top of page
Search
Writer's pictureFibro Diva

How Do You Rate Your Pain?

Do you ever wonder if you and your healthcare/pain management provider, or, your family and friends are all on the same page when it comes to YOU rating YOUR pain?



I've been thinking about this topic lately. Usually when someone asks a person with Fibro to "rate your pain", they have a copy of the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale (see the top row of the graphic left) somewhere nearby. This scale was originally adopted for children but somehow got accepted into adult diagnostics.


I've never really felt comfortable as a person with the chronic pain, fatigue, and stiffness of FM using this scale because I felt it concentrates on mood or emotions more than on physical sensation or limitations. Even in my worse pain, I do not cry in front of anyone except my children. I've only broken down and cried in a doctor's office 2 times in my life (one time was recently after moving to a state that has legislated against pain medication and then experiencing a home invasion). I was raised not to show weakness and vulnerability. I was raised to believe that no one cared if you are sick, in pain, or disabled. I worked in an industry that forces employees to bury their emotions. As a matter of fact, if people found out that you were sick (weak), battling chronic pain (weak), or struggling with even minor physical disability (weak), they might use this information against you. So when I look at the Wong-Baker FACES, I don't see the physical pain and disability that I am experiencing, I see a poor guy in need of some mental health care.


When it comes to many people with Fibromyalgia, myself included, health care providers, friends, family, coworkers, employers, and the general public at large only see the second row of faces. Most people with Fibromyalgia "look fine" to normal/healthy people. Our pain may be off the hook "don't judge a book by its cover" truly applies to people with FM. We can be sitting on the exam table smiling like we just won Publishers Clearing House, but on the inside, we are screaming and crying from the pain. We can be sitting there looking like the second runner-up for the Ms. You Look Good To Me pageant, but on the inside, we feel like the bride of Frankenstein. We can be talking a mile a minute, even walking around like Aristotle, but on the inside, we are navigating through Fibro Fog, or, hitting our Fibro Wall and just trying to muster enough energy and clarity to get home. We may look like we are not having any problems like we can conquer the world, however, we are silently suffering and our looks belie our physical condition.


I think the biggest problem with the Wong-Baker FACES is that there are not 10 faces. There may not be a big difference to a clinician or researcher between 1-2 or 7-8. However, if you are experiencing ongoing, unrelenting pain, 7 might mean I can get up and brush my teeth, while 8 may mean my teeth are so sensitive that I can't even rinse my mouth. If you are experiencing ongoing, unrelenting pain, 1 might mean there is very little pain today and no fatigue, but I am so stiff that every time I change position I have to do my Shakira impersonation and "shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake my body, shake my body" to get moving.

Blogger, Ms. Allie Brosh, designed the scale at the bottom of the graphic to the left (click on the graphic to enlarge it). She didn't do it hoping it would be adopted by clinicians and researchers, she did it to help her better describe the pain of a friend. Ms. Brosh tried to address the problem with the universally accepted Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating scale from a humorous standpoint.



Ms. Brosh's interpretation of the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale attributes the following statements to each of the Wong-Baker faces:



0: Haha! I'm not wearing any pants! 2: Awesome! Someone just offered me a free hot dog! 4: Huh. I never knew that about giraffes. 6: I'm sorry about your cat, but can we talk about something else now? I'm bored. 8: The ice cream I bought barely has any cookie dough chunks in it. This is not what I expected and I am disappointed. 10: You hurt my feelings and now I'm crying! Ms. Brosh also has a humorous set of descriptions for each of her 12 pictures presented in the last row of faces in the graphic at the top of this post and individually below:


0: Hi. I am not experiencing any pain at all. I don't know why I'm even here. 1: I am completely unsure whether I am experiencing pain or itching, or maybe I just have a bad taste in my mouth. 2: I probably just need a Band-Aid. 3: This is distressing. I don't want this to be happening to me at all. 4: My pain is not f---ing around. 5: Why is this happening to me?? 6: Ow. Okay, my pain is super legit now. 7: I see Jesus coming for me and I'm scared. 8: I am experiencing a disturbing amount of pain. I might actually be dying. Please help. 9: I am almost definitely dying. 10: I am actively being mauled by a bear. 11: Blood is going to explode out of my face at any moment. Too Serious For Numbers: I probably have Ebola. It appears that I may also be suffering from Stigmata and/or pinkeye.


Comentarios


Thoughts In From The Fog:  blog

bottom of page