To Explain Pain as a Patient

Pain is subjective, it’s whatever we say it is yet what about when it’s objective? Pain was often a main sign or symptom that something other than pain alone was wrong. We used to have pain as the 5th vital sign for this reason: Evaluating and monitoring temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and heart rate.

My blood pressure was always an indicator and often 180/90-100 + regularly. It increased even more as intensity heightened. I took both Lisinopril and Hydralazine for several years even though CRPS pain with multiple comorbidities and the stress of carrying it was the culprit. It seems most of the medical professionals are bitter at the sound of the visual, spoken or spelled out expression. I don’t often use the word pain anymore. I haven’t for years now. I use other descriptive words yet nothing says it clearer than “pain”.

It’s the other 4 letter word and it’s regarded as just as foul and offensive. It’s considered whining, complaining, and pill seeking. Oftentimes, even in acute emergency situations, we’re initially thought to be malingering, or stopping by for an allotment of opioids. Sometimes, even severe flare ups need managing.  A good portion of people with chronic or intractable pain do not stand a chance in an emergency department. Isn’t it simple enough to access a patient fully? I’m asking because perhaps it’s not as simple as we might think. Why is judgment immediate in most cases?

Part of me gets it from a medical professionals point of view. Here comes so and so who was just here last week and the week before and last month, too. It doesn’t make it acceptable, but I feel you!

Or when recent diagnostics show no new findings or worsening conditions there’s not really anything or very little to be done for them: I say most instead of all because I know there are good physicians, nurses and assistants out there. I imagine the daily pressure to be significant for them, yet what about us? We’re dying out here either from misconceptions, neglect or by ending our own lives. Are we truly without help?

My perspective is that pain hurts, your perspective is that it doesn’t hurt as much as I may say it does. My perception of pain is via my senses, and the fact that I’m the one who’s feeling it, your perception may not include what we feel, but can you not see it? Physical distress? Sweating isn’t always a sign of withdrawal, it’s also a sign of pain itself. You know this so why isn’t it considered and generally disregarded? I’ll never be able to describe the pain I was in at the time of my own suicidal ideations and actions. I could barely hold myself up and my mental faculties were strained as a result.

Proper reasoning and decision making fails to exist and the longer a person is left that way the longer it’ll take for them to come back from it, physically or mentally, if they come back at all. Physical unmanaged pain becomes harder to manage because there’s mental health issues born from it and now we’re labeled nut cases and diagnosed with mental illness. We’re not trying hard enough.

If objectively you know from scans, imaging, blood panels, blood pressure and other techniques used to know better, why are we scoffed at? The vast majority of people aren’t faking pain who already possess or receive documentation of their condition(s).

How can we help each other to establish the best possible outcome of care? How could I have helped you help me? How can we have faith in you, if you don’t have faith in us?