Accurately identifying pain

This was one of the most important determinants of a successful and accurate diagnosis. This and seeing the right professional!

Rating your pain.
I would be asked to rate my pain from 1 – 10. However, I was always in pain so I would rate my pain much lower as my tolerance had gone up AND I rated my pain in relation to the pain I was already in.

So if I was always a 6 or 7, and a professional would move me in a certain way which would cause the pain to increase to a 9 or even 10… I would say that it was a 4. Because the pain had only gone up 4 points.

My suggestion is to not do this. My sense is that most people’s pain tolerance is low. So if you say that something isn’t that painful (relative to the pain you are already in)… then it isn’t noted very highly, and may go unnoticed by the professional.

My observation is that when I ranked my pain much higher – I was able to receive a quicker, more accurate diagnosis.

Don’t be a solider in this situation. Be honest with how much pain you are in. If you don’t tell your professional in accurate detail – you may not be given the attention you deserve.