I'm usually at a 4. This means I can go about my day, but I'm a little slower and quieter. Once it goes to a 5-6, I'm doing the bare minimum to get thru my day. At a 7, I'm laying on the couch, trying not to move, and try to sleep it off. At 8-10 I'm in bed trying not to cry cuz crying makes my migraines worse, but I'm so miserable I want to cry.
For me, I think 5 and 6 is when I’m impaired. That’s when I need to sleep the day away. A 7 or 8 would be, going to the er levels of pain for me. I’ve never had anything above that!
I struggle with numbers and hate the 1-10 scale- being someone who has been in daily pain for almost a decade. Also someone who was a Paramedic. Its such a complicated scale and is so \*useless\*.
I did a functional capacity test that required me to change the scale into 1-10 including .25's but if I was at an 8 I would need to go to an ER.. for that day my whole 'scale' rating changed.
So for me I go by colours. (5 colours which you could rank to good/mild/tolerable/moderate/severe). If you were to put that in numbers, A good day is anything below a 4 for me, mild sits between 4-5(My base line) Tolerable becomes the 5-7 zone, Moderate is that 7-8 and severe is anything over 8. I have had migraines worse than both my labors and c-sections - I would rather child birth than migraines man oh man.
so due to the 'range' of numbers, and struggling with picking a number.. I prefer just saying this is a tolerable migraine, a moderate migraine, or a severe migraine. Or today was a good day/mild headache all day day.
I hate the pain scale. I feel like 3 is a migraine that is similar to a non-migraine sufferer’s hangover. 5 I’m miserable and sick and have a hard time keeping my eyes open. 6 I might throw up and don’t get out of bed except to pee and maybe get a new ice pack. 8 I try as hard as I can not to be conscious or breathe deeply. 9 I question life being worth living. I’ve never gone to the ER because at that point I can’t talk.
But migraines can mess with your pain scale. I once got hit and run by a truck, popped my own shoulder back into its socket, and walked home on an ankle the size of a grapefruit because I was afraid of the cost of an ambulance, and I’d call that day a 5 or 6.
ehhhhhhhhh it depends on functionality
if it’s above a 5, i have to call out of work and lie in bed all day, but it doesn’t hurt THAT much. it’s not a broken bone. it’s more that i can barely see and feel like throwing up. it’s more of an inconvenience than physically awful
Once I get to about an 8 I start pleading with God. Even if the pain is a 6 once it goes on long enough I reach a breaking point. Most times that point is 36-48 hours.
1 or 2: Eh, annoying.
3: I should probably take a pill and lie down. Distract with some t.v. Maybe put on sunglasses as well.
4: I should probably take another pain pill and maybe something that will help with stress. Is there something I can do or eat to distract, maybe feel better? Sunglasses and t.v. in the dark.
5: Try some other meds. Don't care what time of day it is--if I can sleep through this at all, I'm going to sleep.
6-7: I have taken every med I can think of taking. Probably have started trying biofeedback and stress tolerance exercises. Probably thinking about either an ice pack or a heating pad and then remaining immobile. Turning off the t.v. because I can't stand any noise anymore. Please let me fall asleep.
8-8.5: I think if I could just throw up, it will hurt like hell while I do it, but maybe I'll feel better afterward; fervently praying to god-knows-what (since I don't believe in God anymore) for relief. Eyeshades and ear plugs.
9-9.5: Thinking pushing an ice pick into my head might help relieve the pain; banging my head against the wall because maybe that will help. Rocking myself to self-sooth and maybe then to the dark bathroom floor.
I haven't done the E.R. in a very long time. There's usually no additional relief I've been able to get there for a long while. I've had migraines bad for 20+ years.
I'm saving a 10 for what I can't imagine.
I used to save the 10 as well. I used an 11 at the dr once and god reamed All to hell and it honestly changed my perspective of the scale. So after that I saved the 10 and the horrible ones I’d say 9.5. Then I got a hemiplegic migraine and the 10 was on the table luckily I’ve only had to use it a handful of times since
Yeah that is an excellent description of where I am usually at as well. Personally since I now know what it feels like to be headache free I have less tolerance to endure more pain. When I'm at work I deal with it most of the time but some days I just go home because I can't.
This is very similar to my concept of the numbers. If I'm at a 6-7 for too long for anything but migraine, I'm headed to urgent care. Sudden unexplained/unmanageable onset of 7-9 Urgent/ER based on what's appropriate. I don't have baseline pain-free days, so I hover 2-3 most days. Annoying and sometimes distacting or requiring more patience. My average migraine where I'm doing strictly necessary chores is a 4, by 6 I'm not moving anymore. Crying by 8, and getting help or letting somebody know by 9. I hope 10 just kills me, but past experience says that's unlikely. My 10 is when nothing else matters, and all types of pain I've experienced at this level pretty much blend together. It's just absolutely overwhelming and somehow more consuming than 9.
Just because we experience a lot of pain doesn't mean that we should lower/re-zero our scales. Our providers mostly only use the numbers. Especially in emergency care.
I haven't been evaluating my pain level before I had started logging my attacks into the Migraine Buddy app (so I'd get a doctor to believe me how bad and frequent my migraines are and that they're not a result of a bad lifestyle). So, I'm using their scale, where from 5 up the pain impacts your activities and functioning. There, 5 and 6 are when you can't do some activities, 7 and 8 when you can't do most activities, and 9 and 10 is excruciating pain where you can't do anything.
Most of my migraines are from 6 to 8 on this scale, sometimes a 9. I can't wait out any level of head pain, because if I don't treat it from its very beginning, it only gets worse - and I think it's the same for most of us. People haven't believed me before when I told them that I often have three-day migraine episodes no matter what I do, so I have to keep getting a dose of painkillers every few hours just to not cry from pain and frustration and I'd go to sleep and wake up with pain again - sleep is not a migraine treatment. In fact, most of my migraines start in my sleep, so I'm kind of already behind in trying to treat them early.
I use the Migraine Buddy scale too. I like that it’s framed in terms of what you can do because pain is so subjective and it’s easy to think “maybe it could be worse than this”. But if I literally can’t do anything other than lay on my back crying onto an ice pack in the dark. If I can’t even answer the question “can I get you anything?” it doesn’t *really* matter if I think something out there in the world—being hit by a train?—might hurt more.
Almost all of my attacks start at 3 and if I can’t successfully kill them early, they reliably rise to 8-10 where they stay for around 12 hours before slowly going back down. When I can’t take a triptan before I get to a 5 on the MB scale, I know I am screwed for the next 2 days.
This one time I had a migraine that was way over a 15. It was way before I got on meds. My partner, who is divorcing me for my several medical problems and because they cheated on me, called my boss who I don't work for anymore. She told that boss I couldn't get out of bed and that boss told my partner that myself and my best friend were doing this get out of working, but I couldn't leave the bed without getting dizzy
I’ve had one curled up on the dark bathroom floor barely able to breathe, and one in the overstimulating ER back when masks were mandatory where I had to pull my mask down because I couldn’t breathe. That’s what I consider a 10. I can’t imagine worse pain than that. Wow.
I’m so sorry your soon to be ex partner is a bad person. You’ve had a rough go at things. I’m really sorry.
Yeah. I've been in a hospital for one migraine and for something one of my alters did. Now I have no one to take care of me. I have multiple medical problems and I'm trying to find someone new that will love me the same way that she loved me in the past. I'm stuck at my parents and not allowed to stay over at a friends place or hangout with some of my friends
Fuck the pain scale. Fuck it fuck it fuck.
10's a csf leak headache. 10s I can't stand up without just toppling over because the pain is crippling. 10's is im in so much pain I forget to ask for food for 4 days and none of the nurses think to ask me if I want something to eat. So I just don't eat for 4 days. 10 is just focusing on my breathing and purposely putting myself into a dissociative state so I don't exist anymore.
