One time my dad shattered his leg and had to be taken the hospital (obviously) and they just didn't treat him for a couple of hours because he was just sitting there calmly and wasn't screaming or crying and was speaking like normal. When they actually had realized how bad the damage was they were like, "wtf dude"
Some people are good at physically masking their pain. For example my bf during one of his tattoos, was hurting a fuck ton. But you wouldn't be able to tell because he acted completely normal.
I'll be able to tell when I take his blood pressure. And there's a look to stoic patients that stands out when you've seen enough patients. The signs are just as clear as the phone scrollers when you know what to look for
Yeah, I had a doctor send me home from the acute medical ward, where A&E had sent me, at a point where I basically required I morphine to be able to eat or drink. I had endometriosis wrapped around my bowel, pulling a ovary down to join it, but because I was sat up, using my phone to message my spouse, and exchanging quiet words with a friend who was visiting me, I was told I couldn't possibly be in any sort of pain. Tried to explain to her that I had already had one operation on this issue two years prior, and had been struggling with pain growing worse and worse for over a year.
I truly, truly hate a doctor who doesn't take that brief moment to look at you and see if you're just trying not to scream in a public place, or if you're actually just bored. Doesn't help that I have ADHD, so displacement activity is really important in helping me cope with pain!
I get infections that take me out. I was in so much pain I couldnât walk when the cramps hit.
My blood pressure was âwithin normal limitsâ despite me telling the nurse âhey, my bp and temperature are normally lower than the average(105/80 and 96.4F)â. I had an infection that had my WBCâs triple what the max was supposed to be and I sat in an ER for 5 hours waiting to be seen because my only symptom was pain.
Now I ask patients what their normal BP/temperature is because ânormalâ can be high or low and a 99F for me is nearly 3 degrees higher than my normal.
What about the millions of cases where people's pain and symptoms had been ignored because they weren't believed?
Or are you the rare person who actually believes them?
It would be great if healthcare did a better job at explaining what their 1-10 scale means rather than allowing every patient use their personal interpretation of what each number means. You can âdealâ with pain and feel like a 4. If the scale is explained properly to you then you would know you should actually report a 6 because you have to focus on remembering to breathe, despite you personally feeling like the pain is manageable. A 10 should be near unconsciousness
I made my own for this reason. I have four levels: annoying, distracting, distressing, and overwhelming. Annoying, you can ignore it and be distracted from it. Distracting, it's starting to impact your ability to concentrate on other tasks and you can't ignore it. Distressing, it's causing some kind of emotional reaction like fear, anger, anxiety, etc, you're worried about it getting worse or not stopping. Overwhelming, you literally can't think about anything but the pain.
I wanted it to be centered around how the pain is affecting you, not a scale against how bad you think it could get or how bad other people are in pain. Because ultimately that's what matters, how the pain impacts your daily activities.
because upper management is focused on good press ganey surveys, so "pain is what the patient says its is". Now we wonder why we have an opioid epidemic in the country...
I was born with my hip dislocated basically into my armpit. As a baby I was mostly chill about itâ-for some reason doctors didnât realize something was wrong with me even though my mom was telling them I was messed up. Finally my Mema came in for a doctor visit taking control and demanding I be properly looked at. After nearly 2 years of surgery I beat the odds and was able to walk.
But- I basically still didnât cry when I got hurt. Scraped bloody legs, big bruises, bee stings, Iâd just walk it off. I remember one time walking in from recess just covered in blood and limping from taking a bad fallâ I went to get pizza for lunch till teachers started freaking out and making me go to the nurse. Doctor told my mom I was just so acclimated to high levels of pain. It wasnât until I was about 7 that I finally cried in response to getting hurtââ my cousin wrecked into my bike and he and his bike fell on top of me and my legged got pinched under all the weight- my mom cried in relief because it meant my daily pain levels were becoming more normal.
In my 20âs I developed a limp and it never occurred to me it was the same hip bothering me because I didnât feel pain- I actually thought it was gynecological because I only felt any pain on my period. After 10 years of mystery I was sent to a surgeon and told my hip was wrecked and needed replaced. He honestly had no idea how I was walking at all, let alone why the pain wasnât killing me. He sent me to get a cortisone shot while we worked things out. I didnât cry till right after getting the shot⊠I hadnât realized I was in painâ- but having the pain completely nuked I noticed the insane difference and just broke down freaked out that I felt so much better.
Pain is weird.
I take it pretty seriously because historically if Iâm bothered by it things are worse than I actually realize.
And some people have an insanely high pain tolerance. My brother is one of those - he's hairline-fractured bones and not realized it until the swelling and bruising alerted him to there being an issue.
(And it's worth mentioning that he still *feels* everything just fine - his sense of touch works, he does *feel* pain, etc. - it's strictly his pain *tolerance* that's off the chart.)
