Fibromyalgia Support Group

I have a theory. A lot (but not all) of us have some incredible stories about horrendous life events that caused us unspeakable pain, either physical or psychic or both. I think that the accident I was in where I went through the windshield and ruptured my spleen, collapsed a lung, broke all the ribs on my left side & most on my right, and broke my arm broke my pain scale. What migraine, however intense, can compare to that? When I'm asked to rate my pain, I think about that pain and I'm forced to say "about a 4"...if I go over that I feel like I'm exaggerating. I try to explain my warped pain scale & they never let me explain...so much pain, so little time.

I've been poking around here and there, reading profiles & forums & diaries and I really don't think we CAN rate our pain between 1-10. Or maybe I just need to base my pain on something less painful?

Can you relate? What basis do you use to rate your pain when forced by a healthcare worker?

hoping today was a 1 for you all!

you know that is a tricky question, I dont feel the pain scale is fair for us with chronic pain for that simple reason its chronic on our good days it would be hard for some one with out chronic pain and then we have the days where we just want to give up because we hurt so bad,

but I agree 10 being the worst pain you ever felt campared to you horrific accident you might feel a four is to high, I've seen a pain chart in my doctors office that is not a one to ten but fascial exspressions from happy to pulling out your hair I think for us thats more fair.I get down right angry with the pain chart and the body person as I've said before Im just going to bring in a doll I've wrote on it makes it easier,then I throw it at the doctor and see if that hurt.My pain management doc stopped giving me the scale and body I think he could tell that I colored it all in or said see priviuse that was colored in,but you do raise a good question

I agree that the pain scale is not fair to us. I hear them say "10 being the worst pain you have ever felt" but in my head I hear { rait your cronic pain}. So I dont go into explanation or anything. I go by my daily pain scale. I do it that way because they can not understand what we are going threw. For me it is just easier that way.

Hope I could help.

dragonfly

I would say that it is the highest it goes that what my level is at. You can't put a number on pain. The ask the same thing for every kind of sickness which you can't compare anything.

I hate it when they ask me to rate my pain. Cause I've always felt that I tolerate pain better than some. Which is fortunate for me. I feel bad for people that have a lower tolerance level to pain. It's not their fault.

Anyway, on a scale of 1 to 10, where is your pain? Well... whose pain scale are we using here? Mine? Yours? Jane Doe? John Doe?

I guess it just bothers me. Just because someone's pain might be a 5.... well, that 5 could be a 3 to someone else, or maybe an 8.....

By the way... on "my" pain scale for the day- mine is an 8 today! Ugh! Major headache! Not quite the migraine yet. I took a migraine pill, hoping to have caught it in time. But I guess we'll see. And then there's the shoulders! My legs ache, my arms ache- Oh how I could go on and on. And I know that a lot of it is the stupid weather. It's really humid here. Like I said before... just because I have the airconditioning on- for some reason- doesn't mean that my body isn't affected.

Good question about the pain scale!

Amy

Sorry you do not feel well today. I just think we are all in such a rut. It is hard for us to climb out of. I can barely walk. My muscles in my arm just sitting still hurt.

raynedae - yes, I feel the same way...like I don't want them to think I'm exaggerating. It's almost like I feel guilty about my pain.

When I'm asked about my pain level, I think about the severe pain I felt while I was in the hospital about a year ago. The pain in my neck was so bad they had to inject some kind of opiate. That is my 10; I'm about a 5 today. I was fortunate enough to experience a 1 today while swimming. It was heavenly!

My fibro is doing the traveling bit on me. Leg hurts, leg doesn't hurt. Back hurts, back doesn't hurt. on and on all day long. Last night while sitting in the recliner waiting for my DH to get home from work (he works 4 to midnight), all of a sudden both of my shoulders and upper arms started hurting so bad I started to cry. By the time he got home, the pain was minimal and my left foot started acting up. I laid in bed in my dark room and got the leg crawlies and jerks so what I did was to envision my pain as a little white blubbery thing, I started mentally hollering at it telling it that it wasn't going to get the better of me and chasing it from head to toes and by God it worked. Best night of sleep I've ever had in a long time.

Jan

Here's an interesting article about pain scales. It even shows one scale that defines each level. It would definitely be easier to rate our pain level if doctors would use a standard scale with definitions.

http://www.tipna.org/info/documents/ ComparativePainScale.htm

I printed off the chart in that link because I think it is absolutely so true and very helpful. I have had pain like that but never a 10. I have been up to a 9 when my back has gone out and I've gone to the dr for a demerol shot. I can relate! lol