The Pain Scale

[HurricaneHeather]

I just wanted to know what other people consider a '10' on the pain scale(you know, rate your pain on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst).

I feel that the 10 gets abused by a lot of people and it bothers me. :lol:

To me, 10 is: I am about to die from pain, give me something so I can pass quietly. :shrug:

Also, to those who work in the medical field, how do respond when someone says they are at a 10?

AND, is 10 the worst pain you can imagine, or the worst pain you've ever felt. Those can be very different things.

This is spawned partly from a couple of comedians and partly from the dumb bitch I had to share a room with at the hospital.

[BobTheBiker]

to me, the 10 on the pain scale is having limbs remove with butterknives and having salt with rubbign alcohol poured into the wounds. now I hear a lot of people whine that breaking nails or scratches hurt, fuckin pussies.

[Archren]

I have a pretty high pain tolerance if I'm in the right mood.

But I'll be the first to admit I'm a baby about pain if I'm already in a pissy mood. Little things get to me easier, but it's not that the pain is worse, I just have no patience for dealing with it.

That being said.. I'd say a 10 as far as worst pain imaginable would be like what Bob described above... 10 as far as worst pain experienced so far is probably childbirth. :shrug:

[skiergirl]

I've had surgery and they always ask you that. I have broken ribs/fingers/nose and had bones reset, sprains, etc I have even had abdominal surgery and I would say the most pain ever would still only be a 5-6 on the pain scale to me.

I consider 10 to be like you said...please give me something so I can die quietly kind of pain.

[CrazyKell]

The pain scale is subjective so it's kind of a pointless argument.

Besides, endorphins and adrenaline kick in for a lot of things so while getting your leg cut off with a butterknife might *sound* like it's more painful than a papercut....the mental reality of the situation is that it might not be. (examples chosen to highlight the polarity ;))

I have a somewhat high tolerance to pain but for me it depends on how it grates on my physically. I walk with pain in my foot and tailbone every single step...every single day. :idk: I'm used to the pain.

[Curb]

even when i got hit by the car that caused my accident wasn't a 10 in my book. to me a 10 is when nothing you do can eleviate the pain....no pain killers nothing. last week i got a shooting pain on my back about half way down. it was making me nautious and nothing i did would eleviate it, it literally felt like that someone was cutting out my kidney with a butter knife...

[HurricaneHeather]

The pain scale is subjective so it's kind of a pointless argument.



That is exactly my point. Why is it used if it's subjective. If I say 5 for something and you say 2 for the same thing , does that automatically mean I get more drugs? :lol:

This is where I would like some feedback from the medical people. Especially the ones that work in an ER.

[cbrchick]

It's a bit of a pain in the ass kinda scale. Rarely do I get someone with a freak'n clue that can quantify their pain in a realistic manner. So I help them out.

I say... 'If 10 is having your legs cut off, your body set on fire and acid poured on the flames... and 0 is no pain... where is your pain now?"

Some people will say "10" as they sip a coffee (complaining of abdo pain mind you).

With women, 10 can be child birth - so they can quantify it pretty good at times.

Men on the other hand are more wimpy and everything is a 10.

I'll ask patient's their history of injuries and use those as a starting point. Someone might have only ever broken a finger, and that would be their 10. So sometimes that gives them an idea of their perception (and mine) of pain.

I usually give small amount of narcotics to the unrealistic peeps and then explain to them that if it was a "10" 2.5 mg of Morphine wouldn't have helped. Sometimes we give tylenol :)

I love the ones that tell me "Dilauded" is the only thing that works for their pain. And those that say "I have a high pain tolerance". (People don't understand pain tolerance).

My father has a high pain tolerance and he's hard to sedate. Old ladies that have had 20 kids, the same.


A lot of younger, middle-aged unhealthy men and women are whinners. Drug addicts are worse.

The really sick, hurting people don't complain like you'd think. They are in too much pain to do anything else but exist.

[wildchild]

That is exactly my point. Why is it used if it's subjective. If I say 5 for something and you say 2 for the same thing , does that automatically mean I get more drugs? :lol:

This is where I would like some feedback from the medical people. Especially the ones that work in an ER.

they just ask it so they know if you'll be entertaining to watch as you suffer waiting to be seen. LOL

worst pain I've felt was nearly ripping my finger completely off when a ring got caught in a vehicle as well as ripping open my arma little bit at the same time. I tried to avoid the doctors saying it only hurt a little. yeah 52 stitches later it still hurt a little. LOL

a 10 would have to be writhing in pain and can't function at all because of the pain.