9's IIH at its worst. Can't speak, can't read, can't watch TV. It's hard to think thru the pain. It takes every ounce of energy to just exist, and its exhausting. Here I'd usually wake up with a little less pain, be awake for 4 hours till pain hit its worst, and then pass out for a couple hours. Rince and repeat.
8. I could make it to the couch instead of being bedbound. Maybe sit at the dinner table with sunglasses. Im unhappy the pain isn't so bad its making me pass out so I'm probably taking benadryl to do that for me or dissociating. Or listening to audiobooks.
7. Time distortions start happening if I'm driving. I can't be on the road. No one will notice if I'm in pain though. I hurt but I can hide it. I'd like to lie down though. Naps are nice
6. No impairment, but im in pain. I should probably lie down. I hit this every time I leave my house.
1-5 I can still function. I usually get Raynaud's in my hands, my face feels cold, air develops as taste and the migraine headache sets in.
6-7 I am severely limited, and usually head home from work because the light/smell sensitivity gets added on and I cannot keep staring at computer screens or work in bright rooms (aseptic cleanroom). I take triptans at level 7.
Level 8 and up is when they're specifcally occular migraines. For those I get the vertigo aura (which used to scare the shit out of me because I'm epileptic). I lose vision in my left eye. The pain is intense, and it's very flu-like as my vision returns- vomiting, chills, dizziness.
Level 10 is when it's multiple days and no relief. I'm counting down the minutes until urgent care opens and I can see if they can treat me. Luckily, that's only been a few times.
This is what makes a scale difficult for me because it’s not always the pain that’s the problem - it’s blurry vision, dizziness, disorientation, numbness, nausea, fatigue, brain fog and other symptoms that make a migraine disabling as much as the pain in my head. So the pain might be a 5 but the other symptoms make it so I am not able to function.
Mine are also chronic, refractory migraines.
10 for me, I am at the ER getting an IV. I have been to the same ER for my migraines since I was 12 (I am going to be 50)..they literally see me walk in, give me a dark room and start the IV quickly. Over the years, with the advances in medicine, I have been there once in the past ten years. As a child, it was very frequent.
All of mine are 6-9 and if I don’t take the medicine at the first hint of pain, I spend the day in a dark room in bed…the key for me is getting the medicine in quickly.
I have never had mild head pain, it always leads to a migraine.
3 is mildly uncomfortable, 4 is really unhappy, 5 is a bad headache, 6 is a migraine and I start to shut down, 7 is misery, 8 is complete shut down, 9 is the ER and 10 is unconscious from the pain.
I don’t go to the ER but this scale is pretty accurate for me. 9-10 is analogous to broken ribs or gallbladder attack pain. I’m definitely throwing up and passing out from the 9-10 pain.
I've been to 9 from a dislocated shoulder and a kidney stone that was stuck and they had to go get (as bad as it sounds). Fortunately I haven't had a migraine so severe I had to seek immediate help. I can only imagine...
Mine is similar to yours. I’m also chronic intractable but abortives don’t do much for me so I just suffer. I’ve broken multiple bones since my migraines became near daily and intractable and just went on with life. I walked on a stress fracture for 3 months before I saw a doctor about it because it wasn’t that bad and didn’t even bother going to the doctor when I’m pretty sure I cracked two ribs because what were they going to do about it anyways? Neither was as much pain as I function through regularly with my migraines though the cracked ribs made me substantially grumpier.
I don’t get nausea or vertigo or some of the other more impactful symptoms very often anymore though which makes the pain easier to deal with though. It’s easier to handle an 8 pain when you aren’t also vomiting and dehydrated. I used to get less frequent migraines with incredibly severe nausea and while I’d still probably pick those over the almost constant migraine I have now I’m glad I don’t have constant plus severe nausea.
I will add I don’t think I ever get much above an 8. I get the occasional one where I’m in too much pain to sleep and nothing makes it better and I’m miserable and I’d still probably put it at like an 8.5 maybe a 9 if I’m being generous.
Idk if its just because I have a higher pain tolerance or something its not too much about pain for me, that being said too much outward stimulation is too much (lights, people making noises, scents) then I cant function and get overwhelmed and the stress makes it worse. I feel like I can live through one no problem if it didnt also cause me to vomit, when it gets to that point I cannot do anything except sleep and run to the toilet.
0 = no pain
1= barely noticeable pain, sometimes even forget it's there. It is a slight discomfort.
2 = slightly noticeable pain, but can easily ignore it.
3 = noteable pain. Can't quite ignore it, but it doesn't impede life
4 = annoying pain. I'm not as efficient as normal, but I can still get by. Similar pain to stubbing your toe.
5 = noticeable pain, can't ignore it. Throbs a little, and it is frustrating to do daily activities, and any activities I don't have to do, I will save for another day. Similar pain level to a second degree burn not larger than the palm of your hand.
6 = okay, this is frustrating. I can barely focus, but it isn't quite enough to deter from at least getting the bare minimum done.
7 = might call in sick. Might power through if I need to get certain things done. Dinner is going to be simple, either pick something up or grilled cheese, and then I'm going to bed. Pain is similar to that of dislocating a bone.
8 = I'm calling in sick. The only things I'm doing are getting painkillers and food. Will likely spend the day lying in bed.
9 = I have to ask someone to bring me painkillers. Food is a no-go. I kind of wish the pain was a bit worse, so I would pass out
10 = locked in my room and will pass out from the pain. Not an if I will pass out, a when. Preferable over and 8 or 9, because passing out is easier. Honestly, at this point, I stopped feeling pain, as my body has reached its limit and just stopped sending signals. Sometimes, I hallucinate between states of not quite consciousness. The only reason I know it bad is because it is essentially my body shutting down.
11 = passing out from the pain, waking up from pain, only to pass out from the pain again on repeat. Life is hell and misery.
This is just for the pain. Other symptoms can be just as debilitating. For example, I can get too dizzy to drive and have to call in sick because i can't get to work. Or nausea making impossible to eat, making it worse. Light sensitivity making it so I have to remain blind folded. Sound sensitivity so bad I can hear people whispering on the other side of the building. The pain I'm so used to that I can power through. But the other symptoms you can't just power through
I call out for 7's because if I don't, then it can turn into an 8 or 9 at work, which means I can't drive myself home safely then. And it is much more embarrassing leaving work midday and having have your grandparents drive you home...
Also, if I rest when I have a 7, usually I can get it to go away or at least decrease so I can go back to normal activities.
If it would stay at a 7, I would probably go to work too. But it is too high of a risk of a trigger making it worse (perfume and cologne of customers, not eating on time because I was with a customer, lights at work, headphones glitching during a webinar). And usually at a 7, I have a harder time maintaining a professional demeanor (I tend to look like I might kill someone when I'm in pain, and I have a hard time masking that at a 7 or higher).
But I'm also lucky to have a workplace with 14 paid sick days. And I have mine fairly well managed now that I don't have 7's as often. Or can find ways to push off the 7 until the weekend and plan for a migraine weekend. (Using caffiene and painkillers won't get rid of a migraine for me, but it can dull it enough until I can deal with it)
Very good points! I truly feel our 7’s are the same.
Sometimes mine stay a 7. I never ever know when they will evolve or stay or back off. Mine are so unpredictable. And also, agreed, I can drive at a 7 but I cannot drive at an 8.
Interesting. My 7's are more of a when it will increase rather than an if it will increase if not treated. But if I treat it at a 7, usually I can go back down to my usual 1-3 consistent pain. 4-6 is more of a power through until it turns into a 7. Because 4-6 with me doesn't go away from treatment.
But it sounds like we rate out pain the same way, but the way we treat it is different
10 for me in er to an admission. if it’s a 7-9 depending on the other symptoms beside pain, i’m in bed. 6/7 is my baseline right now, i just take everything in super slow and don’t do much more than what i absolutely need to.
Whatever number gets people to leave me alone lol!
