Ask Me Help Desk

ETG

Hi Dr. Bill,

I last drank on Saturday night. The period of drinking was 8pm-1am. I had ~6 beers and (4) 100 proof shots.

I am 6'3", 195 lbs.

If I take an ETG test (limit is 500mg/mL) on Wednesday at 4pm, what are the chances that I will pass?

I drank about a gallon of water on Sunday, and plan on doing the same on Monday-Wed. Plus, I have been drinking cranberry juice, and exercising on the treadmill for ~45 minutes each day.

Thanks!

Dr. Bill no longer posts here or on any other site.

It sounds like, if you continue to drink all that liquid, you'll fail for dilution.

Yeah, a gallon a day is pretty excessive... unless that cardio is REALLY taking it out of you. You can probably cut it down to 1/2 - 3/4 of a gallon and still be fine. ETG can only pick up alcohol up to (at most) 80 hours. You should be fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJ

Yeah, a gallon a day is pretty excessive... unless that cardio is REALLY taking it out of you. You can probably cut it down to 1/2 - 3/4 of a gallon and still be fine. ETG can only pick up alcohol up to (at most) 80 hours. You should be fine.

Thank you for your response!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Dr. Bill no longer posts here or on any other site.

It sounds like, if you continue to drink all that liquid, you'll fail for dilution.

Thanks for your response... it is appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJ

Yeah, a gallon a day is pretty excessive... unless that cardio is REALLY taking it out of you. You can probably cut it down to 1/2 - 3/4 of a gallon and still be fine. ETG can only pick up alcohol up to (at most) 80 hours. You should be fine.

FALSE!

Drinking that much will over hydrate the body which will lead to dilution of the urine. Dilution of the urine is also a failure for two reasons, the first is that they can't conclusively give a answer and that it is also a sign of a guilty conscience. IE, you drank, as you did, and you're trying to hide the fact and cheat the test. So doing anything that is going to get the EtG/EtS out of your system is going to doom you to fail. The best advice is to carry on as if you hadn't drank and give a honest sample.

The tests are rated to be accurate for up to 60-80 hours. You'll be at 88 ish at that point so you shouldn't test positive. The gotchas here are that everyone processes alcohol at different rates and eliminates EtG/EtS at different rates. While there is a standard bell curve that most people fall into, there are the outliers that will pass every test regardless of the time frame or fail completely a week after consumption. There isn't enough information that can be given to say that anyone will pass.

The best advice is to realize that you've signed on for enforced sobriety and no drink. It isn't easy but it's legally binding and bad things happen if you're caught. The best way not to get caught is not to engage in any activity that could cause you to get caught. There are many programs out there that will help with this and you only need to stay in them and stay sober for the length of your agreement. You need to take a look at your life and figure out what you have to lose if are caught and if that and the stress is worth the drinking. Follow the rules or try and cheat them. Your choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CravenMorhead

FALSE!

Maybe we have two different definitions of FALSE. Usually that word means something is inaccurate... but your follow up basically reaffirmed everything I said.

I believe Craven is suggesting that even 1/2 - 3/4 of a gallon of water is still likely to too much and that

Quote:

Drinking that much will over hydrate the body which will lead to dilution of the urine.

I know that drinking that much water would make me fail for dilution, for sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJ

Maybe we have two different definitions of FALSE. Usually that word means something is inaccurate... but your follow up basically reaffirmed everything I said.

Drinking 2L, let alone 3L (1/2 -3/4 gallow) of water will still fail for dilution. He's going to be drinking that in addition to what he normally drinks, pop, coffee, juice, etc. That additional amount of water will fail him.

So.. yea. You're wrong.