How The Pain Scale Should Be Explained 

I'm physically disabled, so I often have to deal with chronic pain. I've been using the "Defense And Veterans Pain Rating Scale". MILD (Green) 0. No pain 1. Hardly notice pain 2. Notice pain, doesn't interfere with activities 3. Sometimes distracts me MODERATE (Yellow) 4. Distracts me, can do usual activities 5. Interrupts some activities 6. Hard to ignore, avoid usual activities SEVERE (Red) 7. Focus of attention, prevents doing daily activities 8. Awful hard to do anything 9. Can't bear the pain, unable to do anything 10. As bad as it could be, nothing else matters

having the time of your life and saying you have 10/10 pain is the real-life equivalent of the people who rate 1 star on a product and give a good review

Another reason the pain scale is flawed (the way it’s currently explained) is that many people have trouble grasping the concept of pain in the short term pain vs long term pain. I’d rather be at the 4/10 you described for a couple days than deal with a 2/10 pain for ten years.

Basically, if someone is able to tell you that their pain is 10/10, they're not even an 8/10.

My mom had a really bad virus thing a couple years ago (I was like 9, don’t remember very well), so bad she had to go to the ER because she was in incapacitating amounts of pain in her head and stomach. When she rated her pain as a 4-5, they were really confused because it should have been an 8-9. She then told me that her 10 was labour, a one was an sprained ankle, and 5 was when her appendix burst/really bad period cramps. Nice, mom. This is the same woman that took an active vinegar-baking soda chemical reaction to the eye because of my failed vinegar-baking soda rocket project. Edit: my mom gave death threats to the nurse during labour. She doesn’t normally give people death threats.

I said an 11/10 once. Turns out I was, in fact, dying. The pain I was experiencing vastly exceeded the pain of giving birth to my first child. My gallbladder had fully ruptured, I was bleeding internally, galstones rattling about between my small intestines, cutting me inside hundreds of times, and I had about 6ish hours to live. The doctors thought I did not look like I was in pain. I stated an 11/10 because the pain significantly exceeded what I thought was possible while still retaining consciousness... And past that, it then kept doubling in severity every 30ish minutes, exceeding what I thought was humanly possible to experience by over 10 fold. Over 10 times worse than giving birth, wtf do you even call that? The ER doctors thought i did not look in pain and ignored me, while I was on the verge of death. And the pain kept getting worse. I have no idea how I didn't lose consciousness from the unfathomable amount of pain. It was also a bad day to learn I had a morphine immunity. I was on the max dosage of morphine and it did not even take the edge off. When the IV pain medicine continued to do nothing, I eventually asked for Ibuprofen, and the nurse looked extremely alarmed, got a doctor, they rushed me to get an abdominal x-ray, and in less than 20 minutes after asking for Ibuprofen, they were putting me to sleep for emergency surgery. They had been ignoring me for HOURS. Me asking for Ibuprofen after the Morphine didn't work, is probably the only reason I did not die that night. But the doctors thought I did not look like I was in pain. If giving birth is not a 10/10 pain, then what the fuck is? Obviously a fully ruptured gallbladder is worse, but it is so off the scale, how can anyone begin to comprehend what that is like without experiencing it? You said a beesting is a 5/10? No. With what I experienced as a 10/10, a bee sting is a 2/10. A broken bone is a 1/10. Giving birth is a 6/10. What good is a pain scale like that? The worst pain known to humanity, but the doctors thought I didn't look like I was in pain, and I nearly died because of them. Some people handle pain better than others. But just because they can stoneface the pain, doesn't make it even the tiniest bit less serious than a person who can't handle the same pain.

I've never had a bee sting (or even a wasp sting for that matter) in my 28 years on this planet, so I have no idea how bad that's supposed to feel in your example. The problem with scaling pain like this at all is there's people out there who have either tolerated worse things because of a high pain threshold, or never felt a pain bad enough to compare to an example you provide.

How is someone supposed to know if it’s the most painful thing ever if they’ve never experienced the most painful thing ever? That’s always been my question. If you had someone who had never once experienced discomfort, then they stubbed their toe, would that count as a 10?, because to them it probably feels like it.

Its funny how in my experience, breaking an arm is only about a 5-6/10 (partially due to temporary numbness), but waking up with a knot in my leg is a solid 8/10.