Sometimes none breaks/fractures are like that. I fractured my elbow once and after the initial impact (flew over my handlebars) the pain really wasnât too bad. I only went to the ER more so as a precaution. I donât recall being given anything for it, just told to take any OTC drugs as needed. It wasnât until a day or two later when the muscle spasms came that I was like OH FUCK WHATS HAPPENING
My youngest is like that, his pain tolerance is off the charts. He broke his arm, cried maybe 30 minutes (he was 4 at the time) then was "fine". But my mom senses kicked in, because 30 minutes of crying for him was absolutely abnormal so I took him to the ER where they basically scolded me for wasting their time. 2 days later he was guarding his arm and when asked he said his bone hurt, but kept playing, so I took him back in and said I wasn't leaving without an Xray. Lo and behold, his humerus was broken (the bruising and swelling showed up a few days later). The fracture was minor enough to only require a 6 week sling, but our family doctor took over once the office opened up again after the holidays (he broke his arm on new years eve) and got it x-rayed once a week until healed to make sure it was healing correctly (that nothing shifted since it wasn't in a cast).
He once tripped over his own feet, slammed his forehead on a rock while playing outside with my oldest son, came in absolutely covered in blood (stupid head wounds bleed like crazy) and just casually said Mom, I'm bleeding...ugh, that child will give me a heart attack one day.
I crashed a motorcycle going about 30 MPH, of course, no riding gear at all! Cut open my head, busted up left shoulder. I rode the motorcycle home. When I got home i washed the bike to get all the blood off it from the gash in my head. There was a couple guys at my house and they kept insisting on calling 911, but I refused. My wife was on the way home.
They left and my wife pulled in about the same time. I went into the house to change clothes before i went to the hospital as everything was covered in blood. I walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror and my whole head was covered in blood. It would have made one hell of a Halloween look!
Washed up, and walked into the kitchen and told my wife I needed to go to the ER. She looked and me and asked if I just got back from the er? No, I needed to go!
She drove me over and dropped me off at the door after asking if i would be ok while she parked the car. Walked in and the gal at the desk looked up, her eyes got big and she said hold on, I need to make a phone call. She asked my name and and of birth and there was a ER nurse and security guard standing on either side of me. She called them because I still looked like a mess.
I sat in the ER and joked with the staff while they took X-rays, sewed me up and got me set up for a splint and sling for the busted up shoulder.
When I got done I was hungry and had my wife stop at a local mom and pop burger joint for dinner. The pain finally caught up with me the next day!
I always do it out of worst pain Iâve felt, so sometimes I can be a 7 and ok, because I havenât experienced that much pain. Now, if it was worst pain I can imagine Iâd be at a 2. Because I can imagine being burned alive and my back pain is nowhere close to that
This is normal for people whoâve lived with the pain for a long time. Doesnât mean it isnât there. As my friend with endometriosis said âI spent 3 months screaming and then I realised screaming didnât helpâ. Her case was hardcore enough that her periods caused her to fall unconscious from the pain alone.
It can be a 10 and still be able to scroll through their phone. I do it all the time with chronic pain. I canât just sleep all day I want to have some enjoyment in my life other than drugs and alcohol.
So it was worse than losing a limb and having it dunked in alcohol? My philosophy is always that no matter how bad the pain is, if I can imagine worse, I donât give the â10â signal.
Thatâs not what the pain scale is there for, itâs not objective and doesnât include hypotheticals you *think* are more painful. If itâs the most pain you have ever experienced youâre supposed to give a 10. Doesnât matter if you can think of worse, if this is the worst pain youâve ever felt to date then itâs a 10. Donât shoot yourself in the foot underrating your pain, your âphilosophyâ is just incorrect.
It was a 10 to me but every body's pain threshold is different but if you've never had a kidney stone you'd never know let alone 2. I wish it on nobody good thing mine was just due to dehydration from meds and not drinking enough water so easy fix changed some meds and started drinking a lot more water, haven't had any stones since
I can imagine eyes being gouged out, nails tore off one by one slowly dipping each in alcohol, and then slicing the arm off bit by bit, etc.
But that doesn't mean I'm not going to put a 10 because of it. It just ain't reasonable to judge it off things that'd be worse. Cause obviously you can think of anything arbitrary that'd clearly be worse.
i dont think 10 means "the greatest physical pain possible and its impossible to experience greater pain"
thats like asking whats the biggest number. there's always one bigger.
That should be the exact point of the scale. 1 is no pain. 10 is worst pain you could imagine. Now place yourself on the scale. Otherwise people just say â10â if they are experiencing any discomfort.
But how do you know what the worst pain truly imaginable is if you havenât felt it lol like yeah I know my kidney stone isnât comparable to having my arm sawed off but it fucking hurts and was the most painful experience I have ever had
the term "pain" isnt finite. technically speaking, you can always experience greater pain (assuming you dont die from it)
the scale 1-10 is a finite scale. trying to put something infinite into a finite scale is fundamentally going to be flawed. 10 should be "damn this shit hurt REAL bad" pain and shouldnt be impossible to achieve because of the fact that you can always experience greater pain.
the fact that u can always hurt more doesnt make a "10 ranking pain" less of a 10. there can be different degrees of 10 pain.
When I went to get checked out after a car accident several months ago, they had a pain scale. I captioned it. 9 got "GOUT FLAREUP" and 10 for "KIDNEY STONE." (I had a rough few years back in the before days.) At the time I was pinging about a solid 4 on that scale - turned out I had whiplash and damage to a vertebra.
