Ship of Fools: On a scale of 1 to 10

Thread: On a scale of 1 to 10 Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on :

Today I managed to close the car door on my finger. I broke a bone, crushed the nail and spouted blood - and the end of the finger was a funny shape. I went to A&E (isn't the NHS wonderful!) and the triage nurse asked how painful it was on a sale of 1 to 10. How do you answer that?

I said 3 - it was less than dental fillings before anaesthetics (I'm old enough to remember) or a really badly sprained ankle. But it did hurt. My wife said I was just pretending to be manly to impress the nurse (a hairy middle aged man as it happens). I said 6 was where you started crying, working up to screaming at about 8.

Does anyone have a suggested scale? Where does your wife saying you were 'pretending to be manly' come?

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

Duplicate thread deleted.

If this one can be kept reasonably light and not too graphically descriptive of unpleasant incidents involving heroic feats of endurance, that would be good, otherwise it may be deemed not to be Heavenly.

Ta.

Ariel
Heaven Host

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

As someone with a spookily creative imagination, asking me to compare pain with 0 being nothing and 10 being the worst I can imagine will generally result in me giving things pretty low numbers. As with most slightly geeky things, there's an xkcd about it.

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

That is an odd question. I think the context matters.

First, if a nurse at a hospital is asking, it cannot have been on the scale of all human discomfort (1 being a mild electric shock from touching a piece of metal while walking across a carpet in your slippers, ten involving your femur making a surprise appearance outside of the skin) because the very fact that you brought yourself to the hospital indicates that it is at least greater than a one or two.

The fact that you are a man also matters, because childbirth isn't on our scale. My wife has never given birth, but I can guarantee that she would never let me get away with claiming a ten on an all human scale. (They make fun of us for acting tough, they would make fun of us for overstating pain- it's a no win proposition.)

So if it was on a general scale, your options are probably not 1 to 10 but maybe 3 to 6, so it is silly to give you a full scale. So I think he must have been referring to a scale of all of the pains you, a man of your age and experience, might ever reasonably imagine yourself experiencing.

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :

When they ask me that question, my natural response is to ask what they mean by it. Generally they withdraw the question and move on to a better description.

I don't think you were being manly at all. You were probably just being realistic.

Wait, that makes me seem unsympathetic. I too have had an injury like that - I was 7 and it was the hinge of the doors at the hockey arena - and I remember screaming bloody murder. It isn't pleasant but it isn't the worst.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

Childbirth = 10

Filling without anesthetic = 6

Finger slammed in door = 4 (I remember it well, it was the church mini bus, I ran in to the loo to put it under the tap, passed out and woke up to find the minister praying over me - erk!)

Arthritis = 3

They are different types of pain. Three are acute and one is chronic. I hardly notice the arthritis pain these days, I block it out of my conscious thinking.

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

Many doctors have a chart showing the Pain Scale (a/k/a Visual Analog Scale or VAS). Some use other words to help guide the patient. For example:

None: 0
Annoying: 2
Uncomfortable: 4
Dreadful: 6
Horrible: 8
Agonizing: 10

However, the real value of the VAS is recording numbers over time for a single patient. Regardless of how any individual patient views the chart, presumably the patient views it the same way each time. So, if on the first visit the pain is rated at 6 and then on the next 4, the doctor can assume the pain is less on the second visit. It doesn't matter whether anybody else would agree to the ratings of "6" or "4"--for that patient it reflects improvement in the condition.

So, just answer based on your gut feeling and the VAS should work reasonably well. But don't go crazy. I've seen people start getting into decimals ("Today I am a 4.35..."). That's ludicrous. It is not a precision instrument.

Posted by The Great Gumby (# 10989) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Hart:
As someone with a spookily creative imagination, asking me to compare pain with 0 being nothing and 10 being the worst I can imagine will generally result in me giving things pretty low numbers. As with most slightly geeky things, there's an xkcd about it.

Beat me to it.

I think it's a fair enough question. How else would you assess it? Putting pain on a decimal scale at least avoids arguments about whether agonising is better or worse than excruciating, or whatever.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

And there I was thinking this was a thread on the hoary old chestnut about sexual attractiveness - "On a scale of one... I'd give her/him one!"

