Subject: The Pain Scale
I think doctors and hospitals need to implement a new “pain scale” that allows one to “describe the pain” because let’s face it when they say “on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the highest..”, what you wish they would say is “on a scale from 1-10, 100 being the highest…”
An EMT once heard me describe my pain instead of the scale and my description was “it feels like someone has shoved a skewer up my tush.” She said she would never forget that description. So, on that note…
After being in the house for 11 days post surgery, I was (notice the tense) feeling a bit better and had yet (again, notice the tense) to use pain meds. The kids were starting to feel well and Joshua had been saving to buy a new game for his game boy. So, I decided that I could drive them to Game Stop and then the Dollar Tree so Faithy could get something also. After that hour, if you were to ask me on a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the highest to “rate” my pain….this is how it would go.
“Have you ever fallen down the stairs on your tail bone? Okay, it’s like that, but coupled with someone hitting my tailbone over and over and over and over and over and over and over…breath…over and over and over. Then for good measure, kick me in the tail bone so I fall down the flight of stairs on my tail bone.” So, would that be a 10?
I’m thinking that a description works far better for them to GRASP the pain rather than a silly number used for counting.
Hope you all have a wonderful day….off to take pain meds now. It would be interesting to hear how I would describe my pain then.
My simplified pain scale if one must use numbers.
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