SoScaredToo

I DID IT!!! Oh my God...I can't believe how easy it was and I have been SO nervous all week. I thought I was going to have a panic attack this morning at my house but I did a little meditating, got into test "mode" and was fine.

First of all THANK YOU to Sec3. You have NO idea how much your advice calmed me down and made me realize that I could do this. Your insider knowledge of the lab is invaluable. Thank you for helping us keep our private lives PRIVATE! I'm not sure if I should post this on the results thread since I actually don't have my results yet but please feel free to move it if you think it should go there. (Warning - I got a lot to say..might be a long winded post...)

I wanted to share my experience with other members b/c I think it will help some people going thru the same thing. I was petrified this week. Couldn't eat, sleep, concentrate, didn't leave the house pracitcally...it was a nightmare. Someone brought up subbing to me right after I found out I was to be tested and my initital thought was NO WAY but after reading these threads and after failing home tests w/ dilution, I knew it was my only option. And everyone's success stories gave me hope and confidence.

My Background
I smoke every night after work. Probably 2-3 bong loads. I barely drink and I don't do any other drugs or take anti-anxiety meds (which they were also testing me for!). It relaxes me..it helps me unwind. The fact that my little habit could have cost me my career scared the living heck out of me.

Finding out about the drug test
I was approached by a major entertainment corp. about 2 months ago. They wanted to hire me to run a certain dept. We've been talking back and forth for weeks. It NEVER occured to me that I would be drug tested. I'm executive in Hollywood! Never thought I would have been tested. IDIOT!! And I actually now remember a friend asking me awhile back, "You think they'll drug test you?" and me being like, "Nah!" People - please do your research if you're looking for work. Don't be naieve like me. Had I known, I would have stopped immediatley and saved myself the anxiety of this past week. I got the official offer last Tues. and accepted. I'm thrilled -start calling everyone telling them I got the job...Tell my current clients I'm leaving. Get the call the next day from HR saying that I needed to go to a lab within 48 hrs. for a drug test. Downward sprial of impending doom...Buy some time b/c of the long weekend and say that I'm out of town the following week. Stumble across this website and it literally saves my you know what.

Subbing vs. Dilution
Tried to dilute and it wasn't working for me. Considering the amount I smoke (everyday day - weigh 155, 5'7", never work out and there is a good storage of body fat on my hips, butt and thighs)...there was no way I was going to make it with dilution in the time frame I had. And the home tests proved that...failed 'em.
Read and reread and read some more of the Sub thread and the key...I practiced like crazy. Practiced with temps, practiced my technique. GOT IT DOWN. I practiced 2-3x a day for the past week. Two pairs of underwear and a pair of nylons over that. 4oz. travel shampoo bottle in my crotch. Clean pee from a friend (got the day of the test - practiced with h2o). In a panic I ordered the Urniator but did not end up using it. It was way too bulky for me. Felt like I was riding a horse and the tube made me nervous. I was more comfortable with my 4oz bottle. I think the Urninator is better suited for men. Little awkward for us women.

Test Day
Men - you might want to skip the first part of this...I woke up on test day and my period was flowing very heavily. I panicked b/c I was afraid if there was blood in the tester's toilet and not in my specimen cup I would be screwed. Put in 2 tampons and made sure to wipe very well before I peed(actually carried 2 wet-ones in my bra just incase) and experiemented at home a few times. Not a problem. Was able to stop the flow. Phew.
Friend shows up and pees for me. I pay her some $ for her trouble and time and get ready for showtime!
Dilute just incase but damn if I never seen Gatorade again in my life it will still be too soon. Yuck. I couldn't stomach all that liquid.
I get to the test site and there are 3 young guys in the waiting room. I felt bad for this one guy - he was there with his GF and I could see them looking at eachother nervous as hell. I wondered if anyone else was smuggling. I looked like such a goody 2 shoes! I wore pearls for godsakes! I've always looked innocent...has always worked to my advantage. Wore a nice little business suit and smiled at the tech. He calls my name, I put my purse in the cabinet, he hands me my cup (with temp strip!) marks the line and points me to the bathroom. Chatted him up...Asked why is the sink all taped up??? I close and LOCK the door and do the deal. Temp reads at 96. Open the door. DONE!
To take a page out of Casers book - I STILL don't feel home free...I mean, what if it's contaminated? I DID test the temp with a thermometer (that i swabbed with rubbing alcohol and ran under hot h2o first) right before I went into the lab. What if that ruined it? I boiled my 4oz bottle and the sample cup I had my friend pee in to sterilize them this morning...like you do for baby bottles and made sure every last drop was dry. So...nocontamination right??? Sec3? Right?

