Introduction: Opioid Analgesia: A Patient Perspective.

Many individuals believe that physicians can be difficult when they become patients, as having "just enough" knowledge or attempting to direct one's personal medical care presents problems particularly when dealing with a dynamic issue such as analgesia. Physicians are used to being advocates for their patients, and when they are the patients themselves, there is a certain degree of transition that changes one's perspective and affects how complex medical issues are addressed. There has been an evolution in management of pain concerns in recent decades with growing recognition of the toll of the opioid epidemic on our society.