I live in CA and I’m prescribed 80mg Oxy daily. Please keep in mind that I can only speak for my experience in CA and I’m not familiar with the rules in other US states.
My opiates are managed through a pain management clinic. I understand it’s not easy to get into a pain mgmt practice. One has to be referred to this kind of clinic—you can’t call and make an appointment. In addition, your complete medical records will be perused carefully, and you are subjected to a very complex interview by a pain specialist prior to any decision being made re: whether you are a suitable candidate to receive a script of ANY kind of opiate. You will also sign a pain contract, which states that you will not seek any pain drugs from any other provider. If you do, they will promptly drop you from the pain mgmt. practice. The only exception to this is opiates you are administered while in the hospital. I’m glad this is the case; I average 3 hospital admissions each year, along with kidney stone surgeries.
I was originally started with hydrocodone and I was taking 90 of the 500/325 monthly. This wasn’t adequately controlling my pain. At my next month’s appointment, I was given MS Contin to take in addition to my Hydros. The morphine was supposed to make the pain relief last longer. I would nod hard on that morphine and I was doing this in public and I couldn’t deal with any improprietous appearance that made me look like I was a junkie. At my next month’s appointment, I reported that I really wasn’t doing well with the morphine, though from a recreational standpoint it was enjoyable (of course I didn’t say that). I was given Percocet (Oxycodone APAP) and I was discontinued off the Hydros and morphine. Those Percocets worked for me for several years, but after a few bouts of acute renal failure in 2018 and the insertion of a renal tube for months, and a ureteral catheter which was followed by a surgery to cut out part of my ureter and reattach my ureter to a new place on my bladder, I was given Oxys. I was given 90 20mg Oxys monthly. Then every time I had another kidney stone, my doc would give me an extra 30 pills for that month. About 10 months ago, they saw that I’d been taking 120 of the 20mg Oxys (because I’d had a kidney stone the previous month) and they never bumped me back down to my regular dosage (when I didn’t have a renal stone) of just 90 pills monthly. So now I’m up to 120 pills monthly and I’m always hoping they don’t catch their mistake from months ago.
Another thing to remember about pain management practices is that, at least here, they’re required to do regular urine tests. And at least at my clinic, everything shows up. One month, I’d been taking Cyclobenzaprine (Flexiril) that I’d received from the pain clinic months earlier. However, they’d switched me to Baclofen a few months prior on an as needed basis, as I’d told them the Flexiril wasn’t so effective for me. I took my urine test, and I was given the usual form where I check off all the drugs I’ve taken over the past 3 months. I forgot to mention the Flexiril so at my next appointment, they brought up that I had been switched to Baclofen and I shouldn’t be taking the Flexiril, which showed up in my urine test, unless I wanted to switch back to that drug. Another time, I was very stressed and I took some Diazepam my brother had. My urine test was several days later so I wasn’t worried about the diazepams showing up on the urine test. However, they did and I was lectured about taking other people’s drugs, because all my docs have access to CURES, which is CA’s controlled substances user database, and they can see what one is, and is not prescribed. I read a few years ago that Florida was the last state to enact a state based controlled substances user database and now they are used in every US state.
The other thing about the urine test is that they are checking to see that I have the Oxys in my system. If someone doesn’t test positive for what they are prescribed, they have concerns that perhaps the patient is selling their supply, and Oxys in my dosage are worth a lot these days as they’re hard to find; 2 of them will pay for a mani-pedi.
If you feel you really need Oxys for pain mgmt. purposes, and it’s not an issue of wanting them simply for the enjoyment, I’d gather all your supporting medical records and make sure you don’t include any hint of drug-seeking behavior in your batch of records. I’d then make an appointment with a family or general practitioner and explain that you were being treated with pain mgmt in England, you have all your supporting records and you’d like a referral to a pain management specialist. They may refer you to a different type of specialist, like a rheumatologist or an orthopedist instead. Then it’s up to you to see that specialist and ask them for the referral to pain mgmt.
It isn’t easy, but it can be done, assuming you have records that support the use of Oxy and it’s going to take perseverance on your part. I doubt that you’ll get quite the amount that you’d been getting in the UK.
Lastly, you do not need any $$ to visit an emergency room in the US. You can go in, and a financial counselor will likely meet with you during your ER visit, to see if you qualify for Medicaid or perhaps some other program that would cover your expenses. You cannot be turned away, so go to the ER if you have to.
chronic pain is terrible and I just read that disgusting reply where that asshole was calling you an addict and shit it was disgusting and reading that you had gotten that job made me so happy for you
Hope eventually u get to manage your pain properly. Cheers 
