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Post Info TOPIC: Breathalyzer question


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Breathalyzer question


My AH and I have been separated for the past 3 months.  We set up an arrangement that when he is going to be with the kids(10 & 7), he must breathalyze before & after the visit.  If he blows positive before the visit, he does not get to be with the kids.  If he blows positive on the back end, he looses his next visit.  

In the beginning he was blowing 0.0 and spending some time with the kids. Over the past 6 weeks he has been having more and more positives.  He claims this is a false positive and that he hasn't had a drink for months.  Each time he blows positive, I also blow just to check that the device is working properly & I come up 0.0.  I have taken the position that this is more lies and that he is still actively drinking.  However sometimes when he blows positive he does not "appear" to be drunk.  He continues to take the position that he is not drinking & the tests are giving false positive due to his anemia.

So my question is have any of you had experience with these devices and do you know if there are medical issues that can cause a false positive?  I have taken a pretty hard stance with this boundary and I want to be sure that I am being reasonable and not missing something because to me if you blow positive, no matter what the number, you have alcohol in your system.  Thanks for your input!



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Senior Member

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Welcome to MIP Tossed Salad! I don't have much experience in breathalyzer, but I would think that if it talks like a duck and walks like a duck... It's probably a duck... You said that when this started, he was blowing a 0.0, and now 6 weeks later he's had lots of positives. Did he have anemia 6 weeks ago? So either the breathalyzer worked then, and now only works for you, or his anemia is causing a false positive? I sort of think that there's some quacking going on. But hopefully there'll be some more qualified answers for you on here soon:)

Keep coming back!

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~*Service Worker*~

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I'd trust my gut on this one. I'd also check on-line to see if anemia can cause false positives on a test like this or call the druggist. Then, no matter what the answer, I'd still have to trust my gut.  The boundary you set was no drinking.  He doesn't have to be drunk to be under the influence of the alcohol.  Good that you brought your question here.  I'm sure others will respond.  This disease can be so confusing and the lies can seem so sincere and honest.



-- Edited by grateful2be on Sunday 20th of April 2014 07:40:53 AM

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"Darkness is full of possibility." Leunig



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Grateful2be- Funny you mention looking online. AH has been telling me that there is a whole bunch online about false positives from all sorts of things. When I Googled it the results were all legal arguments from defense attorneys. I did not find anything from a medical link. That is why I brought up the question here. it makes me sad that today is Easter & he will not be with his kids because he doesn't want to" deal with the breathalyzer nonsense." However it will definitely allow for a more peaceful day for me and my kids. For that I am grateful. Thanks to all for your input.

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~*Service Worker*~

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Welcome to MIP Tossed Salad glad your here

My son can blow way over the legal limit and appear not drunk. His tolerance to alcohol is quite high so I never really knew if he was drinking or not until he was in the toxic stage to be honest.

I just had to set my boundary to keep me from heartbreak and sadness.

Keep coming back because you are not alone.


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~*Service Worker*~

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Most addicts of any kind will actually seem more normal with just a little of their drug of choice in them. This is because it takes 5 hem out of withdrawal and eases anxiety. Problem is it's the addiction that created that and they never stop at just a little. Sort of similar to how many of us seem more "normal" after our morning coffee. If we had never drank coffee or if we gave it up for a long time, that addiction based phenomenon would go away.
So...my take is that it's an alcoholic you are dealing with. When all signs point to alcohol, 99.99999 chance, it is alcohol. You can probably bet he is googling and researching all kinds of was and excuses for getting around the breathalyzer and now you are hearing them.

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~*Service Worker*~

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Remember...the A has a high tolerance for alcohol and may appear sober when they are not. It's deceiving.

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Living life one step at a time



~*Service Worker*~

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You could call your local police department and ask them also.

