test may in rare circumstances detect alcohol up to 80 hours following extreme levels of intoxication in malnourished individuals with other compromised systems such as macrocytosis, liver and/or kidney ailments. In other words chronic Type II alcoholics undergoing detoxification. Even then that long term detection window is exceptional.

The EtG/EtS created by one shot of vodka will be detectable for less than 24 hours.

Ref:
Wojcik & Hawthorne, 2007 (http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/agm014v1#T1)

It can detect traces of ethanol from laundry detergents and hand sanitizer though, right? If it can detect that I am still very weary of it not detecting a shot I ingested of 40% alcohol, even days before. How long does a minuscule amount of ethanol (such as detergents, sanitizer, etc.) take to get out of one's system and what would be a likely
Example?

EtG is created by trace amounts of alcohol. It remains detectable for a very short period. In the range of a few hours. A shot of vodka contains from 10-14g alcohol:

Trace amounts 1 g and 3 g, (Thierauf, 2009 (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02722.x/abstract))

Stephanson (2002) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12352937) Intake of a very low amount (7 g) of ethanol produced ethyl glucuronide values up to 8.4 mg/L after 4 hours and was still detectable at 6 hours.

Musshoff, 2010 (https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/pg6761694335q584/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.html&MUD=MP&sid=ie4krfjclhm1l150v2uyi4ar&sh=www.springerlink.com#Fig2) also reviewed small amounts of alcohol in foods and beverages and determined similar short times.

Thank you, especially for the citations! Gives me a clearer conscience knowing that. As of now I think I'll play it safe and abstain from alcohol PERIOD. If some freak incident occurs and I test positive I'll be sure to let you know. Thanks again!

I had like 12 beers on Saturday the 18th up until about 4am, which is technically Sunday the 19th. I had a EtG test today (thursday the 23rd) at 830am. I counted about 100 hours in between my last drink and my test, the only reason I am concerned is because I didn't drink as much water as I normally do and I never peed this morning before I took the test. Will I be clean?? I am just scared because I know pee is stronger right away in the morning and I didn't think I would get tested today so I didn't pee. Also, the guy performing the test said it goes back 2 weeks in which I initially got scared but continued to deny that I drank.

Any help would be very appreciated

I think the man was trying to scare me because he kept saying if I thought I would fail it would be better to tell my P.O. I didn't think it was humanely possible to detect 100 hours back even though I didn't drink as much water or work out as much as usual. I am 5'11 male and 175 pounds and pretty fit if that helps

I am mostly scared because I have 90 days over my head

There is no urine test that can extend back 2 weeks under any circumstances.

12 beers will not be detected at 100 hours but that isn't the time span your urine represented. Time would be from last urination. Even at that you should be OK

So what was the time span represented?

I drank 8 beers Sat the 18th, last beer was 10pm. I have a test today around 6 pm. I counted approx 113-116 (using 12am Sunday) hours. I am approx 5'2" and 175lbs female. Cut off is 500. I have been reading these answers all day and I was feeling pretty confident until I read "12 beers will not be detected at 100 hours but that isn't the time span your urine represented".
I would like to also say thanks for posting such good information regarding EtG because it really irritates me when people provide answers like "if you didn't drink, you would pass!"
Ok, I think I answered my own question, you have stated that there have been no known cases of anyone failing a test after 102 hours. But I should pass right? LOL? Don't know why I do this to myself.

So what was the time span represented?

The time would toll at last time bladder was emptied. In this instance shouldn't matter as sure it would still be above 90 hours.

Thank you!

I drank 8 beers Sat the 18th, last beer was 10pm. I have a test today around 6 pm. I counted approx 113-116 (using 12am Sunday) hours. I am approx 5'2" and 175lbs female. Cut off is 500. I have been reading these answers all day and I was feeling pretty confident until I read "12 beers will not be detected at 100 hours but that isn't the time span your urine represented".
I would like to also say thanks for posting such good information regarding EtG because it really irritates me when people provide answers like "if you didn't drink, you would pass!"
Ok, I think I answered my own question, you have stated that there have been no known cases of anyone failing a test after 102 hours. But I should pass right? LOL? Don't know why I do this to myself.

There is no record of EtG detection at that time span under any circumstances.

So, you think I should be good Dr. Bill? I also peed last night around 2am I think and then again at about 9am this morning when the test was performed.

I was worried because that was the first pee of the day for me and I know the urine would be stronger, I also don't have the luxury of fighting the test because I already admitted to her a few months back that I drank and she had me sign a paper, I would otherwise fight it and say I used mouthwash or hand sanitizer etc..

I drak about 2 beers on Friday between 1130 pm and 12 am that night. I had a urine test on that next Tuesday around 430 pm. They send these urine tests to this place called Ameritox. Would I pass this test then?

I am 5'8" about 195 if that helps

I too have a question about this, DrBill (or anyone with considerable knowledge). I drank pretty heavily (in the range of 12-15 drinks) starting around noon on Saturday the 22nd until around 1am that Sunday the 23rd (about 12 hours). I took an EtG test today the 26th at 7pm. What are the chances it'll be positive? If it makes a difference I'm 5'11 and 170lbs and drink a moderate amount of water daily. Thanks in advance.

If a peson drank heavily for 20 years and quit, how many days would they have to wait for it not to show up on a ETG urine test?

Ty