Physical pain severity scale

Walker

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#1
Not to turn this into just a complaints thread but this is a pretty heavily worded pain scale I kind of liked.
Obviously we're all varying at different places during a day or a week or longer so let's not have a competition, it's just a reference I thought was interesting.
pain-scales.png
 
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Walker

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#2
I'm most often at a four. I'd say this is my constant. I'm aware it's there and it's not going anywhere but keep going cause that's what we do. What else is there? There is work to be done, errands to do, things to accomplish.
If it went away I wouldn't even know what to expect anymore. I haven't seen less than a 3 in years.
It spikes into the the level 8 and I get really cranky sometimes.
 

sinking_ship

woman overboard
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#6
This is interesting. I don’t really have anything chronic, aside from some digestive issues, that causes me pain. So day to day I’m usually at a 1 and sometimes even 0. But I’ve looked at a lot of these scales to try to understand the pain I get from the trigeminal neuralgia and how it compares. When that spikes I guess it’s a 5, though if it were more constant that number would certainly raise. I’ve heard that medical staff typically have the expectation with rankings like this that childbirth would be an 8. (Haven’t done that, just an interesting point of comparison)
 

KA9

Gone with the wind
#7
Nice scale, I think it's the one I found once and was looking for it afterwards. Because, well, there isn't any universal pain scale, for example once I found one that insisted that level 10 means you passed out.

If you're not into words, Hyperbole and a half has a nice picture-esq pain scale too...
painfaces0-6.png
painfaces7-12.png

Anyway on the OP scale, I think I'm usually around level 6 - definitely don't want to do anything to not trigger something worse. It messes with my head too. Although I'm so used to it by now I don't really think about it, but it definitely prevents me from doing much of anything. It's only when I stuff myself up with painkillers I realize what a strange feeling it is to not actually have pain.

It's gonna be bad when I run out of pills in a few days.
 

Walker

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#10
I've had a headache for 7 days now? 8? I've lost count. I don't know anymore. Back and forth from a migraine and I'm really starting to lose my shit over it. All over the scale but I'm extra pissy.
 

MusicMoggy

Well-Known Member
#11
I've had a headache for 7 days now? 8? I've lost count. I don't know anymore. Back and forth from a migraine and I'm really starting to lose my shit over it. All over the scale but I'm extra pissy.
Sorry to hear Walker... I also get headaches that last for days on end. Always in the same place, on the left side at the front of my head. Intense stabbing type pain. I wondered if they are cluster headaches since they last so long. Hope yours gets better soon anyway *hug
 

SillyOldBear

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#13
@SleepyOwl I used to get cluster headaches. They would only last for hours, but I would get them every day or every other day for 2 to 3 months. Would wake up from sleep with them. Agonizing! Got to the point where I hated going to bed. I think I just eventually outgrew them. But they are sheer misery.
 

dandelion s

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#15
I’d say i’m 4 - 7 with the 7 being moments, not prolonged. And I just want to mention that when i go to my pcp, they ask what my pain level rates on a scale of 1 to 5. But is true with me and I bet with many other people when someone is at the doctor they are likely to say 5 just because they want the treatment. But five must be moaning screaming horrible, right? and four still kind of extreme yet three seems so “why are you bothering the doctor?”. so i wish they had a more refined way to measure. of skip it all together.
 

Walker

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#16
I just want to mention that when i go to my pcp, they ask what my pain level rates on a scale of 1 to 5. But is true with me and I bet with many other people when someone is at the doctor they are likely to say 5 just because they want the treatment. But five must be moaning screaming horrible, right? and four still kind of extreme yet three seems so “why are you bothering the doctor?”. so i wish they had a more refined way to measure. of skip it all together.
Not sure that's how that works, man. Doctors actually think that when you say you're at a "5" and you're sitting there talking with them easily then they think you're attention seeking / drug seeking / addicted / who knows what.
A 3 isn't "why are you bothering the doctor" - it's "solidly having a problem here - I can still function through the day but we need some help".
And if you really want to get into it *I* think you can also answer a 1. And here's why. A 1 means that you're at a 1 right now but that doesn't mean you're at a 1 in the mornings... or at night... or after work every day... or when you bathe the kids... or on weekends... or week DAYS... (fill in the blanks) It only means that you have moments where you have relatively no pain. Nothing is wrong with that, it just means you're trying to tell them what's going on. You can add to that "I'm a 1 right now but the pain spikes to a five 3 or 4 times a day especially after I've been working".


This pain scale is a useful tool but it's still only a tool.
 

dandelion s

RAW, well done
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#17
Not sure that's how that works, man. Doctors actually think that when you say you're at a "5" and you're sitting there talking with them easily then they think you're attention seeking / drug seeking / addicted / who knows what.
A 3 isn't "why are you bothering the doctor" - it's "solidly having a problem here - I can still function through the day but we need some help".
And if you really want to get into it *I* think you can also answer a 1. And here's why. A 1 means that you're at a 1 right now but that doesn't mean you're at a 1 in the mornings... or at night... or after work every day... or when you bathe the kids... or on weekends... or week DAYS... (fill in the blanks) It only means that you have moments where you have relatively no pain. Nothing is wrong with that, it just means you're trying to tell them what's going on. You can add to that "I'm a 1 right now but the pain spikes to a five 3 or 4 times a day especially after I've been working".


This pain scale is a useful tool but it's still only a tool.
I'm not sure what you mean by "not sure that's how it works, man". guess what I was trying to say did not come across right. First my legs hurt lots all the time. And on the scale you posted, I do feel I fall into the 4 - 7 like I first said. Then switching over to my pcp's scale, I think it doesn't give enough choices and someone in enough pain to see a doctor might be inclined it go for the higher #. But isn't what you say about #5 basically the same as what I was saying? And or it could be the attention seeker too. As for what I actually tell the nurse, I say it's around a 3 (on the 1 - 5 scale) and that seems to be a fairly similar range to the scale you posted.
 

MusicMoggy

Well-Known Member
#18
@SleepyOwl I used to get cluster headaches. They would only last for hours, but I would get them every day or every other day for 2 to 3 months. Would wake up from sleep with them. Agonizing! Got to the point where I hated going to bed. I think I just eventually outgrew them. But they are sheer misery.
Oh bear! Glad you don't get them anymore... mine are the same every time... stabbing pain goes on for maybe around 1min every few mins... really weird. Standing up or exertion triggers it during an episode which makes me think it's related to blood pressure. Strange, each episode can go on for a week or more, then nothing for a few months. I thought they were migraines, but not convinced.
 

dandelion s

RAW, well done
SF Supporter
#20
@Walker i just thought you misunderstood what i was trying to say when i mis-said what i wanted to say. something like that or something. if you know what i mean, or don’t as is possible too.
 

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