How do you measure pain?

[jsewell]

That sure was a bad luck day. I would have had to laugh as well. What else can you do in that situation. I am going to have surgery next monday and do dread the question of what level from 1-10 or 0-10 my pain level is. One time i just made up a bunch of numbers and told the nurse to use those for the next day instead of asking me. I always have to compare it to previous pain . It changes as I have a discography or last summer when my nerves were wrapping around a screw and i couldn't put my leg down for a second. so what event do i compare it to for next week!!
judy

[theBadCormorant]

Originally Posted by jsewell

That sure was a bad luck day. I would have had to laugh as well. What else can you do in that situation. I am going to have surgery next monday and do dread the question of what level from 1-10 or 0-10 my pain level is. One time i just made up a bunch of numbers and told the nurse to use those for the next day instead of asking me. I always have to compare it to previous pain . It changes as I have a discography or last summer when my nerves were wrapping around a screw and i couldn't put my leg down for a second. so what event do i compare it to for next week!!
judy

Best of luck with the operation next week, I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Can I ask why you have so many problems throughout your spine, is there one single cause or catalyst behind it all?

I nearly had surgery 5 years ago but the surgeon changed his mind at the last minute, at the time I couldn't make my mind up if I was happy or disappointed with getting sent home, but in hindsight I think he was right not to go ahead.

[jsewell]

My spine battle does not seem to have one factor in it, just a series of bad luck and maybe some weak bones thrown in there. I first had severe degeneration in my cervical spine which ended with weakness in my left arm when my surgeon said it was time for surgery after the conservative measures had been exhausted. that was fusion of C4 thru C7. Then i started having some pretty bad pain at certain times when i had run uphill for like an hour. At first rurning around stopped the pain , at the point of surgery maybe 2 years later i couldn't even make it through the flat grocery store without needing to leave in pain., I had discography to prove that some discs in thoracic area needed to be removed. It just went on from there, I have had lots of fractures, big and small, developed severe kyphosis in my spine that was effecting my lung capacity. I already had damage through the doc who did the thoracic surgery damaging the nerve that controls the diaphragm muscle so i didn't tolerate any more. Then i needed extensive surgery to repair a bad broken neck i suffered. I won't bore you with them all, i probably already did. But they are all kind of for different reasons and none were adr's as i already have osteopenia.

Anyway thank you for the thoughts for Monday, i am kind of excited and kind of scared, i have never had anterior surgery so it is all new to me!!!