It''s funny how you describe lower-level pain as itching, but itching can be worse than pain itself, and in some cases even lead to pain feeling pleasurable in comparison. I'll say this as someone who experiences dry skin due to psoriasis: You don't know what pain is until your whole body is red and sore from scratching. Even better is when you have open sores, and then those open sores all get filled with salt due to how much you're sweating from scratching your entire body. Pain is cute in comparison to itching, believe me when i tell you that you should be VERY happy if you don't understand what i'm talking about. Pain is nothing when your hands and arms are so dry that you have to use boiling hot water to alleviate the dryness of your skin just to make the itch go away.

I usually rate low. I tell them them 8- is reserved for breaking your femur. Apparently that's one of the worst pains you can have 9- Reserved for giving birth because I'm told that's bad too. 10- Reserved for giving birth with a broken femur. I cant compete with any of those. But being I cant walk on my leg because of pain, I'd give it a 4.

0/10: Normal 1/10: Your daily itch 2/10: Step on Lego 3/10: Moderate scratch 4/10: A Bad cut 5/10: Stung by 10 bees 6/10: Stung by 100 bees 7/10: Motorcycle Crash 8/10: Child-birth 9/10: Mauled by bear 10/10: Falling into a vat of Acid

Only problem i have with this is special situations. My pain scale got really messed up. So when i was 15, my ENTIRE uterus, bladder, a rectum fell out. I could only drink 8oz of water a week and ate like 4 meals a month. I was on the toilet for 7 hours straight having a bowel movement. I was often crying in pain. However, there were a lot of times I seemed as if nothing was wrong and I was the happiest person ever, despite my organs hanging out me 24/7. I got so used to the pain that once I was fixed (two years later.) I can no longer feel pain the same way. What would be extreme pain for someone else, is a daily for me. I was dying from no food, water, or sleep and would still be happy and try to be cheerful. That and people with autism or other neurological conditions experience pain differently.

Another thing to consider when asking is how long they've had to deal with the pain. When you hurt for so long you get good at ignoring it or undermining it until something drastic happens and the fear of God gets put back into you. From personal experience I herniated my L5 almost 3 years ago, I remember every day being in the 7-10s range for the first year, but now I'd say I'm living in the 2-4 range constantly (as long as I don't overwork myself). The human body is really good at adapting and compensating for injuries that are still very much there.

I think the scale shouldnt be explained as how the pain is relative to other pain youve felt in your life, but rather how much of a disruption it is to your concentration and ability to participate in everyday activities. You could have a minor leg problem that doesnt hurt too much usually but does mean you have to be very conscious of how you sit down (every time you sit down!) for fear of aggravating it, and so it could rightfully be described as being disruptive to your life even if the actual pain itself in any given moment isnt that severe. It's a more meaningful measure, as it gets to the root of how it actually affects individual experience in specific ways, beyond just describing the abstract concept of 'pain'.

I don't think many of us have accidentally grabbed a beehive. Besides, pain can be incredibly subjective and if you deal with bad pain a lot you won't show it as much anymore. I used to get really bad stomach aches when I was younger and one time they were slightly worse than usual. Slightly. I was trying to sleep at the time, tossing and turning and squirming. Eventually, annoyed, I admitted that I wouldn't be able to sleep like that and I had to get up to get some Tylenol. On my way to get the Tylenol, I collapsed as I came to the brink of losing consciousness and I was not in my right mind for a good while after. Not quite delirious, but well on my way there. I was practically at the pain level you might pass out from it and I was annoyed that I had to get out of my comfy bed to get some painkillers if I wanted to sleep, and until I collapsed I was walking. Hunched over, but still walking. The experience of pain is subjective.

I have a low pain tolerance so I still don't understand the pain spectrum lol. I'd probably end up saying when I'm crying in pain "It's just a 4" when it feels like a 9.

Completely agree with your explanation. Ive been a patient unsure how to answer sometimes. When I studied PT, it seemed like patients had to think for a minute before answering. Explaining the scale this way, could help a lot. At 10 I kept thinking of a woman going thru labor and childbirth.

Once you get into the specifics of it, it really can be difficult to put something like pain on a scale. I like your explanation. But I would also add that there are different types of pain. I've felt two different 10's in my lifetime - Ruptured spleen, third degree burns all over my feet and legs - And they didn't feel the same at all, but I'd say equally bad. Drifted in and out of consciousness a bit for both, but the burning was a.. well.. Burning pain, whereas the organ damage was like a... Thumping, leaky sort of feeling, like my intestines were falling out? Very alarming, do not recommend

I agree with the way you are explaining the pain chart as a former patient as was asked where my pain was that would have been more understanding!

