This is my personal chronic pain scale, created from the tips on personalizing the Randall Chronic Pain Scale, to assist in communicating my experience of pain, especially chronic pain, with health-care people. The scale can be found on Lois Randal’s great InfoMIN site, along with lots of other good information on chronic pain, especially chronic pain for sufferers of Fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, and related conditions.
This isn’t so relevant to me now as it’s nearly 10 years ago that I created it, but it’s interesting and helpful to look back and see what I came up with.
10 – Excruciating Pain
Description: Must attend to pain. Cannot manage to do anything except lie in bed. Probably crying from the pain. I cannot relax my muscles.
8 – Pain Is Difficult To Tolerate
Description: Pain is bad, but I can still do some very simple tasks that don’t require movement or concentration. Perhaps listen to the radio or a book on tape.
When the pain is this bad it’s impossible to keep my muscles relaxed, I can relax them but the minute I take my attention away they tense up. In this state I’m using almost all my energy ‘dealing’ with the pain.
6 – Pain Is Distressing
Description: Pain is fairly bad but I am able to keep on doing most things that are otherwise things I can do (eg no standing for more than a minute or two, etc). Can’t do things that need a lot of thinking, like maths.
In this state I’m using a fair bit of energy ‘dealing’ with the pain. I can be relaxed if I don’t have to move, but moving will make my muscles tense up again.
4 – Pain Is Discomforting
Description: Pain can be ignored if I have something distracting to do and can lie down in a relaxed position – eg good friend to talk to (lying in bed) or a TV show I really really enjoy (lying flat on sofa).
In this state I’m not using up a lot of energy ‘dealing’ with the pain, but am using some. I can stay relaxed as long as I pay attention to staying relaxed when I move.
2 – Pain Is Mild
Description: Only aware of pain when attention is brought to it.
In this state I still hurt, but I’m not really using much energy to deal with it and staying relaxed is automatic.
When: This happens hardly ever. Maybe for an hour or two a month?
0 – No Pain
Description: No pain at all.
Hi Ricky, My pain scale – the Randall Chronic Pain Scale – (RCPS) is at http://www.infomin.org/painscale.html I think you did a great job describing your pain: I can really identify. I hope you’re doing well.
My chronic pain site starts at
http://www.infomin.org/index.html
I’m doing a lot of updating to the site, so please bear with me. The updated content will be good, I promise.
Best wishes,
Lois Randall
@Lois: Thanks for the updated link, I get lots of people searching for that! I’ll add a link to your site too.
Best of luck,
r