I am told that passing a kidney stone and fracturing a kneecap rate with childbirth even if you are male. I've done neither, and have no memories of the last time I was intimately involved with childbirth, which makes that a peculiarly pointless observation. As you were, everyone.

AG

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

So much depends on context. A masseuse working into a stiff muscle is, objectively considered, very painful - but you can ask her ease up. Same reason they give you a button for the morphine drip after surgery. Tolerance is greatly increased if you know it is a) time limited or b) you can do something to alleviate it.

My personal benchmark is trigeminal shingles, which went on for days, and laughed at painkillers.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

Argh, sorry folks, the Ship is being a PITA this evening.

Would a kind host plank two of those posts, please?

Many thanks,

AG [Hot and Hormonal]

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

Very subjective: one person's agony is another's discomfort.

Also depends on which part of the body.

In the old days of paper records patient notes could sometimes be seen with red stickers saying PAIN which indicated that the patient was deemed to have a potentially dangerous pain tolerance.

Worst pain ever - having your appendix burst as you try to get onto an A&E trolley with no brakes... a combination of [Eek!]

and WTF x 10

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
Argh, sorry folks, the Ship is being a PITA this evening.

Would a kind host plank two of those posts, please?

Many thanks,

AG

Yup. Wet cement running uphill.

Firenze
Kinda Heaven Host

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

The worst pain I have ever felt was from damaged nerves. The pain came and went like lightning; I was never aware of it while it was happening. Immediately afterwards the place where the pain had been was screaming, "That's not supposed to happen!" I had never understood the meaning of the phrase "outraged flesh' before.

Moo

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

quote:
Originally posted by que sais-je:
Today I managed to close the car door on my finger. I broke a bone, crushed the nail and spouted blood - and the end of the finger was a funny shape. I went to A&E (isn't the NHS wonderful!) and the triage nurse asked how painful it was on a sale of 1 to 10. How do you answer that?

In the NHS the correct answer is always 7. That's painful enough to get you treatment, sympathy and strong painkilling drugs, but not painful enough to turn you into a research subject.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

I was asked that question when in an ambulance whizzing to hospital with severe stomach pains. I didn't feel like answering at all, but reluctantly decided I'd better. I answered '7' which they were surprised at, but explained 'well it's not as bad as childbirth'. The ambulanceman, quick as a flash, retorted 'But at least this pain won't last 18 years!'
I managed to laugh wryly at that one as, by then, the morphine was kicking in....

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

Yoi have to figure out how they're going to use that answer and adjust accordingly. As I discovered when my answer of 7 meant they thought they could safely be up to an hour late with the pain meds...

From now on it's 9 or 10, unless tgey are very late, at which point I say it's 15 and weep all over them. Guilt makes a good motivator sometimes.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

Sometimes the 1 to 10 scale question really gets me. There have been 10s when I thought the medical folks didn't really believe me. Should I have brought it down to 9 1/2? Is that more believable? [Two face]

Boogie is right. Chronic bearable pain in the 2, 3, 4 range can be ignored. It helps to be doing something useful, or spending the day with a favorite person (D-U) like I did today! But 8, 9 and 10s that drag on and on can seem unbelievable to other folks, unless they know you well.

I suppose some docs and nurses know the signs. My family and friends sure do. They will grab a chair for me and make me sit to rest from the pain I've been ignoring. (They're the best!)

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

Pain is relative, not only between individuals, but for a given individual as well.
Intensity, location, duration and situation can all affect perception of pain.
IME, most physicians assume an over-rated number unless one can reference specific incidences of pain. Broken bone, tooth abscess, burns, etc.
One doctor told me, in his opinion, that a 10 cannot be accurately reported as the reporter would likely be unconscious from that level.
I've never had children, but I have had pain cause nearly all conscious mental process to stop, hearing fade, vision go white. Is childbirth more or less than that?

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:

I've never had children, but I have had pain cause nearly all conscious mental process to stop, hearing fade, vision go white. Is childbirth more or less than that?

About the same - but not all the way through the labour!

I had forgotten gall stone pain - that caused me to pass out every time. Excruciating. I hear that kidney stones are even worse.

erk!

Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:

Filling without anesthetic = 6

Actually depends on the filling. First low level filling without anaesthetic, I would have trouble putting at more than a 3; a refilling which is deep then the 6 is probably justified. Actually it depends hugely on whether the nerve in the tooth is touched.

I have had rather a lot of fillings without anaesthetic. Some I need not of had, but I had only had shallow ones before and did not think anaesthetic was worth it.

Jengie

Posted by TurquoiseTastic (# 8978) on :

My younger brother (doctor) uses this scale as a stalling tactic if I complain to him about aches and pains... typical conversation...

TT: I don't know, I've just been having a bit of pain in my shoulder, you know, kind of when I move my arm like this...

TT junior: <gently audible sighing noise... continues in deadpan monotone> On a scale of one to ten, where one is "not painful at all" and ten is "the worst pain you have ever experienced" please rate your pain...

<pause>

TT junior: There are many types of pain

<pause>

TT junior: Physical pain

<pause>

TT junior: Mental pain

<pause>

TT junior (still deadpan monotone): Emotional pain

<longer pause>

TT junior: Spiritual pain...

<pause>

TT junior: Perhaps the question is too hard for you. Perhaps we could use this simpler scale, designed in fact for very young children. Which of these sad faces best represents you right now?

<TT gives up, goes away>

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:

quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:

Filling without anesthetic = 6

Actually depends on the filling. First low level filling without anaesthetic, I would have trouble putting at more than a 3; a refilling which is deep then the 6 is probably justified. Actually it depends hugely on whether the nerve in the tooth is touched.

I have had rather a lot of fillings without anaesthetic. Some I need not of had, but I had only had shallow ones before and did not think anaesthetic was worth it.

Very true, but let them hit a nerve and arrrrggggghhhhh!

I think pain in the head/ear/face is horrible because it's near so many sensing areas. I had dental implants. No pain at all, but the smell, vibration, pressure, sound etc was far more uncomfortable than pain!

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

Originally posted by Boogie:

quote:

Childbirth = 10

Filling without anesthetic = 6

Childbirth = 6
Filling without anesthetic =10

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

Can anyone explain why banging a kneecap is so excruciating for such a short time - from explosive eyes screwed up I want my Mummy agony to "what was all that about?" in the space of a couple of seconds? Maybe it's just me, but that goes up to about an eight or nine yet vanishes as fast as it came. Bizarre!

AG

Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :

In Nepal I managed to walk into a piece of metal sticking out of a wall, impaling my thigh so that I had to grit my teeth and back up to get free. I went to the local hospital where the doctor asked me how much it hurt to which I replied "it stings a bit". He laughed and told me that he knew what "stings a bit" from a British person really meant, he had seen the Tiger sketch from Monty Python's meaning of Life...

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:

I had forgotten gall stone pain - that caused me to pass out every time. Excruciating.

erk!

Yes, I get biliary colic and the pain is immense and deep, causing me to catch my breath, and near faint with waves of nausea. I'd put that higher than childbirth.

Posted by birdie (# 2173) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Hart:
As someone with a spookily creative imagination, asking me to compare pain with 0 being nothing and 10 being the worst I can imagine will generally result in me giving things pretty low numbers. As with most slightly geeky things, there's an xkcd about it.

This is also a brilliant blog post with an alternative pain chart: Too serious for numbers!

Next tiume I visit the Dr I have resolved to use number 4: My pain is not fucking around.

Posted by LucyP (# 10476) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
Can anyone explain why banging a kneecap is so excruciating for such a short time - from explosive eyes screwed up I want my Mummy agony to "what was all that about?" in the space of a couple of seconds? Maybe it's just me, but that goes up to about an eight or nine yet vanishes as fast as it came. Bizarre!

AG

No explanation, but I know what you mean.

I have a tendency to faint after certain triggers, including pain, but before I pass out I have 5-10 minutes warning,(dizziness, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, and, according to bystanders, turning ghostly white) which (apart from the very first time it happened) has always been enough time for me to lie down and prevent loss of consciousness.

