Patients' Association Board Member Emily Nicholas weighs in on her experience with hip replacement surgery, prescription pills, and who's responsible for helping patients understand pain management.
The Question: After hip replacement surgery, I was placed on tramadol for pain. It worked moderately well, although in retrospect, I would have probably done better with something stronger. The worst part is that I wasn't told how to wean myself off of it, only to switch to over-the-counter pain medicine when I felt I didn't need the prescription pills anymore. As a result of I suffered withdrawal symptoms. As a patient, I had to figure this all out for myself. Whose job is it to tell me this information?
The Answer: In this post, patient Emily Nicholas, who is a Patients’ Association of Canada board member, is one of the experts providing advice on how to navigate the health care system for pain management. As a patient, she knows this story because she lived it... Find the full article here.
