A bit nervous....need help pleaseIo

[azmiranda]

What is the name of your state? Nebraska

I have several pain issues and instead of filing disability I choose to work but I lost my last 2 jobs because of it. The first one being in 1998, and the second one January 12, 2005. Of course they gloss it up so it doesn't appear to be work related but it doesn't take a rocket scientist. The last job the problems appeared when I began seeing the Internal Med. DR in my office which I worked. The meds. I was taking became common knowledge and the rest is history.
My question is this. I just got hired for a dream job. It is so perfect for me in so many ways. I have to go take my drug test in 4 days and it is going to test positive for oxycontin because I take it twice a day.
How can I go about dealing with this? I need to be honest but I don't want to not get hired just because I have to take a pain medication to function.
I talked to the pharmacist and she said it isn't worth not taking it because it will probably show up anyway. She said be honest about it.
I am petrified that I won't get this job and I have no negative side effects from taking this medicine. It helps me maintain a normal life.
What do I do??
Any help would be appreciated.....can I refuse the test??

Thanks,
AZ

 

[cbg]

Refusing the test is more likely to lose you the job than taking the test and having it show up. If someone I were hiring refused a drug test they'd be out the door immediately, but if someone were able to show me a doctor's prescription for the drug found in their system I wouldn't have any qualms about hiring them. The only qualifier to that would be if the use of the drug they were taking interfered with any job function; for example if you were taking a drug that made you drowsy and your job included operating heavy equipment, I'd probably have to pass for safety reasons. But if the same drug showed in your system and you had a desk job, I'd still hire you.

A close friend of mine has a similar problem to yours; she has to take a prescription painkiller due to a workers comp claim she had several years ago. What's more, she's currently a contractor so she changes jobs frequently. When she has to take a drug test, she makes sure she has a copy of the prescription with her. You need to do that too. She's flunked the tests, but because she can show that she's been medically prescribed the drug and is taking it under medical supervision, she's NEVER had a job offer rescinded.

You'll be asked if you have been prescribed anything that will show up on the test, or words to that effect. You say yes, and SHOW THEM THE DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTION. You should be fine after that.