I felt 10/10 pain during recovery from a spinal fusion operation without adequate pain control. My body locked into as close to the fetal position as possible. It was traumatic. I still get anxiety attacks over it.

I’ve felt real level 10 pain after a motorbike accident. Not the accident itself but in hospital afterwards. I was screaming uncontrollably! Though I can’t really remember the feeling now.😊

I feel like there should be a real pain comparison like this that all patients and doctors can agree on. I feel like that would make doctors have a much better understanding of their patients pain other than “It’s a sharp pain in my ankle”

This reminds me of that one time i was a kid and had stomach pain and my parents took me to the ER (it was at night btw) and there was this doctor who asked me where my pain was on a scale of 1-10. I said four, because i could imagine people to be in much much more pain than me, yet it was still bad. The guy just looked at my parents and said it’s probably nothing, because kids always say its a 10 when the pain is really bad. So we drove back home. Yeah turns out I had food poisoning and maybe could have died, I threw up for hours on end afterwards but yeah no, thanks to that doctor we’re not going to that hospital anymore

Great way to explain the pain scale. Love the humor 😁

Different people show pain differently. The most painful thing I’ve ever experienced (a golf ball sized abscess) didn’t cause me to weep. I was bedridden for a few days and had trouble walking but I did make it to an urgent care unit and the doctor wouldn’t have had any way of knowing I was in pain if I hadn’t shown and told them what was up.

I think the problem with most pain is that people rate chronic or constant pain way more than it is. It is much less painful to stub your toe really hard, so being at a 5/10 or 6/10 but only for a few seconds, than having chronic back pain for weeks or months, so like a 2 or 3/10. In any moment it really does not hurt that much but the constant pain experience can feel really unbearable.

I just rate my pain relative to what I’ve experienced before, taking into account both the physical and psychological pain I’m experiencing. For example, if I had back pain for a day that made it really painful to move I’d say maybe 2 out of 10 but if it stayed at that same intensity for a year I might say 8 or 9 out of 10.

I feel like the escalation from 5 to 6 to 7 is pretty extreme compared to 1-5.

“If you aren’t being mauled by a bear.. Karen” 🤣

My appendix exploded and I was asked this and I gave it a solid 6 and I don’t think they took my pain seriously cuz I was treating a 10 at being cut in half 💀

I remember having appendicitis and it was one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt, but if a 6/10 is equivalent to a swarm of bees stinging me i guess the worst pain I’ve ever felt was only a 5.5/10

Thank you. As a chronic pain patient, I know pain but don’t always know how to describe it. I have Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis, among other medical conditions.

It was even more confusing...I don't know how a bee sting feels like, I've only been stung once by a wasp when I was 6 - let alone a bee sting that takes up your whole arm. I've had a shoulder injury and I still can't tell what my pain was. I could say it was 4 bc it was constant and fairly strong, but I still could function, on the other hand I feel like it hurt more than this one wasp sting I had, plus my whole shoulder and arm was frozen in place to the point where my right hand was getting blue bc of not enough circulation. But I didn't cry so according to you it had to be below 7...idk, your scale is based on completely unrelated events and\or symptoms, so I can't say it's effective.

At this point, it's just easier and more reliable for patiens to describe their pain in detail rather than trying to pull out an extremely precise number out of their butt just to make the work of a doctor easier

The biggest issue I think isn't even that the scale is unclear, it's that people think they'll be taken more seriously or get seen faster or given special treatment because they say the pain is super high. So honestly I think we should get rid of the scale all together and just use a one sentence descriptor. Like 'as if I got punched by mike tyson' is a pretty good indicator for a 5.

You know, asking people what pain level they're experiencing is a bad system because the worst that can happen to people is when they have an injury so bad, that their pain sensor is not working therefore it's 0/10. After all, how do you feel the pain in your feet when your leg is completely chopped off from accident.

I usually state what the scale means to me as a woman with chronic pain because otherwise people brush me off. - “so what would you rate your scale from one to ten?” - “if we say one is ‘ow I walked for way too long yesterday and I’m aching’ and ten is ‘I’m frozen in time during the implosion of a spacesuit and my limbs are all being atomically disintegrated’ then I’m around a six.”

