Misusing vitamin to beat tests

[old hippie 56]

EurekaAlert

Misusing vitamin to foil drug test may be toxic; plus, it doesn't work

Taking excessive doses of a common vitamin in an attempt to defeat drug screening tests may send the user to the hospital—or worse.

Researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania reported on two adults and two adolescents who suffered toxic side effects from taking large amounts of niacin, also known as vitamin B3, in mistaken attempts to foil urine drug tests.

Both adult patients suffered skin irritation, while both adolescents had potentially life-threatening reactions, including liver toxicity and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), as well as nausea, vomiting and dizziness. One of the teens also had disrupted heart rhythms.

All four patients recovered after treatment in hospital emergency rooms for the adverse effects. The report appeared online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

"Testing urine for drugs is becoming increasingly common for job applicants," said study leader Manoj K. Mittal, M.D., a fellow in Emergency Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Because niacin is known to affect metabolic processes, there is a completely unfounded claim that it can rapidly clear the body of drugs such as cannabis and cocaine. However, niacin is toxic when taken in large amounts."

Niacin is easily available as an over-the-counter vitamin supplement. As a vitamin, the daily recommended intake is 15 milligrams, but niacin is used in much larger doses to treat vitamin deficiencies and other conditions. "People often assume niacin is completely safe," said Dr. Mittal. "As a water-soluble vitamin, it is easily excreted from the body. However, the body has its limits, and some of these patients took 300 times the daily recommended dose of niacin." Dr. Mittal added that there is a report in the medical literature of a patient who suffered liver failure, requiring a liver transplant, after taking excessive doses of niacin.

Many Internet sites promote the misconception that niacin can be used to pass urine drug screening tests, Dr. Mittal said. "We hope that our study will alert emergency medicine physicians and other health care providers to this hazardous practice."

[Bajeda]

Also a good idea to check for Niacin in regular vitimin supplements, you know, the ones with 500000000000 different things in them that are the size of a horse pill. Some of these have excessive levels of nicacin just for the hell of it, so you wouldn't want to take too many.

[Nagognog2]

Ah yes. The Super-Duper Hippie-Dippie Vitamin Co. and their toxic products. How often I've seen people taking such - their bright, orange skin with scales being the give-a-way. Read the label. If a little's good, then more is better is a great philosophy to follow if you want to get sick from taking things to make you healthy!

[stoneinfocus]

swim used a veterinary preparate for bulking with excessive high doses of vit b´s as a goodie to the anabolics, unfortunately the vit b12 was so high and swim reacted with the most sever acne swim´s universe ever encountred
-glad it happende dto bo only the b12 causing it.... très bizarre (no, that´s not a joke *lol*)

Nonetheless the combination ob vitamins b1, b2, b6 and b 12 I think (this in moderatin) effects a central analgesic effects and has great benefical effect in counteracting psychosis-like symptoms or evens out mood big time... has to be injected for best results, swim´d love to get a decent praparate for cheap or doing preparing it himself, cause it really was something.