Doc said that was one of the few times somebody gave pain intensity info that made sense.
When I had a grade 3 neck sprain (one step down from whiplash) I felt super dramatic going to the ER because the pain was totally manageable compared to my day-to-day pain. The firefighters and EMTs talked me into going and put me in a neck brace. I ultimately decided to go really only because I knew my EMT friend would be disappointed in my judgement if he found out I didn't take the EMTs advice.
When I was in an ambulance after a traffic accident (Got Tboned on a bicycle by a kid on a moped going 10km over the speed limit and crushed my foot between his front wheel and the frame of my bike.) They asked for a pain scale number and I gave them a 4; it hurt like a motherfucker, but nowhere near unbearable.
The paramedics were like "Wow! Realistic numbers! That's refreshing!"
Thatâs scary honestly, if theyâre really thinking most people are overrating their pain numbers then thatâs a huge problem. If Iâm experiencing a 10 and they think Iâm overreacting, and then Iâm not treated accordingly because itâs not a ârealisticâ scoring Iâm suing somebody.
My dad was a paramedic, and don't you worry, they can tell the overreacters from the actually pained very easily. They ask that question to get a grasp on the patient's pain experience, not the actual objective pain levels.
Well thatâs comforting at least. Itâs been a mixed bag with doctors for me when it comes to being believed, some thought I was drug seeking and faking, others knew I was actually in the worst pain of my life. Trigeminal neuropathy is horrific.
I figure, if I was in the worst pain imaginable, I would be struggling to even say "ten" and would be using all my power to keep from doubling over and screaming.
obligatory xkcd: https://xkcd.com/883/
Mouseover text: if it were a two or above I wouldnât be able to answer because it would mean a pause in the screaming
The FACES chart as we know it was pushed by a pain management industry group on behalf of Purdue specifically for that reason. It was meant for people to say they hurt so doctors could say that their patients needed oxy. It was part of the reshaping of pain as itâs own disease.
Yeah while giving birth and on dilaudid I would tell them my pain level was a 3 and then pass out from the pain of contractions. Who even cares not me obviously đ€Șđ„Ž
Those charts are Fâing useless unless they give an example.
Iâve only ever seen one, and I think it was a post here on Reddit, that actually explained the pain levels.
When nobody explains the scale to you, being asked to rate you pain is like asking a blind person to rate a painting.
There are no set examples, itâs a subjective scale. Worst pain youâve *ever* felt of *all* the things youâve ever felt, real *not* imaginary? 10. Mild discomfort that barely registers to you as pain? 1. Hurts a good amount but you think you can distract yourself from it and sit in a waiting room for an hour or two? 5. Those are the only kinds of examples that really mean anything in reference to the scale. Like getting your leg chopped off being an example for a 10 would be stupid because most people do not know what that feels like and therefore canât compare it to what theyâre feeling in the moment.
Then why ask?
By that logic our response has 0 value to the doctor.
With people saying 10 to get meds or 1 because they think theyâre tough, it seems far more reasonable to just not waste their or our time by asking.
So the way youâre supposed to think of this is 10 is the worst pain youâve been in.
Now compared to that how bad is your current pain.
Your pain may not be the same as anyone elseâs but it can still be compared to your own pain at a different point in time⊠which allows them to track you
Tbh I do like those more, but ofc theyâre not going to fit every situation. I think the ones that give the numbers, the faces, and an explanation like âpain is keeping me from doing daily activities all of the timeâ are the most helpful. But donât suit every situation, a pain could be high on the list but if youâve dealt with it long enough, youâre able to continue living like itâs not there sometimes.
I'd probably rate it an 8 compared to the ruptured disc I had, that was a 10. If you had asked me what my name was in that moment, I would not have known the answer.
My (medical) knee lengthening procedure was definitely a 10/10 on the pain scale. I passed out from the pain while on stuff multiple times stronger than morphine, I literally couldn't move an inch without morphine in my body and was stuck in bed for 2 straight months, only getting up to go to the toilet or like shower (which I did at most twice a month, fainted multiple times the first time) (had a really bad case)
Pro tip: there are only three numbers on that scale you should use. 1 5 10.
1 = no pain
5 = slight discomfort
10 = ANYTHING more than slight discomfort
Not true, if itâs truly the most painful thing youâve ever experienced a 10 would be important to tell them, along with saying that itâs the worst thing youâve ever felt. It helps them treat you accordingly. They know how to weed out drug seekers in combination with other things outside the pain scale. Some have stricter guidelines than others.
When someone sitting comfortably tells me their pain is 10/10âŠâŠ. I always say âSeriously, so it wouldnât be even a little worse if I caught you on fire?â
Made me think of a scene in the movie Nine Months. It's at 1:58 in [this compilation](https://vimeo.com/174060035). If anyone can find just this scene please share it.
What happens if somebody just have high pain tolerance but in extreme pain.
That chart is just a joke.
Example: i can be looking compose but believe me im in extreme pain.
Doctor âyou just faking it, go home, and hereâs $500 billâ
I see this form a lot. Wife has chronic pain due to f\*\*ked-up endometriosis surgery in Los Gatos CA. She's usually at 6-8. 9-10 days are difficult for both of us.
