Why do they put pain levels on a scale of 1 t... - Pain Concern
Why do they put pain levels on a scale of 1 to 10? . 5 years on I'm still in pain 24/7 . There is no scale to describe the pain I had then
Hello Bob Here
The pain numbering is a way you describe how much the pain is effecting you, this is supposed to help you in explaining how much you are in pain at one given time. Where 1 is nil and 10 is severe, numbers in between can give specialists some idea what is going on
This technique should have been taught possibly in pain clinic.
I have never been to a pain clinic/pain management. the pain I did have was, quite literally suicidal. Had I been alone at that time I would not be here. The pain is now tolerable.
1-10 pain scales are a pet hate of mine! I can see the point if you're in acute pain eg following an accident and the A&E staff need to guage it quickly, but it doesn't seem as helpful to me with chronic pain, which can fluctuate and mean different things to different people.
One person's 4 is another person's 10. Some people will say their pain is a 10 and be walking about quite happily. I always worry that if I say "10" I won't be believed, but I have definitely had them! If you say it's a lower number you worry it won't be taken very seriously. If you go for something dead in the middle it's like sitting on the fence.
I am also numerically dyslexic so numbers don't mean much to me. I also have something called "synaesthesia" (some people have this where words / numbers / sounds are also represented in the mind's eye as colours, tastes or smells), so for me numbers are colours, and I also "sense" certain colours for certain types of pain. I can't explain to a doctor that my pain has been "scrunched up tin-foil grey" and "fleshy red" or "bright white" - all of these are quite unpleasant measures of pain to me but I suspect many people who don't have synaesthesia will think I'm barking mad.
My current pain consultant asked me at my initial consultation what I would draw if I had to describe my pain. I thought this was a brilliant question to ask - she certainly didn't think I was silly when I said I'd draw cats claws stuck in my head, a tonne weight crushing my face and a large needle jabbed in my jaw.
By the way, if you want to find out more about synaesthesia, try uksynaesthesia.com
Quite a lot of the population have it without realising, I think it's fascinating.
Teadrinker hi on a 1 to 10 scale I would have to say on a good day 6 on most days 10 also now I get pain at the top of my spine its extremely sore a tearing ripping pain and it lasts for hours and its sore to touch ,if 10 is the max then so be it yes i score 10 10 10 .
Over on chronicpainsite.com, one of the admins has set out a list of descriptions by numbers - although I have changed mine slightly. It helps those of us there to get some idea of what others are describing. On the other hand our scales are helpful to us when we are describing reactions - or non-reactions - to treatment changes etc. and for this we can use whatever form makes it clearest to us - numbers, words, colour, symbols etc.
I'm interested in the NLP approach where they ask us to imagine our pain as a colour, then imagine it changing colour and seeing if this has any effect on what we feel.
Ann
BOB here
The number system regarding chronic pain needs to be understood in a certain way
When we suffer chronic pain all patients feel pain in different levels, say 1 slight, 5 medium, 10 strong with all points in between.
In hospital you can have one person with a broken leg,He will feel a different level of pain to the patient in the next door bed with the same injury, chronic/acute pain can be felt at different levels, this is very marked when we talk about the unproductive pain associated with chronic pain.
So the doctor or specialist will use this personal way to try and understand how you are feeling pain associated by your injury as an individual chronic pain sufferer, this can give them some idea of relief they can give you. on the suppression of your pain.
Also I understand where you are coming from with regards to the ending of life.because of your condition. Several years ago I overdosed on paracetamol and tramadol and was taken into hospital. We all need too realize that the whole practice of suicide only effects those who we leave behind. Now my wife has had to take full control of my medications even ordering scripts and sorting out my daily doses, so all I have done is upset my wife and given her a further job that she has to undertake in the looking after Me. It can be a sort of threat making her feel if She had done wrong, making her always have to watch what is going on with my problem. All very unsettling for her
Under that premiss I would never do that again as you need to see the face of the one you love when you fail. and the pain you suffer when they start bringing you back
All the very best please keep a hold, always talk
BOB
Anyone heard of the mindfulness way of managing pain? breathworks-mindfulness.org... seems interesting to me. It suggests there are two types of chronic pain- the pain itself (primary) and a secondary pain. In the case of chronic pain you often can't do much about primary pain, that's why it's chronic I guess. But you can do something about the secondary pain. Secondary pain is caused by primary pain- coping with the pain causes more pain, stress, anger, upset, anxiety. I don't think I'm explaining it well. Take a look. It made quite a difference to me recently, so long as I remember to do it.
Yes I have done this through sessions with a psychologist via pain clinic and it was good to understand how stress in particular was increasing my pain.You have the pain itself and then the thinking about the pain (secondary pain). Distraction techniques and visualisation helped. Not for everyone, I found it very hard to talk about feelings but worth a try. The pain clinic was the best combination of treatment I found and people who care, understand and know its not all in your head!
Hi Bob, with regard to pain levels 1-10 it drives me mad. I have no specific diagnosis therefore some doctors dont believe how much pain i am in but pain every day. It has been so bad I would describe 10 as suicidal on a few occasions therefore will never answer 10 as being really bad, but others as you say would call 10 very bad/severe. Also doctors dont believe you if you can walk (doped up to the eyeballs). My average day is a 6 with my best ever being about 3. Sometimes cant walk at all when only a 7 but can walk when a 8 or 9 depending where pain in mainly coming from. Try explaining that to a doctor. When my pain is bad I think if I was a horse they would take me out and shoot me but being a human being Im just expected to get on with it. IN very bad pain just now about a 9 ON MY SCALE but massive amount of drugs not really helping. Sorry for going on the main point everyone has a very personal scale.
For pain scores are useless and belittling way of making a person who suffers with even thinking straight becos of the intrusive nature of chronic pain, asking how you feel at this moment is a joke and you are there for help not to be patted on the head becos you may have put a 9 last time and this a 7. Chronic pain is most times hidden and that in its self is half the battle lost, if I could show you how it feels the only way I could honestly do this is by smashing your legs to pieces with a hammer, with the pain never ending, you could av your legs put back together, whereas I cannot, thoughts of ending ones life are not suicidle? Just a way of escaping the pain
My pain has been so severe at times that being in a little pain is like nothing at all. My idea of a good day would probably send some people to the hospital...lol
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