I’m still confused because one time my pain flared to the point that I passed out and threw up at work and they wanted to call an ambulance, (I didn’t let them because expensive, and I was feeling okay enough pretty quickly after I got the chance to lie down) but I was surprised cause I think the pain still could have gotten worse, like the initial pain of acute injuries hurts so much more but because it fades so quickly it doesn’t result in fainting. Also I was literally walking around (poorly, but still) moments before fainting, and then was able to talk relatively coherently and didn’t cry. Idk pain is weird and there are a bunch of different types too that complicate things? 🤷‍♂️

11-13 worser than 10 14-16 serverer 17-19 v e r y s e v e r e 20-50 decomposing 51-100 dead

I think rating things from 1 to 10 isnt usually that useful. Everyone has different ways of doing it, some people consider 5 average, and some consider 8 average.

My current pain Physical: 1 Mental: 3

10/10 would be the pain the guy in the femur breaker felt.

Before a laminectomy at C3-C4 I was asked on a scale of 1 - 4, then 1 - 10. I had been on Tapentadol, Dihydrocodeine, Gabbapentin, Diazepam and fourteen other meds. On the four scale I said two then I gave a different number, four on the ten scale and the nurse laughed and asked how those numbers equated. I didn't give a shit if it equated or not. I was so doped up with pain med a knitting needle through my neck would have been easy to do. The fact that I was laughed at infuriated me to the point I told her to fuck off and was never to touch me again. The I had a chat with the doctor who also laughed. That didn't happen again. If they want a straight answer ask a straight question and stop fucking people around.

On this scale I'd stick my period pain as 5/10 on a bad day, today my period is at 6/10 and I've definitely had a 7/10 period when I had trouble getting the will to even roll over in bed. It's still difficult to tell with this scale cos I have no idea how painful bee stings are and I'd personally put inability to move before crying on the pain scale. Actually got some decent painkillers now cos over the counter stuff has never been strong enough to deal with my period pain.

I hate this pain scale because I had 8 broken bones including a femur when I was 17 which is notoriously the most painful, plus a fully dislocated shoulder. I grew up racing dirtbikes pain was part of the game. I got used to pain. I limped my ass into the ER out of a buddy's car who took me. They asked me my pain level and I told them 7, I think they were looking for 10 but 7 was what I said because I grew used to pain in my life. I broke one of my toes a few months ago and didn't do anything different with my life and continued on like nothing happened. it's how you become.

how did you go from a bee sting to *SUPER SEVERE OH MY GOD I AM DYING"

So as a chronically ill person with severe chronic pain, the thing is I have said five or six when I *looked* fine. I was, in fact, at a five or six, but I function under pain because I'm always in pain. I've learned to deal with it and more importantly *hide* it because looking like you're in pain all day makes life really hard. I have been sent away from the ER because "I was functioning too well" when I was in so much pain I could barely stand. Idk, I just feel like a lot of healthcare professionals are a bit too quick to say that the patients don't understand the scale.

The animation that comes from being stung by the swarm of bees 5/10🤣…one of the reasons I liked the video. I almost want to be in pain so I can work with this guy.

I saw a pain scale chart with I think good descriptions, for example 1 was "You know it's there, but can ignore it" 10 being "Pain so intense that you are incapable of thought."

After my lung surgery I can say with confidence my pain level was at an 8, the day I got my chest tube out the pain went from an 8 (needing oxycodone daily) to 4/10 very manageable.

I'm imagining myself in the back of an ambulance with an amputated limb and the medic is describing every pain level in great detail to me

11 - dropping your phone on your face 15 - slamming a door on your parents by accident 25 - game crashing right before you save 69 - stepping on lego

