Medical School Drug Testing

[ABADS86]

I was recently admitted into a medical school in the US and wanted to know if anyone was familiar with medical school drug testing? The school mentions swab testing as their method. I am about to start a cycle and am concerned whether or not I will test positive. I am hinging on the fact that steroid testing is expensive and less common. Any thoughts?

[Apanda]

When will they be testing you? And you haven't started the cycle yet...why not wait until after if it's close? What are you about to cycle?

[ABADS86]

Deca/test for around 6-8 weeks. I could wait, but I don't really want to be in a cycle during my first year of medical school. I'll be tested during orientation in the middle of August 2010.

[CMB]

Erm, most steroid testing is done through urine, blood, or rarely hair.

[thegodfather]

You're fine. You mentioned a swab? So I'm assuming this is going to be a saliva test? Most likely it will be a 6 or 10 panel drug test. In either case, neither one will be able to detect the presence of anabolic steroids. The only way to determine if you used exogenous Testosterone would be a blood test and your testosterone levels would have to be higher than 1:6 I believe is the current standard, but even then its hard to 'prove' it was exogenous. For Nandrolone, they would test for the metabolites of the drug (which are detectable for up to 18 months), but they would have to run a SPECIFIC assay for those metabolites, which is expensive and unnecessary. Clearly this is just a precautionary step because you will be around and have access to narcotics during 3rd and 4th year, so the school is trying to cover their own ass liability wise. They don't want to be liable if you start diverting narcotics. Juice probably isn't even on their radar, as they're more worried about opiates, benzodiazepines, barbituates, etc.

[vanduhl]

You're fine. You mentioned a swab? So I'm assuming this is going to be a saliva test? Most likely it will be a 6 or 10 panel drug test. In either case, neither one will be able to detect the presence of anabolic steroids. The only way to determine if you used exogenous Testosterone would be a blood test and your testosterone levels would have to be higher than 1:6 I believe is the current standard, but even then its hard to 'prove' it was exogenous. For Nandrolone, they would test for the metabolites of the drug (which are detectable for up to 18 months), but they would have to run a SPECIFIC assay for those metabolites, which is expensive and unnecessary. Clearly this is just a precautionary step because you will be around and have access to narcotics during 3rd and 4th year, so the school is trying to cover their own ass liability wise. They don't want to be liable if you start diverting narcotics. Juice probably isn't even on their radar, as they're more worried about opiates, benzodiazepines, barbituates, etc.

in the 3rd and 4th year what will they allow him acces to? and...OP what is your current cellphone number?

[ABADS86]

Godfather, you said exactly what I was thinking. I'm still weary of taking a drug test while on drugs, even if anabolic steroids aren't on the drug list. The risk to my potential career is astronomical.. Maybe I can coax the health service division to tell me what they test for exactly. Thanks for your replies.

[thegodfather]

in the 3rd and 4th year what will they allow him acces to? and...OP what is your current cellphone number?

He will be in close enough proximity to narcotics to be able to divert them. He wont have the ability to sign them out, but there may be plenty of instances where a doctor writes an order for narcs, a nurse signs them out, and he will give the patient the drug. There are plenty of other scenarios I can think of in a hospital where a 3 or 4M would have access or be around narcotics and have the ability to divert. But they are only drug tested one time, when they first matriculate, and wont be tested again until residency. Also, many medical schools do not drug test, but almost all do background checks.

ABAD, I don't think its necessary to ask them, and it may come off as suspicious. I would only be worried if they did full bloodwork, because then your glucose, creatinine, LDL, HDL, and other values would be a little off because of the steroids and it would indicate a health problem, that obviously doesn't exist but they'd want you to follow up with your PCP. I really think you are fine. That being said, yes it is a lot you have on the line so I would probably not risk it. There have been cases of guys running anabolics and failing drug tests for illicit substances. We have no idea what conditions our gear is manufactured under (unless its HG), and many sources could be selling recreational drugs as well. If there is cross contamination then of course you would fail for whatever contaminated the gear.