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Pain levels out of 10

Posted , 8 users are following.

karen00354
karen00354

What would you guy says your pain levels are out of 10 in the upper back feels like a fire going on as well as neck pain omg hurts like mad x

2 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • rachD123
    rachD123 karen00354

    Posted

    It depends. Sometimes it comes on for no reason and sometimes I know what I have done to trigger it. Sometimes it aches for 10 mins and sometimes it seems relentless. Sometimes it's only mild and sometimes it really aches / burns. The unpredictability is very difficult to deal with at times. Sorry I don't appear to have answered your question!!!! It's too variable to give a number.
    • karen00354
      karen00354 rachD123

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply rach it's a nightmare isn't it hopefully will go away soon
  • pat38625
    pat38625 karen00354

    Posted

    Hi Karen, sorry to hear you are having problems.  I am relatively new to PMR and at its worst my pain levels all over my body I would say out of 10 I would have said 15.  But once I started the pred within a few hours I was fine and after a couple of days was back to normal, well a few aches and pains but nothing like it was.  I could not go back to that type of pain.  I hope you get sorted out.  All the best.  Pat
    • karen00354
      karen00354 pat38625

      Posted

      Thanks pat what's the pred your on and does it work I'm on gabepentin and I know what you mean about 15 my pain I would say a constant 7 it's horrible never thought it would be this much pain 
  • lesley1954
    lesley1954 karen00354

    Posted

    I think all sufferers of cs get to thst stsge. When I came of work last year, the pain was in my shoulder. It started off as a niggle but soon became really painful. The pain spread all all over my neck and shoulder blade. It was a really intense burning pain which had me in tears so many tim. When I went to bed to rest I was rolling all over the place. The only position I could get comfortable was in the foetal position with my head tucked into my chest, and even that was a struggle. If you would like a rating on my pain, I would probably ssy 10+, but I dont have a very good pain threshold either
    • karen00354
      karen00354 lesley1954

      Posted

      Thanks Lesley I'm really struggling with work at the moment dont know how much longer I can carry on with it, never thought when diagnosed two years ago it would be this bad 
  • Shauno44
    Shauno44 karen00354

    Posted

    Hi Karen ,I would say 6-7 every day ,I have been in more pain but not for so long as the Css .i think I'm just used to it now ,it's been going on so long ,probably 8 years ,and just got fobbed off by the doctor until I had an MRI last August and had stenosis in 4567,.i find the headaches are the worse 8-9 .i had an eardrum infection and that was up there ,rolling Bout on the floor in agony with that one .so in conclusion average 7 every day with spikes 
    • karen00354
      karen00354 Shauno44

      Posted

      Thanks Shaun I know what you mean that you get used to it mines bulging discs from 3 to 7, and agree pain 7 constant 
  • Gerry_the_neck
    Gerry_the_neck karen00354

    Posted

    Rating C/S pain/aches on a scale of 1 to 10 ?   I think that's a bit difficult with C/S.  Most C/S pains/aches are referred / radiated / or associated,  and therefore don't really resemble the same kind of pain that might be expected from an actual injury.  They're neurological by nature,  probably more connected with protective straining than resulting from actual injury in shoulder/arm/chest etc.  The stiff neck symptom is probably the the only symptom with a direct association with any degeneration.   I've found most of the referred issues manageable,  but when the cervicogenic headaches kick in,  everything feels a lot worse.  The tolerance of the pains can be affected by having some understanding of whether we can physically ease the symptoms,  or not.  A tendency towards self-convincing that the symptoms can't be eased is probably responsible for how we perceive our pain levels. Developing a sense of manageability is very important for achieving some sense of control, no matter how minimal,  over the symptoms....and options for managing symptoms increase with a sense of control.  For instance,  if we  see the meds as the only means of symptom easing,  then we lose some control over our perception of the  intensity of symptoms we're experiencing.

    So,  short answer,  anywhere on a 1 to 10 scale,  depending on how we perceive our control options.  C/S symptoms will fluctuate,  and those unpredictable fluctuations will cause havoc unless  we have a back-up plan to accommodate them.