In Conclusion (OMG - so long, so sorry!!)
This past week has really made me re-evalute my life...mainly my drug use. This whole thing really rocked me to my core. The humiliation if I failed this test would have been unbearable. EVERYONE in my industry (even though they're all using) would have found out I failed my test...not to mention my parents...my son! For the first time in my life suicide crossed my mind. Only for a split second, but it did, and THAT scared me.
This job was a huge deal for my family...Six figure salary with ALL the perks. My husband is a social worker (and makes little $) so it's all on me to be the breadwinner. FAILURE WAS NOT AN OPTION. Even b4 all of this happened I was thinking that I had been smoking too much. Self medicating perhaps. Well, needless to say I am cutting way down. Actually not going to smoke until my first paycheck is in the bank. And even then I may wait...

Thank you to everyone on this board for sharing your knowledge and experiences. You saved my life. Seriously. And for you nervous test takers out there...STOP using if you're looking for a job. It's not worth it. And if you get blindsided with a drug test like I did, seriously consider SUBBING. If I can pull it off, anyone can.
Our private lives should be kept private as long as we're not hurting anyone else!
To the newbies who are scared and looking for answers - this is what I've learned from this board this week:
1) No one call tell you if you're going to be clean in time so posts like, I weigh X, smoke X, testing on X - will I be clean? are mostly, unanswerable. JUST GO BY A TEST AT THE STORE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!
2) Drinking gallons of H2o days b4 your test won't help and don't waste your money on GNC drinks, cleansing pills, etc. (I spent a bunch of money in that first hour of finding out about the test - bought up everything in a kneejerk reaction until I found this site and did my research.
3) A friend told me when he went for a pre-employ test (also for another major entertaiment co) they made him leave the door open a crack so they could hear him pee. This freaked me out and made me spend $170 on the Urinator. I called around to the labs on my list and played dumb, how long will it take? Will someone be in the room with me or is it private? Mostly everyone said I'd be in a private bathroom except one said I wouldn't! And I almost went to that lab! I rode by the labs...scoped them out. Went to the one that looked the most busy - it was in a medical building vs. the one that looked like it was in this tiny room in a strip mall. SCOPE IT OUT IF YOU CAN! Anything to ease your nerves.
4) PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE..it is the key to your success.
Again, thanks everyone...sincerely...thank you.
PS - So no chance of contamination right????

Sec

With speeches like that, you had better hope you can trim it a bit before you win that emmy.

Seriously tho, it is GREAT advice. If it takes a long speech like that to educate some, well then so be it.

Congratulations. Good luck in your new job.

__________________
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Casers

YOU ARE AWESOME!

Amazing post!!!

YOU ROCK... You are home free... but you'll hear soon.

(LOVE the "PS"...) It won't be contaminated. hahaha.

superhighmommy

good for you!
it was fun freaking out with you!
im sure you will be fine!
cheers!

oz1811

if you could please copy and paste this into the results thread.... it is a awesome result and as long as your friend is clean and you were within i think six hours or so since your friend urinated youll be fine! good luck and i recently passed by subbing
welcome to the sub club
A very fluided aaron....