[cbrchick]

That is exactly my point. Why is it used if it's subjective. If I say 5 for something and you say 2 for the same thing , does that automatically mean I get more drugs? :lol:

This is where I would like some feedback from the medical people. Especially the ones that work in an ER.

We give drugs as we see fit. Not really based just on a pain scale. It just gives us an idea if the interventions we are use are working. If your pain starts at a "10" and I give you drugs, and then ask 5 mins later what your pain is post drugs, and you say "5" then I know it's working. But other things like physical symptoms, vitals, that sorta thing... those go along with our decision to continue treating or not.

Like someone having chest pain. We don't use narcotics right off, we start with nitro if their story fits, sometimes just oxygen first, and we go by blood work, EKGs and vitals. The pain scale thingy is just a small part of the process.

We can tell when people are full of shit, and we'll document such. IE: someone stating they are having 9/10 pain but yet is going out for smokes and laughing and talking with their family.

[Archren]

We can tell when people are full of shit, and we'll document such. IE: someone stating they are having 9/10 pain but yet is going out for smokes and laughing and talking with their family.

We had a young soldier out at training who was like that.. her 4'7" stature played a lot into her dramatic antics.. because she was always doing stupid shit for attention. Including exaggerating pain/symptoms in front of certain people, but then seeming just fine once she got to the doctors. :scratch:

[tommymac]

its all relative but can be useful to see if its getting better or worse. Culturally it varies too. russians and most asians tend to handle pain rather well and can be very stoic so those guys I watch a little more closeley. Alot of the caribeans and latinos tend to be overly dramatic over stuff so they put on a good show for a twisted ankle or something minor.
Tom

[Rider]

Yeah a 10 would be out of control give me morphine now type pain. I actually experienced this much pain when I separated my shoulder. I've had lots and lots of bad injuries like broken ribs, broken nose, broken fingers, chipped my hip bone, hit in the head with a 5 iron, hit in the head with a baseball bat twice, Hyper extended knee and much much more and nothing compared to the shoulder injury. Shit, my bottom teeth went through my lower lip and that was like a 5 or 6 on the pain scale.

[tommymac]

Yeah a 10 would be out of control give me morphine now type pain. I actually experienced this much pain when I separated my shoulder. I've had lots and lots of bad injuries like broken ribs, broken nose, broken fingers, chipped my hip bone, hit in the head with a 5 iron, hit in the head with a baseball bat twice, Hyper extended knee and much much more and nothing compared to the shoulder injury. Shit, my bottom teeth went through my lower lip and that was like a 5 or 6 on the pain scale.

separated or dislocated? 2 different animals, shoulder dislocations are no joke, we load them up on pain meds and even sedate them before we have a tug of war with their arms.

Tom

[dReWpY]

never had a ten, or even close to it and i have knock teeth out, broken my nose more times that i care to think about, stitches and shattereted my thumb and had pins put in and i think the highest i hit was a 6...

[Rider]

separated or dislocated? 2 different animals, shoulder dislocations are no joke, we load them up on pain meds and even sedate them before we have a tug of war with their arms.

Tom

Separation. Never has a dislocation. I've injured both of my shoulders at different times and it took well over a year to heal them.

[HurricaneHeather]

We give drugs as we see fit. Not really based just on a pain scale. It just gives us an idea if the interventions we are use are working. If your pain starts at a "10" and I give you drugs, and then ask 5 mins later what your pain is post drugs, and you say "5" then I know it's working. But other things like physical symptoms, vitals, that sorta thing... those go along with our decision to continue treating or not.

Like someone having chest pain. We don't use narcotics right off, we start with nitro if their story fits, sometimes just oxygen first, and we go by blood work, EKGs and vitals. The pain scale thingy is just a small part of the process.

We can tell when people are full of shit, and we'll document such. IE: someone stating they are having 9/10 pain but yet is going out for smokes and laughing and talking with their family.

Okay, so basically, it is a part of your decision, not the final determination?

That makes more sense.

