Pain management team questions

[nogutsnoglory]

Anyone else hate the question "on a scale of 1-10 how bad is your pain?" I can never quantify my pain, half the time I can't even verbalize the weird and awful pains and sensations my body produces. It's so subjective anyway and I tolerate pain well mostly because I'm used to chronic pain for so many years I just don't know any different.

I never know how to answer the pain teams questions I'm just making up numbers that don't have any basis.

 

[Kero]

I found this online and use it for my pain scale

 

[nogutsnoglory]

That's helpful but I think doctors don't take your pain seriously unless you say 7 or 8+ when I used to say 5 and was in a lot of pain but figured it's painful but I'm not gonna pass out they just leave it be even though I need meds or a change of meds.

 

[vonfunk]

I always say 9 or 10. Then while if I'm in some pain while hooked up, I say 4 if laying perfectly still and 6 if I move.

My issue has always been describing things in terms of dull/sharp.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I agree vonfunk, plus our pains can often fluctuate rapidly and manifests itself weirdly dull to sharp, stabbing to thumping. Our bodies are an amusement park to themselves.

 

[vonfunk]

My issue is I tend to go in for small bowel obstructions, which for me is steadily increasing, constant, pain not necessarily sharp or stabbing. I imagine it feels like that scene in Alien when the baby alien burst of of John Hurt's chest.

 

[theOcean]

Not to mention the fact that I think our pain scales/tolerance levels are probably pretty different from most people's.

This chart is really helpful though, thank you Kero!

 

[hawkeye]

Not to mention the fact that I think our pain scales/tolerance levels are probably pretty different from most people's.

This chart is really helpful though, thank you Kero!

Yep, what's a 5 or 6 to us would be a 10 or 11 for a non-chronie

 

[vonfunk]

Yep, what's a 5 or 6 to us would be a 10 or 11 for a non-chronie

Definitely true. I once had a nurse comment that my pain threshold must be incredibly high. I was visibly in intense pain, pale, cringing with the slightest movement, but my blood pressure was spot on, perfectly normal.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I agree hawkeye, we live with chronic pain and complications. Others would be shocked by the agony of crohns.

 

[DustyKat]

Pain would have to be one of the hardest things to measure. There are just no simple answers.

The thing that broke my heart the most was the realisation of how use to pain Sarah had become. When her bowel ruptured she still never got past a 7 on the pain scale and that worked against her in getting the appropriate care immediately.

As someone not suffering with pain but dealing with it in my line of work I often find that the only true indicator of pain is non verbal cues but that often means knowing the patient and what are normal behaviours and nuances for them. Or in the home sense having a loved one that can pick out these things about you and then advocate for you.

Unfortunately I don’t know that there are too many health care professionals that delve deeply enough to interpret how long you may have been dealing with chronic pain to make an educated judgement that the pain that is experienced is likely higher than that being expressed.

Dusty. xxx

 

[hawkeye]

Actually the post-surgery pain was less than an obstruction and less than living with the stricture.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Oh Dusty it makes me so sad to read your post. She shouldn't have to suffer, nobody should but kids suffering really breaks my heart. I think I'm just a basket case today because CF posts keep giving me tears. Life can be so unfair sometimes.

 

[DustyKat]

Oh ngng, sending loads of squishy hugs to you. :ghug:

It surely can be bloody unfair mate as you all know. What I wouldn’t give to take this disease away from my kids and make it my own and what I wouldn’t give for a cure for you all. :heart:

:hang: buddy.

Dusty. xxx

 

[Catherine]

My daughter gave her pain level at 6 during a emergency visit and given oxycodone. Maybe the fact she look really sick helped.