    • karen00354
      karen00354 Gerry_the_neck

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply Gerry I agree symptom fluctuate I know mine has you can't even pin point where the pain is it's just all round the top of back neck and shoulders 
    • Gerry_the_neck
      Gerry_the_neck karen00354

      Posted

      Hi Karen

      Yes,  the shifting symptoms don't help when trying to develop a clear picture of what is really happening.  A few years ago,  I sat myself down and decided to try and separate/define each symptom as a standalone issue...i.e.  put a cause and effect to each one.  Eventually (months !)  I came to the conclusion,  whether right or wrong,  that most symptoms resulted from protective reactions to theatened nerves,  rather than some general deterioration that could only get worse.  The only direct symptoms from threatened nerves seemed to be numb hand / stiff neck,  or pins and needles in hand.  All other symptoms (headaches , arm / shoulder / hand / chest pains) seemed to be caused by muscular adjustments to protect the trapped nerve/s.  Seen in that light,  most of the symptoms seem transitory...they'll come and go,  but they don't necessarily signify any further deterioration. They're just adjustments to suit whatever nerve threats exist,  and, in some respects,  are actually displaying that the neck is reacting to the problem as best it can.  

      With any healing process,  the adaptive processes which assist the healing will hurt.  Unfortunately,  with C/S that tends to be continuous and ongoing,  depending on how nerves are threatened with neck movements.  Sometimes it's difficult to make the connections between neck movements and symptoms,  perhaps because of the variety of symptoms,  but they are all regulated by 'cause and effect', which can, with some effort,  be understood.....and that can help with developing different approaches to management.  The intensity of the pain experienced might have a lot to do with how positive or negative we perceive our future options for managing the condition.  Not saying that the pain is 'unreal',  just that it also has positive aspects which are easily overlooked.  

    • michael_b
      michael_b Gerry_the_neck

      Posted

      Gerry, your post reminded me of something I read on inflammation, which obviously hurts. Some time ago the medical approach on the issue (ex: sprain or strained ligaments) was to throw antiinflamatories at it, to reduce suffering. Nowadays they're shifting towards a withhold of antiinflamatory medication, though it hurts, as it seems the healing process is impaired by it (in the ligaments example, they heal incompletely / worse, with increased probability of chronic issues).
    • Gerry_the_neck
      Gerry_the_neck michael_b

      Posted

      So,  I would ask the question....If we perceive the pain we're experiencing as being an unavoidable part of some ongoing healing process,  do we tolerate it better,  or does it seem less intense,  than when we percieve the pain as signifying a worsening of the condition  ?  Or, for that matter,  if we accept the inevitability of ongoing pain with some conditions,  does that help with our toleration or sense of intensity of the pain ? 
    • Shauno44
      Shauno44 Gerry_the_neck

      Posted

      So we get used to it ,and my 5 maybe an 8 for a non sufferer ,but they would get used to it and become a 5 ,because it's part of every day life for us 
    • michael_b
      michael_b Gerry_the_neck

      Posted

      For sure what Shauno44 says is valid: our 5 is actually an 8 for a 'newbie' :P I haven't got sufficient data to say mental acceptance of some benefits of pain does actually the effect of lessening the perceived pain, intuitively I would say yes.
    • Gerry_the_neck
      Gerry_the_neck michael_b

      Posted

      I tend to agree also.  I keep thinking about that guy,  stuck in a cave,  they made a film about it,  who had to cut his own arm off to escape.  It would seem like an impossible thing to even contemplate, painwise,  and yet,  when necessary,  with no other options,  he did it....and apparently he reported it wasn't as difficult or painful as one would expect.  Needs must,  and that seemed to help with his toleration.

      Transposing any similarities to the C/S symptoms,  it might seem that some acceptance of the unpredictability of symptoms,  or some realisation that the pains might in fact be perceived as something positive,  as something necessary for better adaptability,  might help with  better toleration, and reduce the perceived level of pain on the 1 to 10 scale.  Is it just familiarity,  or is it something with more substance like a conscious acceptance of inevitability ?  I like the 'acceptability'  reason for better toleration,  because increases in pain can often be associated with 'fear of the unknown',  and acceptability can help reduce fear of the unknown.   Is there a psychological formula which allows us to tinker with the levels of control over pain perceptions,  and can automatically reduce our pain perceptions,  or increase our toleration levels ?  I think there might well be,  especially when we are confronted with some more pressing problem that supercedes our normal perceptions of everyday C/S issues. 

    • Shauno44
      Shauno44 Gerry_the_neck

      Posted

      You know what each day is going to bring is inevitable,so you're resigned to that ,lets say 6. So have a a 4 for three days ,two 7 s an 8 and a 6 ,you could call that a good week ,I'm,6 and a half on a good week ,and 
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