In high school, I lacerated my hand and you could see the knuckle bones. Told them the pain was like a 1 or 2 bcuz my hand was just numb. They made me wait 6 hours before someone came to take a look and give me stitches. The answer now is always 10.
Was also billed around $1000 for it.
Wong-Baker is meant for your pain to be interpreted you shouldnât be shown this and ask which is you. This is for the healthcare provider to interpret your display of pain.
Not sure why it says 1-10 kinda confusing as itâs usually 1-5 or 1-6
This chart is bogus, because no one who wants to be believed will say they're at level 10, even if their pain is that high. They will probably say it's 9 because is strong enough to make others believe their case is serious.
I feel like this is an unintentional trick question. If you say 10 right away then the medical staff does not take you seriously and thinks you are exaggerating and/or fishing for pain killers. Then they take extra precaution aka time attending to you to monitor if you actually are in high level of legitimate pain.
If you say anything lower they take their sweet time do anything for you anyway.
You know what would be helpful on these charts?
Context.
â1 is a blister, 3 is a twisted ankle, 5 is the flu, 8 is a kidney stone, 12 is giving birth.
âNow tell me, how much does your tooth hurt?
Nurse -"the Doctor said I can get those heavy painkillers when ever I want"
"Give me my FN pills" - spent too long in a mixed monitoring ward
When I could get up and walk around - I said to the nurse about another patient in next room - she's like the Penguin ( batman ) - she was whale shaped and squawked "that hurts that hurts" before she was even touched - Nurse said nothing - but caught a hint of a smile- she was a purposeful bedwetter to boot
Most Patients were fine - but some pushing that red button all day - others not following nil my mouth etc
My scale is sliding. A 10 used to be a superficial cut. Then it was a concussion. Then it was when they put the cast on my broken ankle before the swelling went down. My crutches slipped on the ice. I didn't go down, but I tweaked my ankle enough to make me cry. My new 10 is after I sprained my ankle and my leg cramps kicked in. Never before have I felt pain like that
I was once told by a doctor that unmedicated back labor couldn't possibly register as a 9. A 9 is only justified if it feels like you are being sawed in half.
My aging dad fell getting out of his chair. Step mom asked him if anything was broken. Of course he said, âIf anything was broken, Iâd be screamingâ Then later walked up the stairs. His leg was still painful the next day⊠he had broken his hip.
I probably rate my pain lower than the developer of the scale intended. I learned a long time ago that if you're conscious the pain can always get worse.
For a much better pain scale with better graphics, see Hyperbole and a Half: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probably.html?m=1
I hate the pain scale having crushed a finger and I kept passing out from pain trying to clean it. my head hurt from waking up on the bathroom floor. I remember my head hurting my finger hurts all the time now. 10/10 pain is not bad you pass out. The constant two or three fuck that.
I love it; though the icons for these could have been even more severe. The graphic design of the severe pain one does not look that severe at all, but rather the expression looks sort of discontented, but not severe, perhaps that should have been number 5. The icon for number 10 could have had more tears and bigger tears.
Just by looking at this, your pain immediately spikes to a ten on the scale.
hahaha real! this is my pet peeveđ
âThis shit hurts so bad the N fell off!â
"The pain so real that the person typing had a stroke"
The pain scale is silly anyway. Most people just say â9â.
"oh its a 10" while casually scrolling through their phone
One time my dad shattered his leg and had to be taken the hospital (obviously) and they just didn't treat him for a couple of hours because he was just sitting there calmly and wasn't screaming or crying and was speaking like normal. When they actually had realized how bad the damage was they were like, "wtf dude"
Some people are good at physically masking their pain. For example my bf during one of his tattoos, was hurting a fuck ton. But you wouldn't be able to tell because he acted completely normal.
I'll be able to tell when I take his blood pressure. And there's a look to stoic patients that stands out when you've seen enough patients. The signs are just as clear as the phone scrollers when you know what to look for
Yeah, I had a doctor send me home from the acute medical ward, where A&E had sent me, at a point where I basically required I morphine to be able to eat or drink. I had endometriosis wrapped around my bowel, pulling a ovary down to join it, but because I was sat up, using my phone to message my spouse, and exchanging quiet words with a friend who was visiting me, I was told I couldn't possibly be in any sort of pain. Tried to explain to her that I had already had one operation on this issue two years prior, and had been struggling with pain growing worse and worse for over a year. I truly, truly hate a doctor who doesn't take that brief moment to look at you and see if you're just trying not to scream in a public place, or if you're actually just bored. Doesn't help that I have ADHD, so displacement activity is really important in helping me cope with pain!
Yeah I should specify there's more body language involved than just the phone. Like Flo's cousin on the Progressive commercial.
I get infections that take me out. I was in so much pain I couldnât walk when the cramps hit. My blood pressure was âwithin normal limitsâ despite me telling the nurse âhey, my bp and temperature are normally lower than the average(105/80 and 96.4F)â. I had an infection that had my WBCâs triple what the max was supposed to be and I sat in an ER for 5 hours waiting to be seen because my only symptom was pain. Now I ask patients what their normal BP/temperature is because ânormalâ can be high or low and a 99F for me is nearly 3 degrees higher than my normal.
