Easing Out Of It

Today, I'm at a Level 2 - this is according to the Fibromyalgia Pain Scale by Carol J. Johnson, which can be found, HERE.

That's alright. I can ignore many things - pain included.  Yesterday was a different story.

Yesterday, I needed my prescribed muscle relaxers, Advil, a natural muscle relaxer, ice, pillows and a gel stick from "The Happy Hempsters" (I think).  It took all day to get about 2.5 hours of relief; at which point it started up again. Fortunately, but that time I was at home and took a heavy dose sleeping pill.

Pain Scale by Carol J. Johnson

Fibromyalgia Pain Scale
When you go to your doctors, one of the first things they will ask you is: "On a scale of 1-10, where is your pain level?" But they fail to give you any degree of pain measurements to go by, so our support group has come up with our version of the Pain Scale.

Level 1: You experience very minor pain in parts of your body. You don't have to take any pain medications and you can do your work with no problems.

Level 2: The minor pain has increased to dull aches in some parts of your body. You don't have to take medication and you still can work as usual but you don't want people 'in your face'!

Level 3: Your minor pain is strong enough to get your attention. You resort to Over the Counter medications. You are getting grouchy now.

Level 4: Now you can only ignore the pain if you are involved in activities at work or home. You are taking more Over the Counter medications but they don't last long. You begin to cut back on your activities in favor of just sitting down.

Level 5: You can't ignore this pain for more than an hour, even with Over the Counter Medications. You cut back of all activities except the most important ones. Work is possible, just barely.

Level 6: You simply can not. Ignore your pain for even a few minutes. But with prescription pain medications you have limited functioning abilities.

Level 7: This level of pain is the kind that keeps you awake at night, makes it hard to think and act. Your prescription medication only dulls the pain for a short time,. You limit your activities in order of importance. You really can't work well.

Level 8: This is serious pain. You don't want to do anything or be bothered by anyone. You have taken so much pain medication you are unable to fully concentrate on anything, Work is out of the question.

Level 9: Very serious pain here. You can not concentrate on anything but pain. You should not do business transactions or make any important decisions because of your limited mental state. You might want to give some one Power of Attorney. You can not go to work and you shouldn't drive a car. At this point you begin withdrawing from the world around you.

Level 10: Pain has made you totally unable to function. You don't want to deal with or talk to anyone. Even with narcotic pain medications you are still in horrible pain. You go to bed or go to the emergency room for any help you can get.

This is how we have divided the pain scale into a workable reference guide for our group and our medical staff. We hope you can use this as a guide when you visit your doctor and have to describe your pain. Our optimal goal of course, is to stay with in the range of 1-4 or even to get to PAIN LEVEL 0, which is NO PAIN!

By Carol J.Johnson
Link to Carol J. Johnson's article.

Pain Scale for Fibromyalgia

The ORIGINAL article can be found here. 
Disclaimer: This isn't written by me! It was written my a lady named Paula, so SHE was the one that designed this pain scale. It's really rather helpful!

Pain Scale for Fibromyalgia

I designed this pain scale as a tool to help the Fibromyalgia patient clearly communicate to his/her doctor the pain levels that he/she is experiencing.

I hope this helps you because at some point in treating my Fibromyalgia, a doctor asked me to put a number value on my pain levels. One thing that we do know is that pain is subjective. What I think of as an 8 and what you think of as an 8 may or may not be the same.
I was really having a hard time assigning a number to my pain levels, so I made this pain scale. I took it to my doctor who received it well. From that point on, she seems to really understand my pain levels now and we have had much better success treating them.
Frequently, I see people whose doctors don't seem to be taking their pain levels seriously. I hope that this pain scale can help everyone get the relief they need by helping the doctors "see" what we are feeling.
(Written by Paula on the ‘Clouds’ message board.)
Please note: This is the pain level that is experienced AFTER taking the daily medication prescribed by your doctor. 0 Pain free. 1 Very minor annoyance - mild aches to some parts of the body. No pain medication needed. 2 Minor annoyance- dull aches to some parts of the body. No pain medication needed. 3 Annoying enough to be distracting. Over-the-counter pain relievers (such as Naproxen or topical treatments such as Arthritis Pain relieving rubs) take care of it. 4 Can be ignored if you are really involved in your work, but still distracting. Over-the-counter pain relievers remove pain for 3-4 hours. 5 Can’t be ignored for more than 30 minutes. Over-the-counter pain relievers help somewhat (bring pain level from 5 to a 3 or 4) with pain for 3-4 hours. 6 Can’t be ignored for any length of time but you can still go to work and participate in social activities. Stronger painkillers (such as Ultram) relieve pain for 3-4 hours. 7 Makes it difficult to concentrate, interferes with sleep. You can still function with effort. Stronger painkillers (such as Ultram) are only partially effective. (Stronger pain killers bring pain from a 7 to a 4-6 level.) 8 Physical activity severely limited. You can read and converse with effort. Stronger painkillers (such as Ultram) are not effective. (Narcotic painkillers do bring this pain down to a level 3 or lower level.) 9 Non functional for all practical purposes. Cannot concentrate. Physical activity halted. Panic sets in. (Narcotic painkillers bring the pain level down from 9 to the 4-6 level.) 10 Totally non-functional. Unable to speak. Crying out or moaning uncontrollably - near delirium.

On a Scale of 1-10

Where am I today on the pain scale?

At a fuckin' 12 -

Seriously, they need an adult version for the stupid little pain scale model. You know that one with the smiley faces turning into angry faces? I'm not angry, I'm in PAIN! There needs to be a face with tears running down the face, mouth wide open like it's screaming or one with a conversation bubble over it dropping the F-bomb.

0:  Hi.  I am not experiencing any pain at all.  I don't know why I'm even here.

1:  I am completely unsure whether I am experiencing pain or itching or maybe I just have a bad taste in my mouth.

2:  I probably just need a Band Aid.

3:  This is distressing.  I don't want this to be happening to me at all.

4:  My pain is not fucking around.

5:  Why is this happening to me??

6:  Ow.  Okay, my pain is super legit now.

7:  I see Jesus coming for me and I'm scared.   

8:  I am experiencing a disturbing amount of pain.  I might actually be dying.  Please help.

9:  I am almost definitely dying.

10:  I am actively being mauled by a bear.

11: Blood is going to explode out of my face at any moment.

That would help alleviate some pain right there! It would give us something to laugh about!