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~*Service Worker*~

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I've read around on the internet and it seems there's some possibility that anemia can cause a false positive on the breathalyzer.  HOWEVER.  How does your A know that?  I'll tell you what would be the case if it were my A.  If he were my A, he would have done searches on the internet for "false positive breathalyzer" and then he would argue up the wazoo that those were exactly the reasons his breathalyzer was positive. If the reasons on the internet were anemia, diabetes, and red hair, he would say, "You know I have anemia and so it's causing this false positive.  I can't believe you're so stubborn you won't believe scientific fact!  Plus my doctor told me I was borderline diabetic.  It's true!  It doesn't show up on tests yet because that's the way it works.  And you know my family has the red-hair gene.  Sure, my hair isn't red, but I have the GENE.  I can't believe you're so stubborn.  You're just like the police!  THREE reasons the flipping breathalyzer is false.  What, you think I've been DRINKING?  Am I falling over?  No, huh?  And you call ME paranoid!  Sure, I drank a little too much that one time many years ago ... I can't believe you're STILL going on about that.  You should get some help for that paranoia.  I can't deal with a crazy person.  I'm leaving."  Etc. etc. etc....

It sounds as if your A has done searches on the internet too.  Does he definiitely have anemia?  Then he can get iron supplements and take them and then there will be no chance of anemia-caused false positives.

I always told my A, "I have no idea of whether you've been drinking or whether I'm just imagining it.  However, our child's life is so precious that I can't let him go with you if there's even a small chance you might have been drinking.  So I have to say No right now."  That's the consequence of someone whose drinking was out of control in the past, and it's entirely reasonable.



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~*Service Worker*~

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OMG Mattie, do you have an alcoholic translator device where you speak in normally and it comes out in alcoholic language? That was sadly a perfect portrayal.That is some hard won ESH there.

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Veteran Member

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Mattie, you said that very well. I spoke with our Doctor directly regarding his health issues so I am certain that his blood counts were all out of whack a month ago (from the alcohol). Ironically, the Dr. also said that the blood counts would improve with abstinence. So by that logic the "false positives" would have been first and there now should be zeros. Thank you for bringing me that "AHA"! I also put my children's safety & well-being above all else and tell him so in these instances. Sadly, AH is not able to put them first in any situation. I really hate this disease!!! But I am so grateful for this site and the program for allowing me to now see this in a sane light. Now I see what is meant by- if you work it, it works! Thanks again to all who have commented. You have helped me achieve some peace with this issue.

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Hello Salad,

Where there is a will; there is a way. I think 'breathalyzer nonsense' is his way of saying he doesn't have the energy to try and talk his way out of a positive reading. Yesterday his disease won and he lost out on time with his children.

Stay firm Momma Bear. You implemented the breathalyzer for a reason.

((( hug )))

p.s. My ABF had agreed to blow in to a home breathalyzer anytime I thought he was 'under the influence'. The first time I pulled it out and asked him to blow he threw it against the wall, smashed an LCD TV and DVD player on the tile floor and punched a hole in the wall. My shame lies in the fact I stayed with him after that BS. But now, years later; I am (emotionally) stronger because of al-anon.

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~*Service Worker*~

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Hi tossed,

if there has been drinking of a liquid in the last 20 [edited, I previously said 2 minutes, should be 20 minutes] before, it will throw off the reading. In Indiana, a common way to get off a DUI is if the arresting officer gives only one breathalyzer test, doesn't follow up in 20 minutes or so.

Having said that, if the breathalyzer is what was agreed to, to me the boundary was stated, and there should be no reason for you to deviate from it. if he can come up with some kind of proactive evidence from a doctor or whatever, that is one thing, but protesting after he sees that he has blown a positive reading - too bad!

Sad dog mommy, I have had the same kind of experience with the AW. She agrees when sober, then when she is drunk she didn't destroy everything, but refused to do it, or refused to listen to the numbers afterwards. It all becomes part of "The A will do what the A will do' for me.

Kenny



-- Edited by KennyFenderjazz on Monday 21st of April 2014 01:36:54 PM

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