Re: Re: I Don't Think My Pain Doc Believes Me

[Guest guest]

Cheryl,

When I walked out of the Neuro's office, I felt the same way, that he

minimized my pain because I also tolerate much and rate low. I would

probably rate childbirth at 8 although it was the most painful thing i ever

went thru but i tolerated it so its 8. Burning my fingers on the electric

element in the oven was 8 well maybe 9 I danced around alot screaming

ouch it hurt all the way up to my armpit A very weird sensation, but

again i lived through it. I am not a whuss.

So how do we let them know MAN IT HURTS! rate everything a 10 and feel

like a liar??

After I left, I was in more pain from the exam and although I didnt

outwardly cry, tears ran down my face all the way home. Me, I thought Oh

I must be in bad pain!

" " wrote:

> After examining me this time, he commented, " WHY are you here

> > if you are only rating your pain a 5 or 6 each visit? Most of my

> > patients usually rate their pain a 10! Your complaints are

> > inconsistent with my exam findings-- " What do you think he was trying

> > to say?

> >

>

>

>

God's peace be with you always!

Elaine

[Guest guest]

i have a family dr. that is also an omt. i met him in the er when my hip roll

completely out of socket and was laying on my spine. it HURT!!!! well after that

i continued to see him for therapy, he never gave me more than an ultram. as my

condition worsened, after a year or two, he did give me vicaprophan. it didnt

help. now he has me off work on medical leave, telling me that if i didnt hold

off a while and go through extinsive therapy i will deffinately not work agian,

and my not ever walk. i have 6 discs that are messed up and 8 pinched nerves. he

told me while i was working he wouldnt give me anthing strong for pain, because

my job consisted of a lot of physical labor and i might hrt myself and not know

it. now that im off work he did give me 36 loratabs which help me tremendously.

that was a month ago and i dotn see him again for 2 more weeks. he said they

would do me even though they were prescribed 2 a day.

i sent my girlfriend to him with her arthritis, but so happened she has a

tootache the same day and she walked out with 30 pills for the tooth on her

first visit. not tying to sound like a drup addict, that really ticked me off.

iim going to call him tomorrow and see if he will write me another, because im

WAY past due and if he treats me like im looking for a fix, ill find another dr.

his therapy really helps though and he gives me injections too.

also dont think im horrible but im thinking about going to one of these dr.

that do give pain medication, and then just not filling the ones my dr. gives me

(if he even does) you guys probably think that sounds terrible but my son plays

basketball, runs track, and soccer and i would love to be able to sit down at a

game. i have to stand because of the pain. my middle child is coming in to town

for a visit this weekend and i would love to be able to play with my grandson

with minimum pain. i dont understand dr. this area is really bad for drug abuse

but god, when you need it you need it. if he thnks im in too much pain to work,

im in too much pain to have any quality of life.

sorry i griped so much but it really irks my ... to be treated like a common

druggie.

Elaine wrote:

Cheryl,

When I walked out of the Neuro's office, I felt the same way, that he

minimized my pain because I also tolerate much and rate low.

[Guest guest]

My cp doc has a numbered pain chart on the wall of every examining room. It

clearly spells out the degree of pain associated with each number in the system

he is using. That chart should be in every doctor's office.

--

Lyndi

Cheryl wrote:

> 1) When you give your doctor your rating, make very clear to him or

> her every time what a " 10 " really means for you...

[Guest guest]

This is a pain scale definition I came across recently, as referred to in a

previous post of mine. I don't know who the author was, but I print this out and

take it with me to my PM MD so we are on the same page. She knows what I'm

utlizing for descriptors.

I agree that every doctor's office should have something like this, not just the

smiley faces (which are supposed to be used for children and non English

speaking patients without interpreters) and obscure number systems.

We are often asked for our pain levels on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being

absolutely no pain, and 10 being the worst pain you have ever experienced in

your life. It's all very subjective, and depends upon a person's previous

experience or expectations in relation to pain, but, over the years, the 0-10

scale has remained a mainstay.

Several sufferers and health professionals have developed some scales to help

patients communicate their pain. There is great agreement between the scales The

following is amalgam of some of these scales

PAIN SCALE

Very Important: This is the subjective pain level that is experienced AFTER

taking the daily medication prescribed by your doctor.

* Levels 1-3 are tolerable and don't affect everyday functioning, 2 and 3 are

uncomfortable but one may not seek professional assistance. People with chronic

pain usually experience level 4 most of the time, except some cancer or trauma

pain which may be greater.

0-Pain free - no further medication needed

1-Very minor annoyance -mild aches to some parts of the body. No pain medication

needed.

2-Minor annoyance- dull aches to some parts of the body. Occasional strong

twinges depending on what one is doing. No pain medication needed.

3-Annoying enough to be distracting. Over-the-Counter pain relievers (such as

Asprin, Naproxen Sodium, Acetamonophen (Tylenol), Ibuprofen or topical

treatments such as Absorbine or Arthritis Pain relieving rubs or application of

heat or cold take care of it. Taking medications at this level may prevent pain

from getting worse and harder to control.

