Nope. I said “zero point five” to her.
I also agree that the 1-10 scale is pretty flawed. However, I usually answer based on how well I am able to handle what is going on. Is the pain just annoying me but I can function? That’s a 5 or less. Is the pain so bad that I think I must be actively dying? That’s gonna be at the higher end of the scale. My ratings are also tempered by how long the pain is lasting. The more annoyed I get, the less I can function.
My practical examples -
Root canal failed - 9. I was so in pain, I almost got hit by a car because I didn’t realize I was walking.
Anesthesiologist tried to stick a needle in my back for my epidural but failing to - 8.9. It felt like being struck by literal lightning.
Actual childbirth - 8. Bad but not bad enough that I wanted to try that epidural again
Migraine - Depends, but a bad one is an 8. I can’t even close my mouth properly. My eyes don’t work, My brain can’t figure out if my head is still or not.
Broken thumb that required being reset - A brief moment of horror above a 9 but the rest of the time a 5. I walked around with a broken thumb for three days before getting it fixed.
Broken toe - like a 3 or 4. I’ve broken my toes a lot. I barely notice its a problem unless I hit them on something or someone steps on them.
I think I’ll save a 10 for when I actually die.
I sometimes do a real-time comparison test to give a better calibration. Like I’ll give myself a hard punch with my fist on the opposite shoulder and tell the doctor “So if that pain is about a 2.5, what I’m feeling in my knee is a 6.”
Doctors may look at you a bit funny when you do that, but IMHO they get a much better sense of what you’re feeling.
I got roped into seeing the Dr. on a regular basis because of what was diagnosed as Big Toe Gout, so I know what a solid 9 is. So I base my answer with that calibrating factor in mind. If my pain level was 10, I’d probably be unable to speak the answer aloud.
I want/hope for my death to be a ‘Zero’ event. Like, open a beer, sit by the fire and fall asleep… forever.
I got no plans tonight. Just sayin’.
For a moment, I thought you were going to go, “I’ll give the doctor a hard punch on the shoulder and say, “If that pain was a 2.5…””
Yeah, doctors are surprisingly unsympathetic to that sensible and informative approach to subjective pain calibration.
I know it’s an entirely subjective thing but I wonder how gout pain compares to a kidney stone. It’s not a contest. Just for a point of reference.
I always mention what I consider a ten so they can calibrate my scale:
“Well, if 10 is childbirth, then, as a guy, I’ll never get above an 8.
So I’ll say 7.5, and add that I am in excruciating pain.”
…
Can I have the rest of your beer?
I’ve never experienced kidney stone pain, but I’ve heard that gout and kidney stone pain are right there together. Even surpassing childbirth, which I’ve also never experienced.
Another factor that makes the 1-10 scale unreliable is different pain threshold levels. I have a good friend with very severe rheumatoid arthritis. Her feet are so twisted, her soles face each other, and she walks on the sides of her feet. Yet her pain threshold is so high, she says that pain is a “1” when for anyone else, it’d be a 7 or better. It’s not a good indicator for diagnostic purposes.
It rocks your world. But, the individual threshold is an issue, for sure. For instance using the table linked by ASL_v2.0 , I would have been between 7.5 and 8.5 depending on at what point in the episode. But I know people who were better and worse at handling it.
This is a much better idea. I’ve always thought there should be some kind of calibration based on what you can and can’t do.
And that chart suggests I’ve been rating my pain too low. According to that my periods were between a 5 and a 6, which is much higher than I would have said.
Pain is funny thing, even for the same problem. I frequently see elderly patients who have fallen and broken a hip, with subsequent surgical repair. Some of them rate their pain at a one, get by with an occasional regular Tylenol, and genuinely appear to not be in any pain. Others will say their pain is a 10, even after taking something like hydrocodone. Both groups are otherwise similar in terms of the complexity of their fractures, type of surgery, appearance of their surgical sites and x-rays, etc.
From personal experience, I can report that kidney stones are not necessarily the most painful thing one can experience. I’ve passed kidney stones up to 1 cm in diameter, and yes, the pain was bad, but I’ve also had dental procedures that were more painful.
