I moderated a panel of some doctors about chronic pain. One of the big things that came out of that, for me, was how they describes how the relationship with pa

I moderated a panel of some doctors about chronic pain. One of the big things that came out of that, for me, was how they describes how the relationship with pain changes when it becomes chronic. Most times if you experience pain, you want it gone, either with rest, medication or whatever. When you are dealing with chronic pain, the relationship changes to something described as spousal. You have to negotiate your life around the pain. It's hard to describe pain. For me an injection is a 1. But some people have full on panic attacks if they even see a needle. A friend was at the doctor's office and described their pain as a 4, but the doctor noted they were sweating in a cold office, and reclassified it as at least a 7. I've had post surgical pain so bad that it pushed my spirit slightly out of my body, is a very odd feeling, which I calibrated to my new 10, which may have led me to describe my gallstones as too low. A heart attack is often described as the worst pain ever but many women ignore that symptom because giving birth, kidney stones and their periods were worse pain. Part of measuring pain is what you can't do. Sometimes you do less, sometimes you can't do anything at all, but it would be nice to be believed.