Clinical Findings Suggesting the Possibility of a Surreptitiously Administered Sedative

Clinical findings suggesting a possible sedative administration:

(1) feeling more intoxicated than expected for the amount of alcohol consumed

(2) waking up very hung over and feeling "fuzzy"

(3) experiencing memory lapses with an inability to account for a period of time

(4) remembering having a drink but being unable to recall what happened afterwards

(5) feeling that you have been assaulted but not being able to remember anything about the incident

Drug testing may help confirm and identify the agent. However, since drugs with short half-lives may be totally excreted, false negatives are relatively common. In addition, since many possible agents could have been used, it is difficult to test for all possibilities. Knowledge of current usage patterns can help in the initial test selection.