I am in outpatient treatment for my 3rd dwi (sorry, I messed up, no haters please, the MADD panel will beat me up enough over it) If I drink beer as compared to hard liquor does it change the detection time in a urine test (etg or otherwise)? I had about 7 beers on Saturday night AT HOME and was sober for 56 hours before my test. I was a heavy drinker but have slowed down, I also drink a lot of water and normally urinate almost hourly, (im not a very big guy 5'4'' 120lbs) other than the initial screen this was my first test, requested by my PO through an independent treatment facility. Could I pass? If not, how likely is it for them to either violate my probation or kick me out of treatment. Im scared straight now and no longer drinking and I use no drugs. I do use hand sanitizer frequently (ocd) and was not told to avoid it. Options? Answers?

A few things...

You're not scared straight. You may be right now but chances are that you will go back to it. You knew you were on this program and taking chances yet you had 7 beers anyway so what's going to make you stop now? Probably getting caught but...assuming you pass the test, you will be like so many others here: "Oh! I learned my lesson! I will never drink again! It's not worth it!" then you will be back in a week or 2 asking if you will pass another test. The odds are against you. You have to want to stop for the right reasons and I don't think you've found those reasons yet.

Beer and hard liquor both have alcohol. Alcohol is basically alcohol, doesn't matter where it comes from.

At 56 hours, you might pass the test...maybe, maybe not. It's hard to say for sure.

The amount of water you drink...sounds like you are trying to flush your system to help cheat the test. Not many people drink so much water that they have to wizz every hour so the intake amount seems excessive. It is possible that you will fail for dilution.

As far as what will happen if you fail the test...we can't know. We don't know the terms of your probation or what the deal with the treatment center is but if I had to guess...if you're not supposed to be drinking, and you are anyway and you fail...you will probably find yourself violated and in no need of treatment as you might wind up in jail to serve your term.

Also...interesting that you mentioned hand sanitizer...MANY people think that is a way to cheat a test, "Oh, I wasn't drinking...it must be the hand sanitizer!"...doesn't work. Alcohol is alcohol and if you're not supposed to have it in your system, it doesn't matter where it comes from. They will not believe it is from hand sanitizer as so many people try that excuse. It is up to you to make sure you don't use products that could cause you to fail.

Alcohol is alcohol... it really doesn't matter what the source is... you have to avoid all of it during the time you are subject to testing. And Odinn7 is spot on...they know all the tricks people try to use to cheat on their tests....and if they see any of them its an automatic fail. They DO look for them.

Could you pass? Yes. Could you fail? Absolutely. After 3 DWIs if you are only in outpatient treatment at this point, I would say you are lucky and either a positive or a diluted sample would be a red flag that I would imagine would be a probation violation and would expect the freedom of outpatient and probation to quickly disappear, but we don't know the whole story. It seems that you should know what is expected of you better than us. Your P.O. should make it quite clear what the rules are.

As a very heavy daily ex-drinker, I can say that while I could slow down for periods (especially when stuck between a rock and a hard place), until I stopped, completely and accepted a treatment plan that I actually believed in, cutting down never lasted long. As long as you continue to drink at all - it is just a matter of time before it catches up with you, because for a problem drinker; one is one too many and one more is never enough. It's the first drink that is the beginning of the end.

Options? Until you decide that drinking yourself to death is not the road you wish to continue down, keep doing what you are doing. Treatment and a good 12-step program, following the suggestions of the "old-timers" has worked for a great many people since 1935.

Answers? You have the answers. What you chose to do with them is what will make you chose the next right thing or not... I do wish you the best of luck. It is not easy, but it can be simple. I used to love to drink and it was a lot of fun. Right up to the point that it wasn't anymore and I found that I couldn't exactly regulate as I planned to, but then again, I didn't care anymore, by that point.

Depending on how heavy of a drinker you were and the extent to which you may have damaged your liver could play a role. If your liver is impaired at all it will take it a little longer for it to process alcohol. Have you ever had a liver panel test? It looks for elevated liver enzymes, like ALT, AST, Albumin, etc.
Good Luck.

It merely takes more beer to get more alcohol into the system. But, it all works the same, depending on the blood alcohol levels.

Actually drinking too much water, is a fool proof way of failing the test, if the sample is diluted, it will be considered a failed test.