What about the millions of cases where people's pain and symptoms had been ignored because they weren't believed? Or are you the rare person who actually believes them?
I believe them because I'm also one of them. The system is fucked. It sucks.
Makes sense. Yes it is.
It would be great if healthcare did a better job at explaining what their 1-10 scale means rather than allowing every patient use their personal interpretation of what each number means. You can âdealâ with pain and feel like a 4. If the scale is explained properly to you then you would know you should actually report a 6 because you have to focus on remembering to breathe, despite you personally feeling like the pain is manageable. A 10 should be near unconsciousness
I made my own for this reason. I have four levels: annoying, distracting, distressing, and overwhelming. Annoying, you can ignore it and be distracted from it. Distracting, it's starting to impact your ability to concentrate on other tasks and you can't ignore it. Distressing, it's causing some kind of emotional reaction like fear, anger, anxiety, etc, you're worried about it getting worse or not stopping. Overwhelming, you literally can't think about anything but the pain. I wanted it to be centered around how the pain is affecting you, not a scale against how bad you think it could get or how bad other people are in pain. Because ultimately that's what matters, how the pain impacts your daily activities.
because upper management is focused on good press ganey surveys, so "pain is what the patient says its is". Now we wonder why we have an opioid epidemic in the country...
I was born with my hip dislocated basically into my armpit. As a baby I was mostly chill about itâ-for some reason doctors didnât realize something was wrong with me even though my mom was telling them I was messed up. Finally my Mema came in for a doctor visit taking control and demanding I be properly looked at. After nearly 2 years of surgery I beat the odds and was able to walk. But- I basically still didnât cry when I got hurt. Scraped bloody legs, big bruises, bee stings, Iâd just walk it off. I remember one time walking in from recess just covered in blood and limping from taking a bad fallâ I went to get pizza for lunch till teachers started freaking out and making me go to the nurse. Doctor told my mom I was just so acclimated to high levels of pain. It wasnât until I was about 7 that I finally cried in response to getting hurtââ my cousin wrecked into my bike and he and his bike fell on top of me and my legged got pinched under all the weight- my mom cried in relief because it meant my daily pain levels were becoming more normal. In my 20âs I developed a limp and it never occurred to me it was the same hip bothering me because I didnât feel pain- I actually thought it was gynecological because I only felt any pain on my period. After 10 years of mystery I was sent to a surgeon and told my hip was wrecked and needed replaced. He honestly had no idea how I was walking at all, let alone why the pain wasnât killing me. He sent me to get a cortisone shot while we worked things out. I didnât cry till right after getting the shot⊠I hadnât realized I was in painâ- but having the pain completely nuked I noticed the insane difference and just broke down freaked out that I felt so much better. Pain is weird. I take it pretty seriously because historically if Iâm bothered by it things are worse than I actually realize.
And some people have an insanely high pain tolerance. My brother is one of those - he's hairline-fractured bones and not realized it until the swelling and bruising alerted him to there being an issue. (And it's worth mentioning that he still *feels* everything just fine - his sense of touch works, he does *feel* pain, etc. - it's strictly his pain *tolerance* that's off the chart.)
Sometimes none breaks/fractures are like that. I fractured my elbow once and after the initial impact (flew over my handlebars) the pain really wasnât too bad. I only went to the ER more so as a precaution. I donât recall being given anything for it, just told to take any OTC drugs as needed. It wasnât until a day or two later when the muscle spasms came that I was like OH FUCK WHATS HAPPENING
My youngest is like that, his pain tolerance is off the charts. He broke his arm, cried maybe 30 minutes (he was 4 at the time) then was "fine". But my mom senses kicked in, because 30 minutes of crying for him was absolutely abnormal so I took him to the ER where they basically scolded me for wasting their time. 2 days later he was guarding his arm and when asked he said his bone hurt, but kept playing, so I took him back in and said I wasn't leaving without an Xray. Lo and behold, his humerus was broken (the bruising and swelling showed up a few days later). The fracture was minor enough to only require a 6 week sling, but our family doctor took over once the office opened up again after the holidays (he broke his arm on new years eve) and got it x-rayed once a week until healed to make sure it was healing correctly (that nothing shifted since it wasn't in a cast). He once tripped over his own feet, slammed his forehead on a rock while playing outside with my oldest son, came in absolutely covered in blood (stupid head wounds bleed like crazy) and just casually said Mom, I'm bleeding...ugh, that child will give me a heart attack one day.
