Today I was reminded of a descriptive pain scale that was going around Twitter a couple of years ago. Today is also a bad pain day. Most of the time I try and get my pain low enough so that I can try and distract myself from the worst of it, and I also have poor bloody awareness so sometimes I’m not consciously aware of how much pain I’m in though it’s still affecting how I’m feeling and what I can do. I’m one of the lucky ones who between my medication, heated blanket/pad/penguins and distraction, sometimes I can still do things.
No pain scale is perfect, but I do better with ones that describe how pain is affecting my ability to do stuff rather than in comparison to the worst pain I’ve experienced or can think of. As today is a bad day, I’ve been going between an 8 and a 9.5 on the below scale. I can’t remember the last time I was below a 6, which was when I was on IV morphine. Usually I bounce between a 7 and a 9 depending on how long I’ve been since taking painkillers and if I’ve moved or had personal care done. Pain sucks but after years of it, you learn to work with it as much as possible.
0-10 SCALE OF PAIN SEVERITY
Severity – Description of Experience
10 – Unable to Move
I am in bed and can’t move due to my pain. I need someone to take me to the emergency room to get help for my pain.
9 – Severe
My pain is all that I can think about. I can
barely talk or move because of the pain.
8 – Intense
My pain is so severe that it is hard to think of anything else. Talking and listening are difficult.
7 – Unmanageable
I am in pain all the time. It keeps me from
doing most activities.
6 – Distressing
I think about my pain all of the time. I give up many activities because of my pain.
5 – Distracting
I think about my pain most of the time. I cannot
do some of the activities I need to do each day
because of the pain.
4 – Moderate
I am constantly aware of my pain but I can
continue most activities.
3 – Uncomfortable
My pain bothers me but I can ignore it most of the time.
2 – Mild
I have a low level of pain. I am aware of my pain only when I pay attention to it.
1 – Minimal
My pain is hardly noticeable.
0 – No Pain
I have no pain.
(Apologies for the poor formatting. I had to use Google’s image reader thingy and I’m struggling to concentrate because pain.)