Will celexa show up in a urine drug screen as a classified drug that I had to take for my employer?

Hi Shadow,

A routine drug screen does not test for prescription medications, although benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and opioids will show up on the drug screen. Celexa may show up on an extended toxicology panel, however.

It shouldn't matter much what's in your system for employer drug screening. What matters is whether or not you're under a doctor's care and the drug is prescribed and that you're able to do the work without any impairment. Go into the drug screen, tell them that you're taking Celexa and that, if needed, they can check with your doctor. Give them your doc's phone number and ask if they need you to sign a release form to check with your doc. They'll probably say that it isn't necessary until the sample is tested. Be pleasant and straight-forward about it.

I once worked at a place where a machinist, who'd had a serious back problem, tested positive for opiates on a random drug screen. Turns out he was taking huge amounts of morphine for his back but his doctor said that the only influence the morphine had was to take away his pain and otherwise he was fine. And he was.

Some employers do not take anyone who tests positive for anything but they are in the minority and, in a world of people who are taking meds for one thing or another, those employers are missing out on some good people. Your best chance is to be honest with them.

I had to take a drug test to get a job at a manufacturing firm and had benzodiazepines in my system. I told them that they would definitely find a drug in my urine, what it would be and why I took it. I gave them my doc's number. I got the job.

Good luck!
Anna