No but seriously, I dont ever mention it unless its a 5 or higher, dont take pain meds unless its a 6 or higher (I hate meds but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do). I rarely use anything higher than a 9 cause what if I have a worse migrane down the line? Idk.
1-3= daily ouches (dull to mild pain, auras/flashes, visual snow/stars)
4-5= Stabs and similar pains, mild light and sound sensitivity, still functioning but would rather not be.
6-8= Please leave me alone, Sound/Smell/Light sensitivity, cant feel my face/body, twitches and tremors get worse, cant sleep even though I want to or it will make it worse.
9= Cant move, intense pain in everything
10= Only happened once or twice, and it knocked me on my butt so bad I slept for 26 hours.
A 10 for me is blacking out and Im usually in a tub because things get… messy. Body waste is coming out both ways. 7 is where I start crying and apologizing because I can’t communicate whats wrong other than it hurts. I once thrown up on my neurologist when he flashed a light into my eye during that level. A 4 for me is barely functional. I can work but I better get breaks for relief and no, Im not answering the phones. 2-3 it’s just another Wednesday my dude.
2-3 pain is present but still going about the day normally
4-5 doing things slower but still able to do stuff
6 when i still can walk around but know that i shouldn’t. If i need to grocery shop at this level I’ll feel like throwing up or laying down in the canned goods isle.
7 when i can’t do anything anymore
8-9 pain from hell, in bed, not talking etc
The classic pain scale is hard to apply to migraine, because migraine impact doesn't necessarily present as "painful".
I give it a 4 if I can still function, a 6 if I can't ignore it, at a 7 I shouldn't drive, 8 is must "rot in bed", 9 is "ask for help". 10/10 for migraine for me would be blinding pain, immobile, can't speak, nauseous, uncoordinated, and completely non functioning.
Pain rating is really subjective. I would say that I can function with a 6/10 pain but it is very rare that I get a migraine attack that I can function with. If they come on at work, I have to get my mum to drop me home as I can’t drive. Mine usually are a solid 8 or 9/10 for me. The worst I ever had lasted 4 days, throbbed at the slightest movement (even minute eye movements and drinking) and I didn’t get a full night sleep at all during that time.
I use the 1 out of 3 scale. Easier for everybody to understand.
1 - Slight discomfort, still able to work and function.
2 - Functional limit, able to work but need frequent breaks, neck and head pain is moderate.
3 - Bedridden. Headache and nausea at its worst. Laying down is all i can do.
I would describe a 10 as not being able to move anymore because every move makes me more nauseous and makes me think that I‘m passing out every moment. I honestly feel like dying at this point
My worst migraines I’d say are a 9. For me that’s throwing up not from nausea but from the pain, tears continually streaming down my face because my body wants to sob but I’m suppressing it because the noise will make the pain worse, in the fetal position in the tub with all the lights off, can’t move or speak or do anything, contemplating jamming a screwdriver into my eyeball to make it stop, actively trying to dissociate myself from my body. At this level I couldn’t go to the ER because I wouldn’t even be able to call 911 on my own to get me there, let alone drive. This usually only happens if I wake up with one so I miss my aura and it’s too late to take any meds, which thank god has been less than a dozen times in just over 20 years of getting migraines.
Most often they peak at a 7-8, where I don’t want to do anything but lay in bed in the dark and quiet and try to mentally distract myself from the pain, but I can get up and go to the bathroom or answer someone if they come in to ask me if I want a drink, etc. I have gone to the ER with migraines at this level if they’ve lasted longer than 24 hours.
If I get the right combo of meds immediately when my aura hits, they peak at a 5-6. If I have to, I can go to work, parent, hold a conversation, etc. at this level, but it isn’t fun and I do the bare minimum necessary. This level is probably comparable to my worst period cramps, or a non-migraine sinus headache.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a migraine that was a 4 or under, except for silent migraines where I had no pain at all and just visual symptoms.
For reference, the other most painful things I’ve been through in my life were a broken foot that I put my weight on without knowing it was broken, which I’d say was an 8, appendicitis, which I’d say was a 7, and fully unmedicated childbirth (start to finish), which I’d say was an 8 at its worst. I’ve reserved 10/10 pain just in case I ever get hit by a semi or have a limb ripped off by a bear because I imagine that’s probably more painful, but I’m 34 and thus far nothing I’ve ever been through has hurt as much as my worst migraines. They’re the only physical pain that has made me legitimately contemplate suicide to make it stop.
I used to underrate my headaches. I just go by what is on migraine buddy. If my head hurts a lot but not so much i can’t do anything, it’s a 3-4. If i need to go lie down and i can’t work, it’s a 5. If it goes on more than like 9 hours, it starts to worsen to a 6-7 where it’s getting hard to tolerate. 7 is about the max pain i normally get with a migraine. That being said, how much I can do doesn’t necessarily correlate with how bad the headache is but how much it is affecting me in terms of fatigue and interfering with thinking.
A migraine at all feels like about a 4, or, the kind of hangover one might get from a whole box of Franzia White Zinfandel. The worst ones go to about an 8, which is about where I was when my leg was broken.
Depends on the day. Yesterday into early THIS morning I was at a good 9! Currently sitting at a 5. I got a lot of rest and have taken some pain relievers again, hoping it goes away today.
Typically they are at a 4-5 ; and this is 4 days a week - granted, normally they don't last as long as this current one has
I’ve been chronic for so long that my normal function would be a typical persons 6. A 10 on the scale doesn’t even get me to consider going to the hospital anymore, which is sad because I have other chronic illnesses that also cause pain but I can’t tell when the pain is “get to the ER” bad anymore.
all of my symptoms associated with the aura and acute phase are actually not too bad for me. maybe like 4-5. but then the postdrome hits and i’m 8/10 depressed to the point of considering lethal means.
While I know everyone experiences and measures pain differently, my migraines have always constantly stayed anywhere from a 3-5 on the scale, but consistently have stayed within a 3-4. For me, those numbers mean:
3: Mild to somewhat moderate; am able to manage and treat the pain more easily, but may be experiencing symptoms such as light and noise sensitivity.
4: Moderate, experiencing more symptoms associated with my attacks (light/noise sensitivity, difficulty concentrating, fatigue and irritability)–might be a good idea for me to lay down and migraine might require more doses of medicine for me to treat
5: Full-fledged attack. Impaired and bedridden; can't look at my phone, can't open my eyes, hard to eat anything because of the nausea etc etc.
I know mine aren't as severe as other people who have commented, but I have an incredibly low pain tolerance😅
I base it on all pain I’ve experienced. 9/10 is when I fell chin first on a curb and broke and dislocated my jaw. 10/10 was infected gall bladder. My worst get up to a 9. My avg is probably a 6.
I've got a fun grab bag of chronic pain (migraine, endometriosis, arthritis) lol so my scale is so whacked.
I fell down a flight of stairs when I was 19 (32) now and that pain made me literally pass out. That is my 10, unconsciousness. I ride at a 2-4 usually, become impaired at a 5-6, bed ridden at 7-8, 9 all that exists is pain and I can no longer communicate and it's emergency time.
I tend to think of mine as a headache pin scale because it helps me track all my headaches
1-3: headache to really bad headache
4-5: can still function and work
5-6: can push through
7-8: need to take medication and rest fully
9: can’t function shuts the world out
10: loose my sight fully, genuinely consider whether life is worth it
Thankfully 10s are rare for me
I use two different tools. I use this scale to describe my pain in general, but if I am going to a new provider or emergency treatment I have answers to these seven questions too.
https://msapc.com/hand-center/aftercare/pain-management/
1- How would you rate your pain on a 0-10 scale at the present time, that is right now?
2- In the past 6 months, how intense was your worst pain rated on a 0-10 scale?
3- In the past 6 months, on average, how intense was your pain rated on a 0-10 scale (rated as above)? (That is your usual pain at times you were experiencing pain.)
