“My life was turned upside down when I was diagnosed with brain cancer. I was one of the lucky ones. The tumor was operable, and they were able to remove most of it. Following surgery, my treatment included a month of daily targeted brain radiation and 8 months of chemotherapy. The treatments were a success in treating my cancer, however the side effects were detrimental. I suffered from excruciating neuropathy (pain due to nerve damage) that impacted my quality of life significantly.

My doctors did what they knew to do … prescribed me pain medications. I quickly learned why we have an opioid epidemic in our country. Tramadol was prescribed – touted as the “least addictive opioid” I could take. Nevertheless, I was concerned about being on an opiate, so I resisted increasing my dosage, even as my drug tolerance increased. As a result, I found myself addicted to a drug that was providing me little to no pain relief. The pain tormented me by day, inhibited my ability to focus at work and kept me awake at night. I survived brain cancer, and instead of being elated, I was frustrated and depressed by the side effects of my treatment. After meeting with an addiction specialist and devising a strategy It took me 5 months to wean myself off the Tramadol.