Re: The 1-10 Pain Scale

[Guest guest]

Heh..quick answer, whlie the lower levels are more subjective, at a " 10 "

I'm twisted into a pretzel but also totaly unable to move, and unable to

stop screaming.

\

have't had THAT since back surgery in March, but it makes a fine

benchmark. (A codl sweat also breaks out and it scares the hell out of anyone

around you.)

[Guest guest]

, Yours is pretty much how mine is and its a good way to explain it .

Thanks for sharing.

Blessings,

Nettie

From: mamawolf33 <vendetta33@...>

Subject: The 1-10 Pain Scale

spinal problems

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010, 7:23 PM

 

Hi all.

I've been wondering about this, and talking to my hubby about it, for quite some

time:

Most of us are familiar with the 1-10 pain scale that doctors, hosptials, etc

use when they ask us about how much pain we have. I've searched the net trying

to find some information on how we're supposed to answer that question since

pain is so unique to each person. (I'd use the word " subjective " but I'm sure

I'm not the only one who's had that word used as a weapon at some point.)

Myself, I continually reiterate what I mean about the pain scale to my doctor

because I know he's got hundreds of patients and can't possibly remember what

I've told him. For me, this is how I describe it to him:

When I say this or that pain is a " 5 " , I mean that it's bad enough that I can't

distract myself from it for more than 5 minutes at a time. No matter what I'm

doing or paying attention to, the Level 5 pain makes sure I pay attention to it.

This is where I wake up every day, though sometimes it's worse. I call this my

" baseline " pain level.

My " 7 " is where the pain is bad enough I won't go out anywhere, even if we don't

have groceries. I'll lay down for 30 minutes to see if the heating pad and being

supine help (my pain is mostly in my neck/head/shoulders and in my lower back,

though not as bad down there yet). If I get to an " 8 " , NO ONE wants to be around

me because I'm a raving bitch and very unhappy that even with nothing but rest,

heating pad and meds the pain won't let go.

And for me: " 9 " is so bad I'm actually thinking of going to the E.R. I wouldn't

ever do it unless I have no choice because even that extra cash would hurt us

quite a bit. This is when I think about trying an extra pain pill. This is when

I tell my husband that I'm really struggling with the pain and that I might need

to " go in " . Usually he's very attentive and tries to talk me into going. Him

trying to get me to go makes me feel like a weak whiner and I just go to bed.

So, now that you know all about MY pain ratings... how do YOU explain your pain

to your doctor so that he knows what you're really experiencing? Maybe together

we can come up with a way that's actually effective at communitcating to our

health care professionals!

Hoping you feel like sharing,

[Guest guest]

Hi Theresa, its funny you say that. I just had that conversation with my doc

last week. She told me that everyone has a different level of pain. Some can

tolerate more pain than others . What might be a 7 for someone may be a 3 for

someone else. So my doc asked me to explain to her just how my pain is. I told

her I was at a 7 in her office. She asked me just how bad is a 7 to me. I told

her real bad because I am not at work. I told her that when I broke my ankle a

few years ago at the start of my shift. I finished my shift and went to emerge

and got a cast put on my right ankle. Went back home and slept and went right

back into work after with a cast on my foot. I told her If I can go into work

after breaking my ankle then that should tell you just how much pain my back is

giving me right now. I think she gets the point now. (((I HOPE LOL)))

The 1-10 Pain Scale

Hi all.

I've been wondering about this, and talking to my hubby about it, for quite

some time:

Most of us are familiar with the 1-10 pain scale that doctors, hosptials, etc

use when they ask us about how much pain we have. I've searched the net trying

to find some information on how we're supposed to answer that question since

pain is so unique to each person. (I'd use the word " subjective " but I'm sure

I'm not the only one who's had that word used as a weapon at some point.)

Myself, I continually reiterate what I mean about the pain scale to my doctor

because I know he's got hundreds of patients and can't possibly remember what

I've told him. For me, this is how I describe it to him:

When I say this or that pain is a " 5 " , I mean that it's bad enough that I

can't distract myself from it for more than 5 minutes at a time. No matter what

I'm doing or paying attention to, the Level 5 pain makes sure I pay attention to

it. This is where I wake up every day, though sometimes it's worse. I call this

my " baseline " pain level.

My " 7 " is where the pain is bad enough I won't go out anywhere, even if we

don't have groceries. I'll lay down for 30 minutes to see if the heating pad and

being supine help (my pain is mostly in my neck/head/shoulders and in my lower

back, though not as bad down there yet). If I get to an " 8 " , NO ONE wants to be

around me because I'm a raving bitch and very unhappy that even with nothing but

rest, heating pad and meds the pain won't let go.

And for me: " 9 " is so bad I'm actually thinking of going to the E.R. I

wouldn't ever do it unless I have no choice because even that extra cash would

hurt us quite a bit. This is when I think about trying an extra pain pill. This

is when I tell my husband that I'm really struggling with the pain and that I

might need to " go in " . Usually he's very attentive and tries to talk me into

going. Him trying to get me to go makes me feel like a weak whiner and I just go

to bed.

So, now that you know all about MY pain ratings... how do YOU explain your

pain to your doctor so that he knows what you're really experiencing? Maybe

together we can come up with a way that's actually effective at communitcating

to our health care professionals!

Hoping you feel like sharing,

[Guest guest]

I always add 2 to wherever my pain is because they won't treat my pain the same

if it's lower. If I need pain meds, it's a 7.  My doc is a man who has never

experiences real and chronic pain. So it doesn't matter what number I throw at

him or how I describe it, he will never GET it. So, I embellish a little to

ensure that he gets that I'm hurting.