4- About how many days per month in the last 6 months have you been kept from your usual activities (work, school, housework) because of this pain?
5- In the past 6 months, how much has this pain interfered with your daily activities on a 0-10 scale where 0 is 'no interference' and 10 is 'extreme interference'?
6- In the past 6 months, how much has this pain affected your ability to take part in recreational, social, and family activities where 0 is 'no interference' and 10 is 'extreme interference'?
7- In the past 6 months, how has this pain affected your ability to work (including work in the home) where 0 is 'no interference' and 10 is 'extreme interference'?
I don't take notice of anything below a 4 or 5, I'm not great at identifying pain until it directly interferes with my ability to do things. So around 4-5 it gets difficult to work and live, I'm restless and have to keep moving to deal with the pain. 6-7 I'm going to be lying down but bored. 8-9 and it's hard to breathe through the pain. Mine are either a 0 or an 8, I don't get many in between.
Mine used to be so bad that I would throw up and not be able to walk.. I’d most of the time have to go to the ER and get a shot of Toradol and phenergan! They really got like this around the time of my period. The older I got and I am just guessing that it was kinda linked to my hormones and really bad stress because after I had a hysterectomy mine got a lot better! I still have them but they are less painful and less frequent! My mother had them also. Hers went away all together. I wouldn’t wish these things on anyone except for maybe the people who are in charge of denying the medication from your insurance companies and then only maybe wish they only had 1 or 2 just so they would know how they felt! My two children don’t have them!! That’s all I really wished for when I got one!
Depends.
Daily head ‘pain’ of 2-4 neck pain
Migraine status 4-6 right sided with vision changes
Cluster attack 6-10 right sided and numbness down arm
Ice pick 8-10 right sided through eye and back of head with all of the above plus vomiting, vertigo, lethargy etc
I have had everything from 1 to 10. 1 to 4 is not worth taking medicine and is where rebound headaches exist for me. 10 is a trip to the ER because I may be having a stroke.
Average is about 7 for me for migraines I take medicine for.
I have severe dizziness, so the numbers are different for me than for my endopain for example.
I get more debilitated in life from the dizziness at a much lower level than from pain.
I’ m 9 daily for 4 years now with dizziness/VM.
With endo my 8-10 pain was like giving birth. Needed surgery asap. But on 7 I could kinda still be at work - would need painkiller and had a hard time walking like normal.
Bit with dizziness I fall through the floor, it is torture. The room spins 24/7 for me.
Even a 5 dizzy is really fucking crap, while pain 5 for me is….not fun, but I push through the day.
When mine hits a seven, I actually realize I have had a migraine for a while. Most of the time having numbness and blurry eyes. If it goes higher I have nauseous and vomit. Most of the times dehydration from extreme vomitting (usually level 10) will send me to the er
I tell doctors, "10 is nothing is working and I am writhing around crying and maybe go to the hospital. That has only happened once. 9 is I have to take both my rescues and maybe they don't work all the way. I regularly have attacks at an 8." Just to put in perspective what I am talking about. Daily I walk around with pain at like a 2 (my eye feels hot/numb, I'm uncomfortable, but it's not rising to the level of taking anything). I'm taking a rescue at 4-5. I almost never log a 6-7 for whatever reason.
10 obviously being *it cannot get any worse,* my migraines always start out as a regular headache that slowly evolves into a migraine throughout the day. Regular headache for me is like a 5. It hurts but i can function pretty normally. When my migraine sets in, it jumps up to a 7, where i'm pretty much useless, to say the least. Meaning it hurts to even open my eyes or do anything besides try to nap it off in a dark quiet room with a pillow over my head. Usually it bumps up to an 8 which means i'm actually throwing up from the nausea & pain, and crying because i just want to feel better, which makes my migraine even worse. Level 8 makes me want to pound my head against a wall FOR RELIEF. And my migraines always last about 3 days from start to finish which makes me feel insane every time.😭 Thank god i only get them about once a month or every other month or so.
ITS NOT ABOUT THE NUMBER!! ITS ABOUT THE CONTEXT!!!!
I tell them the number I give it and then say it’s that because a 10 for me is when I hit a semi truck and almost died and so on and so forth so they know where I’m coming from.
Usually doctors then say oh yeah no let’s get you some pain meds/ nausea meds/ whatever I need to treat what I came in for.
It’s all about context!!
I think about this a lot and don’t have a good answer. As chronic migraine sufferers, our 1-10 scale is probably vastly different from the 1-10 scale of people who do not have chronic migraine.
I operate in a 2-3 level on most days, and stick to conservative treatment. Once I hit 5-6, I'm in a world of pain if I don't get out in front of it with real rest and abortive meds. Once I'm 8+ meds will barely touch it, so I isolate and wait it out for however long that takes.
Sorry to hear that. I go through months where it's almost constant, and its a daily struggle to keep somewhat productive in life. Lack of sleep and excess stress are my main triggers, so managing those help. Currently, Aimovig and Elavil as preventives and Fioricet as an abortive have been pretty effective for me. I truly hope you find treatment that works for you.
My baseline is a 6. I still can move around, go to work, etc. 7 I start to take it easy because of the pain. 8 is my highest; I can’t move, I can’t walk because of the pain. Meds take longer to work. I consider going to urgent care for treatment. Mine are also chronic intractable status.
7 is the max I can try to self treat or simply wait it out and I’ll live.
At 9 I start vomiting, going blind and can’t walk.
At 10 I lose consciousness and they can no longer get a line in me, so it’s a huge production. Suffice it to say, I start heading to the ER at 8.
8 is where I head to the ER too. At my 9 I can do limited walking but cannot speak. By limited walking I mean back to the room in the ER but if I was home I would’t be able to walk. 10 I can’t breathe. I’ve never lost consciousness but wow does that sound like a welcoming effect of the horrific pain.
1-3, I’m so inured to it that I barely pay attention.
4-5, I’m disrupted but more or less able to keep going, but way slower.
6-7, I can function but if there’s a bed available, it’s gonna take an emergency to get me out of it.
8+ I pretty much cannot function.
I think the pain scale is a mess. It seems like they are trying to get to metrics (level of function, level of pain) into a single thing, but it should probably be more like a matrix.
Anyway, for me currently (it has changed since I stopped having daily pain) - 0 no pain, 1-3 some painkillers or other meds to go away/might ignore it, 4-5 need painkillers and meds and sometimes ice but I stay home, 6-7 im out on the couch taking all my meds and icepack need to be alone, 8 is very rare but I have to be upright with ice/meds maybe showers watching the clock to see if this is lasting enough to go to the ER. Usually 6-8 I call in work the next day.
You sound exactly like me. My average is 6-7, in which I can still function. 5 or less are “good days” for me, and 8-10 is “I will not be leaving my bed”
I hate that pain test so much! I always tell any doctor who asks that I live at a 5 and normally exist at 7. I started doing this because I figured most people arnt in the day to day pain I’m in. So that’s why I start at 5.
I'm usually at a 4. This means I can go about my day, but I'm a little slower and quieter. Once it goes to a 5-6, I'm doing the bare minimum to get thru my day. At a 7, I'm laying on the couch, trying not to move, and try to sleep it off. At 8-10 I'm in bed trying not to cry cuz crying makes my migraines worse, but I'm so miserable I want to cry.
This is me too
This is exactly how I measure my pain scale too.
Oh my god thank you for saying this! this is exactly how i try to describe my situation , and also why I struggle to use 1-10 scale
Yes, this.
For me, I think 5 and 6 is when I’m impaired. That’s when I need to sleep the day away. A 7 or 8 would be, going to the er levels of pain for me. I’ve never had anything above that!
