Pain scale

Starburst

I get asked at most appointments how I'd rate my pain out of 10 and I find it really difficult. I was wondering what other people's views were on it.

Fortunately, I don't really have a frame of reference, never having given birth or had a terrible injury. So, it makes it hard to compare types of pain. I also think the pain scale is more useful for acute pain, rather than chronic pain.

Just curious really.

suzygirl

I find it tricky to rate my pain. There are so many different types, joint pain, nerve pain, muscle spasms, aches etc Also it varies so much in the intensity.

Will be interested to see what others say.

dreamdaisy

It is difficult, isn't it? One person's nine is another person's three. I had tremendous pain when an ovarian cysts twisted on its stem and cut off its blood supply, but I really cannot remember the pain now. I think arthritis pain is a very different beast as it grinds on relentlessly. That makes it much harder to deal with and to judge. DD

dorcas

Hi starburst

What an interesting question :!:
I always find it difficult too to 'rate' my pain when at the clinic because of the relentless nature of arther and the fact that over time we mentally adjust to the level of pain we're experiencing . In essence I think we 'normalise' what to others would be considered intolerable pain and have developed a higher pain threshold.

As DD said it is so subjective and not comparable with any other type of pain.

Iris xx

jilly

i find it difficult to , i have had 3 children and a burst appendix and now arthritis pain , they are all so different you cant explain pain the same when you have it all the time . I think you learn to live with it and just have days when it is worse than others .
I think it is a new idea just a fashion along with how depressed are you every time you visit the hospital . They ask but dont even comment when you tell them it just gets wrote down. .....................jilly

valval

have tried to work this out but to be honest the pain i am in at min is 2-3 but aching so bad other times the pain goes up to 8-9 but more bearable because localized. not so all encompassing so no idea not any help am i lol val

julie47

wouldn't it be easier if it was moderate.....bad....very bad.

I too have difficulty with the number scale...

juliepf x

stickywicket

1 - What pain?
2 - Hardly a twinge
3 - Not bad
4 - Average
5. – I can handle it
6 - Not good
7 - Bad
8 - S….ing awful
9 - F… Off
10 – Morphine! Now!

Polo

Hello, this is my first post, so I hope you don't mind me butting in! I think the pain scale is more useful in comparing how your pain varies from one appointment to another, rather than comparing it with anyone else's.

cherrybim

Hello and welcome to the Forum Polo.

I think you've got a valid point there. Our notes obviously record how we've felt on previous appointments with pain scores so it does give the Rheumys a marker for how well or not the meds are working.

Cherry x

seadreaming

Hi

Whenever I've been asked a pain scale type, question like others, it has just been written down.
I think like Polo says it can be helpful for your own record of your own pain. However it then only becomes of benefit if there are helpful questions around it
e.g if 10 is the worst ever and you rate one day as a 6 and another as a 4 then really there should be a question around what helps to keep the pain at a 4 not a 6 etc so that even little helping factors get picked up.
And as we know pain doesn't help you think straight so having someone help you pick through what might keep pain levels lower can be helpful.
Equally if you know you have a day where the pain is likely to be higher and your heading for a 6 type day then questions around what helps to stop it getting to 7.
If used regularly with a specific purpose in mind like Cherry's example of monitoring meds questions might not be needed.
Ana

marie48

I am glad I am not the only who find the pain scale hard to rate. Got no idea how to rate it, my arthritis pain is a constant & persistent nag now but manageable but can be unbearable sometimes. I never know how to rate it.

elnafinn

I have been asked this question mainly after an operation. I think it is a useful guide so you and the medics can work together and you can be kept as comfortable as possible. The pain is your pain and no one elses. We all have different pain thresholds. It is totally personal.

Elna x

skezier

Hi Sophie,

Its very hard isn't it to actually rate it.... I have that makes me pass out so tend to use that as a base line re 10 but like stickys one better

I see the pain clinic every 3-4 months and have the questioner every time.... i just try and remember what i ringed last time but she told me this morning I was lying and changed some of my numbers.....

I also hate the bit that says how much has this helped in% you kinda feel you have to say 70+% regardless......

I kinda just hit 6 across the bored now a days cus what else can you say? Cris x

seamonkey

Hi all,
I think i may have quite a strong pain threshold as when i had sciatica i struggled at home with the meds doc had given me, but when i had my op to take the bit of disc off that was trapping the nerve the anesthetist came to see me after and said he had no idea how i was still up and about as mine was the worst case he had ever seen. Granted it was a huge struggle but i had no one to have kids when docs suggested hospital to see to the pain so i just had to manage. I would have said the pain then was a def 10 but i just couldnt go into hospital for them to administer it! Really was the worst time ever and even now thinking of it i feel physically sick and its 3 years ago. Even child birth pain memories didnt last this long! I loved the example of pain rating. Last night was a def 9.
seamonkey

suzygirl

I think the relentness nature of the pain has to be taken into account, as well. I have 2 children, my second labour was entirely natural, no pain relief. I was able to tell myself that it was worth it, because of the positive outcome. Migraines are awful, but you take some meds and go to bed, knowing it will pass in a day or so.