4-Can be ignored if you are really involved in your work, but still distracting

and causes some stress. Over-the-Counter pain relievers remove pain for 3-4

hours.

5-Can't be ignored for more than 30 minutes and is stressful. Over-the-Counter

pain relievers help somewhat (bring pain level from 5 to a 3 or 4) with pain for

3-4 hours. Not smiling.

6-Can't be ignored for any length of time, but you can still go to work and

participate in social activities. May be becoming irritable.Stronger painkillers

(such as Codeine, Tylenol 3, Vicodin, Ultram) relieve pain for 3-4 hours. At

this level pain must be treated or will be harder to get under control as it

escalates.

7-Makes it difficult to concentrate, interferes with sleep. Pain is difficult to

tolerate. You can still function with effort. Stronger painkillers (such as

Oxycontin, Ultram) are only partially effective. (Stronger pain killers bring

pain from a 7 to 4-6.)

8-Physical activity severely limited. You can read and converse with effort.

Stronger pain killers (such as Ultram) are not effective. (Narcotic pain killers

do bring this pain down to a level 3 or lower.)

Nausea and dizziness set in as factors of pain. May cry and moan.

9-Non functional for all practical purposes. Unable to speak. Cannot

concentrate. Physical activity halted. Strongest painkillers are only partially

effective. Panic sets in. (Narcotic Pain killers bring the pain level from 9 to

the 4-6 level.)

10-Totally non-functional. Unable to speak. Crying our or moaning uncontrollably

- near delirium. Strongest painkillers are only partially effective.

[Guest guest]

Cheryl, thank you so much for that assessement and advice. Isn't it crazy how I

am always in pain and it's about a 3 but someone else would consider it a 5 or

6. My son just broke his leg, has an external fixator and I know if his pain

gets over a 5 in his opinion, he needs some pain med. For me, I take the good

stuff (t3) when I'm at a 6 or 7. Thanks for letting us know how to talk to our

drs who just don't have it right!

much love,

barb k.

Cheryl wrote:

>

> Here's the deal: I just saw my new pain doc for the 3rd time last

> Monday. After examining me this time, he commented, " WHY are you here

> if you are only rating your pain a 5 or 6 each visit? Most of my

> patients usually rate their pain a 10! Your complaints are

> inconsistent with my exam findings-- " What do you think he was trying

> to say?

>

What a ridiculous statement from this doctor! I can't believe he said

this.

Doctors are *supposed* to be taught that these numbers are never to be

compared across patients - they are irrelevant when comparing one

person's pain to another person's pain. What one person rates a " 10 "

another person could rate a " 5 " - for many reasons, including the fact

that people don't perceive pain in the same way, but more importantly

for the fact that they don't apply the rating scale in the same way!

Those types of cross-patient comparisons are simply meaningless.

The only functional use for these rating scales is supposed to be to

establish a baseline of pain and then to compare change in pain

intensity for a single patient across time. For example, does *your*

pain change from day to day, from before to after treatment, from a 10

to a 5.

Barbara K.

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[Guest guest]

I hope I can quote that phrase!! Thats a riot!!! Thanks for the visual.

Tammy

[Guest guest]

What really gets to me is people who dont have back pain tend to think we are

putting on i guess i might say. most days i walk with a limp have to stand at

most functions i attend. then again(especially in the last two days) i can walk

fairly normal.

i had my shots a few days ago and they have helped me with the pain some what.

so when a person sees me on mon. and im not moaning and groaning, on tues. im

limping and i groan when i sit down or try to stand up. they look at me like oh

god , shes just trying to draw a check or get attention.

it infuriates me to no end. i would love no more than to be pain free and have

everyday where i could walk like a normal person.

Sometimes i know this is mean of me, but i would like for these people to spend

one day (really bad day) in my shoes. is that a bad way to feel?

[Guest guest]

My soon to be ex, would always hurt worse than me. if my back hurt his was

killing him, if my legs hurt his did too.

One day he got on my nerves so bad, (before my hysterectomy) i said my stomach

hurts so bad i feel like my ovaries are rolling down my thighs, he said " mine are

too " before he thought and i laughed my rear off. lol

>Lyndi wrote:

>Some women may cry, but some of the men I have had to deal with both

>professionally and personally, are the whiniest babies you'd ever >want to

meet.

>A simple cold is the end of the world. <veg>

--

Lyndi

[Guest guest]

Same here. I had an emergency gall bladder extraction

but the first doctor I saw thought I wasn't showing

enough pain. I was stoic. Never again, now I am

theatric. Al

[Guest guest]

Cheryl,

That's what I love about this sight, we help each other and together we can

accomplish more than individually!!!!!

Cheryl wrote:

What a great contribution to this list, Donna - thanks so much for

taking the time to type it out here for us.

[Guest guest]

That is a hoot b/c that really is something all guys understand! I will

probably use that someday - thanks.

much love,

barb k.

Spamalicious wrote:

I simply tell the doctor " if I kicked you square in the gonads, my pain level

would be one less than yours. "

Barbara K.