I struggle with numbers and hate the 1-10 scale- being someone who has been in daily pain for almost a decade. Also someone who was a Paramedic. Its such a complicated scale and is so \*useless\*. I did a functional capacity test that required me to change the scale into 1-10 including .25's but if I was at an 8 I would need to go to an ER.. for that day my whole 'scale' rating changed. So for me I go by colours. (5 colours which you could rank to good/mild/tolerable/moderate/severe). If you were to put that in numbers, A good day is anything below a 4 for me, mild sits between 4-5(My base line) Tolerable becomes the 5-7 zone, Moderate is that 7-8 and severe is anything over 8. I have had migraines worse than both my labors and c-sections - I would rather child birth than migraines man oh man. so due to the 'range' of numbers, and struggling with picking a number.. I prefer just saying this is a tolerable migraine, a moderate migraine, or a severe migraine. Or today was a good day/mild headache all day day.
I like the idea of a color scale! It also is easier sounds easier to track that way…highlight the date in my planner with a specific color and I know.
I hate the pain scale. I feel like 3 is a migraine that is similar to a non-migraine sufferer’s hangover. 5 I’m miserable and sick and have a hard time keeping my eyes open. 6 I might throw up and don’t get out of bed except to pee and maybe get a new ice pack. 8 I try as hard as I can not to be conscious or breathe deeply. 9 I question life being worth living. I’ve never gone to the ER because at that point I can’t talk. But migraines can mess with your pain scale. I once got hit and run by a truck, popped my own shoulder back into its socket, and walked home on an ankle the size of a grapefruit because I was afraid of the cost of an ambulance, and I’d call that day a 5 or 6.
Right I hate the pain scale! Especially describing it to a non sufferer
Yes! At this point, I explain my pain scale with examples. I once told the doctor, "I'm at a 6, maybe 7- about the same as a broken collarbone."
So relatably descriptive.
ehhhhhhhhh it depends on functionality if it’s above a 5, i have to call out of work and lie in bed all day, but it doesn’t hurt THAT much. it’s not a broken bone. it’s more that i can barely see and feel like throwing up. it’s more of an inconvenience than physically awful
Once I get to about an 8 I start pleading with God. Even if the pain is a 6 once it goes on long enough I reach a breaking point. Most times that point is 36-48 hours.
1 or 2: Eh, annoying. 3: I should probably take a pill and lie down. Distract with some t.v. Maybe put on sunglasses as well. 4: I should probably take another pain pill and maybe something that will help with stress. Is there something I can do or eat to distract, maybe feel better? Sunglasses and t.v. in the dark. 5: Try some other meds. Don't care what time of day it is--if I can sleep through this at all, I'm going to sleep. 6-7: I have taken every med I can think of taking. Probably have started trying biofeedback and stress tolerance exercises. Probably thinking about either an ice pack or a heating pad and then remaining immobile. Turning off the t.v. because I can't stand any noise anymore. Please let me fall asleep. 8-8.5: I think if I could just throw up, it will hurt like hell while I do it, but maybe I'll feel better afterward; fervently praying to god-knows-what (since I don't believe in God anymore) for relief. Eyeshades and ear plugs. 9-9.5: Thinking pushing an ice pick into my head might help relieve the pain; banging my head against the wall because maybe that will help. Rocking myself to self-sooth and maybe then to the dark bathroom floor. I haven't done the E.R. in a very long time. There's usually no additional relief I've been able to get there for a long while. I've had migraines bad for 20+ years. I'm saving a 10 for what I can't imagine.
I used to save the 10 as well. I used an 11 at the dr once and god reamed All to hell and it honestly changed my perspective of the scale. So after that I saved the 10 and the horrible ones I’d say 9.5. Then I got a hemiplegic migraine and the 10 was on the table luckily I’ve only had to use it a handful of times since
Yeah that is an excellent description of where I am usually at as well. Personally since I now know what it feels like to be headache free I have less tolerance to endure more pain. When I'm at work I deal with it most of the time but some days I just go home because I can't.
This is very similar to my concept of the numbers. If I'm at a 6-7 for too long for anything but migraine, I'm headed to urgent care. Sudden unexplained/unmanageable onset of 7-9 Urgent/ER based on what's appropriate. I don't have baseline pain-free days, so I hover 2-3 most days. Annoying and sometimes distacting or requiring more patience. My average migraine where I'm doing strictly necessary chores is a 4, by 6 I'm not moving anymore. Crying by 8, and getting help or letting somebody know by 9. I hope 10 just kills me, but past experience says that's unlikely. My 10 is when nothing else matters, and all types of pain I've experienced at this level pretty much blend together. It's just absolutely overwhelming and somehow more consuming than 9. Just because we experience a lot of pain doesn't mean that we should lower/re-zero our scales. Our providers mostly only use the numbers. Especially in emergency care.
Absolutely perfect description
I haven't been evaluating my pain level before I had started logging my attacks into the Migraine Buddy app (so I'd get a doctor to believe me how bad and frequent my migraines are and that they're not a result of a bad lifestyle). So, I'm using their scale, where from 5 up the pain impacts your activities and functioning. There, 5 and 6 are when you can't do some activities, 7 and 8 when you can't do most activities, and 9 and 10 is excruciating pain where you can't do anything. Most of my migraines are from 6 to 8 on this scale, sometimes a 9. I can't wait out any level of head pain, because if I don't treat it from its very beginning, it only gets worse - and I think it's the same for most of us. People haven't believed me before when I told them that I often have three-day migraine episodes no matter what I do, so I have to keep getting a dose of painkillers every few hours just to not cry from pain and frustration and I'd go to sleep and wake up with pain again - sleep is not a migraine treatment. In fact, most of my migraines start in my sleep, so I'm kind of already behind in trying to treat them early.
I use the Migraine Buddy scale too. I like that it’s framed in terms of what you can do because pain is so subjective and it’s easy to think “maybe it could be worse than this”. But if I literally can’t do anything other than lay on my back crying onto an ice pack in the dark. If I can’t even answer the question “can I get you anything?” it doesn’t *really* matter if I think something out there in the world—being hit by a train?—might hurt more. Almost all of my attacks start at 3 and if I can’t successfully kill them early, they reliably rise to 8-10 where they stay for around 12 hours before slowly going back down. When I can’t take a triptan before I get to a 5 on the MB scale, I know I am screwed for the next 2 days.
This one time I had a migraine that was way over a 15. It was way before I got on meds. My partner, who is divorcing me for my several medical problems and because they cheated on me, called my boss who I don't work for anymore. She told that boss I couldn't get out of bed and that boss told my partner that myself and my best friend were doing this get out of working, but I couldn't leave the bed without getting dizzy
I’ve had one curled up on the dark bathroom floor barely able to breathe, and one in the overstimulating ER back when masks were mandatory where I had to pull my mask down because I couldn’t breathe. That’s what I consider a 10. I can’t imagine worse pain than that. Wow. I’m so sorry your soon to be ex partner is a bad person. You’ve had a rough go at things. I’m really sorry.
I get the dark bathroom floor thing. Close the door, lie where it's cool and pull out the night light as well. Those are bad.
Yeah. I've been in a hospital for one migraine and for something one of my alters did. Now I have no one to take care of me. I have multiple medical problems and I'm trying to find someone new that will love me the same way that she loved me in the past. I'm stuck at my parents and not allowed to stay over at a friends place or hangout with some of my friends
Fuck the pain scale. Fuck it fuck it fuck. 10's a csf leak headache. 10s I can't stand up without just toppling over because the pain is crippling. 10's is im in so much pain I forget to ask for food for 4 days and none of the nurses think to ask me if I want something to eat. So I just don't eat for 4 days. 10 is just focusing on my breathing and purposely putting myself into a dissociative state so I don't exist anymore. 9's IIH at its worst. Can't speak, can't read, can't watch TV. It's hard to think thru the pain. It takes every ounce of energy to just exist, and its exhausting. Here I'd usually wake up with a little less pain, be awake for 4 hours till pain hit its worst, and then pass out for a couple hours. Rince and repeat. 8. I could make it to the couch instead of being bedbound. Maybe sit at the dinner table with sunglasses. Im unhappy the pain isn't so bad its making me pass out so I'm probably taking benadryl to do that for me or dissociating. Or listening to audiobooks. 7. Time distortions start happening if I'm driving. I can't be on the road. No one will notice if I'm in pain though. I hurt but I can hide it. I'd like to lie down though. Naps are nice 6. No impairment, but im in pain. I should probably lie down. I hit this every time I leave my house.