Arfur though, is always there and it gets you down. Yes the flare settles and the pain dies down, but it always aches, something always hurts. (or is that just me?? :oops: ) Then the joint irritates the nearby muscles or nerves and it just gets worse.

Can you tell from my negativity that my pain is a 9 now?? Already had the morphine so cant be a 10

dreamdaisy

Oh, classic stickywicket! And also classic, stickywicket! Second out-loud laugh of the day, thank you. DD

starspangle

When I was taken seriously ill and rushed to A&E they asked my to rate my pain 1-10 I said 10, after several hours I was taken to a ward and asked to rate it 1-3 , so if I said 3 would it have looked like my pain had reduced to the next person who read my notes??????????? :roll:

bubbadog

Having had been carted away in many ambulances with trapped nerves or broken bones!! I have come across many a paramedic (some hot! some not!! ) and been asked to give my pain a number between 1 (for no pain) - 10 (extreme! give me petherdine or I will scratch your eyes out!! ) I can usually say it would be at the higher level or why would I want an ambulance called?? :roll: so I do find the fact of asking for what my pain level is abit of a p take!!

bobbyger

I was recently asked the 1-3 scale as well at my pre-op and they told me it was because the 1-10 scale can be a bit wishy washy. Is this opposed to:
1-go away and stop bothering us
2-come back when its a 3
3-okay, we'll take a look at you now

As other have said, the pain scale all depends on the type off pain. My constant arthritic pain would have been an 7 or 8 but when I stub my toe its an immediate 10 albeit for about a minute.

I think the highest was when I was in hospital in Germany after a repair on my index finger, I snapped all the ligaments and tendons in the joint nearest the tip anhad to get them stitched and a pin inserted while they healed. That night I think I reached 12 on the 1-10 scale (fingers seem a lot more painful) but thank god for morphine.

woodbon

Hello Polo, welcome to the forum. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has trouble with that. I also have nerve pain and then the ordinary dull ache and they change from day to day and I don't want to overdo the worst and give a high ranking on the other hand to say a low rate is doing myself down, especially the next time I have the pain and realise how bad it can get. Also a dull, persistant pain can sometimes be harder to bare than a sharp but short lasting pain! Gosh, I'm rambling on again! :oops: Sorry, love Sue

katie5

the scale is a nightmare - never know what to say. like the rest of you i put on a brave face and dont like to complain and end up saying about 6 on the scale when i really want to scream 10 but wonder if they would think i was a drama queen - just cant win with the scale.

love your scale stickeywicket and will def be using that next time i get asked.

hope everyone is having a good day

Katie x

Starburst

It's been interesting reading everyone's replies. My rheumy asked me to rate how much arthur is affecting my life. I said 5 out of 10 and she said "oh quite high then!". I thought it was moderate-ish!

tjt6768

I think the highest was when I was in hospital in Germany after a repair on my index finger, I snapped all the ligaments and tendons in the joint nearest the tip anhad to get them stitched and a pin inserted while they healed. That night I think I reached 12 on the 1-10 scale (fingers seem a lot more painful) but thank god for morphine.[/quote]


I did the same thing to mine and had that op, tendon repair and then the pin hammered through to the next it of finger??
I am a tad weird though, I asked to be awake and watch it :shock:

skezier

Hey Tony,

that I fully understand... its fascinating though.. i don't like seeing it happen to someone else.... when I was on the waggons i blacked out 2x.... once was watching a hip being done during the hospital training bit....

the other well that one i waited till we got them to cas and then hit the deck... still kinda bothers me as well but if its being done to me.... yep let me watch trouble is they cant do the lumber bit now so i go sleep......cuppa and a hope your having a good nights kip. xx

hi Bobbyger,

They said long ago that hands and feet rate high on their pain tables.they had a chart and things were numbered in how much pain to expect (I felt at the time the chart 'might' be wrong exactly but we go into that ) I kinda think the op pain is worth it in the long run though and hope for you it was? Cris x

Hi Bubbadog

I worked on the ambulances some time and well... where were the hot ones

The thing is we had to ask cus well some people are in absolute agony.. never had to ask them... you had to decide weather they had to have entonox or not cus somethings cant be used with what you suspect the hospital are going to do...... The table of 1 to 10 is about all we could use to give us an idea just how much we had to do to get it down... i know it seems silly but the trouble is we couldn't feel the pain and well it had to be asked as some kind of base line.

In my day we didn't carry pethidine but we did have a few things in our little orange box, just you always had to balance it cus some drugs can;t be used with others and we never wanted to mess up the hospitals likely treatments if you see what i mean.

Nice to see you posting here by the way Cris x

bertyboy

Interesting post, mine a couple of days post op was for me probably about a 4 as didnt need to hit the morphine button once ,TKR ,op , but now i would quite easily say a 8-9 as its just so relentless with every movement , of the leg , but i try to ignore it , i was once ask if its an ache or a pain both can hurt , to me a pain can come in waves and then subside but an ache goes on and on it gets confussing these last few days i would put of the scale in real life but that might make me sound like a wimpy mardy girl so i dont and carry on regardless mine is only my knee others have many issues with lots of joints so maybe i am a wimp :???: