Another point to think of is as your condition worsens your personal understanding of what a 7 is changes. I always told the doctor a seven or eight which is what I believed it to be. Then the nerve pain hit and I had a whole new understanding.

Does this mean that now that I am not suffering nerve pain I still feel my pain is a 7 again but based on what my 10 is now.

Tell the doctor that based on YOUR personal scale of one to ten you score a seven or eight.

I always ask if they want the answer on thier scale or mine-I've had quite a few injuries, broken bones, pancreatitis, and have given birth, but none of those compare to the pain i have most days, and they would be crying at my " I can handle that, and get stuff done today"

BTW-my mom still thinks I'm a wimp-guess that's what happens when you live 2200 miles apart for 10 years.

well my doctor said the scale is too objective to really be a lot of help it is just a tool, the 10 means the pain is the worst pain you have had, because men don't have labour pain, so that is a sexiest scale for your doctor LOL

What i don't understand is when you go into the doctors and they ask how is the pain and you are on pain relievers especially long lasting ones, really we don't know what the actually pain is.

sometimes when i go in the doctor will ask about the pain and i might say oh maybe a 6 and the first thing she says is well lets start getting off the meds, but that 6 is with the meds just confusing to me

well my doctor said the scale is too objective to really be a lot of help it is just a tool, the 10 means the pain is the worst pain you have had, because men don't have labour pain, so that is a sexiest scale for your doctor LOL

What i don't understand is when you go into the doctors and they ask how is the pain and you are on pain relievers especially long lasting ones, really we don't know what the actually pain is.

sometimes when i go in the doctor will ask about the pain and i might say oh maybe a 6 and the first thing she says is well lets start getting off the meds, but that 6 is with the meds just confusing to me

interesting..I decided after seeing this idiotic therapist who seemed to take an instant attitude towards me within half a second of meeting me Tuesday evening (same day as my surgery)how the surgeon wanted it..i wasn't ready but gritted my teeth and went..always go in with a smile regardless of how I'm feeling..this guy barely let me begin...jumped all over everything I tried to tell him. When he asked what my pain level was from 1 - 10 (lst time I've been asked that in a long time), I laughed and said '22' (I'm in horrendous pain)..he had the nerve to turn on me with real venom..say 'oh no, we're not playing THAT game'. I looked him dead in the eye and said: 'that's MY pain level, and it's no 'game'..you did ask'. He was barely civil the rest of the visit..I won't see him again. You don't get 2 tries to screw up my therapy...he also told me i should go back to using my cane because my balance is not perfect (after my having struggled to give it up for over 2 years)(walked with it for 15) without knowing anything at all about me..we'd only just met. A real type A personality. Never ran into this before..every therapist I've had in the past liked me, or took some time to get to know me, then we bonded. This guy was instantaneously nasty. So why do they ask if they don't care or want your perception of your pain level?

i agree! ive had a couple of 'those' types and i immediately fired them-one on the spot and one in writing. i dont think anyone else can guage or judge YOUR pain...even someone else who has chronic pain-i mean pain is soooo different from person to person...ive broken my foot, had 7 surgeries (5 of which were on my leg) in the last 2.5 years, had 3 natural childbirths in 7 years, have severe TMJ disorder so yes my tolerance is high but i can only take constant physical pain for so long before it starts affecting me mentally and emotionally....and not to knock the guys, but WTF are male doctors or even female doctors who havent had babies using labor on the pain scale? i mean at least labor doesnt last for years and years and years....i think that is a bad comparison IMO-tuesday morning i have to go see my PCP for my neuromuscular MD referral and im just cringing at the thought of her giving me shit about seeing him....i know exactly how this will play out: she will try and tell me i dont need to see one at the awesome neuro institute we have here, rather just go to someone in town, then she will say 'why do you think the insurance should pay for an EMG' and of course, why didnt you get your referral from your ortho? im only going to her (she isnt my reg. PCP anyway, shes only the nurse practioner and she thinks she is God) because the wait for the ortho is months long and he is always 1.5 hours or longer behind.....im telling ya, if she gives me any shit, im gonna tell her to get HER boss in the room right now and were gonna have a talk about her foul attitude. i took my 16 year old to her yesterday for the first time and she was so damn snotty and went as far as refusing to give us a referral for a certain specialty saying they could offer those services-well guess what? WE CANT STAND YOU! we want someone else thank you very much....grrrr-im just sick and tired of going to doctors obviously because i need help and all i get is a bunch of shit....sorry everyone for making this my venting post....im glad i got that off my chest--take care, krissy

wow you are all right on the money! the medical community can't admit that they don't know how to handle chronic pain so they do this reverse phsycology thing on us and make us feel like crap. chronic pain is a silent epidemic i believe. i think that the way doctors treat us and waste are time is unethical and almost crimal. the medical board is protecting this behavior. the country is spiraling in all aspects.

the pain scale here is 10 being the worse pain that you have ever experianced and 1 being least pain but some pain.
Everyone's scale varies.

I agree with post 5, because I go in medicated as well. Then they ask "rate the pain". Now take the meds away and I probably might not even make to the Dr. But my "normal" scale with my pain since 1995 is usually a 6 or 7. I feel like if you tell them its too high they will then think "oh the meds aren't working", LETS CHANGE! NOT !! So I just balance somewhere in the middle. Deb

wow thanks everyone. i had no idea that others had this same issue.
everyone's replies raise very salient points.

thanks for taking the time to read my post and reply.

very sincerely,
Jynxx

After my first 2 months in unending pain, I thought to myself "How could I have ever understood this!", realizing explaining it would be a tough one, yet we suffer if we can't communicate it, even worse if they misinterprit it !!! Different answers for different people?

I have considered this pain scale topic intensely at different times over 12 years of pain and different levels of pain control. I agree that you almost have to plan your 'reported level' based on your objectives and audience rather than your best estimation.

I have run into the same problem back in 2006/07 when my PM doc asked me that question. Now that I don't see him anymore; because he and his team don't know what to do to try and help me, I personally still have trouble in this area.
Not quite sure what to do about that. I have tried to research this through people I know, as well as on-line, but have still come to no logical conclusion or answer. Not quite sure as to where to go from here with this. I only want to find out how this works, for my own benefit.

I'd tell him you must be a twelve because you have been in labor, and the trick to that is you know it will end, sooner or later. Chronic pain never ends.............that makes it worse than labor, and when my knee start up, I feel like taking a knife to my knee. I relate our pain to Chinese water torture, a little drop doesnt bother you, but years upon years of pain, that little drop starts feeling like a bomb.

My good days are at at 7, and that is what I reported to my pain docs. I was always told to measure according to my feelings. 0 being the lowest, up to 6 being, it hurts, but I can manage. 7 or 8 still managing but in serious pain, 10? Start looking for me, I will be in your office or er.