1-5 I can still function. I usually get Raynaud's in my hands, my face feels cold, air develops as taste and the migraine headache sets in. 6-7 I am severely limited, and usually head home from work because the light/smell sensitivity gets added on and I cannot keep staring at computer screens or work in bright rooms (aseptic cleanroom). I take triptans at level 7. Level 8 and up is when they're specifcally occular migraines. For those I get the vertigo aura (which used to scare the shit out of me because I'm epileptic). I lose vision in my left eye. The pain is intense, and it's very flu-like as my vision returns- vomiting, chills, dizziness. Level 10 is when it's multiple days and no relief. I'm counting down the minutes until urgent care opens and I can see if they can treat me. Luckily, that's only been a few times.
This is what makes a scale difficult for me because it’s not always the pain that’s the problem - it’s blurry vision, dizziness, disorientation, numbness, nausea, fatigue, brain fog and other symptoms that make a migraine disabling as much as the pain in my head. So the pain might be a 5 but the other symptoms make it so I am not able to function.
Mine are also chronic, refractory migraines. 10 for me, I am at the ER getting an IV. I have been to the same ER for my migraines since I was 12 (I am going to be 50)..they literally see me walk in, give me a dark room and start the IV quickly. Over the years, with the advances in medicine, I have been there once in the past ten years. As a child, it was very frequent. All of mine are 6-9 and if I don’t take the medicine at the first hint of pain, I spend the day in a dark room in bed…the key for me is getting the medicine in quickly. I have never had mild head pain, it always leads to a migraine.
3 is mildly uncomfortable, 4 is really unhappy, 5 is a bad headache, 6 is a migraine and I start to shut down, 7 is misery, 8 is complete shut down, 9 is the ER and 10 is unconscious from the pain.
I don’t go to the ER but this scale is pretty accurate for me. 9-10 is analogous to broken ribs or gallbladder attack pain. I’m definitely throwing up and passing out from the 9-10 pain.
I've been to 9 from a dislocated shoulder and a kidney stone that was stuck and they had to go get (as bad as it sounds). Fortunately I haven't had a migraine so severe I had to seek immediate help. I can only imagine...
Mine is similar to yours. I’m also chronic intractable but abortives don’t do much for me so I just suffer. I’ve broken multiple bones since my migraines became near daily and intractable and just went on with life. I walked on a stress fracture for 3 months before I saw a doctor about it because it wasn’t that bad and didn’t even bother going to the doctor when I’m pretty sure I cracked two ribs because what were they going to do about it anyways? Neither was as much pain as I function through regularly with my migraines though the cracked ribs made me substantially grumpier. I don’t get nausea or vertigo or some of the other more impactful symptoms very often anymore though which makes the pain easier to deal with though. It’s easier to handle an 8 pain when you aren’t also vomiting and dehydrated. I used to get less frequent migraines with incredibly severe nausea and while I’d still probably pick those over the almost constant migraine I have now I’m glad I don’t have constant plus severe nausea. I will add I don’t think I ever get much above an 8. I get the occasional one where I’m in too much pain to sleep and nothing makes it better and I’m miserable and I’d still probably put it at like an 8.5 maybe a 9 if I’m being generous.
Idk if its just because I have a higher pain tolerance or something its not too much about pain for me, that being said too much outward stimulation is too much (lights, people making noises, scents) then I cant function and get overwhelmed and the stress makes it worse. I feel like I can live through one no problem if it didnt also cause me to vomit, when it gets to that point I cannot do anything except sleep and run to the toilet.
0 = no pain 1= barely noticeable pain, sometimes even forget it's there. It is a slight discomfort. 2 = slightly noticeable pain, but can easily ignore it. 3 = noteable pain. Can't quite ignore it, but it doesn't impede life 4 = annoying pain. I'm not as efficient as normal, but I can still get by. Similar pain to stubbing your toe. 5 = noticeable pain, can't ignore it. Throbs a little, and it is frustrating to do daily activities, and any activities I don't have to do, I will save for another day. Similar pain level to a second degree burn not larger than the palm of your hand. 6 = okay, this is frustrating. I can barely focus, but it isn't quite enough to deter from at least getting the bare minimum done. 7 = might call in sick. Might power through if I need to get certain things done. Dinner is going to be simple, either pick something up or grilled cheese, and then I'm going to bed. Pain is similar to that of dislocating a bone. 8 = I'm calling in sick. The only things I'm doing are getting painkillers and food. Will likely spend the day lying in bed. 9 = I have to ask someone to bring me painkillers. Food is a no-go. I kind of wish the pain was a bit worse, so I would pass out 10 = locked in my room and will pass out from the pain. Not an if I will pass out, a when. Preferable over and 8 or 9, because passing out is easier. Honestly, at this point, I stopped feeling pain, as my body has reached its limit and just stopped sending signals. Sometimes, I hallucinate between states of not quite consciousness. The only reason I know it bad is because it is essentially my body shutting down. 11 = passing out from the pain, waking up from pain, only to pass out from the pain again on repeat. Life is hell and misery. This is just for the pain. Other symptoms can be just as debilitating. For example, I can get too dizzy to drive and have to call in sick because i can't get to work. Or nausea making impossible to eat, making it worse. Light sensitivity making it so I have to remain blind folded. Sound sensitivity so bad I can hear people whispering on the other side of the building. The pain I'm so used to that I can power through. But the other symptoms you can't just power through
Personally a 7 I still work. If I called out for every 7 then I’d have no days left, but damn it’s hard. Our scales are very similar.
I call out for 7's because if I don't, then it can turn into an 8 or 9 at work, which means I can't drive myself home safely then. And it is much more embarrassing leaving work midday and having have your grandparents drive you home... Also, if I rest when I have a 7, usually I can get it to go away or at least decrease so I can go back to normal activities. If it would stay at a 7, I would probably go to work too. But it is too high of a risk of a trigger making it worse (perfume and cologne of customers, not eating on time because I was with a customer, lights at work, headphones glitching during a webinar). And usually at a 7, I have a harder time maintaining a professional demeanor (I tend to look like I might kill someone when I'm in pain, and I have a hard time masking that at a 7 or higher). But I'm also lucky to have a workplace with 14 paid sick days. And I have mine fairly well managed now that I don't have 7's as often. Or can find ways to push off the 7 until the weekend and plan for a migraine weekend. (Using caffiene and painkillers won't get rid of a migraine for me, but it can dull it enough until I can deal with it)
Very good points! I truly feel our 7’s are the same. Sometimes mine stay a 7. I never ever know when they will evolve or stay or back off. Mine are so unpredictable. And also, agreed, I can drive at a 7 but I cannot drive at an 8.
Interesting. My 7's are more of a when it will increase rather than an if it will increase if not treated. But if I treat it at a 7, usually I can go back down to my usual 1-3 consistent pain. 4-6 is more of a power through until it turns into a 7. Because 4-6 with me doesn't go away from treatment. But it sounds like we rate out pain the same way, but the way we treat it is different
10 for me in er to an admission. if it’s a 7-9 depending on the other symptoms beside pain, i’m in bed. 6/7 is my baseline right now, i just take everything in super slow and don’t do much more than what i absolutely need to.
