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  • How Bad is Your Pain?

    Just how bad is your pain?

    Improved Pain Scale.jpg
    Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
    Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

  • #2
    Linda,

    That is hilarious!
    Gayle, age 50
    Oct 2010 fusion T8-sacrum w/ pelvic fixation
    Feb 2012 lumbar revision for broken rods @ L2-3-4
    Sept 2015 major lumbar A/P revision for broken rods @ L5-S1


    mom of Leah, 15 y/o, Diagnosed '08 with 26* T JIS (age 6)
    2010 VBS Dr Luhmann Shriners St Louis
    2017 curves stable/skeletely mature

    also mom of Torrey, 12 y/o son, 16* T, stable

    Comment


    • #3
      Very funny
      Melissa

      Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

      April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

      Comment


      • #4
        Describes pain well!
        Susan
        Adult Onset Degen Scoliosis @65, 25* T & 36* L w/ 11.2 cm coronal balance; T kyphosis 90*; Sev disc degen T & L stenosis

        2013: T3- S1 Fusion w/ ALIF L4-S1/XLIF L2-4, PSF T4-S1 2 surgeries
        2014: Hernia @ ALIF repaired; Emergency screw removal SCI T4,5 sec to PJK
        2015: Rev Broken Bil T & L rods and no fusion: 2 revision surgeries; hardware P. Acnes infection
        2016: Ant/Lat Lumbar diskectomy w/ 4 cages + BMP + harvested bone
        2018: Removal L4,5 screw
        2021: Removal T1 screw & rod

        Comment


        • #5
          Great way to explain pain. Right to the point
          T10-pelvis fusion 12/08
          C5,6,7 fusion 9/10
          T2--T10 fusion 2/11
          C 4-5 fusion 11/14
          Right scapulectomy 6/15
          Right pectoralis major muscle transfer to scapula
          To replace the action of Serratus Anterior muscle 3/16
          Broken neck 9/28/2018
          Emergency surgery posterior fusion C4- T3
          Repeated 11/2018 because rods pulled apart added T2 fusion
          Removal of partial right thoracic hardware 1/2020
          Removal and replacement of C4-T10 hardware with C7 and T 1
          Osteotomy

          Comment


          • #6
            Too funny! It doesn't change how I rate my pain at all. They should post it in the Dr.'s offices to get some real answers out of people...LOL
            Be happy!
            We don't know what tomorrow brings,
            but we are alive today!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by rohrer01 View Post
              Too funny! It doesn't change how I rate my pain at all. They should post it in the Dr.'s offices to get some real answers out of people...LOL
              I agree. When someone says their pain is 10 out of 10, I always think they should probably be in the E.R. But, none of us can know about other peoples' pain. It's very subjective.
              Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
              Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

              Comment


              • #8
                The worst for me was renal colic from a 9mm kidney stone, that is INTENSE, and I thought I was dying. I’ve done spinal taps, broken bones, broken shoulder, hand smash in machine, golf ball sized gall stones, been knocked out from bad ski crashes (a few times) and have had 6 herniation’s. Much of it without meds. And A/P scoli surgeries, which I almost forgot to mention.

                Muscle spasm can rate very high, along with the electrical jolts from healing nerves after scoli surgery. You can hit a 10 for short periods and not make it to the ER. Its when pain continues on and you cant sleep because of it that you have a serious problem. Weaning off meds cold turkey style is also very painful. 1st 48 hours

                I have had a painful life I guess, along with many members here. After decades of pain, much of it is ignorable, and adaptable..... Sometimes we have no choice. Years ago, my Chiro’s noticed that I was writing down 3’s every single visit while dragging myself in looking like a cat that had been hit by a car.”Ed, your beat, what happened?”LOL I didn’t have an answer since I adapted so well, it was just another day.... I don’t think I would be good at rating lower levels of pain anymore. A bee sting? Is that really a level of pain?