When in the Louvre, I walked up to inspect a statue of Caesar Augustus, my gaze fixed on his face, only to discover that the guard rail was the exact height of my knee cap. The pain was intense but shortlived, and I wandered off, only to realise the old familiar dizziness was starting. Sitting down on a step was not enough, since the dizziness worsened -so I ended up lying down on the floor in the middle of the statue hall until my blood pressure recovered.

To my relief, noone paid any attention to me.

Posted by Galloping Granny (# 13814) on :

I wonder whether kidney stone would compare with having the needle hit the nerve full on when they're giving you an epidural (I said, or gasped, 10+).

Or whether a hit in the goolies (men) would be equivalent with childbirth (women).

That is, without taking duration into account in either case.

GG

Posted by cheesymarzipan (# 9442) on :

I remember being asked this question when I went to A&E a few years ago. I said '6, and no I don't think I need any painkillers at the moment'
4 hours of waiting later it was closer to 8 or 9. Obviously I should have said yes to painkillers, or said a higher number in the first place, I might have been seen earlier!

Are people's scales the same though? mine goes a bit like this
1 to 2 - achey rather than hurting
3 - brief ouch
4 - longer lasting ouch
5 to 6 - bearable but I'd rather have painkillers now before it gets worse
7 - swear a lot
8 or 9 - this pain is interfering with me doing anything else (including thinking)
10 - !!!!!!

Posted by Pre-cambrian (# 2055) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Galloping Granny:
Or whether a hit in the goolies (men) would be equivalent with childbirth (women).

I guess only some sophisticated medical measuring equipment and a stock of masochistic volunteers could answer that one. On one side of the question this series of misadventures would probably get quite high up the 1-10 scale [Eek!]

Posted by Ferijen (# 4719) on :

Even in the worse pain I was ever in (stares at Master Ferijen), I still felt there was wriggle room... in fact, I remember thinking when they asked how much it hurt 'it would hurt more if I'd got a broken leg'. Also, as long as I thought it could hurt some more, I deferred the more effective painkillers 'just in case'.

Always leave some wriggle room. You never know what else might be coming your way...

Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :

Your scale could always go to eleven...

these go to eleven!

Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on :

quote:
Originally posted by cheesymarzipan:

Are people's scales the same though? mine goes a bit like this
1 to 2 - achey rather than hurting
3 - brief ouch
4 - longer lasting ouch
5 to 6 - bearable but I'd rather have painkillers now before it gets worse
7 - swear a lot
8 or 9 - this pain is interfering with me doing anything else (including thinking)
10 - !!!!!!

I agree - and my wife was probably right that I just said 3 to sound tough.

As I was waiting I could hear the Nurse Practitioner talking with her colleagues: "You could take off the nail, suture the wound and re-embed the nail" one said.

"I've never done that before"

"Well why not give it a try"

That's 3 for the accident, and about 7 for the treatment.

Having read everyone's comments I can see I've led a very sheltered and pain free life. For which I'm very grateful.

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
cheesymarzipan: 7 - swear a lot

I probably start swearing around level 2 [Biased]

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

Walking into a milk crate barefoot: 3
Heart palpitations: 4
Tendonitis: 5
Night-time leg cramp: 6

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :

Step on piece of Lego on child's bedroom floor in the dark: 4

Dislocated shoulder: (calling rugby players): 8

Cricket ball in the balls: Immediate pain 3
Continuing ache in pit of abdomen when adrenalin fades: 6
Sharp pain if box splits then traps your scrotum:8

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:
cheesymarzipan: 7 - swear a lot
I probably start swearing around level 2

Yeah, I'm a big lumbering oaf with long legs and huge feet, so I am always accidentally kicking something in the middle of the night when the dog wants out. My wife has learned that an "Ouch!" from me is really more of an expression of surprise than anything else.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

Reminds me of a strip from the wonderful Clare in the Community.

She is visiting a friend who's recently given birth:

Clare: So tell me all about it - but remember, we don't say 'pain'. That's a negative concept. We talk about 'energy'.

New mother: Oh right. Well the energy was fucking excruciating.

[ 01. May 2013, 19:42: Message edited by: Firenze ]

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Og, King of Bashan:

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:
cheesymarzipan: 7 - swear a lot
I probably start swearing around level 2
Yeah, I'm a big lumbering oaf with long legs and huge feet, so I am always accidentally kicking something in the middle of the night when the dog wants out. My wife has learned that an "Ouch!" from me is really more of an expression of surprise than anything else.