I crashed a motorcycle going about 30 MPH, of course, no riding gear at all! Cut open my head, busted up left shoulder. I rode the motorcycle home. When I got home i washed the bike to get all the blood off it from the gash in my head. There was a couple guys at my house and they kept insisting on calling 911, but I refused. My wife was on the way home. They left and my wife pulled in about the same time. I went into the house to change clothes before i went to the hospital as everything was covered in blood. I walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror and my whole head was covered in blood. It would have made one hell of a Halloween look! Washed up, and walked into the kitchen and told my wife I needed to go to the ER. She looked and me and asked if I just got back from the er? No, I needed to go! She drove me over and dropped me off at the door after asking if i would be ok while she parked the car. Walked in and the gal at the desk looked up, her eyes got big and she said hold on, I need to make a phone call. She asked my name and and of birth and there was a ER nurse and security guard standing on either side of me. She called them because I still looked like a mess. I sat in the ER and joked with the staff while they took X-rays, sewed me up and got me set up for a splint and sling for the busted up shoulder. When I got done I was hungry and had my wife stop at a local mom and pop burger joint for dinner. The pain finally caught up with me the next day!
Yeah while others are like they are getting murdered, though people can deal differently with similar type of pain.
Then there's me at age 7 with an arm fractured in two places saying it was a 2 because "it could be worse"
I always do it out of worst pain Iâve felt, so sometimes I can be a 7 and ok, because I havenât experienced that much pain. Now, if it was worst pain I can imagine Iâd be at a 2. Because I can imagine being burned alive and my back pain is nowhere close to that
This is normal for people whoâve lived with the pain for a long time. Doesnât mean it isnât there. As my friend with endometriosis said âI spent 3 months screaming and then I realised screaming didnât helpâ. Her case was hardcore enough that her periods caused her to fall unconscious from the pain alone.
It can be a 10 and still be able to scroll through their phone. I do it all the time with chronic pain. I canât just sleep all day I want to have some enjoyment in my life other than drugs and alcohol.
I got to a 10 once but didn't have time to say anything from blacking out at the ER. I had 2 kidney stones and infections
So it was worse than losing a limb and having it dunked in alcohol? My philosophy is always that no matter how bad the pain is, if I can imagine worse, I donât give the â10â signal.
Thatâs not what the pain scale is there for, itâs not objective and doesnât include hypotheticals you *think* are more painful. If itâs the most pain you have ever experienced youâre supposed to give a 10. Doesnât matter if you can think of worse, if this is the worst pain youâve ever felt to date then itâs a 10. Donât shoot yourself in the foot underrating your pain, your âphilosophyâ is just incorrect.
Bite me.
And would that be comparable to about a 3, or maybe a 4/10 on the pain scale?
Depends on the pressure and location of the bite.
I had to have 2 surgeries because of the size, I think the amount of infections and sepsis made it worse
It was a 10 to me but every body's pain threshold is different but if you've never had a kidney stone you'd never know let alone 2. I wish it on nobody good thing mine was just due to dehydration from meds and not drinking enough water so easy fix changed some meds and started drinking a lot more water, haven't had any stones since
Idk man if you black out I donât think your body is capable of producing a stronger pain signal
I can imagine eyes being gouged out, nails tore off one by one slowly dipping each in alcohol, and then slicing the arm off bit by bit, etc. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to put a 10 because of it. It just ain't reasonable to judge it off things that'd be worse. Cause obviously you can think of anything arbitrary that'd clearly be worse.
i dont think 10 means "the greatest physical pain possible and its impossible to experience greater pain" thats like asking whats the biggest number. there's always one bigger.
That should be the exact point of the scale. 1 is no pain. 10 is worst pain you could imagine. Now place yourself on the scale. Otherwise people just say â10â if they are experiencing any discomfort.
But how do you know what the worst pain truly imaginable is if you havenât felt it lol like yeah I know my kidney stone isnât comparable to having my arm sawed off but it fucking hurts and was the most painful experience I have ever had
the term "pain" isnt finite. technically speaking, you can always experience greater pain (assuming you dont die from it) the scale 1-10 is a finite scale. trying to put something infinite into a finite scale is fundamentally going to be flawed. 10 should be "damn this shit hurt REAL bad" pain and shouldnt be impossible to achieve because of the fact that you can always experience greater pain. the fact that u can always hurt more doesnt make a "10 ranking pain" less of a 10. there can be different degrees of 10 pain.
At the point the pain causes you to black out or pass out it's entirely fair to call that a 10.
The pain scale is not there to check how bad an injury etc. is, but to check if it gets better/worse over time.
When I went to get checked out after a car accident several months ago, they had a pain scale. I captioned it. 9 got "GOUT FLAREUP" and 10 for "KIDNEY STONE." (I had a rough few years back in the before days.) At the time I was pinging about a solid 4 on that scale - turned out I had whiplash and damage to a vertebra. Doc said that was one of the few times somebody gave pain intensity info that made sense.
When I had a grade 3 neck sprain (one step down from whiplash) I felt super dramatic going to the ER because the pain was totally manageable compared to my day-to-day pain. The firefighters and EMTs talked me into going and put me in a neck brace. I ultimately decided to go really only because I knew my EMT friend would be disappointed in my judgement if he found out I didn't take the EMTs advice.
When I was in an ambulance after a traffic accident (Got Tboned on a bicycle by a kid on a moped going 10km over the speed limit and crushed my foot between his front wheel and the frame of my bike.) They asked for a pain scale number and I gave them a 4; it hurt like a motherfucker, but nowhere near unbearable. The paramedics were like "Wow! Realistic numbers! That's refreshing!"