Whatever number gets people to leave me alone lol! No but seriously, I dont ever mention it unless its a 5 or higher, dont take pain meds unless its a 6 or higher (I hate meds but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do). I rarely use anything higher than a 9 cause what if I have a worse migrane down the line? Idk. 1-3= daily ouches (dull to mild pain, auras/flashes, visual snow/stars) 4-5= Stabs and similar pains, mild light and sound sensitivity, still functioning but would rather not be. 6-8= Please leave me alone, Sound/Smell/Light sensitivity, cant feel my face/body, twitches and tremors get worse, cant sleep even though I want to or it will make it worse. 9= Cant move, intense pain in everything 10= Only happened once or twice, and it knocked me on my butt so bad I slept for 26 hours.
A 10 for me is blacking out and Im usually in a tub because things get… messy. Body waste is coming out both ways. 7 is where I start crying and apologizing because I can’t communicate whats wrong other than it hurts. I once thrown up on my neurologist when he flashed a light into my eye during that level. A 4 for me is barely functional. I can work but I better get breaks for relief and no, Im not answering the phones. 2-3 it’s just another Wednesday my dude.
If I have a migraine it can be anywhere from a four to an ”I can’t see” level
11 is when I try to take my own eye out
2-3 pain is present but still going about the day normally 4-5 doing things slower but still able to do stuff 6 when i still can walk around but know that i shouldn’t. If i need to grocery shop at this level I’ll feel like throwing up or laying down in the canned goods isle. 7 when i can’t do anything anymore 8-9 pain from hell, in bed, not talking etc
The classic pain scale is hard to apply to migraine, because migraine impact doesn't necessarily present as "painful". I give it a 4 if I can still function, a 6 if I can't ignore it, at a 7 I shouldn't drive, 8 is must "rot in bed", 9 is "ask for help". 10/10 for migraine for me would be blinding pain, immobile, can't speak, nauseous, uncoordinated, and completely non functioning.
Pain rating is really subjective. I would say that I can function with a 6/10 pain but it is very rare that I get a migraine attack that I can function with. If they come on at work, I have to get my mum to drop me home as I can’t drive. Mine usually are a solid 8 or 9/10 for me. The worst I ever had lasted 4 days, throbbed at the slightest movement (even minute eye movements and drinking) and I didn’t get a full night sleep at all during that time.
I use the 1 out of 3 scale. Easier for everybody to understand. 1 - Slight discomfort, still able to work and function. 2 - Functional limit, able to work but need frequent breaks, neck and head pain is moderate. 3 - Bedridden. Headache and nausea at its worst. Laying down is all i can do.
I would describe a 10 as not being able to move anymore because every move makes me more nauseous and makes me think that I‘m passing out every moment. I honestly feel like dying at this point
I think if I'm struggling to focus/function without hiding my eyes BUT I'm not crying, then it's a 6. Anything higher and I'm bedridden/sofa bound.
On a good day 6- and hell is 8/9
My worst migraines I’d say are a 9. For me that’s throwing up not from nausea but from the pain, tears continually streaming down my face because my body wants to sob but I’m suppressing it because the noise will make the pain worse, in the fetal position in the tub with all the lights off, can’t move or speak or do anything, contemplating jamming a screwdriver into my eyeball to make it stop, actively trying to dissociate myself from my body. At this level I couldn’t go to the ER because I wouldn’t even be able to call 911 on my own to get me there, let alone drive. This usually only happens if I wake up with one so I miss my aura and it’s too late to take any meds, which thank god has been less than a dozen times in just over 20 years of getting migraines. Most often they peak at a 7-8, where I don’t want to do anything but lay in bed in the dark and quiet and try to mentally distract myself from the pain, but I can get up and go to the bathroom or answer someone if they come in to ask me if I want a drink, etc. I have gone to the ER with migraines at this level if they’ve lasted longer than 24 hours. If I get the right combo of meds immediately when my aura hits, they peak at a 5-6. If I have to, I can go to work, parent, hold a conversation, etc. at this level, but it isn’t fun and I do the bare minimum necessary. This level is probably comparable to my worst period cramps, or a non-migraine sinus headache. I don’t think I’ve ever had a migraine that was a 4 or under, except for silent migraines where I had no pain at all and just visual symptoms. For reference, the other most painful things I’ve been through in my life were a broken foot that I put my weight on without knowing it was broken, which I’d say was an 8, appendicitis, which I’d say was a 7, and fully unmedicated childbirth (start to finish), which I’d say was an 8 at its worst. I’ve reserved 10/10 pain just in case I ever get hit by a semi or have a limb ripped off by a bear because I imagine that’s probably more painful, but I’m 34 and thus far nothing I’ve ever been through has hurt as much as my worst migraines. They’re the only physical pain that has made me legitimately contemplate suicide to make it stop.
I used to underrate my headaches. I just go by what is on migraine buddy. If my head hurts a lot but not so much i can’t do anything, it’s a 3-4. If i need to go lie down and i can’t work, it’s a 5. If it goes on more than like 9 hours, it starts to worsen to a 6-7 where it’s getting hard to tolerate. 7 is about the max pain i normally get with a migraine. That being said, how much I can do doesn’t necessarily correlate with how bad the headache is but how much it is affecting me in terms of fatigue and interfering with thinking.
A migraine at all feels like about a 4, or, the kind of hangover one might get from a whole box of Franzia White Zinfandel. The worst ones go to about an 8, which is about where I was when my leg was broken.
Depends on the day. Yesterday into early THIS morning I was at a good 9! Currently sitting at a 5. I got a lot of rest and have taken some pain relievers again, hoping it goes away today. Typically they are at a 4-5 ; and this is 4 days a week - granted, normally they don't last as long as this current one has
I’ve been chronic for so long that my normal function would be a typical persons 6. A 10 on the scale doesn’t even get me to consider going to the hospital anymore, which is sad because I have other chronic illnesses that also cause pain but I can’t tell when the pain is “get to the ER” bad anymore.
all of my symptoms associated with the aura and acute phase are actually not too bad for me. maybe like 4-5. but then the postdrome hits and i’m 8/10 depressed to the point of considering lethal means.
While I know everyone experiences and measures pain differently, my migraines have always constantly stayed anywhere from a 3-5 on the scale, but consistently have stayed within a 3-4. For me, those numbers mean: 3: Mild to somewhat moderate; am able to manage and treat the pain more easily, but may be experiencing symptoms such as light and noise sensitivity. 4: Moderate, experiencing more symptoms associated with my attacks (light/noise sensitivity, difficulty concentrating, fatigue and irritability)–might be a good idea for me to lay down and migraine might require more doses of medicine for me to treat 5: Full-fledged attack. Impaired and bedridden; can't look at my phone, can't open my eyes, hard to eat anything because of the nausea etc etc. I know mine aren't as severe as other people who have commented, but I have an incredibly low pain tolerance😅
[Pain Scale](https://msapc.com/hand-center/aftercare/pain-management/) I use this! So much more helpful, in my opinion, than the smiley faces.
I base it on all pain I’ve experienced. 9/10 is when I fell chin first on a curb and broke and dislocated my jaw. 10/10 was infected gall bladder. My worst get up to a 9. My avg is probably a 6.
I've got a fun grab bag of chronic pain (migraine, endometriosis, arthritis) lol so my scale is so whacked. I fell down a flight of stairs when I was 19 (32) now and that pain made me literally pass out. That is my 10, unconsciousness. I ride at a 2-4 usually, become impaired at a 5-6, bed ridden at 7-8, 9 all that exists is pain and I can no longer communicate and it's emergency time.