Pain (usually accidental) is worse when the swearing stops, ie. your mouth opens and nothing comes out.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

Walking into chair barefoot - 3
Walking into chair barefoot at some speed - 4
Getting sharp piece of grit stuck behind contact lens - 5
Period pains - 6
Getting chillies in eyes - 8
Special hyper cramps - 10+

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :

That's funny, I didn't think childbirth was that bad (and yes I gave birth without drugs). Breaking my wrist, though... now THAT was a 10 as far as I'm concerned.

Posted by anoesis (# 14189) on :

quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
Originally posted by Boogie:

quote:

Childbirth = 10

Filling without anesthetic = 6

Childbirth = 6
Filling without anesthetic =10

TOTALLY - just what I thought when I saw that post!

Posted by basso (# 4228) on :

Passing by the relatively minor stuff:

Appendicitis (not ruptured but the surgeon "had to dissect it out of you") : 7
Bad gout flare : 8
Urinary retention: 9

I'm hoping never to meet a 10.

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Nicolemr:
That's funny, I didn't think childbirth was that bad (and yes I gave birth without drugs). Breaking my wrist, though... now THAT was a 10 as far as I'm concerned.

It was the opposite for me--broken wrist about 6, childbirth about 11 (but I had Pitocin, which maybe makes a difference? No normal experience to compare it to)

Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Pain is relative, not only between individuals, but for a given individual as well.
Intensity, location, duration and situation can all affect perception of pain...

I've never had children, but I have had pain cause nearly all conscious mental process to stop, hearing fade, vision go white. Is childbirth more or less than that?

Childbirth varies too. My first child, when I was in my 20s, was a 6 pounder. 1 short hour of labor, no drugs (except Pitocin), 3 pushes. I would say... maybe, a 4, 5?

2nd child, in my late 30's, nearly 10 lb. 5 hours into intense "active" induced labor, the anesthesiologist explains that because of my drug allergies, giving me an epidural would mean I could be permanently paralyzed. I was so far gone at that point that all heard was "legal requires informed consent". In all seriousness I asked if there was a form I needed to sign. Hubby very thoughtfully explained that, no, the doctor is saying "no"-- permanent paralysis is a bad thing.

So that would be, what-- an 8 perhaps?

[ 01. May 2013, 23:54: Message edited by: cliffdweller ]

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

For me, childbirth was more of an increasingly weary slog than actual pain - more like hillwalking with a heavy rucksack in a steady drizzle and poor visibility. Not pleasant, totally exhausting, but not really painful as such. (I used a TENS machine from the first twinge, which might have helped.)

Tempro-mandibular joint pain would score far higher for me - that would be an 8.

Posted by Stercus Tauri (# 16668) on :

I've been asked this question a few times lately... It often means, "Would you like more morphine?", but it's more complicated than that.

I think the duration of the pain is an important factor in how you rate it. For example, a needle biopsy reaches the top of the scale, but only for a fraction of a second. When the anaesthetic wore off a little too soon after surgery a couple of weeks ago, I'd have rated it beyond 10, being a coward, but I was soon knocked over the head again and remained happily uninvolved for several more hours. It was nasty, but not for long.

I've probably had my worst experiences in the dentist's chair, leaving me shaking and confused afterwards, yet the pain rating probably wasn't all that high. The only confident rating I can ever give is a zero.

Then there are the odd experiences that can accompany pain: perhaps stress responses or spiritual moments, but that's another topic.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

I have noticed that childbirth experiences vary greatly. I wish I could have been one of those who deliver easily without much pain. Duration seems to be a huge factor in pain scales. At the beginning of labor, "I can do this! Not too much problem!" After thirty hours of three minute contractions, "Don't tell me I shouldn't scream! I don't care who I scare!!"

Similarly, after having my spinal fusion, after years of constant sciatica and excruciating piriformis spasms, the pain of the surgery was Nothing compared to the relief of the other pain. Something that lasts a minute is bearable, IMHO. Something that stays a good 6-9 constantly is enough to drain a person's spirit and energy. And made me cry. A lot.