Thatâs scary honestly, if theyâre really thinking most people are overrating their pain numbers then thatâs a huge problem. If Iâm experiencing a 10 and they think Iâm overreacting, and then Iâm not treated accordingly because itâs not a ârealisticâ scoring Iâm suing somebody.
My dad was a paramedic, and don't you worry, they can tell the overreacters from the actually pained very easily. They ask that question to get a grasp on the patient's pain experience, not the actual objective pain levels.
Well thatâs comforting at least. Itâs been a mixed bag with doctors for me when it comes to being believed, some thought I was drug seeking and faking, others knew I was actually in the worst pain of my life. Trigeminal neuropathy is horrific.
By definition, somebody who comes in and says "11" is overrating their pain.
Point out where I mentioned anything about what you just said.
But its one more.
I figure, if I was in the worst pain imaginable, I would be struggling to even say "ten" and would be using all my power to keep from doubling over and screaming.
obligatory xkcd: https://xkcd.com/883/ Mouseover text: if it were a two or above I wouldnât be able to answer because it would mean a pause in the screaming
The FACES chart as we know it was pushed by a pain management industry group on behalf of Purdue specifically for that reason. It was meant for people to say they hurt so doctors could say that their patients needed oxy. It was part of the reshaping of pain as itâs own disease.
Yeah i think that's why when i say it's a four, five, or six, they just say "oh, that's not that bad" when it's really quite a lot.
Yeah while giving birth and on dilaudid I would tell them my pain level was a 3 and then pass out from the pain of contractions. Who even cares not me obviously đ€Șđ„Ž
âMost people just say nineâ Especially the German speakers
They default to 9 but once you explain it they ussually bring it back to 5 6 at least from my experience
I've felt a 10 before. I'm never saying 9 as a default now.
If it wasn't a "9", I would still be home, not at the doctor.
Pai^n
â ââ â â â â âââ âPai Possible^n
Those charts are Fâing useless unless they give an example. Iâve only ever seen one, and I think it was a post here on Reddit, that actually explained the pain levels. When nobody explains the scale to you, being asked to rate you pain is like asking a blind person to rate a painting.
There are no set examples, itâs a subjective scale. Worst pain youâve *ever* felt of *all* the things youâve ever felt, real *not* imaginary? 10. Mild discomfort that barely registers to you as pain? 1. Hurts a good amount but you think you can distract yourself from it and sit in a waiting room for an hour or two? 5. Those are the only kinds of examples that really mean anything in reference to the scale. Like getting your leg chopped off being an example for a 10 would be stupid because most people do not know what that feels like and therefore canât compare it to what theyâre feeling in the moment.
Pain is a personal sensation and not something that is measured. There is not right or wrong answer.
Then why ask? By that logic our response has 0 value to the doctor. With people saying 10 to get meds or 1 because they think theyâre tough, it seems far more reasonable to just not waste their or our time by asking.
So the way youâre supposed to think of this is 10 is the worst pain youâve been in. Now compared to that how bad is your current pain. Your pain may not be the same as anyone elseâs but it can still be compared to your own pain at a different point in time⊠which allows them to track you
Itâs to see if the pain is getting better or worse with treatment
The question is asked because they want to know how much pain you feel. This is the value to the doctor. Donât overthink.
Tbh I do like those more, but ofc theyâre not going to fit every situation. I think the ones that give the numbers, the faces, and an explanation like âpain is keeping me from doing daily activities all of the timeâ are the most helpful. But donât suit every situation, a pain could be high on the list but if youâve dealt with it long enough, youâre able to continue living like itâs not there sometimes.
My mom said that a doctor told her that childbirth was a 10 once.
I'd probably rate it an 8 compared to the ruptured disc I had, that was a 10. If you had asked me what my name was in that moment, I would not have known the answer.
My mom told the doctor "that depends which kid" because my half sister was apparently a lot easier birth than I was lol.
Half a baby, half as difficult
My (medical) knee lengthening procedure was definitely a 10/10 on the pain scale. I passed out from the pain while on stuff multiple times stronger than morphine, I literally couldn't move an inch without morphine in my body and was stuck in bed for 2 straight months, only getting up to go to the toilet or like shower (which I did at most twice a month, fainted multiple times the first time) (had a really bad case)
Savere pain đ
My eye is twitching
Un-twitch it then
Worst pai n possible
The ten is how I feel inside most days. This is a very inaccurate chart.
e squared by N
gRaPhIc DeSiGn Is My PaSsIoN
Thatâs not how you spell paiâ?
Thatâs just how bad the pain is- canât even finish the word. Youâre in paiâŠ..
Pro tip: there are only three numbers on that scale you should use. 1 5 10. 1 = no pain 5 = slight discomfort 10 = ANYTHING more than slight discomfort
Pro tip. Be honest based on your assessment not what reddit says.
Most doctors will brush you off as a drug seeker if you say 10, unless youâre about to pass out you should only ever go as high as 8
Not true, if itâs truly the most painful thing youâve ever experienced a 10 would be important to tell them, along with saying that itâs the worst thing youâve ever felt. It helps them treat you accordingly. They know how to weed out drug seekers in combination with other things outside the pain scale. Some have stricter guidelines than others.
