Drank beer only, but drank several (12-15 on Friday), probably a similar amount on Saturday and 9 bottles and 4 drafts up until 7:00 pm on Sunday. Dodged a bullet on Monday and did not have to test but may have to test as early as 5 pm on Tuesday. Drinking copious amounts of water to dissolve as much of the Ethanol as possible... The test is definitely EtG and the cutoff is 500 ng. 170 pound male with a fast metabolism. Also take adderall which I assume also speeds up my metabolism. What is the shortest period in which I stand a chance of passing the EtG test?

Drank beer only, but drank several (12-15 on Friday), probably a similar amount on Saturday and 9 bottles and 4 drafts up until 7:00 pm on Sunday. Dodged a bullet on Monday and did not have to test but may have to test as early as 5 pm on Tuesday. Drinking copious amounts of water to dissolve as much of the Ethanol as possible... The test is definitely EtG and the cutoff is 500 ng. 170 pound male with a fast metabolism. Also take adderall which I assume also speeds up my metabolism. What is the shortest period in which I stand a chance of passing the EtG test?


That's a LOT of beer to be swilling. A whole lot of beer. Neither day qualified as "a few". that is over a case of beer over two days of drinking. That actually qualifies as binge drinking both times.

Prepare to fail (for more than one reason). I don't think your odds of passing are very good.

What happens if you fail?

That's a LOT of beer to be swilling. A whole lot of beer. Neither day qualified as "a few". that is over a case of beer over two days of drinking. That actually qualifies as binge drinking both times.

Prepare to fail (for more than one reason). I don't think your odds of passing are very good.

What happens if you fail?

Really don't know, but it can't be good. Any idea how much time I need to have under my belt since last drink before I stand a good chance of passing?

If it actually was only a couple beers, (which is only 2-4) you would be looking at roughly 80 hours or more (at which point some people will still fail). Considering how much you did actually consume... its likely to be detectable for longer than that, exact numbers are impossible because no two people are exactly the same in how long it takes for their liver to process alcohol in the system. And the more there is the longer it takes.

If this is for a job screening they are more lienient than something ordered by the courts. The standards are different.

smoothy is spot on, 80 hours

It's for pre-trial supervision from a year and half old DWI that's still not settled. The hadn't been doing EtG testing - just regular urinalysis. I noticed a "code" on the form the last time I tested and asked what it was and the guy giving the test told me it meant they were doing an EtG test which tells me that has become protocol in my case now. Fortunately that time it had been weeks since I'd had anything to drink. I know I've never failed a test so don't know why they changed the testing type other than the lady that overlooks my "case" mentioning that I had given more than one sample the was "dilute" so I guess she now assumes I have something to hide.. Which normally I don't but in this case I certainly do. I know I screwed up and there's no excuse for it. My SINCERE hope was that someone could give me some advice as to how spread up the metabolization of the ethanol or any other advice for the test (not life advice, thanks). I've read MANY articles that show people passing EtG tests within 36 hours of drinking (I'm sure not in such quantity) but the 36 hour stories are out there in abundance and it's often said that the "80 hour thing" is just a scare tactic.

If you believe that... then why worry? The numbers out there are fairly good average numbers. If you understand statistics or what an average means... of course there are some that will pass sooner, while others will fail longer. In surfing the net you also won't know in every case what standard they are testing for when looking at what others "say"... and THAT has a significant impact on a pass/ fail result.

There is no one size fits all answer as to an exact number for anyone. And worse... just because one person passed at say 40 hours... doesn't mean they would the next time, there are always way too many variables in play. If you see the point we are making.

A common mistake most people make is confusing metabolism of food calories, with the speed their liver can process (metabolize) toxins and stuff (alcohol being one). They aren't related. In fact they are completely different.

EtG advertises, boasts the 80 hour window so it's no scare tactic. People can pass the test after only 39 hours for one reason and one reason only, the test is frequently invalid. Many people fail who did not drink, some pass who did drink, that's your hope

I do see the point and I believe I understand the statistics and variables. I suppose I was just looking for some reassurance that I didn't really expect to get and probably don't deserve. I appreciate the feedback, genuinely.

Thank you for the feedback. Is there any truth that EtG or ethanol are water soluble and therefore drinking copious amounts of water (not right before the test because obviously don't want a "dilute") but up until a few hours before could potentially be helpful, or do you know?

We don't like giving false hope... It wouldn't do you or anyone any good. Sometimes you get what you was hoping to hear... sometimes you won't.

Want to assure a fail. Drink a lot of water, it screws up your urine chemistry for more than just a few hours...its VERY detectible and will take days to get back to normal, its about more than just how much water is in the urine, it flushes certain metabolites out of your body and those take time to rebalance. A fail is a fail....and a fail for any reason is the same as getting caught red handed. Many people that failed for dilution might have actually passed if they didn't try to drown themselves figuratively speaking.

My attorney told me that when the test shows negative for alcohol but positive for alcohol "bi-product" his approach has always been to take the position that "no alcohol means no alcohol" because there are so many other things that can cause the EtG test to come up positive - whether there's truth to that I don't know - my concern is that even with that defense in place the levels will/would likely be very high due to the amount of beer consumed - hard to blame that on hand sanitizer. There's still a chance (God willing) that I'll have another 24 or even 48 hours before I have to test. The test will either take place at 46, 70, or just MAYBE 94 hours since last drink. Would love to have either of you handicap my chances at each of those times. Thank you again. No sleep for me tonight.

Real hard to put numerical odds on a pass or fail in your situation. Wish I could, but I'd rather be honest and say I can't. At the MAYbe 94 hours... you stand a good chance of pasing. Not 100% but pretty good. Obviously at the other end your odds are not good at 46 hours.

Personally I believe drinking more water than usual... shifts the odds in the wrong direction making a failure more likely.

scared52 (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/members/scared52.html) - How did it all turn out?

That won't make any difference, what applied in one situation for an individual might not even work for themselves the next time, and for another individual would always be a crap shoot at best.

Lol, of course it makes no difference to anyone other than the OP. I'm not interested in applying it to another situation, I work a program that suits me fine. I was just curious how it played out.

And if not caught today, most likely they will get him next time, don't mean to sound uncaring, but knows there are tests, has an attorney, knows what will happen if fails, and still drinks, they have a serious problem, really need to get caught so perhaps they willl decide to get help

Agreed, Fr_Chuck - I was in the same boat as the OP, in that I used to drink at least 12 - 15 every day and then I had to start EtG testing 3x/week and continued to for over a year. I never tested positive, I DID learn, very quickly, that the only way for that to happen was for me to quit drinking. Now, a year and a half later, I'm sober, happy, active in AA, and my life looks totally different than it did. I no longer have to test, but since I want to live, today I choose not to drink and am grateful I have that choice. This person reminds me of how I used to drink and I hope they figure it out and find a path that works.