I need help figuring out if I passed my ETG or not. I see a lot of similar situations but no one has posted their results. I am female, 135 pounds, 23 years old. I drank 4 (5%) beers between 8pm and 11pm on Monday night, I took an ETG test on Wednesday at 6:15 pm. Tuesday I drank A TON of water, went to the gym, and went to the bathroom quite a bit. On Wednesday I drank a lot of coffee and peed a lot as well. But made sure to eat enough protein and not drink anything else 2 hours prior to testing to make sure not to get a dilute. What are the odds I am in the clear?

That is 42 hours from last drink. At last drink your BAC was around .08 requiring a little more than 5 hours to BAC=0. That leaves about 37 hours for EtG elimination.

It could come down to the cutoff used. Do you know if it's 100 or 500.

Either way it's very borderline.

I am assuming the cutoff is 100 because it is for probation but I don't know for sure. Does drinking a lot of water help get it out faster? I have heard that it does and that is has no effect.

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Originally Posted by suzieque12

I am assuming the cutoff is 100 because it is for probation but I don't know for sure. Does drinking a lot of water help get it out faster? I have heard that it does and that is has no effect.

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One of the major flaws of this test is that EtG is water soluble. You have already drank a lot of water and that may very well influence the outcome. Clearly the water causes more frequent urination and EtG production ceased when the BAC=0. There are no actual studies that have put this to the test.

On the other hand urine dilution has been proven to reduce EtG in a couple of studies. (Ex: Goll, 2002) Dilution is a little different in that it simply reduces parts of EtG per quantity of urine.

Please let me know how it turns out.

I read that earlier and it kind of confused me, whether it was saying it did or didn't make a difference. I am hoping of course that is works in my favor. I will also try to find out what the cutoff level is at the testing lab. And I will be sure to post my results, should know on Monday.

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Originally Posted by suzieque12

I read that earlier and it kind of confused me, whether or not it was saying it did or didn't make a difference. I am hoping of course that is works in my favor. I will also try to find out what the cutoff level is at the testing lab. And I will be sure to post my results, should know on Monday.

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You are probably confused by the fact that they normalized EtG to creatinine which more or less negates dilution. Most test labs don't use that system. And, once again, that study involved urine with peak EtG content (dilution) and really didn't measure the result of solubility over time.

Ever thought about quiting alcohol/substance abuse? It's been 25 years since I had a drink and to be honest, I don't miss it one little bit! Needless to say, I haven't had any alcohol related problems either, i.e. jail, probation, loss of license to drive. Justs think about it.

I checked out some other articles you have posted on another thread with "canecarrie" (sorry, don't know how to attach article) but several of them state with BAC of .08 it taking 30-36 hours from time of BAC=0 to test negative for EtG. Wondering if this gives me some more hope. Also, I have heard that drinking beer instead of liquor is a "wiser" choice when dealing with EtG's. I would assume this is true because of the lower % of alcohol. But is there a big difference? Thank you for all your accurate answers. There is a lot of false info on the web.

Tadnjj, Yes, definitely. I have been clean and sober for a over year now and had a slip up. Supposed to be graduating probation soon and I regret the choice I made. However, I have also turned my life around and am very happy. I am ready to move on with my life and am hoping this doesn't dely graduation and my plans for my future.

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Originally Posted by suzieque12

I checked out some other articles you have posted on another thread with "canecarrie" (sorry, don't know how to attach article) but several of them state with BAC of .08 it taking 30-36 hours from time of BAC=0 to test negative for EtG. Wondering if this gives me some more hope. Also, I have heard that drinking beer instead of liquor is a "wiser" choice when dealing with EtG's. I would assume this is true because of the lower % of alcohol. But is there a big difference? Thank you for all your accurate answers. There is a lot of false info on the web.

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You are in the range where you could pass but there is also the chance of failing. When calculating drinks I use EtOH content. Each 12 oz of 5% beer contains 13.6 g of pure alcohol. That's the only factor that matters.

Unlike alcohol where the elimination time can be predicted within a given range (based on size & gender), EtG is produced and eliminated at very different rates from one person to the next. For that reason there is no direct ratio of EtG per drink consumed. Obviously that makes it difficult to predict elimination time and I simply look at the information available for equivalent amounts or BAC levels that appear in scientific journals.

You are right that Moore tested from .08 BAC with clearance at 32 hours. Other tests have been longer, in the range of 39-42 hours. So you certainly have a chance at passing but given the imprecision of the testing and reporting it is impossible to state in either direction.

Also found out that because the drug court I am in gives strict sanctions for positive, a 500 cut off is used. Which has given me some hope that I passed. Thank you for the responses. Whether I pass or not, this has been a lesson I have learned.

DrBill, How does the test results differentiate between dilution and someone that happens to stay well hydrated and drinks lots of water?

Got the results back, passed it.