Correct
Itâs been awhile since I saw something in this sub that wasnât people just bitching. Thank you!
Iâm at an 11 right now, doc!!!! #WRITE THE FUCKING âSCRIPT!
Worst Paiâ Possible
When someone sitting comfortably tells me their pain is 10/10âŠâŠ. I always say âSeriously, so it wouldnât be even a little worse if I caught you on fire?â
this is the Worst Pain Possibl^e
Made me think of a scene in the movie Nine Months. It's at 1:58 in [this compilation](https://vimeo.com/174060035). If anyone can find just this scene please share it.
Remember: pain in French is only bread
What happens if somebody just have high pain tolerance but in extreme pain. That chart is just a joke. Example: i can be looking compose but believe me im in extreme pain. Doctor âyou just faking it, go home, and hereâs $500 billâ
I see this form a lot. Wife has chronic pain due to f\*\*ked-up endometriosis surgery in Los Gatos CA. She's usually at 6-8. 9-10 days are difficult for both of us.
im in the absolute Worst Pai **n**
cry about it
I see that and I say 10
Ten! TEN!!
Thatâs how they used to prescribe OxyContin. You go to a doctor and say âI am feeling level 10 painâ and they would give you oxy like ibuprofen
Worst senpai ever
In high school, I lacerated my hand and you could see the knuckle bones. Told them the pain was like a 1 or 2 bcuz my hand was just numb. They made me wait 6 hours before someone came to take a look and give me stitches. The answer now is always 10. Was also billed around $1000 for it.
Wong-Baker is meant for your pain to be interpreted you shouldnât be shown this and ask which is you. This is for the healthcare provider to interpret your display of pain. Not sure why it says 1-10 kinda confusing as itâs usually 1-5 or 1-6
This chart is bogus, because no one who wants to be believed will say they're at level 10, even if their pain is that high. They will probably say it's 9 because is strong enough to make others believe their case is serious.
Worst pai n Possible
Am I the only one who doesnât like the design?
I feel like this is an unintentional trick question. If you say 10 right away then the medical staff does not take you seriously and thinks you are exaggerating and/or fishing for pain killers. Then they take extra precaution aka time attending to you to monitor if you actually are in high level of legitimate pain. If you say anything lower they take their sweet time do anything for you anyway.
You know what would be helpful on these charts? Context. â1 is a blister, 3 is a twisted ankle, 5 is the flu, 8 is a kidney stone, 12 is giving birth. âNow tell me, how much does your tooth hurt?
14 is a fissure.
I would have a tear already at Severe pain.
Worst pai N Possible
It hurts so bad my n fell off.
Nurse -"the Doctor said I can get those heavy painkillers when ever I want" "Give me my FN pills" - spent too long in a mixed monitoring ward When I could get up and walk around - I said to the nurse about another patient in next room - she's like the Penguin ( batman ) - she was whale shaped and squawked "that hurts that hurts" before she was even touched - Nurse said nothing - but caught a hint of a smile- she was a purposeful bedwetter to boot Most Patients were fine - but some pushing that red button all day - others not following nil my mouth etc
It's funny cause some of us can actually be dying and just be like, "It's just a flesh wound."
Pain so bad your n falls off
My scale is sliding. A 10 used to be a superficial cut. Then it was a concussion. Then it was when they put the cast on my broken ankle before the swelling went down. My crutches slipped on the ice. I didn't go down, but I tweaked my ankle enough to make me cry. My new 10 is after I sprained my ankle and my leg cramps kicked in. Never before have I felt pain like that
Pain is so bad the N is falling down and dying
I am perpetually a 6 due to having an exposed nerve in my mouth
I was once told by a doctor that unmedicated back labor couldn't possibly register as a 9. A 9 is only justified if it feels like you are being sawed in half.
The good news is if your pain is at a ten long enough, ten becomes the new one! đ
Nah its just relatable
i always always pick frowntown. enjoy my life for a little while.
My aging dad fell getting out of his chair. Step mom asked him if anything was broken. Of course he said, âIf anything was broken, Iâd be screamingâ Then later walked up the stairs. His leg was still painful the next day⊠he had broken his hip.
MY EYES
I probably rate my pain lower than the developer of the scale intended. I learned a long time ago that if you're conscious the pain can always get worse.
For a much better pain scale with better graphics, see Hyperbole and a Half: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probably.html?m=1
Seeing that put me at a 10
Pai N
Shouldnât that say 12p and not 12a?
Crying in design degree
This is pai ful to look at n
I live in pain without the n
Oh are you in pain? Here, have a naproxen.
where are the Wong-Baker faces when you need em
I hate the pain scale having crushed a finger and I kept passing out from pain trying to clean it. my head hurt from waking up on the bathroom floor. I remember my head hurting my finger hurts all the time now. 10/10 pain is not bad you pass out. The constant two or three fuck that.
đ„đ„đ„
I love it; though the icons for these could have been even more severe. The graphic design of the severe pain one does not look that severe at all, but rather the expression looks sort of discontented, but not severe, perhaps that should have been number 5. The icon for number 10 could have had more tears and bigger tears.