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

Can't compare childbirth because I've never done it and can't as a boy. My scale:

1: ?

2-3: dental filling without anaesthetic, which is all of mine, it's short in duration, just have to be calm.

4-6: head cold headache

7-9: injection directly into my eyeball right between the coloured part and the white, sort of inflated it actually. "just stay still and don't blink..."

10: Portuguese man-of-war Jellyfish sting, which is like that initial feeling when you get a hand burnt on a stove, but that initial feeling just keeps on going for 3 or 4 days.

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :

I should say that my labor was very long and difficult, nearly resulting in my having a c-section. But it just wasn't all that painful. I agree with North East Quine on that, it was more just a long, tiring, uncomfortable slog.

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

Interesting, the comments on duration.
I would say that a rapid spike in pain might be perceived as more intense than a build-up. And a long term duration might also affect how one rates the pain as ones stamina fades.

quote:
Originally posted by cliffdweller:
Childbirth varies too. My first child, when I was in my 20s, was a 6 pounder.

Were you birthing or fishing?

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

Slipped disc: 9
Having to use public transportation to go see my doctor and hitting ever single pothole on the twenty minute ride: 10++++

I had to clench my teeth to keep from screaming the entire trip.

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

I have a question sort of related to this topic... on a scale of 1 to 10, how painful is a spinal tap/lumbar puncture?! $500 is my reward for enduring one but I'm worried that the pain will be too much.

Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :

Depends what they do. The actual puncture is about a 2-6 depending on how sensitive you are and whether they can give an anaesthetic jab first. The headaches from drawing off a certain amount of spinal fluid can be anything from a 1 up to a 12...

I paid my way through University by doing virtually every medical study that paid more than twenty quid a day. A network soon developed among serial testees to pass along details of the well-paid and painless studies. Lumbar punctures and deep tissue samples were generally left for the newbies and the masochists.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:

7-9: injection directly into my eyeball right between the coloured part and the white, sort of inflated it actually. "just stay still and don't blink..."

If you mean under the conjunctiva, I used to administer loads of these in eye casualty and I suggest you ask the doctor/nurse to use stronger anaesthetic drops as some work far better than others. If you mean deeper then ouch, I've assisted with those...

Re: the spinal, I've had one and didn't consider it too bad, certainly not in comparison with childbirth as at least it is over relatively quickly. But it does depend on your own pain threshold. I didn't get the headache afterwards but know people who have and that is pretty debilitating.

I think the worse pain I've had was a failed anaesthetic block at the dentist, when he hit a nerve I nearly leapt out of the chair. But that was instant, it's hard to compare acute and chronic.

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Heavenly Anarchist:

quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:

7-9: injection directly into my eyeball right between the coloured part and the white, sort of inflated it actually. "just stay still and don't blink..."

If you mean under the conjunctiva, I used to administer loads of these in eye casualty and I suggest you ask the doctor/nurse to use stronger anaesthetic drops as some work far better than others. If you mean deeper then ouch, I've assisted with those...

Ah, memories ...!

Not only very painful but very distressing, too. For a start, you can't even not look at what's going on. And then there are all those primal fears and squeamishness about things penetrating your eye ... *shudder*.

Posted by The Kat in the Hat (# 2557) on :

10 was definitely during a colposcopy when they decided they needed to do a large loop excision (eg heated loop of wire to remove the abnormal cells). Local anaesthetic given, but didn't cover far enough.
I think I nearly flew out of the stirrups!

[ 02. May 2013, 17:39: Message edited by: The Kat in the Hat ]

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:

quote:
Originally posted by Heavenly Anarchist:

quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:

7-9: injection directly into my eyeball right between the coloured part and the white, sort of inflated it actually. "just stay still and don't blink..."

If you mean under the conjunctiva, I used to administer loads of these in eye casualty and I suggest you ask the doctor/nurse to use stronger anaesthetic drops as some work far better than others. If you mean deeper then ouch, I've assisted with those...
Ah, memories ...!

Not only very painful but very distressing, too. For a start, you can't even not look at what's going on. And then there are all those primal fears and squeamishness about things penetrating your eye ... *shudder*.

