Chronic Pain Support Group
Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...
I am sure all of us remember a point in time when we, as kids, thought nothing could hurt worse than a stubbed toe.
Since then, as we have gotten more and more damaged, our definition of "the worse pain ever" has changed and changed again. This is why I think the doctor's asking me what my pain level is, on a scale of 1 to 10 is so useless. What someone else finds a 9, like getting a tattoo, I might not even notice. What I consider a good day at a 4 might be someone else's 10. Or even worse their 4 might by my 10.
When I was working as a nurse a zillion years ago, a teenage kid came into the office in a wheelchair. Two weeks earlier he was the captain of the basketball team. The doctor demanded he be on the table to be checked out, so as carefully as I could I picked him up and put him on the table... and he screamed for five minutes. This was repeated when I put him back in the wheelchair. That always struck me as what a 10 looked like.
* The good news is that the doctor I worked for found the correct diagnosis of leukemia and within a month he was out playing basketball again. But I will never forget that 15 year old kid.
So where was I going with all of this.
Levels of pain.
We can all understand an immediate 'ouch' of hitting our hand against something.
Most of us are hip on the dull ache of old injuries or arthritis, of of arthritis brought about by old injuries. That pain that is always there, but that we can still say that THIS spot hurts, and THIS area aches, and THIS spot hurts most of all.
But after that comes where the pain areas start to blend together. Instead of my knew hurting, my whole leg hurts. Or, I don't know where the pain is originating, but THIS whole area of my body is killing me.
Then there is what I call a fine line and hubby calls a shelf. Where the amount of pain exceeds the brain's ability to process it anymore, at which point EVERYTHING hurts more of less equally. Higher brain functions are overwritten as the brain uses all synapses to try to process pain.
Everything below that point can usually be treated more effectively with pain meds or OTC methods - massage, Aleve, TENS units, etc. Once the brain can do nothing but rattle around with the pain impulses, it is hard to get back under the line that shelf to where something can be done to fix it.
I have found that there is actually one more level in pain. It is one I try to avoid at all costs. It is where the brain just stops accepting pain inputs. A blockade goes up and pain senses are not felt anymore.
A numbness fills the places I know should be screaming. I can feel nothing, but I get cognitive function back... but I pay for any activities I do while numb when I go back to pain.
Since then, as we have gotten more and more damaged, our definition of "the worse pain ever" has changed and changed again. This is why I think the doctor's asking me what my pain level is, on a scale of 1 to 10 is so useless. What someone else finds a 9, like getting a tattoo, I might not even notice. What I consider a good day at a 4 might be someone else's 10. Or even worse their 4 might by my 10.
When I was working as a nurse a zillion years ago, a teenage kid came into the office in a wheelchair. Two weeks earlier he was the captain of the basketball team. The doctor demanded he be on the table to be checked out, so as carefully as I could I picked him up and put him on the table... and he screamed for five minutes. This was repeated when I put him back in the wheelchair. That always struck me as what a 10 looked like.
* The good news is that the doctor I worked for found the correct diagnosis of leukemia and within a month he was out playing basketball again. But I will never forget that 15 year old kid.
So where was I going with all of this.
Levels of pain.
We can all understand an immediate 'ouch' of hitting our hand against something.
Most of us are hip on the dull ache of old injuries or arthritis, of of arthritis brought about by old injuries. That pain that is always there, but that we can still say that THIS spot hurts, and THIS area aches, and THIS spot hurts most of all.
But after that comes where the pain areas start to blend together. Instead of my knew hurting, my whole leg hurts. Or, I don't know where the pain is originating, but THIS whole area of my body is killing me.
Then there is what I call a fine line and hubby calls a shelf. Where the amount of pain exceeds the brain's ability to process it anymore, at which point EVERYTHING hurts more of less equally. Higher brain functions are overwritten as the brain uses all synapses to try to process pain.
Everything below that point can usually be treated more effectively with pain meds or OTC methods - massage, Aleve, TENS units, etc. Once the brain can do nothing but rattle around with the pain impulses, it is hard to get back under the line that shelf to where something can be done to fix it.
I have found that there is actually one more level in pain. It is one I try to avoid at all costs. It is where the brain just stops accepting pain inputs. A blockade goes up and pain senses are not felt anymore.
A numbness fills the places I know should be screaming. I can feel nothing, but I get cognitive function back... but I pay for any activities I do while numb when I go back to pain.
I really don't remember it being that painful.
About 2-3 months ago my pain management doctor gave me injections in my knee to see if I was a candidate for the nerve burn. That hurt so much I shook for a good 5 minutes after. Anyway, I agree the 1-10 scale is about useless.
The part I hate is being judged and being afraid that the doctor won't believe what you are saying. For me morning are the best. Many days I feel good until noon as long as I'm not doing much. So when I see the neuro at 10 AM and he asks how I feel it's a tough question. I used to be afraid to be honest and say I feel good. Now my doctor knows me and he understands my conditions. So I can honestly say "today is a good morning" and not worry. Then he asks me how I've been feeling and I can tell him more.
Pain scales are also only one tool. No one should be judged just by that. When my daughter broke her arm she had no pain, at least nothing she understood. But it was broken. She is also the kid who likes to get shots and have blood drawn...guess she has a high pain tolerance or a way of dealing with it. For me if I understand the pain and how long it will last it doesn't bother me as much. Right now my mid back is hurting. I bet many people would call this a 6-7 and take some pills and a heating pad on the couch. I know what it is from so I accept it and do nothing. Mind over matter works very well for me. The pain is there but I don't mind.
The worst pain level I get is around an 8 to 9. That wakes my up in the middle of the night because of my shoulder. That feels like just before you go to the dentist to get a root canal! Now I start pill number 1 for the day.
It's a horrible what to live, but what can we do? I'm thankful that I have pain meds!
"Feel well to all who deal with pain"
Joey
I take my meds on a schedule but sometimes I have to decide what kind of pain it is to treat it effectively. I have 3 types of pain. The systemic chronic pain from my autoimmune diseases that keep multiplying with no end in site. Inflammatory pain and nerve pain.
First I try to identify what the kind of pain it is and treat it appropriately. Which is easier said then done. Ultimately my goal is too keep everything to a functional level 6. A "6" is where I live & I'm ok with that. My PM wants me lower but after yrs of tweaking old meds and adding new ones I just tired & I'll stick with a "6".
If I think about my issues or my pain too much it puts me in a dark place and I don't like living there. So I just try to accept this is what it is and make the most of it. I can't change it. I'm not borrowing trouble by getting spine surgeries that could become a lifetime of pain themselves. No surgeon will operate on me anyway so I've taken that option off the table for now. I reached acceptance a long time ago that this is my life now. Good bad or ugly. I try to focus on the good most days. Its out of my control. All I can do is manage it the best I can.
The bad days are when nothing in the world will help and rather than fight it I just surrender to the pain and embrace it. Fighting it, for me anyway, just amplifies the situation making things worse. That's when I meditate and try to find my happy place til things get back to normal. My normal anyway.
It's a hellacious cycle and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But, for better or worse this is my life now and I do the best I can to get by. I've met plenty of 70/80 yr olds and even they don't have the number of issues I have at 42. But this is my lot in life much easier than fighting the "what ifs". Its just a waste of energy I could use elsewhere.
Take care,
Emerald