New amputees may experience several different types of pain. You may feel the standard post-surgical pain that any patient would feel after a major surgery. You may also feel phantom limb sensations, which are sensations that you may feel in your amputated limb, even though it is no longer there. They may be painful or non-painful. You may feel pain in your residual limb, which is the part of your limb that remains.
There are a number of ways to manage your pain. However, to be able to properly manage your pain, you must be able to describe the type of pain that you are experiencing, which will make it easier for you and your health care team to manage the pain. Before seeing your health care provider, you should write down your pain, when it occurs, what happens when it starts, how long it lasts, and what helps the pain. You should make a list of questions for your doctor, as well as a list of medical information such as what medications you are taking and what conditions you have been diagnosed with.
Your health care provider may prescribe pain medications to directly treat the pain, or therapies or treatments that may help reduce the pain. If you are prescribed prescription pain pills, you may be concerned about becoming addicted or overdosing. Discuss your concerns with your doctors as well as your pharmacist.
You may have legal options after your amputation, which can help provide financial compensation so that you are able to get the treatment you need. If your excess pain is caused by the negligence of a medical provider, you may be able to pursue a case against that provider. If your amputation was caused by the wrongdoing of another individual or company, you may be able to sue that individual or company.
Call me, Conal Doyle, Amputation Lawyer, at 310-385-0567 if you have had an amputation and you want to speak about your legal options. I am not only an attorney, I am also an amputee, and I can provide you with information about your options. Call today to learn more.