Jazz Rabbit 🐇🏳️‍⚧️

Did you know that 0 on the pain scale is supposed to mean, “no pain at all?” And that that is the normal amount of pain to be in?

It’s surprisingly common to underrate the severity of pain we experience! Take a look at the Mankoski Pain Scale, and especially look at the relative effectiveness of pain medication for different levels.

I bring a copy to appointments, and more than one practitioner has made copies to use with patients.

#PainScale #ChronicPain #ChronicPainMemes

Jun 22 at 9:20pmWeb
Show threadMeer-IsaJun 22
@madrabbit thanks for sharing! I didn’t realize that a 10 is passing out and that a lot of people at least once a month experience a 6-8 for several hours…
Show threadMx VerdaJun 22
@madrabbit oh. I am very regularly at a 5 or higher. I drove home at a 7 recently (and very soon realised), which I would not recommend, meds or not.
Show threadRobynJun 22
@madrabbit
Hmm might ask my physio if he's seen this
Show threadJulian Andres Klode 🏳️‍🌈Jun 22

@madrabbit OK then my slightly cracked bones in 2022 were level 2 and not 3.

Or rather the cracks didn't hurt at all, it was the muscles that hurt during recovery when you moved them a bit more than the previous range.

The hit head and bruises were level 3 for a couple hours.

Show threadC++ Wage SlaveJun 22

@madrabbit

I sometimes idly wonder whether it would be useful to compare a particular pain with previous pain I've suffered: "it's slightly less severe than when I broke a toe by smashing it into a bookcase but more severe than that injured knee ligament," or whatever.

Show threadAri "Two Naps" JacksonJun 22
@madrabbit "No pain at all" is supposed to be normal? I am not sure I've ever experienced that. 😞 The chart is good! I am saving it for future reference.
Show threadDani living like it's 2020Jun 22
@madrabbit
This is very helpful, for if it's ever needed in the future. Thanks!
Show threadHammer and crippleJun 23

@madrabbit So...an 8 is "normal", is what I'm reading. 

This explains why my idea of managed and my pain doctor's idea of managed are wildly different.

Show threadSamhain NightJun 23
@madrabbit Fun. I've gone up to any 8 but I can't take anything other than Tylenol, because they're migraine triggers- which are is 8 and lasts a month.
Well, ok, back labor was a 9, but that was only the one time -for 7 hrs.
Show threadSean KleefeldJun 23
@samhainnight @madrabbit Damn! So when I got hit by an SUV and had my femur literally rip through my thigh, that was only an 8?!?
Show threadSeth Hanford 🐡Jun 23
@madrabbit wow, I had no idea this was a thing. I have a system for managing headaches that can occasionally be recurring / frequent that are an 8. I’m kinda stunned that there’s only two more levels. Thank you, I’m going to really think about it and what to do with this info because if you’d have asked me, I would’ve described them as a 4 or 5 probably.
Show threadGeeden_Of_ArdenJun 23

@madrabbit I've read that adding an urgency dimension makes a world of difference, to wit:

1: "I can barely feel this slice to my carotid artery,"

versus:

8: "PAPER CUT!!"

Show threadMoriel Jun 23

@madrabbit

Never seen this before. I'd say my back pain this past week has been a 5 or 6

And I wish doctors would use this. I got asked to rate my pain 1-10 on Tuesday by a doctor and had no way to answer because I had no idea what kind of scale he had in mind, so instead I just described how it was affecting me.

Show threaddatum (n=1)Jun 23

@madrabbit This is really useful, thank you.

While reading it and thinking "wow this is better grounded than a blank 0-10 subjective scale ask" I started to wonder why it wasn't broadly used.

Then I got to the end.

Ah, developed by a woman*, explains why it's been ignored.

*(or someone with a name that signals womanhood)

Show threadanyaJun 23

@madrabbit the Mankoski scale is the one I've been using for a few years now, after getting frustrated with the inadequacies of the more common scales.

Most days, I'm on a 6 or 7, with 8 or 9 being a semi-regular occurrence each month.

Show threadKagan MacTane (he/him)Jun 23
@madrabbit I think more medical professionals need to hear that "the proper and normal amount of pain to be in is ZERO". In fact, I think it should be thoroughly drummed into them as part of medical training.
Show threadJazz Rabbit 🐇🏳️‍⚧️Jun 23
@kagan honestly yes and the ableism inherent to the way they’re taught is abominable
Show threadquirked-up sex machineJun 23
@madrabbit seems sus
Show threadGiliellJun 23
@madrabbit And please remember: you can't "save" the milder stuff for when it gets worse. On the contrary: first of all, your body has a pain memory and reacts, even more strongly and second of all, you need to stay ahead of pain (so yeah, fuck providers who don't think that pain management is important. )
Show threadgroff 🇺🇦Jun 24
@madrabbit In my experience of the NHS in the UK a pain level of 8 is the first level where you'll get anything stronger than standard over the counter pain relief. When my back pain was so bad I couldn't drag myself across the floor to the toilet without screaming and had to call a doctor out to visit me at home they prescribed 30/500 codeine/paracetamol tablets.
Show threadgroff 🇺🇦Jun 24
@madrabbit For reference I'd put broken ribs at level 2 (fell off a cliff), being bitten by bullet ants at 3, and treading on a weaver fish as a child at a 4, but that was a long time ago.