One of the comments mentioned that "if they're able to say 10/10 it's probably an 8 at best" so I'd like to tell you all a story. A COVID Thanksgiving story. On November 13th this year I woke up at about 3 am in the actual worst pain i have ever experienced, rippling through my lower back and my hips. At first, it was my entire body, but after about five minutes it clamed to the previously mentioned area. This has happened at smaller scale many times and usually all I have to do is sit and just wait it out. Sometimes certain stretches help. But this time was different. This time it wouldn't stop. And hour after waking up (and worriedly realizing it had been a fraction of the time I thought I'd endured), I messaged my partner who's a CNA and asked if any knowledge could be spared. Couldn't tell what was going on from my symptoms because I have chronic body pains especially in my back and told me to try and hang on for another hour and see what happens. The pain in my hips intensified over he following 45 minutes. At this point I'm locked into a complete and endless anxiety attack and panic attack just from the sheer quantity of pain. I can't stop sobbing but no tears are coming out because I've been crying non stop for nearly two hours at this point and have thoroughly dehydrated myself, further intensifying the pain and adding fatigue AND a migraine to the fire. I have chronic migraines by the way. After 15 minutes of labored breathing, I calm down JUST enough to be able to whisper through the sobs and I call my mom, who's in the building. I tell her what's up and tell her I need to go to the ER, which only fucks me up more because in this moment I don't know if my insurance will cover it if I need some sort of surgery or extreme drug from the ER - keep in mind the only possibilities going through my head are: - I'm dying - I have spine cancer (I'm dying) - I slipped a disc (I will never walk again) - My back is broken (I will never walk again) - I'm dying What really happened was so much worse but I'm getting ahead of myself. Mom asks me a few questions and tries to shut down me apologizing for fucking up her work schedule, then goes to get dressed to drive me out to the hospital, because we can't afford an ambulance. We get there and since I'm the only one there I get a bed almost instantly. Nurse asks me some questions. I explain that this is the worst pain I've ever experienced and my chronic anxiety is telling me I'm dying. After I got on the bed she tells me they need a urine sample to test and see if they can figure something out that way. *I did not receive clearly needed mobility assistance to cross the whole fucking building to the nearest bathroom.* I get back to the bed and collapse onto it because I CANT FUCKING WALK NORMAL WHEN EVERY STEP FEELS LIKE WRINGING OUT MY SPINE and get a covid test, which hurt a little (nurse 2 told me it wouldn't hurt, she lied) and made me cough, which hurt my back more because SUDDEN MOVEMENT. I'm given some medicine through an IV, which they said was basically "ibuprofen on crack," and half an hour later the doctor walks in. "Welcome to the club. You guys have COVID." We were supposed to visit my at the time dying grandmother that following weekend. We postponed the trip a couple weeks so we had time to quarantine and recover. She passed the monday after the weekend were were supposed to go up. We literally missed her. All because Trump didn't wanna implement common fucking sense measures four years ago.

Part of the problem is that most people don't have good reference for pain levels above their own prior experience. Gunshot wounds or bear attacks are not a relevant reference to make because most people do not have relevant experience with gunshot wounds or bear attacks as a comparison.

I personally use two scales. One is pain scale- the totally normal one that you see everywhere- 1-10. Then I also use a ”distress” scale. The pain could be a 7, but my distress about it could be a two. It hurts, yeah, but it’s a normal hurt. On the other hand, the pain could be a 3, but my distress could be up to a 9. The pain is new, or wrong in some way. A high distress number for me is FAR more concerning than a high pain number :] Explained very well! Great video

Ate poisoned potatoes once, would fall into an 8/10 here, it's the WORST thing I've experienced. It was like getting eaten from inside. I couldn't move, was crying for HOURS, I even started hallucinating that windows around me were breaking and shadows were climbing from them. Scariest shit I've experienced, don't underestimate a potato 😭

I’m glad you said 7/10 was like uncontrollable crying. That’s exactly what I told the ER when I broke my ankle. I was debating for a moment between saying 7 or 8. But your description of a 7 is very accurate.

I think the pain scale is supposed to stop at YOUR 7-8. Because beyond that, you can tell by how the patient looks and acts. If everyone understood your concept, no one that is a 10/10 no would be able to tell you it is a 10/10,since they would be agonizing on the ground. At that point, the pain scale becomes useless.

I used the 0/10 scale on a daily basis for my chest pains. I been having them since I was a kid. Im an adult now. And yes I have seen multiple doctors and they can never find whats wrong with me. So I give up and just learn to live with the pain. So is here is my own version of the pain scale. 0 is im fine 1-3 is slight Irritation like itchy skin but I can ignore it 4-5 The pain is like a sore muscle but I can still work 6-7 The is bad like you beat me up and cut me. Im now taking pain pills and trying my best to distract myself from the pain. 8-9 It's a full blown chest pain attack. Severe stabbing pain and the pain has now moved to my arm. Like a heart attack but it's actually not a heart attack. Pain pills are no longer working and im rocking myself back and forth from the pain. 10 I am now dead because it was an actual heart attack and i thought it was just normal chest pain attack. As you can see i have yet to get a 10. Which is good. I wonder if anyone else has their own personal pain scale like me. Feel free to share.