 --- Babbitt

________________________________

From: mamawolf33 <vendetta33@...>

spinal problems

Sent: Thu, January 7, 2010 8:23:23 PM

Subject: The 1-10 Pain Scale

 

Hi all.

I've been wondering about this, and talking to my hubby about it, for quite some

time:

Most of us are familiar with the 1-10 pain scale that doctors, hosptials, etc

use when they ask us about how much pain we have. I've searched the net trying

to find some information on how we're supposed to answer that question since

pain is so unique to each person. (I'd use the word " subjective " but I'm sure

I'm not the only one who's had that word used as a weapon at some point.)

Myself, I continually reiterate what I mean about the pain scale to my doctor

because I know he's got hundreds of patients and can't possibly remember what

I've told him. For me, this is how I describe it to him:

When I say this or that pain is a " 5 " , I mean that it's bad enough that I can't

distract myself from it for more than 5 minutes at a time. No matter what I'm

doing or paying attention to, the Level 5 pain makes sure I pay attention to it.

This is where I wake up every day, though sometimes it's worse. I call this my

" baseline " pain level.

My " 7 " is where the pain is bad enough I won't go out anywhere, even if we don't

have groceries. I'll lay down for 30 minutes to see if the heating pad and being

supine help (my pain is mostly in my neck/head/shoulders and in my lower back,

though not as bad down there yet). If I get to an " 8 " , NO ONE wants to be around

me because I'm a raving bitch and very unhappy that even with nothing but rest,

heating pad and meds the pain won't let go.

And for me: " 9 " is so bad I'm actually thinking of going to the E.R. I wouldn't

ever do it unless I have no choice because even that extra cash would hurt us

quite a bit. This is when I think about trying an extra pain pill. This is when

I tell my husband that I'm really struggling with the pain and that I might need

to " go in " . Usually he's very attentive and tries to talk me into going. Him

trying to get me to go makes me feel like a weak whiner and I just go to bed.

So, now that you know all about MY pain ratings... how do YOU explain your pain

to your doctor so that he knows what you're really experiencing? Maybe together

we can come up with a way that's actually effective at communitcating to our

health care professionals!

Hoping you feel like sharing,

[Guest guest]

Oh, I know that one! LOL.

I finally asked my GP if he'd ever had a broken bone. (Yes.) Well, I explained

that my neck always hurts as bad as three days after you've broken a bone. I

think that helped. Then I told him about when I got rear-ended the last time: I

was completely stopped and the other car was going 35mph, didn't hit the brakes

until just before impact. My neck did not hurt any worse than " usual " . His eye

bugged a bit, but I know he actually got a glimmer that time.

If he wanes in his understanding of MY pain, I remind him that I went about with

a full-thickness tendon tear in my shoulder (idiopathic) for a YEAR before I

said, " Hey doc, this is really bugging me. "

I think we can come up with very creative ways to describe it. The pain is so

constantly present for many of us, we know it better than some of our close

friends.

>

> Hi Theresa, its funny you say that. I just had that conversation with my doc

last week. She told me that everyone has a different level of pain. Some can

tolerate more pain than others . What might be a 7 for someone may be a 3 for

someone else. So my doc asked me to explain to her just how my pain is. I told

her I was at a 7 in her office. She asked me just how bad is a 7 to me. I told

her real bad because I am not at work. I told her that when I broke my ankle a

few years ago at the start of my shift. I finished my shift and went to emerge

and got a cast put on my right ankle. Went back home and slept and went right

back into work after with a cast on my foot. I told her If I can go into work

after breaking my ankle then that should tell you just how much pain my back is

giving me right now. I think she gets the point now. (((I HOPE LOL)))

> The 1-10 Pain Scale

>

>

>

> Hi all.

>

> I've been wondering about this, and talking to my hubby about it, for quite

some time:

>

> Most of us are familiar with the 1-10 pain scale that doctors, hosptials,

etc use when they ask us about how much pain we have. I've searched the net

trying to find some information on how we're supposed to answer that question

since pain is so unique to each person. (I'd use the word " subjective " but I'm

sure I'm not the only one who's had that word used as a weapon at some point.)

>

> Myself, I continually reiterate what I mean about the pain scale to my

doctor because I know he's got hundreds of patients and can't possibly remember

what I've told him. For me, this is how I describe it to him:

>

> When I say this or that pain is a " 5 " , I mean that it's bad enough that I

can't distract myself from it for more than 5 minutes at a time. No matter what

I'm doing or paying attention to, the Level 5 pain makes sure I pay attention to

it. This is where I wake up every day, though sometimes it's worse. I call this

my " baseline " pain level.

>

> My " 7 " is where the pain is bad enough I won't go out anywhere, even if we

don't have groceries. I'll lay down for 30 minutes to see if the heating pad and

being supine help (my pain is mostly in my neck/head/shoulders and in my lower

back, though not as bad down there yet). If I get to an " 8 " , NO ONE wants to be

around me because I'm a raving bitch and very unhappy that even with nothing but

rest, heating pad and meds the pain won't let go.

>

> And for me: " 9 " is so bad I'm actually thinking of going to the E.R. I

wouldn't ever do it unless I have no choice because even that extra cash would

hurt us quite a bit. This is when I think about trying an extra pain pill. This

is when I tell my husband that I'm really struggling with the pain and that I

might need to " go in " . Usually he's very attentive and tries to talk me into

going. Him trying to get me to go makes me feel like a weak whiner and I just go

to bed.

>

> So, now that you know all about MY pain ratings... how do YOU explain your

pain to your doctor so that he knows what you're really experiencing? Maybe

together we can come up with a way that's actually effective at communitcating

to our health care professionals!

>

> Hoping you feel like sharing,

>

>

>

>

>

>

>