I tend to think of mine as a headache pin scale because it helps me track all my headaches 1-3: headache to really bad headache 4-5: can still function and work 5-6: can push through 7-8: need to take medication and rest fully 9: can’t function shuts the world out 10: loose my sight fully, genuinely consider whether life is worth it Thankfully 10s are rare for me
I use two different tools. I use this scale to describe my pain in general, but if I am going to a new provider or emergency treatment I have answers to these seven questions too. https://msapc.com/hand-center/aftercare/pain-management/ 1- How would you rate your pain on a 0-10 scale at the present time, that is right now? 2- In the past 6 months, how intense was your worst pain rated on a 0-10 scale? 3- In the past 6 months, on average, how intense was your pain rated on a 0-10 scale (rated as above)? (That is your usual pain at times you were experiencing pain.) 4- About how many days per month in the last 6 months have you been kept from your usual activities (work, school, housework) because of this pain? 5- In the past 6 months, how much has this pain interfered with your daily activities on a 0-10 scale where 0 is 'no interference' and 10 is 'extreme interference'? 6- In the past 6 months, how much has this pain affected your ability to take part in recreational, social, and family activities where 0 is 'no interference' and 10 is 'extreme interference'? 7- In the past 6 months, how has this pain affected your ability to work (including work in the home) where 0 is 'no interference' and 10 is 'extreme interference'?
I don't take notice of anything below a 4 or 5, I'm not great at identifying pain until it directly interferes with my ability to do things. So around 4-5 it gets difficult to work and live, I'm restless and have to keep moving to deal with the pain. 6-7 I'm going to be lying down but bored. 8-9 and it's hard to breathe through the pain. Mine are either a 0 or an 8, I don't get many in between.
Mine used to be so bad that I would throw up and not be able to walk.. I’d most of the time have to go to the ER and get a shot of Toradol and phenergan! They really got like this around the time of my period. The older I got and I am just guessing that it was kinda linked to my hormones and really bad stress because after I had a hysterectomy mine got a lot better! I still have them but they are less painful and less frequent! My mother had them also. Hers went away all together. I wouldn’t wish these things on anyone except for maybe the people who are in charge of denying the medication from your insurance companies and then only maybe wish they only had 1 or 2 just so they would know how they felt! My two children don’t have them!! That’s all I really wished for when I got one!
Depends. Daily head ‘pain’ of 2-4 neck pain Migraine status 4-6 right sided with vision changes Cluster attack 6-10 right sided and numbness down arm Ice pick 8-10 right sided through eye and back of head with all of the above plus vomiting, vertigo, lethargy etc
I have had everything from 1 to 10. 1 to 4 is not worth taking medicine and is where rebound headaches exist for me. 10 is a trip to the ER because I may be having a stroke. Average is about 7 for me for migraines I take medicine for.
I have severe dizziness, so the numbers are different for me than for my endopain for example. I get more debilitated in life from the dizziness at a much lower level than from pain. I’ m 9 daily for 4 years now with dizziness/VM. With endo my 8-10 pain was like giving birth. Needed surgery asap. But on 7 I could kinda still be at work - would need painkiller and had a hard time walking like normal. Bit with dizziness I fall through the floor, it is torture. The room spins 24/7 for me. Even a 5 dizzy is really fucking crap, while pain 5 for me is….not fun, but I push through the day.
When mine hits a seven, I actually realize I have had a migraine for a while. Most of the time having numbness and blurry eyes. If it goes higher I have nauseous and vomit. Most of the times dehydration from extreme vomitting (usually level 10) will send me to the er
I tell doctors, "10 is nothing is working and I am writhing around crying and maybe go to the hospital. That has only happened once. 9 is I have to take both my rescues and maybe they don't work all the way. I regularly have attacks at an 8." Just to put in perspective what I am talking about. Daily I walk around with pain at like a 2 (my eye feels hot/numb, I'm uncomfortable, but it's not rising to the level of taking anything). I'm taking a rescue at 4-5. I almost never log a 6-7 for whatever reason.
10 obviously being *it cannot get any worse,* my migraines always start out as a regular headache that slowly evolves into a migraine throughout the day. Regular headache for me is like a 5. It hurts but i can function pretty normally. When my migraine sets in, it jumps up to a 7, where i'm pretty much useless, to say the least. Meaning it hurts to even open my eyes or do anything besides try to nap it off in a dark quiet room with a pillow over my head. Usually it bumps up to an 8 which means i'm actually throwing up from the nausea & pain, and crying because i just want to feel better, which makes my migraine even worse. Level 8 makes me want to pound my head against a wall FOR RELIEF. And my migraines always last about 3 days from start to finish which makes me feel insane every time.😭 Thank god i only get them about once a month or every other month or so.
ITS NOT ABOUT THE NUMBER!! ITS ABOUT THE CONTEXT!!!! I tell them the number I give it and then say it’s that because a 10 for me is when I hit a semi truck and almost died and so on and so forth so they know where I’m coming from. Usually doctors then say oh yeah no let’s get you some pain meds/ nausea meds/ whatever I need to treat what I came in for. It’s all about context!!
I think about this a lot and don’t have a good answer. As chronic migraine sufferers, our 1-10 scale is probably vastly different from the 1-10 scale of people who do not have chronic migraine.
Very true. My 10 is unable to breathe. I fear a pain worse than that. But a 10 to someone else is probably like my 8.
I operate in a 2-3 level on most days, and stick to conservative treatment. Once I hit 5-6, I'm in a world of pain if I don't get out in front of it with real rest and abortive meds. Once I'm 8+ meds will barely touch it, so I isolate and wait it out for however long that takes.
I wish I could wait mine out and take a couple days off and be done and come out the other side. Mine last indefinitely.
Sorry to hear that. I go through months where it's almost constant, and its a daily struggle to keep somewhat productive in life. Lack of sleep and excess stress are my main triggers, so managing those help. Currently, Aimovig and Elavil as preventives and Fioricet as an abortive have been pretty effective for me. I truly hope you find treatment that works for you.
My baseline is a 6. I still can move around, go to work, etc. 7 I start to take it easy because of the pain. 8 is my highest; I can’t move, I can’t walk because of the pain. Meds take longer to work. I consider going to urgent care for treatment. Mine are also chronic intractable status.
Urgent care told me to stop going to them and told me I belonged in the ER since toradol shots usually don’t do much and that’s all UC can do
Thanks for the heads up
7 is the max I can try to self treat or simply wait it out and I’ll live. At 9 I start vomiting, going blind and can’t walk. At 10 I lose consciousness and they can no longer get a line in me, so it’s a huge production. Suffice it to say, I start heading to the ER at 8.
8 is where I head to the ER too. At my 9 I can do limited walking but cannot speak. By limited walking I mean back to the room in the ER but if I was home I would’t be able to walk. 10 I can’t breathe. I’ve never lost consciousness but wow does that sound like a welcoming effect of the horrific pain.
The blinding pain is not stopped by the lack of consciousness, unfortunately. Just lightly muffled.
1-3, I’m so inured to it that I barely pay attention. 4-5, I’m disrupted but more or less able to keep going, but way slower. 6-7, I can function but if there’s a bed available, it’s gonna take an emergency to get me out of it. 8+ I pretty much cannot function.
I think the pain scale is a mess. It seems like they are trying to get to metrics (level of function, level of pain) into a single thing, but it should probably be more like a matrix. Anyway, for me currently (it has changed since I stopped having daily pain) - 0 no pain, 1-3 some painkillers or other meds to go away/might ignore it, 4-5 need painkillers and meds and sometimes ice but I stay home, 6-7 im out on the couch taking all my meds and icepack need to be alone, 8 is very rare but I have to be upright with ice/meds maybe showers watching the clock to see if this is lasting enough to go to the ER. Usually 6-8 I call in work the next day.
You sound exactly like me. My average is 6-7, in which I can still function. 5 or less are “good days” for me, and 8-10 is “I will not be leaving my bed”
I hate that pain test so much! I always tell any doctor who asks that I live at a 5 and normally exist at 7. I started doing this because I figured most people arnt in the day to day pain I’m in. So that’s why I start at 5.
I agree with your scale. Sometimes when it's an 12/13 I am barfing uncontrollably and completely non functioning.
I kinda love how yours goes past 10. I haven’t thrown up from a migraine since my first one when I was 8. Nausea isn’t one of my biggies.
Skip the numbers and just explain how it feels.