                I have to thank every single person that has been involved in any sort of pain control. I wouldn’t have made it without my Chiros, or Psychologists for that matter. Psychologists for bereavement, the most painful thing I can think of. This type mental strain and stress transfers to the body and can destroy us. It almost killed me a few times. My neck herniation’s were exposed when I lost my mom.

                I think that controlling our worries and anxiety mentally has a profound affect on just about everything pain related. Laughter is excellent at this mind diversion. Under stress, I always joke. It became my health maintenance program.

                Did you guys know that Conan made it to North Korea? LOL
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K46Ez-Igc9E


                Ed
                49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                My x-rays
                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                Comment


                • #9
                  I know this was meant to be a humorous thread. I really think pain scales should be rated on an exponential chart. Unfortunately, I don't think the majority of people would get it...it's so sad how undereducated most adults are. I'm certainly not trying to offend anyone here. If you understand it, you are NOT one of whom I speak about. But it really is like the richter scale, for which the spell check on this forum is uneducated as it says I misspelled richter. I doubted myself and double checked!

                  So going from a 1 to a 2 is not a small leap but a very large one, nor a 3 to a 4, etc. After a surgery they always ask me what pain number I am okay with being at. I tell them preferably a 3 but less than a 4. They usually do a very good job at getting me down to a 3. That is a pain level that I can fall asleep with...sometimes, depending on where it's at.

                  It's funny that Ed says that he always said he was at a 3. That's exactly what I always tell them! Then after they're done bending and twisting me around, I look for something to hang on to as I very gently sit back down. I'm sure others can relate.

                  Yes, Linda, I totally agree that pain is subjective. Some people work at jobs where they get hurt all of the time and work right through it. I'm positive my hubby broke his wrist, hand and foot at separate times. Every time he would yell out in his sleep if it even got bumped on the covers or moved. I begged him to go to the doctor. I even told him that he could pound the crap out of his wrenches with a cast on and it wouldn't hurt him. I say this because my son broke his hand/wrist two summers in a row and said no blows hurt it at all. He would pound it to show me. Back to hubby, stubborn mule, he refused to go and now about two months later (the latest one was the wrist) feels much better unless the weather changes or he bangs it too hard.

                  I know a broken bone when I see one (fortunately no compound fractures). They leak calcium and blood which causes a swelling, usually in an odd place, but where the bone is broken, and has a distinctive bluish hue that doesn't quite look like a bruise. I've been right every time with my kids. So, yes, pain is subjective. How many of us would go to work with a broken wrist to a job that requires us to use that hand? Sorry, NOT me! Although I did completely lose track of time after my wrist surgery last year and forgot to wear the brace after the cast came off. I was a little under three weeks post-op (just had the cast off a couple days before) and went to the County Fair with my grandson. I fell THREE times on that wrist at the fair! The carnie wouldn't turn the darn twirling tunnel off and I have NO balance. After the third fall he heard me loud enough. He was in la la land for sure. Oh, I had a freshly broken rib (less than a month) on the same side!

                  The triage nurse at the major hospital in my area confided in me that they are instructed to put down HALF the pain rating a patient tells them when they are entering the information in the computer. I travelled an hour to go to that ER over small town ER a few blocks away because they are a trauma center. I rated my pain an eight. That's when he told me what he was supposed to do. But after looking at me and taking my vitals he said I'm entering an eight for you because you really look it! That was a horrible night for me. The pain literally made me pass out. Unfortunately, I woke to my scared hubby trying to wake me. It took about a half hour to get me to the car after I got the courage to even move...hindsight, there is an ambulance service and this is what they are for!

                  Rohrer01
                  Last edited by rohrer01; 04-19-2016, 08:48 PM.
                  Be happy!
                  We don't know what tomorrow brings,
                  but we are alive today!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I am very interested in pain science. This presentation is brilliant!

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ABA...rWF1TABF8e3nuw

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by burdle View Post
                      I am very interested in pain science. This presentation is brilliant!

