Pain Scales

[brilligtove]

I think we may be able to calibrate pain scales using ice cream headaches as a standard candle.

[John Albert]

Does this include psychological pain?

[brilligtove]

It is this kind of headache I'm talking about:

https://i.imgur.com/IH1PMal.gifv

[The Latinist]

The problem with this is that there are many factors that affect the severity of pain beyond its intensity: duration, quality, location, etc. While an ice cream headache can indeed be extremely painful, it is a pain which is short in duration and which I know will not persist.  It is therefore significantly more endurable even than moderate chronic pain.

[brilligtove]

All fair points. I was looking for intensity only, however.

[The Latinist]

But my point is that I do not think that I can reliably separate intensity from the other factors I mentioned in assigning a subjective number to pain.

An ice cream headache is certainly not the worst pain I have ever felt; I have never felt, for instance, that I might vomit if faint due to the pain of an ice cream headache.  Nor do I think it is even the worst headache that I’ve had, though I’m not sure I am able to separate the quality and duration of the pain from its intensity, especially in this case.

The worst pain I have ever felt was slipping on stairs and landing with all of my weight on my coccyx. While I did not quite faint, I nearly did so. For what it’s worth, no ice cream headache has approached that pain.

[amysrevenge]

Post-gout my pain scale is all fucked up.  I didn't know there was that much pain in the world.  A couple years ago when I was having (ultimately not serious) nutsack issues, I was flummoxed by the pain scale.  Pre-gout I probably would have categorized the nutsack pain as like 7 or 8, but post-gout it was maybe 4.

[DevoutCatalyst]

Post-gout my pain scale is all fucked up.  I didn't know there was that much pain in the world.  A couple years ago when I was having (ultimately not serious) nutsack issues, I was flummoxed by the pain scale.  Pre-gout I probably would have categorized the nutsack pain as like 7 or 8, but post-gout it was maybe 4.

Let's see acupuncturists claim to treat gout.

May I ask what your solution for gout turned out to be? There are different approaches, just curious.

[Noisy Rhysling]

At one point the doctors were telling me "it's okay to pass out!" I had no intention of doing so. One of the nurses ran out of the room.

[Calinthalus]

When I was in the ER with my heart attack, the doctor asked me to rate my pain.  I told him it was about a 4.  He looked me in the eye and said, "Mr. Jones, I know you are trying to put on a brave face for your family, but we really need to know what your pain level is so we can accurately treat you".  I said, "You just popped me with morphine like ten minutes ago.  I'm good."

[amysrevenge]

Post-gout my pain scale is all fucked up.  I didn't know there was that much pain in the world.  A couple years ago when I was having (ultimately not serious) nutsack issues, I was flummoxed by the pain scale.  Pre-gout I probably would have categorized the nutsack pain as like 7 or 8, but post-gout it was maybe 4.

Let's see acupuncturists claim to treat gout.

May I ask what your solution for gout turned out to be? There are different approaches, just curious.

Allopurninol, colchicine, and eliminating fish from my diet, all for the rest of my life.

[Rai]

I'd like it more if it had evocative descriptions like the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. I can place ""Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a three inch nail embedded in your heel" much better than a simple "8".

[DevoutCatalyst]

Post-gout my pain scale is all fucked up.  I didn't know there was that much pain in the world.  A couple years ago when I was having (ultimately not serious) nutsack issues, I was flummoxed by the pain scale.  Pre-gout I probably would have categorized the nutsack pain as like 7 or 8, but post-gout it was maybe 4.

Let's see acupuncturists claim to treat gout.

May I ask what your solution for gout turned out to be? There are different approaches, just curious.

Allopurninol, colchicine, and eliminating fish from my diet, all for the rest of my life.

I got lucky, just need the colchicine prn and a dietary elimination which I dare not violate. Haven't had to take colchicine for a few years now. The pain in my big toe was incredible, wanted to shoot the toe clean off.

[brilligtove]

I'd like it more if it had evocative descriptions like the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. I can place ""Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a three inch nail embedded in your heel" much better than a simple "8".

Sure. In this case I was looking for an intensity rating on a single, specific, commonly experienced pain.

[daniel1948]

I'd like it more if it had evocative descriptions like the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. I can place ""Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a three inch nail embedded in your heel" much better than a simple "8".

If that's your idea of an 8, I think I'd pass out just reading your description of what would constitute a 10. (This board needs more emojis. Please imagine I put an EEK! emoji here.)