It was deeper I think. Yes, both painful and intimidating. I sweated buckets and also was sent out of the hospital by myself, and ended up lost. I couldn't see at the time, and had ask cleaning staff to help to the front door where my ride was to be waiting. All in all, something this rather sensitive new age guy had to cry about later, rather weirdly with an inflated eyeball and all.

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

This thread, BTW, rates a 1 to 2 for me. Between the pain I have experienced and a vivid imagination, this thread causes real physical discomfort. Weird.

Posted by Polly Plummer (# 13354) on :

Me too. I had been thinking of making a dental appointment but have now decided to put it off till I'm desperate!

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

On the basis that everyone has to learn somehow, I once let a very junior medical student do a lumbar puncture on me...

The third time he jarred the needle into bone I counted to 30 before finally asking that he get it right the next time.

Excruciating - 8 easily.

Posted by Crazy Cat Lady (# 17616) on :

Don't ever break your tail bone - that was a definate 10 and I have quite a high threshold for pain

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
On the basis that everyone has to learn somehow, I once let a very junior medical student do a lumbar puncture on me...

The third time he jarred the needle into bone I counted to 30 before finally asking that he get it right the next time.

Excruciating - 8 easily.

OUCH! Well, luckily for me, the lumbar puncture is part of a medical research study and the doctors are from Emory University Hospital, which is one of the best hospitals in the United States. I trust them pretty much with everything as I have been seeing doctors there since 2002. Oh, and they DO give a numbing shot before the puncture. I may break down and have it done... that's $500 extra in my pocket, after all.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

... but this was in the UK and I did it for free!!! [Eek!]

Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on :

quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
This thread, BTW, rates a 1 to 2 for me. Between the pain I have experienced and a vivid imagination, this thread causes real physical discomfort. Weird.

I agree. I now feel very guilty (and humble) at even mentioning my very minor accident in the OP.

To make it worse, because of the accident I missed a gathering of my wife's family. Lovely folk all (well almost all) but I prefer them a couple at a time. Since they are probably aware of this she 'bigged-up' my accident so it didn't look as if I was making an excuse. And now they keep ringing to check how I am. On a scale of 1 to 10, I find that more shaming than I found the injury painful.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

Here is a more realistic scale.

[Smile]

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :

This thread is making me feel a bit sick!

But before stopping reading, I just want to say that, for me, the pain of childbirth is indeed extreme, yet somehow different from other pain. This is what my mother told me before I had babies, and it turned out to be true....

I had three children without any anaesthetic whatsoever, and I would say that while it does hurt incredibly (the contractions, especially at peak, rather than the actual emerging of the baby), it doesn't feel like an assault on the body, an outraging of the flesh, in the same way as other pain does. It feels more--or did to me--like the body doing its --very hard, very difficult, very painful--work....
Though I may well have some words when I meet my Maker about just why it has to be like this!

So I would hesitate to give it a number, or would want a different sort of scale, or something.....

I have had slipped and bulging disks--worst pain related to this was an 8 (with 10 being unimaginable torture-type pain).

I have had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy which was also an 8 at maximum, except for a brief but appalling moment during the ER work-up for this when it went to at least 9...but let us draw a veil.

I have a gallstone which so far, and please God let it be ever thus, has only given me mild discomfort, but I am now even more scared than I was before of the famous biliary colic....

Enough. Feeling queasy. Punishment for noodling around on the Ship when I should be swabbing the decks in Real Life.

Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :

Currently at about a 6-7. I damaged my cruciate ligament (I think, have to go for an MRI scan later in the week) so I am on crutches, already at about a 4. I usually cycle to work but cycling one-legged is a skill that I can't quite master (although a unipedal friend of mine does quite admirably) so I caught the bus. I took a later bus to avoid the hordes of children and unwittingly got on a bus full to the rafters with pensioners out for a free day riding around on their passes. Not one person would let me have a seat and on rounding a particularly sharp corner my crutches slipped and I fell flat on my face so now my knee hurts, my wrist seems to be sprained and my nose has only just stopped bleeding.

I'm going to get a wheelchair for tomorrow.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

Bob Two-Owls [Frown]

Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :

Thanks Boogie, the wheelchair almost makes up for it though, these things are ace when you don't have to think about spending the rest of your life in one!

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