Showing posts sorted by relevance for query vas. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query vas. Sort by date Show all posts
#358 Give out free hugs at the hospital
I had a theory that hugs were good for pain relief, and I wanted to spread some smiles to people visiting the very large and very sad Ullevål hospital in Oslo. So I took my best "feel good" clothes and my stuffed penguin Pongo, put signs around our necks that said "Free Hugs" (Pongo's actually read "I'm cold" it was -20 degrees celsius that day and even penguins have their limits) and made my way to the hospital.
There we were welcomed with open arms by the chief of security, and told to leave immediately (because we had a camera, I'm sure if you want to hand out hugs without filming this would be ok).
So we took our project to the nearby University campus and tested our theory there. For 20 minutes I hugged randomly passing people who wanted a hug, and what do you know, quite a few people started smiling and laughing, many got a hug and went on with their day, and for each hug I gave I felt a LOT better afterwards! At the end of the experiment, my back pain was down from 7 to 2 on the VAS scale. Maybe it was the endorphins, I don't know. But it worked and it was free:)
So with that I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Midwinter, may you give and get many pain-relieving hugs in the Holidays this year!
No pills!
Wow!!! I just had one of those "A-ha" moments... I looked at a box of ibuprofen and realized that ... I haven't had to take any painkillers for quite a while, at least four or five days!? That may be a new record since my straight edge experiment in september... which ended shortly after I wrote about how well it was working - having gone 5 weeks with low pain and no meds.
The last months have been tougher, and I've had to take painkillers almost daily again. Scandinavia winters will never be easy for my body I guess, and moving right in the coldest part of the year may not have been a good idea. But now something is helping, even though it's been freezing cold and I've been working quite a lot. I have a little pain but not above 5 on the VAS scale... Hoorrayy :D
The funny part is when I realize this without even having thought about whether I was taking medicine or not. The pain simply hasn't been so bad... out of body, out of mind: Yay!!!
#9 Create your own Pain Scale
Have you learned how to use a pain scale yet? If so: GOOD! If not: you're in for a treat:)
Doctors usually ask you to define your pain according to some scale, and if you actually make your own system and learn how to use it this can really help you deal with your pain in a more constructive way that the regular *pain increase = PANIC = pill popping* way.
I use the model that is used at the Mayo clinic, which is a numerical scale from 0 to 10. My pain clinic in Oslo used a similar one, and my back surgery clinic in Sweden uses the VAS scale: Visual Analog Scale (pain marked by placing mark on a line ranging from 0 to 10)
The visual version can look something like this:
This is the model used at the Mayo Clinic:
0-1 No pain
2-3 Mild pain
4-5 Discomforting - moderate pain
6-7 Distressing - severe pain
8-9 Intense - very severe pain
10 Unbearable pain
My personalized version looks like this:
1-2 I am A-Okay!
3-4 May need to take a couple Ibuprofen or Paracetamol. My glance is unfocused, I'm getting nervous.
5 Pain alert.. Its getting harder to concentrate, I should probably get home ASAP and cancel any plans.
6 Bad pain: I need to take prescription pain killers and lay down
7-8 Agony: I hate my life... Focus on breathing, anything that can distract me from the pain is welcome
9 I am very weak, can hardly breathe
10 There is nothing but screaming pain. Suicide is an option.
Thankfully, these days I am rarely above 5 because I've learnt how to prevent it from getting out of hand.
The key to learning that is to identify the different stages, and to know which strategies to implement at every level.
So: What does your pain scale look like?
Start by drawing it, and write out the symptoms at each separate stage to analyze your own pain behaviour. What are your strategies today, and how can you improve them to decrease the pain at an earlier level?
Have fun:)
Doctors usually ask you to define your pain according to some scale, and if you actually make your own system and learn how to use it this can really help you deal with your pain in a more constructive way that the regular *pain increase = PANIC = pill popping* way.
I use the model that is used at the Mayo clinic, which is a numerical scale from 0 to 10. My pain clinic in Oslo used a similar one, and my back surgery clinic in Sweden uses the VAS scale: Visual Analog Scale (pain marked by placing mark on a line ranging from 0 to 10)
The visual version can look something like this:
This is the model used at the Mayo Clinic:
0-1 No pain
2-3 Mild pain
4-5 Discomforting - moderate pain
6-7 Distressing - severe pain
8-9 Intense - very severe pain
10 Unbearable pain
My personalized version looks like this:
1-2 I am A-Okay!
3-4 May need to take a couple Ibuprofen or Paracetamol. My glance is unfocused, I'm getting nervous.
5 Pain alert.. Its getting harder to concentrate, I should probably get home ASAP and cancel any plans.
6 Bad pain: I need to take prescription pain killers and lay down
7-8 Agony: I hate my life... Focus on breathing, anything that can distract me from the pain is welcome
9 I am very weak, can hardly breathe
10 There is nothing but screaming pain. Suicide is an option.
Thankfully, these days I am rarely above 5 because I've learnt how to prevent it from getting out of hand.
The key to learning that is to identify the different stages, and to know which strategies to implement at every level.
So: What does your pain scale look like?
Start by drawing it, and write out the symptoms at each separate stage to analyze your own pain behaviour. What are your strategies today, and how can you improve them to decrease the pain at an earlier level?
Have fun:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)