Speak to Your Doctor

Amputees shouldn’t underestimate their own role in their own healthcare. Patients need not know medicine like a doctor, but do need to be clear when conveying what they are feeling. Dr. Lilian Vivas, a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist (also known as a physiatrist), works with amputees and offers some terrific talking tips.

For example, “It’s good for amputees to remember that most physicians may not have experience with amputation," she notes. "Here’s where advocating for your own care becomes so important. Describing pain, amputation pain, can be difficult. Explain how it affects your day or what you are doing?”

Spend some time preparing for your doctor appointment to ensure that you communicate your condition to your physician as effectively as possible.