[Maria]

I think most employers do this routinely although I could be mistaken.
Can you get by w/o pain meds for now? Reason I ask is that I think it would be more difficult to start them then stop them for the period of drug testing altho it may be that you can start them after you begin working.

I didn't start taking pain meds until I stopped working and now that I'm only taking pain medication and once daily I find my mentation is much clearer than when I was taking Neurontin and muscle relaxers as well. However when I first started pain meds there was quite an adjustment for me and I don't think that I could have been working (Nurse Practitioner) seeing patients while adjusting to my pain medication. Now it's 10 years later and I'm used to the medication and not sure what I'd be like w/o it however my mind has quite adjusted to it. Unfortunately trying to withdraw from the particular medication I'm on hasn't been something I could accomplish myself and supposedly has a prolonged withdrawl period (up to 3 or more months if one is trying to withdraw self).

So I'd not recommend the pain med I'm on if planning on starting it and stopping it for drug testing prior to jobs altho there may be others that are far easier to start/stop and there may be something that would work for you and not really be classified as opioid pain medication or pain medication for that matter. So many new pharmaceutical concoctions on the market.

However if you need to start taking something so you can get thru school then you've no choice really. Just do what you have to do and cross the work bridge when you get to it. Wishing you the best with your decision as I know it's not one with an easy answer.