When I broke my femur I said 8. And I meant it. It hurt. :panic:

[Papa_Complex]

My imagination for that sort of thing isn't very good. My current "10", that I've actually experienced, was my balls hitting the steel gas tank of my bike when I went head-on into the grille of a car. The dent in the tank looked like I had taped an athletic supporter to a 8-pound sledge, then whacked the tank with it a couple of times.

[Rider]

My imagination for that sort of thing isn't very good. My current "10", that I've actually experienced, was my balls hitting the steel gas tank of my bike when I went head-on into the grille of a car. The dent in the tank looked like I had taped an athletic supporter to a 8-pound sledge, then whacked the tank with it a couple of times.

Holy fucking ouch! No rupture? You got pretty lucky.

[wildchild]

Holy fucking ouch! No rupture? You got pretty lucky.

of what the gas tank? he must have brass balls for real if he can dent steel. :skep:

[z06boy]

It is hard to gauge and different for everybody.

I know I was able to make a coherent phone call from my cell while laying on the side of the road with my splintered femur sticking out of my jeans and my foot twisted around backwards and blowing in the wind...seriously.

My friend that I called thought I was kidding since I was talking so calmly and matter of fact. The look on his face when he actually saw me laying there was priceless.

Now having said this...my wife pinched me the other day and it pizzed me off because it hurt like a mofo for a couple of seconds so I guess it just depends. :lol:

Now the accident I had where I broke my femur...the physical therapy and the skin grafs did hurt alot too.

[Rider]

It is hard to gauge and different for everybody.

I know I was able to make a coherent phone call from my cell while laying on the side of the road with my splintered femur sticking out of my jeans and my foot twisted around backwards and blowing in the wind...seriously.

My friend that I called thought I was kidding since I was talking so calmly and matter of fact. The look on his face when he actually saw me laying there was priceless.

Now having said this...my wife pinched me the other day and it pizzed me off because it hurt like a mofo for a couple of seconds so I guess it just depends. :lol:

Now the accident I had where I broke my femur...the physical therapy and the skin grafs did hurt alot too.

Adrenalin masks pain.

[HurricaneHeather]

Adrenalin masks pain.

Yeah....I think that makes a big difference.

[Papa_Complex]

Holy fucking ouch! No rupture? You got pretty lucky.

Yup, very lucky. I hit the tank square on, instead of to one side of the other, then went over the full length of the car and landed on my ass.

Wise words from my mechanic; "That's nothing to brag about. If I were you, I'd start taking a hammer to it and make it bigger."

[z06boy]

Adrenalin masks pain.

It definitely does...like being in a fight...it never seemed/seems to hurt until later.

The older I get...the more things seem to hurt the next day too. I can still do alot of what I used to do but the recovery process takes longer. :lol:

[Rider]

When the dump truck ran over my leg I didn't feel much. Maybe because it crushed the nerves and it wasn't sending back any response? Boy did it hurt the next day though.

[z06boy]

When the dump truck ran over my leg I didn't feel much. Maybe because it crushed the nerves and it wasn't sending back any response? Boy did it hurt the next day though.

Oh yeah I just read about that the other day...ouch !!

[tommymac]

I like the ones who tell me what pain medication they need.

had one the other night wanted oxycontin, dilaudid and fentanyl patches. guess he figured he might as well go all out

[Rider]

I like the ones who tell me what pain medication they need.

had one the other night wanted oxycontin, dilaudid and fentanyl patches. guess he figured he might as well go all out

Flexoril and a Black Tooth Grin(Crown Royal and a splash of coke) is all it takes to knock me out. There is NO need for anything more.

[askmrjesus]

Having bone marrow sucked out of my hip, was probably the highest on the scale, followed by sticking my finger into a running car fan, and falling hands down onto a hot grill (liver and onions).

Having my right thigh crushed by a swingarm was also bad, but I HATE liver and onions.

JC

[Rsv1000R]

Probably the worst pain was when my broken clavicle wasn't healing and the broken bone ends would jam together. I'd call that an 8 or 9, and it was 5-7 otherwise.
When I had rotator cuff surgery, in post op I think I got 4 2.5mg shots of morphines before they told me I couldn't have anymore. They did make me eat a percocet before I could leave, as well as graham crackers and coke which made me sick later.