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ABA...rWF1TABF8e3nuw
                      Very, very interesting and worth watching. It opened a whole new view on chronic pain. Thanks for sharing.
                      I am going to look further into this concept of pain!
                      Linda Brozik~~60 yrs. old at time of Lenke's first surgery. 62 now!
                      Surgery 2006 L3/4 L4/5 double fusion/ instumentation/ With 2 cages
                      This started adult onset scoliosis
                      July 1st, 2010/ surgery ~~fused T10 to pelvis (long rods/ screws)
                      Oct.20th 2010, extended rods to T4 / did osteotomy at L3
                      Oct. 29th 2012 Dr. Lenke St. Louis Mo. T4 to sacrum osteotomy anterior cage L3/4 titanium rods
                      May 30th 2013 revision
                      May 8th cervicle surgery 2016
                      May 31st Dr. Gupta revision 2017

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Burdle,

                        I watched the WHOLE presentation and it was WELL worth every minute. I have been "attacked", so to speak, by a psychologist because I took the MMPI and rated high on the hypochondriasis scale for a person my age and education. First of all, there should not be medical questions on a personality test in my opinion. This psychologist was very demeaning and approached me with, "Do you remember the bell curve in your statistics class?" He proceeded to tell me how accurate this test was for determining people who "somaticize" pain. We really call that psychosomatic, but I acted ignorant and let him explain what it meant. Then he looked at my medical chart and some imaging, mind you he's a "doctor" but not and M.D. but a Ph.D. so has no real foundation to determine medical pathologies. He then proceeded to tell me that it was a little unusual because I really DO have pathology as if it were a huge shock to see someone in pain answer honestly about pain on a test. I wanted to ask him if HE remembered his statistics class, that he would have had to have been taken at least 40 years before I took mine, and reminded him of a little but well known thing in bell curves called OUTLIERS. I was angry at how I was treated because he treated me as if I were faking my pain. I have pathology in most of my organ systems. I was FORCED to see a psychotherapist and talk about my life stressors. Unfortunately I had to lie and say that her talk therapy helped my pain so I could quit wasting my time driving an hour one way to see her. She gave me no suggestions for relaxation or de-stressing at all. I have found ways to cope with my pain (other than the meds I'm on), which is still limiting if I do certain activities too long, even enjoyable ones. But my biggest setback is weakness. I can't go very far, depending on the day as it is unpredictable, before I can't walk at all or lift heavier things with my arms and hands before I drop them. If I could keep going, I could get those endorphins to kick in.

                        I think this lecture beautifully describes psychosomatic pain with the SIMs and DIMs. There are times that we "forget" we have pain when we are doing enjoyable things. However, there are acute pains that can and do happen even WHEN we are doing enjoyable things. We also may exacerbate a condition and create more pain by doing damage while our brains are putting out the natural "morphine" aka endorphins. I have been aware of the natural opiate-like chemicals that our bodies put out since I started studying medicine. That is why opiates work so well for pain relief. We have opiate receptors in our brains, not because we were predetermined somehow to discover opium, but because our bodies MAKE it. That's why we get "runners high" after a good bout of exercise. However, if we overdo it, we build up lactic acid in our muscles which triggers the nerves to send pain signals to the brain, which is biologically a real response to muscle damage.

                        Of course this seminar was focusing on people with chronic pain because pain IS really a blessing! People born without the ability to feel pain are at real risk for life-threatening injuries. The brain tells us when we are injured and in danger, as was mentioned in the seminar. Even the smallest parts are important. Anyone who's stubbed their pinky toe knows this.

                        Oddly enough, many very serious injuries are NOT immediately painful. For example, my mom fell into a table saw and had nearly a four finger amputation with one complete amputation and the thumb cut partially through the bone. Her brain pumped out the natural morphine and many will say that shock is a factor in this phenomenon. However, she never went into shock, nor was treated for shock. She had a very lucid conversation with the hand surgeon before surgery requesting that he reattach the completely amputated finger if possible. Off topic a bit but that one was needed for "parts" to save the other four so she lost it. The pain came AFTER a successful surgery and the danger was over. The recovery period was horrific. But, in the case of this lecture, I believe he is talking about when pain persists after a sufficient period of recovery time has occurred. She recovered and the pain is gone, although she says she can feel that finger (the missing one) moving around. During recovery she had a lot of phantom pain, but she just has the other symptoms now. Our nervous system is so complex and little is really known about it compared to other systems. She can touch somewhere in the palm of her hand and it feels like she's touching the tip of her finger. Mind you, the palm was not affected at all. I'm grateful that she doesn't suffer from phantom pain other than her finger wiggling or itching (but she knows where to scratch!).

