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Philip, Thank you for your input on this question.  You are correct in saying there is no ceiling on prescribing opioids.  In this case, however, I was concerned that the person asking the question had gone from taking Percocet (of which the highest single dose available contains 10 mg of oxycodone) to taking 80 mg of someone else's OxyContin.  That big of an increase can be extremely dangerous.  While there is no ceiling on the amount of oxycodone that can be taken, it's essential that the patient be titrated up slowly to avoid overdose.    Currently in the U.S., the highest dosage of oxycodone available in a single tablet is 80 mg.  We used to have a 160 mg tablet, but that has been discontinued.  I didn't mean to imply that 80 mg was the most that could be taken in a day or even at one time – just that that is the largest single-tablet dosage available.  I wanted to impress upon the person asking the question how dangerous it was to suddenly take that strong of a dosage that hadn't been prescribed for him.   As for my statement that it is difficult to find doctors who will prescribe large doses of OxyContin for long-term use, I stand by that.  Most general practitioners in the U.S. will not prescribe anything stronger than hydrocodone on a long-term basis because of their fear of the DEA.  Many refuse to prescribe any kind of opioid for any reason.  Sadly, even many pain management specialists are hesitant to prescribe high dosages of opioids because they know they're being watched.  Unfortunately, the FDA is currently considering putting even more restrictions on the use of opioids, so I don't expect the situation to improve any time soon.    You were fortunate to have a PCP in the U.S. that was willing to work with you and provide the pain relief you needed.  If you could read my mail each day, you would see that your experience was the exception rather than the rule.  For every one person who has found a doctor willing to help them, I hear from more than a hundred that can't find anyone who will help.    I'm also very happy to hear you have a good doctor in the UK and you don't have to worry about the DEA there.  Although the percentage of people who abuse opioids compared to the number of people who need them for real pain problems is fairly low, here in the U.S., the attention seems to be on preventing the abuse rather than helping those in pain.  Sad but true.   Thanks again for your contribution to this question and this site!  –  Karen