[rogue]

Childbirth with the first one is probably the most pain I've ever been in. It was not only intense but lasted for HOURS! (36 hours of labor).

Next was probably when I sprain my foot in two places at the same time...both where severe. The ER doc told me it probably wouldn't have hurt so much if I had broken my foot. :lol: They gave me something immediately because I was crying so hard and after that I was fine.

I've fractured my arm and never knew it. :idk:

When I cut my foot and leg open, I didn't feel much, although the ER gave me a loratab 7.5 for it. I think they did it in attempt to chill me out so I'd stop poking at the meat that was hanging out. :lol:

Most times I ignore pain. If I ignore it....it goes away. ;)

:lol:

[canibeyou]

I've done some pretty good accidents in my day and it's always the pain after the initial pain that gets me.

The best two that I can remember are when I ripped all the ligaments in my knee. I wish I'd just have broken it 'cuz the pain would wake me at night and it was horrible. I think a break would've been less painful. I was in a cast for 6 months on that leg while it healed. The day that cast came off, I took like 5 steps in the doctors office, we heard a snap and this pain shot through my other leg. I had snapped my Achilles tendon in my other leg. Guess it was worn out. So I got a cast on that leg before I left the office. One whole year on crutches.

The other pain I can remember real well was a couple years ago when I ripped my shin open with a weed wacker. The weed wacker had those plastic rods in it (weed thrasher rods), not the regular weed wacker wire. Well, the initial injury was horrendous looking (It looked as if someone had taken a tennis ball and shoved it under my skin), bloody and gorey. But it was the pain that would come after that that actually made me cry (and I don't really cry when I hurt myself). If I sat for a little while, when I went to stand up, all the blood would rush down to the wound and it felt as if someone were jamming hundreds of ice picks into my leg. That pain was unbearable. I used to stand there crying for 3-4 minutes before I could walk on that leg. And that happened every time I went to stand. it was bad.

Sadly, I'm allergic to all the good pain meds too. Sucks.


Now, how do I judge pain? Not like I used to. With the pain my husband has every day since his accident and he NEVER complains, I've learned to really tone it down a notch. The 3rd degree burn I have on my leg right now... I'd say that was a leve 4 pain. But to others it may be higher on the pain scale.

[Particle Man]

Having bone marrow sucked out of my hip, was probably the highest on the scale, followed by sticking my finger into a running car fan, and falling hands down onto a hot grill (liver and onions).

Having my right thigh crushed by a swingarm was also bad, but I HATE liver and onions.

JC

"How would you like your Jesus?"

"Medium. Hold the liver."

[canibeyou]

and falling hands down onto a hot grill (liver and onions).


I broke my fall once by goin' hands first onto the lid of a hot bar-b-que. Burnt the palms of my hands and for months they smelled like bar-b-que.

[Rider]

I've always wanted to burn the palms of my hands. I'd go straight to sperm donor clinic with my hands all taped up and ask for a little nursing assistance. :rockwoot:

[derf]

Yeh the pain scale don't work for me. I can break a bone and have it poking through the skin and it really doesn't hurt, but give me a paper cut and I'm laying on the floor crying like a baby

[Riceaholic]

I've broken a lot of bones and had some dislocations of different things. I've roadrashed and burned myself pretty nicely a couple times too. All that hurt pretty bad but probably not what I would consider higher than a 5 or 6 on the scale. The worst ever was my appendix right before it was yanked out. Docs said another half hour and it would have blown up. That felt like a red hot poker being twisted in my gut and even then it was nowhere near what I would consider a 10...

[Smittie61984]

Probably the best explanation ever...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as4U1AlUhso

[askmrjesus]

hands first onto the lid of a hot bar-b-que.

Sorry, totally lost concentration there for a second.

So there you were, bent over the bar-b-que, then what happened?

JC

[canibeyou]

Sorry, totally lost concentration there for a second.

So there you were, bent over the bar-b-que, then what happened?

JC

Screaming! Lots of screaming!

*rawr*

[Particle Man]

Screaming! Lots of screaming!

*rawr*

:lmao:

[Archren]

Screaming! Lots of screaming!

*rawr*

< Paris > That's hot. < / Paris >

:lol:

[askmrjesus]

Screaming! Lots of screaming!