                        I think this lecturer could treat people with phantom pains from the way he describes the feeling of "self" that our brain perceives. IF you could convince the brain that a missing body part is no longer part of one's self, a phantom pain patient could be helped the same as a chronic pain sufferer. I don't know how he would do it since he had very limited time to explain only a couple of techniques that he uses. It made a lot of sense and I found it to be very informative and not the least bit offensive.

                        I saw a demonstration where a participant sits at a table that has a divider in it. The person asks the participant to put one hand on either side of the divider and lightly strokes both hands with a paint brush. Then the person asks the participant to put one hand in their lap and a fake hand/arm is place where their hand was and a drape is put from the shoulder to the fake hand so it "looks" like their hand. They stroke the real hand with the paint brush again and then unexpectedly smack the fake hand with a hammer. The person always jumps and say that they felt momentary pain in their hand where the fake hand was. It was amazing to watch. It worked EVERY time, even for onlookers that wanted to try and were expecting the hammer. The brain was tricked into thinking that the fake hand was part of the participant's "self".

                        Thanks for sharing!
                        Rohrer01
                        Be happy!
                        We don't know what tomorrow brings,
                        but we are alive today!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Hey! I'd say my back pain is 5(bees), especially when moving somehow, otherwise just 4, so 4-5. Rarely is gets to 8(can't move, it hurts so much), fortunately this happens only if I am very very exhausted, or I exercise too much
                          _MG_3307.jpg Coronal plane
                          _MG_3309.jpg Sagittal plane

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I guess I don't get the humor. Pain isn't funny right now, sorry to be a debbie downer. My pain just keeps getting worse every year.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by dailypain View Post
                              I guess I don't get the humor. Pain isn't funny right now, sorry to be a debbie downer. My pain just keeps getting worse every year.
                              Dailypain,

                              You are right. There is nothing funny about pain. But please hear me out.

                              Some humor now and then can actually reduce pain. I suffer from chronic pain that gets worse every year, too. If you read the later comments, there are many truthful and insightful things that people have to say about pain and in my case the pain I have witnesses in others as well.

                              I have found that when I hurt, the more I think about it the more aware I am of it and the more it hurts. Unfortunately for me I can't just get up and walk the pain levels down as many people can. Some of my pain actually gets worse from getting up and around because of gravity and my muscles having to work harder to support the painful areas.

                              You aren't a "Debbie downer". Maybe you could benefit from reevaluating your pain and try to train your brain to compartmentalize. I have to do that EVERY time I go to the doctor because they always ask me to rate my pain no matter what I'm being seen for. What they really want to know is how much pain I have in the area or organ system they are interested in. So I have to not think of other pains and rate the one all by itself. At first it was really hard to do. But I'm getting much better at it and it has helped me at home as well.

                              It's food for thought. If you think down, you will be down. It WILL get worse. I know first hand from my own life with pain. If you are cheerful, which is REALLY hard to do at times, you will feel better. Distractions help a LOT.

                              There is a saying that a cheerful spirit brings health and a bitter one brings rottenness to the bones. That doesn't mean that a cheerful person dying of a terminal illness will not die from it. It may imply that they could live longer and/or have a better quality of life. If you have a bitter spirit or bad attitude you will go downhill much quicker and feel much worse.

                              Hugs,
                              Rohrer01
                              Last edited by rohrer01; 05-10-2016, 06:15 AM.
                              Be happy!
                              We don't know what tomorrow brings,
                              but we are alive today!

                              Comment

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