Welcome to the forum Elleth
All the usual drugs for treating lupus are available in the UK. You are eligible for free treatment under the National Health Service with a student visa planning to reside for more than a few months.
To use the NHS, you must register with a GP in your area once you have a fixed address. You can get an idea of which practices are in your post( zip) code area here:
http://www.nhs.uk/servicedirectories/Pages/ServiceSearch.aspx
Perhaps you will have neighbours who can recommend a GP practice. Otherwise it's a bit of a gamble. If you have a choice I would visit the practices to get a feel for them and have a word with the receptionists.
There are a great many partnerships with several doctors available, & a wide variety of services, running community health care centres with practice nurses. You will get first emergency services free at a practice or at a hospital or walk in clinic even if you aren't on a GP's list but if you have to be admitted then you face the prospect of having to pay if you are not on a GP's list.
The GP is pretty important because they refer you to the hospital specialists, whom we call "consultants" and they also prescribe on the consultant's recommendation and organise regular blood tests or any other tests for you. Sometimes special testing will be done at the hospital where the consultant works
As Katharine says it will take some time for a first appointment to come through. I think the waiting time at St Thomas' is under three months. Then you might have to wait for a follow up appointment and then treatment and other test recommendations and any test results to get through to the GP. They mnight be willing to forgo the follow up assuming you are stable and bearing in mind that you are not going to be a long term patient.
I can't say if a GP would prescribe medications without the say so of a UK licensed physician, but I very much doubt it, so definitely bring, I'd say, 4 months supply. But the GP might well be willing to prescribe the necessary regular blood tests for side effects of the medication eg the Imuran.
I imagine that you are coming only for the academic year. You might well not get the next follow up appointment at St Tom's for another year so going there at all might be rather fatuous. Maybe your best bet in these circumstances would be just to go private for one consultation to get a prescription.
Many people have private health care insurances to back up what's available on the NHS. This means they don't have to wait long for non urgent procedures & can see consultants fast and in general have a smoother ride in better surroundings. Not always better care though, let it be noted.
If you don't have private insurance you can still see a consultant privately and pay for it.
I think it costs about £250 a consultation at the private London Lupus Centre where top lupus specialists work, including NHS doctors from St Thomas. You have that option if you were to have any sudden lupus problems or if you needed a prescription. It can sometimes be a fast track onto the NHS services if there is a real problem
The GP will usually write a prescription from a private consultant
( as far as I know) so you can get the meds on the NHS at the usual prescription charge of about £7 per item. You can take out an annnual or half yearly prepay which can work out much cheaper depending on how many meds you need. If you make the situation clear to the GP he might be happy to make out a further prescription. Prescriptions can be for up to three months.
Meds can be sent from the USA but the one time I had this done it was a real palaver because we decided to state in detail what they were and had many forms to fill out including a statement from the prescribing doctor and then had to pay import duty about £15 ! None of my meds are pain killers So it certainly is possible and might be the best thing for such a short time.
You should most definitely have a detailed letter about your case and the meds you are on from your specialist.
Get it translated too - just kidding.
If you would like a lupus contact in London, let me know by PM
All the best
Clare