*rawr*

:lmao: :lmao:

JC

[Amorok]

Wow, this thread went awry. The worst pain I've felt so far was having my knee hyperextended, or mayube the time I had my shoulder put back after dislocating it with no doctor present. It hurts more that way. I've never told the doctor I was above a 7 or 8, and I'm pretty bad off by then, to the point that all I can do is breath and pray for death.

[Phenix_Rider]

to me, the 10 on the pain scale is having limbs remove with butterknives and having salt with rubbign alcohol poured into the wounds. now I hear a lot of people whine that breaking nails or scratches hurt, fuckin pussies.

That sounds about right...

I've nicked the tendon in my thumb with an ice skate, cut my elbow open falling off my mountain bike, torn a ligament in my foot and walked on it for days... Tore up my knuckles on a heavy bag too many times to count, have tears in the webbing of the two smaller toes on my right foot, been kicked in the groin and ribs too many times to count, etc, etc, etc.

Only once have I needed strong pain meds- and even then I didn't want them. When I had surgery that cut my abdominals (not telling that story) I was shaking from the pain. I could hold myself up and walk very slowly, but to move from a seated position to standing or lying down was excruciating and had to be accomplished in small steps with rest between. Still not quite a 10. The shuttle ride and car ride away from Johns Hopkins shot some white light everywhere, and that was really rough. Still only took the Super Tylenol (whatever it's called- morphine or codeine laced stuff) For a day or two after being released. I repeatedly refused anything but basic anti-inflammatory.

To me, if something little doesn't hurt, I'm probably dead. "Pain is your friend. It lets you know your not dead yet!"

[2up]

A few years back I started having random and severe head pains. The first time it happened I thought I was getting a bad headache and took tylenol. A couple of hours later it was getting worse so I took more. Couple more hours, still worse, took a vicodin. Couple more hours the pain was so extreme I thought one of my eyeballs was going to pop out of my head, couldn't move or talk or anything, so I went to the ER. The gave me demarol and visaril (sp?) in an IV and about an hour after that the pain started to subside. If that's not a 10 I hope I never feel a 10.

They ended up thinking I might have an aneurysm that the CT and MRI just can't detect. I got that kind of pain probably 4 more times and each time had to go to the ER 'cause they pain meds they gave me would't work. A few times it happened and it wasn't as bad so I just took the pain meds. Eventually it stopped happening. Thank God.

[Yamerhaw]

like i've said before, i have cluster(suicide) headaches, and i cant even describe that pain, but i'll give it at least a 9(i've read and my doctor even told me, that they may be the most painful thing known to medical science), if i ever feel what i believe is a 10, i'll kill myself..

i've been shot, stabbed, cut, burned, ran over by a car, many broken bones, fractured skull, both sides of my jaw broken and wired shut, peppered sprayed(not just a little squirt, more like whole bottle by bouncers trying to prove something), etc, etc, etc, etc

all of those sucked, but wouldnt give them more than a 5 compared to those mother effing headaches, but the pepper spray was pretty intense(i think because of all the open cuts brought on by the billy clubs)

[CrazyKell]

I had a little "procedure" done at the hospital today and while I was there I thought about this thread. :lmao: (hey it took my mind off things).

I think my rating on the pain scale all has to do with how much I dislike what's happening. Some things I hate a bunch so I piss and moan about them and want to say they're higher than they are. Others that are more tolerable, end up lower on the pain scale. :idk:

[Papa_Complex]

A few years back I started having random and severe head pains. The first time it happened I thought I was getting a bad headache and took tylenol. A couple of hours later it was getting worse so I took more. Couple more hours, still worse, took a vicodin. Couple more hours the pain was so extreme I thought one of my eyeballs was going to pop out of my head, couldn't move or talk or anything, so I went to the ER. The gave me demarol and visaril (sp?) in an IV and about an hour after that the pain started to subside. If that's not a 10 I hope I never feel a 10.

They ended up thinking I might have an aneurysm that the CT and MRI just can't detect. I got that kind of pain probably 4 more times and each time had to go to the ER 'cause they pain meds they gave me would't work. A few times it happened and it wasn't as bad so I just took the pain meds. Eventually it stopped happening. Thank God.

Sounds like the migraine headaches I used to have as a kid. They didn't rate as a 10 on the pain scale though because the couple of times the pain levels got to what you're describing, I passed out.