Pain scale levels

[CoreyJae]

I’m wondering what other people’s pain scale level is usually
I tend to be around a 2 or 4, fluctuating through those levels throughout the day
Right now I’d guess 5 or 6
Currently debating taking Tylenol

 

[sunkacola]

I’m wondering what other people’s pain scale level is usually
I tend to be around a 2 or 4, fluctuating through those levels throughout the day
Right now I’d guess 5 or 6
Currently debating taking Tylenol

There's a problem I see with this question.......not because it's not a good question, but because I see that "pain scale" as being so arbitrary and so utterly subjective to the individual that it really doesn't tell anyone anything, in my opinion.

For instance, I have had a doctor tell me that he has seen patients who say that their pain level is a 10 out of 10 when they are sitting there in the office.

Now, for me, 10 out of 10 is something I have only experienced a very few times in my life. 10 out of 10 is described (on the scale) as "worst pain imaginable". When I have had 10 out of 10, I have been on the floor, writhing and moaning, and utterly unable to speak, or get up, let along walk, let alone walk into some clinic and sit there calmly telling a doctor what the level is!

So, obviously, the person saying that has a very, very different experience of pain from mine, and a very different way to describe it. If they'd ever had the kind of pain I have had a few times, pain that put them writhing on the floor unable even to speak, they wouldn't be calling it 10/10 when they can walk calmly into a doctor's office.

Chances are, if I say my pain is at a 5 or 6, that person I describe above would call it a 10.

So, @CoreyJae , we can tell you that our pain is usually a this or a that, but that really doesn't tell you much. It doesn't tell you what you would call it if you felt the same pain level.

If tylenol helps your pain significantly, you are extremely fortunate. Most of us here would really love to be able to take tylenol to ease the pain.

 

[Harpy]

I’m wondering what other people’s pain scale level is usually

Oh this is a hard question. I personally hate this pain scale. Say my pain sits at a 8/9 , for someone it could be a 10 or 5 . No one has the same pain threshold.
My H has a very low pain threshold. Going by me medical team I have a high threshold.

I tend to be around a 2 or 4, fluctuating through those levels throughout the day
Right now I’d guess 5 or 6
Currently debating taking Tylenol

Hopefully you can get your pain to a normal for you.
Atleast a liveable threshold for you.

I know at the moment my level for pain is low, as I am treating some BCC on my face and it’s nasty pain . Well in a way a good nasty as I am not thinking about my pains, just the burning on my face

 

[johnsalmon]

Right now I’d guess 5 or 6

your 5 0r 6 might be my 10 or it could be my 1
the pain scale measures YOUR interpterion of pain it cannot be compared to another's measurement on their pain scale
to ME (on my pain scale) 5 is not major in any way but of course on your pain scale it could be.
Duration of the pain is another important factor if the pain level is say and only lasts for 1 hour then it is much less then a pain level of 5 that last for 12 hours

 

[Debbie1965]

My pain levels within the first hour of waking up are around a 5 to 6. I take 800 mg Gabapentin and Celebrex along with 3 teaspoons of Kratom and my pain starts easing up within 30-45 minutes and then I can start my day. If I don’t take my meds first thing in the morning my pain level starts to get worse. I take those meds 3 times during the day, usually, and if I take a dose a few hours late the pain gets worse around an 8-10. I pray that they discover something to help us all with dealing with our pain.

 

[Sueb24]

Yes, pain is such a subjective thing. I’ve always been told with my RA that I have a very high pain threshold. When I’ve had my joint tested they say that anyone else would probably be screaming when I say ‘not too bad’..lol! What’s important is how it feels to YOU and if you are in terrible pain something needs to be done. We are really bad at reaching out for that help in case we are perceived as being a nuisance.

There’s also the problem in describing pain to health professionals as many people tend to minimise it on the day they see a doctor. From long experience, I always describe how it feels on my worst day when I have an appointment unless you genuinely believe it is improving from what it has been.

 

[nikkozoo]

My pain level also fluctuates, most days a 2 or 3, but can go higher at times. I noted someone else said that if there pain level was a 10, they would be writhing on the floor. I have gotten myself to the hospital with a pain level of 10, given birth naturally, twice, with a pain level of 10. Once when I told a doctor that my pain level was 10 at the onset of my symptoms my son interrupted and told the doctor that if I were saying it was a 10, that it was more like a 12 or 13 because of the way I experience pain. I have a very high pain tolerance, I can burn myself and never know it until the blister forms (I have learned to be very careful when around anything hot). So, not only the level of pain, but also the intensity can differ from person to person. You need to know what each level feels like for you and when you need to medicate to alleviate it. I rarely medicate (doesn't agree with me) and manage to tolerate and function with mine fairly well and I have been dealing with FMS for roughly 25 years. I hope you figure things out and find what works for you. Good luck.

 

[OldKarz]

An interesting fact - your tolerance to pain is actually logged in your DNA. A DNA test giving 'traits' will include that as one of many. Mine states I have a high tolerance level.

 

[johnsalmon]

Mine states I have a high tolerance level.

I assume that you had a ancestry DNA test with traits. one must remember that environment can change or enhance generic traits. ie I have a high pain tolerance but that may be that I was a long distance runner and a rower - I ran 1mile to 16 mile track events and 2 double marathons - now that could be due to high tolerance to pain gene or to physical exercise required to be a long distance runner and rower.

so the gene may not be a good judge of how much pain one can tolerate