I have interstitial cystitis. When bladder pain flares up, I can still work AND smile, but I can't sleep. I'll go months w/ little to no sleep due to bladder pain urging me to go the toilet every 10 to 15 minutes (sometimes 60 times a night). I rate it an 8 when I reach this phase because it prevents me from sleeping--that is severe pain and being able to smile has nothing to do with it.

According to your pain scale, my broken jaw was a 7/10. On the scale the doctors provide, I felt like a 8/9

Here is the pain scale without the "ÀAAAAAAAAAÀAAAAÆAAAA" No pain Mild Moderate S e v e r e *V e r y s e v e r e* *W O R S T P A I N P O S S I B L E*

i always state pain as relative to my other experiences, the worst pain ive ever experienced is 8/10 pain briefly when i have fallen badly, a short distance while running, so for me that would be my 10/10. actual 10/10 pain is probably only possible if you have exposed nerves or your entire body is literally on fire or something like that

The way you're describing it very much reminds me of the Richter scale. I live in a care facility and when I get pain medication they always ask me one to ten and a lot of the time I'll say 7 or 8 but there are days when 9 is there you never say 10 unless really bad it will really really really really really bad.

12/10 is my self confidence after seeing a Good drawing

Karens would say 10 for anything. Specially if the manager is busy.

I love how 5-6 goes from “Ow a bee sting” to *”HELP THE BEES ARE F-CKING SWARMING ME AND EATING ME ALIVE”*

One time nobody knew what I had and the doctor asked me what level of pain I was feeling, I answered a 5/10. I had a kidney stone. I don't know what I was talking about, that shit was excruciating, I just didn't wanna seem like a crybaby about it I guess.

The guy with a broken arm and 0 pain was me 1:08 it was 11 for brief moments when I was waiting an hour and the pain set it. Holding the arm still helped a lot

Every always talks about the pain of stepping on a Lego... These people are ignorant fools. The real pain is when your prying two Legos apart from the corner, and you get them apart but one goes under your nail with enough force for you to start bleeding.

If I’m in a 9 or 10 pain I CANNOT tell you I’m in a 9-10 pain and it will be extremely evident. One of the worst pains I’ve ever felt is when I got second degree burns on my face, I would classify that as an 8.5 maybe 9(it was a long time ago so my memory is a bit foggy) my point is I don’t think I’ve ever had a 10 pain.

0. fine 1. a little irritation 2. a small cut 3. constant irritation 4. like a little back pain 5. a sting that is VERY noticable 6. unbearable irritation 7. breaking a finger 8. femur broken 9. almost like being skinned alive 10. every bone starts twisting while you are getting dismembered

So I would say I experienced a 9 out of 10 once. It was not a flash of pain, but rather pain over 5-10 minutes. I went to the bathroom... and I couldnt concentrate on anything but the pain anymore. I wanted to die (only that super small voice of reason in the back saying "this will be over soon!")! I didn't even scream, because I needed every ounce of energy to breathe! And then it happened... I started to lose my senses. I can't remember my taste and smell, as there was nothing to taste and smell. But first, my hearing got damp. I know because the tap was running... then I started feeling like my arms got really wobbly... and slightly blurry vision. My hearing was completely gone... before all my senses SLOWLY came back and the 9/10 pain only was a 6/10... which felt like heaven to me! I was able to think again and life was so easy all of a sudden... So yeah... No matter if I am a wuss or if I am pain-tolerant. Nearly passing out from the pain is a physical thing... so I am pretty sure those are some of the worst pains I could imagine. (Even like being shot or something... because of the adrenalin would probably not feel THIS overwhelming). I am not willing to bet on it... but that was a scary experience!

A ten is the pain the doctors get when they lose they’re medical card. 😂 A ten for me was having endometriosis and nerve pain and being told i was crazy.

I remember going to the hospital after tearing open my leg on a broken plant pot. My leg was covered up and bandaged so I wouldn’t bleed all over the car and as they were undressing it, they asked me how much pain I was in. So I want ‘Eh, like a 3’ Then they took a look at it and went ‘That is not a 3-‘ Took 30 stitches to close this bad boy. He’s 10 centimeters long and cut so deep, my bone was exposed. Managed not to hit any major nerves or blood vessels though, which is probably why it didn’t hurt. I remember I was on my period at the time and told them my cramps hurt more than the cut itself.

the only time i have been asked about the pain index is when i had gallbladder stones. I'm glad I described the pain accurately with an 8.

