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FYI, if I recall correctly, it takes about an hour per ounce of alcohol consumed to metabolize. Roughly an hour per beer, glass of wine, or single shot.

--NEB

Did she bring up the medical issues during the medical pre-screen of the SFSTs?

I can't say as I wasn't there, but I would think it would come up. Honestly, knowing this patient pretty well, I imagine her answer to walking in a straight line would be something on the lines of somewhat sarcastically laughing and then saying, "I can't do that," all with a slurred voice. Like I said, it would be easy to confuse her with someone signficantly under the influence unless you knew better. Who is to say if the officer even asked about medical issues before making an immediate assumption or if she gave other reasons to believe she was under the influence.

--NEB

I had a patient who had an acoustic neuroma taken out long before some of the modern advances in delicate surgery. Between that surgery and scar tissue with resultant follow-up surgeries to remove said scarring, her vestibular system was really out of sorts (she couldn't walk down a hallway without bouncing off either wall when I first started working with her). She also has partial paralysis of some of the muscles of her face because of the surgeries, and her speech was slurred. Honestly, with the drooping eyelids, unsteady eyes, weavy balance, and slurred speech, it would be easy to mistake her as under the influence.

That very thing happened one night a number of years ago, and she was cuffed in the back of a squad car before she finally convinced the officer (showed him the surgery scars, I believe) that she had not been drinking and had legitimate medical issues.

I rarely even have one drink, but I would always be honest with an officer. The bottom line: IF you've had something to drink, NEVER put yourself in a situation where it is possible the officer could suspect you of driving under the influence.

--NEB