• saltesc@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    Can a medical professional explain why they still do this? I’m very logical with my rating, so it explains the situation well. Having a femur compounded through my vastus medialis, “About a 5.5. When I have to move the leg, up to an 7.5.”

    There are much worse things for 8, 9, and 10, but having all the fresh nerve damage, swelling,.and moving the muscle and bone was enough to really grit my teeth and get me shaking—moderate to severe. But it was only after more visual inspection in the ambulance they immediately gave me morphine.

    I assume this is because of all the idiots that say a stubbed toe.is like a 7 and their rolled ankle is a 9.

    • jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.works
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      18 hours ago

      It’s for (subjective) improvement. If the patient is getting better (pain scale going down), then great! If not, we can try alternative therapies.

      Simple example is someone with back pain. We give them ibuprofen. Pain still the same. We give them a toradol shot. Pain goes down. Now we have an idea of the severity.

      If the pain still persists with toradol or even tramadol or something, now we should definitely look into complex imaging (e.g. MRI) to see objective facts about their anatomy - is there visibile compression on a nerve? Is there a slipped disk?

      It’s just to get an idea of a subjective pain scale and to mark progress.

    • hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      18 hours ago

      I’m not a doctor but I’m assuming it’s because the pain is relative. It gives the medical expert a value that’s relative to the patients pain tolerance, how the pain effects that individual.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      I have nerve damage. I had no choice but to rethink my scale so I can accurately convey my new spectrum of pain. Now 10 is passing out from the pain, 9 is light-headedness with tremors and full body chills, etc.

        • SuiXi3D@fedia.io
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          14 hours ago

          So 0 is full HP and 10 is down and actively making death saving throws every turn. Got it.

        • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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          18 hours ago

          Consistency helps, i hope. I try to keep my personal scale the same. I figure if im doing ok at 2 for a couple weeks, then 6 will mean a big jump. Regardless of what a 2 or 6 really means.

        • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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          18 hours ago

          It’s funny explaining to people how my constant droning 5 pain is worse than the sudden 7 I get from moving the wrong way. My 5 is a lot higher than they’d think, and persistent pain with no release is far more maddening than sudden electrical shocks from time to time.

          • jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.works
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            17 hours ago

            Persistent pain is debilitating. Most senses can be adapted to - your brain stops listening to it. Smells, touch, hot, cold, sounds, lights - all these senses can be adapted to and you stop noticing them after a few minutes.

            Pain cannot be ignored. Your brain will never stop listening to it. It’s why it’s so important for people who suffer from chronic pain to be referred to pain management to have someone who can treat it specifically.

            • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nz
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              10 hours ago

              Most senses can be adapted to - your brain stops listening to it. Smells, touch, hot, cold, sounds, lights - all these senses can be adapted to and you stop noticing them after a few minutes.

              Tell that to drag’s autism. Noise is worse than pain. Drag can adapt to pain easily enough. Not noise.