I always rate pain on a pain scale with 5 being the turning point of "I can ignore this" and "this is interfering with my day to day life" Also helps for situations that aren't "painful" like a sprained joint that is only agonizingly tired

It's also funny to me because it bring a subjective scale, my conception of a level 10 is completely different from what it was a decade ago. The second worst pain I've ever been in is like a 6 compared to the worst. So people tend to be confused how I can say "Eh, this isn't all that bad."

After talking to many people around me about their experiences with pain, I have realized I'm at a pretty much constant 3/10. It sometimes spikes up to 7/10 when it gets bad, but only for a short while. I have experienced like 9.5/10 once, I passed out on the bathroom floor from the pain.

Never - and I repeat: NEVER expect your patiens, clients or even you dinner guests to be as smart as you are, to see things as you do, to live up to your expectations/standards or to provide valid information from the get go. the pain scale is totally fine since its completely arbitrary anyways. Your job as a doctor is to work out whats really going on by doing this anamnesis. So stop trying to fix you patiens behaviour but adapt your own. Medics say: "If they're still screaming, they're going to be fine. Look after the silent ones first".

I recently lacerated my thumb just above the knuckle and got 3 stitches for it. The laceration itself was honestly a 2 on the pain. The knife was new and very sharp, and got in pretty deep. Still, it wasn't the agonizing experience you might think (not at that moment, at least). I felt a cold, dull sensation that the adrenaline in my body was probably staving off, but I drove myself to the hospital just fine. Hours later, while waiting in the ER, the throbbing intensified to about a 4 -5. Getting worse, a little distracting, but nothing new. The paper towel I wrapped it in was beginning to heal into the wound according to the nurse. When she peeled it back to inspect the wound, it flared to a stinging 6 ish. Worse, but I could withstand it. The agony came when the had to numb up my thumb for the stitches. A doctor comes in with a large needle and a vial of what I took to be military-grade numbing agent. The 15 seconds or so it took for her to administer the injections were probably a 7-8. Brief, but my jaws clenched shut and I made these noises I don't think I could replicate in a sober mindstate. It sucked. The stitches in comparison were trivial. Probably a 3 for the weird sensation of having my thumb worked on like a pair of pants. God bless those who had to have injuries treated before our age of medicine.

On a scale of 1 to 10 How would you rate your pain?

I'm never really decisive when it comes to pain ratings. The last time I was at a hospital or ER was for a kidney stone (which was what I guessed was going on). When they asked me to rate my pain, I said, "I dunno, guess 6-8?" The nurse remarked that it's good I know not to exaggerate, seeing she'd seen many patients who claimed to have 10 pain, in which case they wouldn't be saying that to begin with. By the measures in this video, eight would definitely be an exaggeration for how I felt that night. Though, by some others in the comments it wouldn't necessarily be.

Me when my knee is bleeding: 1/10 Me when I'm sad 7/10 Me when I'm extremely sad and crying 10/10

This year i drank too much and puked so much I started throwing up stomach acid which destroyed my throat. That was an 8/10. Immobile. sobbing and I can tell my voice isn't the same as it was before.

10/10 pain wouldnt be dead. as being dead you'd feel no pain. Id say 10\10 being set on fire for eternity :)

11/10 is probably something my grandma would say after some hard work, I can already picture her saying "11" in a depressed way

It also depends how often the pain is, like my shoulder hurts at a 1.5/10 now but if I lay on my side it could go up to a 4/10. Overall I'd rate it a 3/10 since it's not constant

Worst pain I ever had was during an operation at the back of my throat, where the doctor had to suck out pus from infected tissue around my left tonsil. The pain was so intense that I had to actively fight myself to not pull away, started sweating, went pale and nauseous and tears started to form in my eyes. I never want to experience that EVER again. Even though I could have moved, these VERY long 2 miniutes were an 8/10.