I’ve been having problems with my right knee. I can go all day without it hurting, but when I’m driving home (35 minute commute) it starts. A couple of things about that pain: first, it has on occasion gotten bad enough that I thought I might cry tears. Second, I’ve tried various remedies (ice it, elastic sleeve, cremes), without great results. Therefore it has made me consider going to the doctor—which I think of as a pain in the ass I’d rather avoid—but that’s a statement unto itself that pushes it up the scale, because I’ll try many home remedies, OTC, etc. first.
I have about four distinct pains. 1) On the “inside” part of the knee, where a tendon or something ties upper to lower leg together, there’s a burn. 2) Over the kneecap, a real tenderness, kind of a pulsing pain. 3) My quadricep, outer thigh, near the hip, sometimes feels numb. 4) A strange feeling of pressure, like the bones aren’t coming back together quite right.
These pains aren’t always all present. I listed them in order of prevalence. And the sensations typically last about 20 minutes, then I’m ok. I’m fine sooner if I get out of the car and walk around. Well, Doc said he could refer me to a specialist but really, it’s normal wear and tear. Great.
To me, that pain is at about a 7. I say that because I think we should leave “ceiling.” I need to leave room for something truly excruciating, which would force me to pull over, call the wife to have her come pick me up, cause me to reroute to an Emergency Room, etc. Something along those lines. Below that? I once broke a finger and that would probably be my 5.
I’m not sure beyond that. It’s hard to compare a sharp pain vs. a chronic one.
BTW Mrs. L had an interesting remedy to this knee problem. I would say this resolves about two-thirds of the pain and it’s very simple. I’ll spoiler it for the junior detectives out there 
She told me to change shoes. The culprits are Saucony, which I don’t mean to vilify…I’ve owned and enjoyed several pairs before without any problems. Something about this pair, though, must be really pissing off my right leg. Whereas a lot of women have different shoes to go with different outfits, I’m one of those guys who just wears the same ones over and over. I went to a pair of Adidas and started wearing them, and the improvement is noticeable. It isn’t the kind of thing I notice “in the moment,” though.
There were articles this week that make new claims about redheads and pain, and this time they say that we feel less pain. Okay, I’m not sure how that squares with other claims that we have a higher pain threshold and the competing we feel more pain of the temperature and dental types, but whatever.
I do know that both my ortho and PT last year gave me raised eyebrows when I said that after the first two weeks my knee that was injured badly enough that I couldn’t walk without a hinged brace for 3 months was almost always a 1 or 2 on the pain scale with maybe half a dozen times it briefly felt a 4. But it really didn’t hurt very badly, for whatever reason.
Though, like your friend, I’m comparing it to other pain - my migraines are between a 4 and a 6, or on rare bad occasions a 7.
I’m so tired of people sitting calmly and saying, “Right now, it’s a 10.” Or better yet, “Not to exaggerate, but it’s an 11.”
Such a BS scale. But the trend is for doctors to favor using inaccurate subjective BS to diagnose and treat…
It’s funny, I had this same type of response when I was passing a kidney stone and they asked the “imagination “ question, though the answer I gave was 4. It’s really a dumb question.
I’ve had what I would call excruciating pain twice. Once, I lifted my leg to step over some crap on the floor, and managed to hit the sharp corner of my desk just under my kneecap. I dropped to the floor like someone had cut my strings. The pain was so intense I thought I might puke.
The other time, I had compressed nerves in my back and the pain was referred to my knee (see a trend here?). I stood up, and must have pinched that nerve but good, because the pain was so instantly overwhelming I thought I might faint (I started to “white out.”).
But, that said, I can easily imagine way worse pain, like spilling a pot of boiling water down your shirt, or something. So, I’ll just say “it’s a 6,” even if it’s really a .75 on the infinite pain scale.
I’ve never experienced any of the three, but I know women who’ve done both childbirth and kidney stones and consensus is kidney stones are worse.