Immuno Assay (IA)
This procedure uses antibodies that bind to specific drugs, or the metabolites of the drugs produced from their interaction with the body, in order to detect such substances. This test is only as good as the antibodies chosen, as antibodies vary in their specificity of binding; that is, they may also bind to other substances present in the sample that are not illegal by recognising a similarity in another ‘like’ molecule, and yet, as a result, indicate that an illegal substance would be used.
This would be a rare occurrence, through. This would be what is called a false positive result. Immunoassay has produced false positives with some decongestants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Therefore, if you know immunoassay is being used to test your sample, avoid these two classes of drugs prior to the event.
Types of Immunoassay:
Radio immunoassay (RIA), and fluorescence polarisation immunoassay (FPIA) are specific IA techniques currently being used. RIA can detect some17-alpha-methyl, 17-alphaethyl, and 19-nortesterone steroids. The enzyme Multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT), is the easiest to perform; so, if you don’t know which test is going to be administrated, focus on beating EMIT. If you fail the EMIT test, then you will be given the extremely sensitive GC/MS test in some cases, as confirmation.
PharmChek
This is a band-aid type patch worn for about a week or more to absorb perspiration, and also detect for illegal substances excreted in sweat. The patch is tamper proof. There is little information available on how accurate and fool-proof this test currently is.
TestCup
Few details are currently available on this. The person to be tested urinates into a specially designed cup, which has an indicator that changes colour according to the presence of illegal substances.
Beating the Most common Type of Test – the EMIT
One of the best ways to beat any of the tests is to know how long after you last took a drug the relevant test will still be able to detect it. You can then stop taking the drug(s) for a suitable time period before the test so that they are down to levels that can’t be detected by the test.
Listed below are the detection times for several drugs:
Drug Approx. Detection time in urine using EMI Amphetamines 2 to 4 days
Clenbuterol 2 to 4 days – detectable at 0.5ng/ml by GC/MS
Nicotine No reliable data. Possibly a long time, because nicotine is fat soluble Peptide hormones (such as insulin, g/hormone
and IGF-1) not detectable
Anabolic steroids Oral steroids: 14 days Injectable: 1 month
Important Note 1
The clearance times are only approximate, and will vary slightly depending on the ability of an individual’s body to clear a certain drug – this varies from person to person somewhat.
Important Note 2
Anabolic steroids can be tested for by RIA, HPLC, and GC/MS, in addition to EMIT. In order to pass a GC/MS or HPLC test, allow yourself longer in general for the drug to clear your system than it would for an EMIT test. Any drug can be tested for by GC/MS. Remember, drug clearance times vary from person to person.
Important Note 3
DREADED DECA!! The anabolic steroid Deca-Durabolin can be detected by the presence of its breakdown products in your body up to 18 months after you last took a shot of it!
Very Important Note 4
There is currently no test for the illicit use of growth hormone or insulin in athletic competition. Therefore, these can be used right up to the day of contest without fear of being caught out in a test.
In order to increase the rate of removal of a drug from your system, intense exercise to boost the metabolism is a good idea, and if you’re a powerlifter or bodybuilder preparing for a contest, you will be doing this anyway. For fat soluble drugs that will accumulate in your fatty tissue and be released in your system for a long time, aerobic exercise is particularly important to breakdown fat stores and release stored drugs that will then be removed fro your system. An increased caloric intake, coupled with a greater number of total meals throughout the day will also boost your metabolism, and increase drug clearance. The method you use will depend on your contest goals and the drugs you have taken. I’ll get onto other clearance methods in another article.
Next time, I’ll cover devious methods by which you can tamper with your sample to render drugs undetectable, producing ‘clean’ urine, and ‘drug screens’, amongst other subjects. With the right equipment a sauna can be really inviting.
Cheers,
Mick.
“For anyone considering steroid use” this is a must read…
Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II
“WARNING: Do not read this unless you are ready to gain some serious lean muscle”
Layman’s Guides to Steroids III (new)