Here's my experiences.... 2=cuts, rashes, simple scraps and bruises.... 4= grade 1 muscle, ligament or tendon strains or grade 1 burns (Initial 24 hrs).... 6 grade 2 tears or burns... 8 collapsed lung, chest tube without anesthesia. 10.... a 10 is a part of your disc (not the jelly part that's Indicative of a herniation, but the actual fibrosis of the disc) pressing on your spinal nerve..... +10 3rd degree burns on more than 10% of your body

pain is soo varied though. Thinking about what i consider the worst pain i've ever felt, which happened after i had surgery to pin my thumb back together with a wire after i broke it. The wire was left sticking out of the skin so it could be removed after the bone healed and a cast was put on over it to immobilise the joint, only they forgot to put any padding between the end of the wire and the plaster cast. So after the nerve deadening on my arm wore off (around 1am of course) i was able to feel the end of this wire scraping against the inside of the cast and that being transferred right into the centre of my freshly broken bone. It hurt soo much all the time but when i moved and the end of the wire got pressed in or something the pain was utterly overwhelming to the point i completely passed out and fell out of my chair at one point. But, it was a deep slow pain. I felt it in my guts somehow. I was still able to talk and walk around, when i wasn't fainting, and it didnt make me cry once. Recently however i got a muscle cramp in my neck for some random reason i still dont understand. That was all it was, just a knotted up muscle. But that hurt soo much that when i set it off i was literally crying uncontrollably, i would fall to my knees with it because my legs just gave out. It was soo much sharper and brighter, more immediate somehow. It was almost on par with the first example. And yet it felt soo utterly different and the cause was soo trivial. A tube of painkilling gel and the correct stretches from a physio were all i needed to fix it, whereas the first needed a trip to the hospital and my cast being cut off and redone. But if you'd asked me to rank the two on a pain scale in the moment i would have put them about the same.

Hello Antonio! I Love your videos and am wondering: How are you doing in the PTA field with Covid-19 going on? Have you had to take time off, or just use good PPE and pressing on?

I had an abscess tooth and I would have to say that the pain was 9/10, worse than child birth(and I have given birth to two 10lbs children). When the hospital was admitting me I couldn't stop shaking

I rate it 10/10. Keep doing your best!

“No one likes a bee sting” omg this reminds me of when I started giggling about being stung because I’m obsessed with wasps and I realized that even if they stung me I wont be afraid of them

Charlie horse and Hamstring cramps in the calf are definitely 5-8 depending on how severe

I’d rate testicular torsion a 7.5. It was hard to move but not impossible. I threw up a couple times, the pain spread up to my gut. I didn’t cry much, I don’t really cry from that kind of pain, I was just generally freaking out.

personally what I find more helpful (as someone w/chronic pain AND low pain tolerance) is instead of the # describing the AMOUNT of pain, it describes how the pain is AFFECTING you. so 0/10 - pain is not at all affecting my life whatsoever 1/10 - i am mildly annoyed by pain but it isn't affecting my ability to live my life 2/10 - i am experiencing a notable pain that's only occasionally slightly distracting, but otherwise not impacting me 3/10 - my pain is notable enough that it distracts from my ability to live my life; most tasks are still completable but may take much longer or be done with less precision, or may exhaust me more than usual. 4/10 - my pain is very distracting, frequently making tasks difficult or impossible, but resting allows me to get some relief. 5/10 - my pain is very distracting, frequently making tasks difficult or impossible. i cannot stop thinking about my pain even when in a state of rest. 6/10 - my pain is has made tasks impossible, and i am in the same amount of pain even when attempting rest, but i am still capable of movement (locomotion, getting smth from the fridge to eat/drink, etc) & sustaining conversation. 7/10 - my pain has made it difficult or impossible to take basic care of myself, though i am still capable of movement in bodyparts unrelated to the site of pain. i can sustain conversation. 8/10 - I am bedridden or close to bedridden due to pain, but able to perform small movements such as waving, eating/drinking, and sustain conversation. 9/10 - I am bedridden due to pain and am unable to perform any tasks due to pain, but can move in small ways, such as waving or saying occasional words; more complicated tasks like eating/drinking or sustained conversation are difficult or impossible due to pain. 10/10 - if i am not actively unconscious, I am completely catatonic with pain & unable to do anything whatsoever due to the severity of the pain. this isnt the Ultimate Desc List/the best version by any means & there's more succinct ways to put this that ive seen around, and having a visual version is important for various reasons but i wouldn't be sure how to translate it. but any amount-based pain scale has NEVER worked for me; what is a mild inconvenience that i can ignore in my shoulder (site of chronic pain) in, say, my knee instead, would have me crying & desperate for help. I have to describe my pain by how it's affecting me, or it won't be properly conveyed.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a 10/10 because flareups immobilize me and I yell for help and have s*l thoughts because it's incomprehensibly painful. I've had involved surgeries before but nothing has hurt like TN