“Keep it to a paragraph,” advises Dr. Sekhon. Tell your doctor exactly where on your body you experience the pain, and if the pain travels or moves from one location to another, be precise about that as well. Yet the best way to get the right treatment for the exact pain you're experiencing is to put those symptoms into words, so your doctor can pinpoint a diagnosis and help you find relief. A crucial way to communicate your level of pain with your doctor is to talk about the functional impact it has on your day-to-day life. By Jennifer Castoro Wednesday, May 13, 2015. The questions below help guide a discussion with your doctor to determine if you may be suffering from OA. Personally, I find this frustrating because one number cannot capture the whole picture of what my pain feels like. Chronic pain can be excruciating, debilitating, and hard to describe. Share. Your primary care doctor may refer you to an orthopedic surgeon who will help you determine if you’re a candidate for knee replacement surgery and can discuss any associated risks. To get good control of your chronic pain, it's not enough to tell your doctor it hurts. "Some patients come in the door with an eight on the pain scale, and they're functional. Your pain does not go away or get better after a few days. Your annual physical exam is around the corner, and you have some health concerns you would like to discuss with your doctor. [3] If you have talked to a doctor about your chronic pain but didn’t have a positive experience — either because the doctor didn’t take you seriously or because the treatment was ineffective — don’t give up. Your doctor will not be able to diagnose your pain, understand the root of the symptoms, or prescribe an effective pain medication if your descriptions are vague. Print. You may know how pain has changed your life in a larger sense; how it’s made you a different person, or caused you to give up activities you loved. How to Talk to Your Doctor About Arthritis Pain SUNDAY, Dec. 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) – Chronic pain can be excruciating, debilitating and hard to describe. Communicating With Your Doctor About Your Pain Doctors often attempt to simplify the problem of describing pain by asking patients to rate their pain on a number scale out of ten. Chronic pain can be excruciating, debilitating and hard to describe. Yet the best way to get the right treatment for the exact pain you’re experiencing is to put those symptoms into words, so your doctor can pinpoint a diagnosis and help you find relief. This can help a doctor determine the type or dosage of pain medicine you may need. Many have trouble understanding when they should talk to a doctor about their joint pain and continue to brush it off as no-big-deal. The Arthritis Foundation created a guide with suggestions for communicating your discomfort. You shouldn’t be so medicated that you can’t remember things. The pain worsens. If you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms, talk to your doctor about your options. If your pain is impacting your sleep, eating habits, desire to be social or your capability to go to work or school, then it is time to seek help. Yet the best way to get the right treatment for the exact pain you’re experiencing is to put those symptoms into words, so your doctor can pinpoint a diagnosis and help you find relief. 6 Topics to Cover in “Your Story” Use the six topics below to help you “write” your story then review the lists below dealing with symptoms specific to neck (cervical spine) or back (lumbar spine) pain. How To Talk To Your Doctor About Your Pain : Shots - Health News When you go to the doctor in pain, you'll probably be asked to rate your discomfort on a scale of 0 to 10. A crucial way to communicate your level of pain with your doctor is to talk about the functional impact it has on your day-to-day life. To help your doctor to determine whether Flector is the right treatment for you, it’s important to accurately describe your pain symptoms and provide details about any other medical conditions you have or medications that you take. Chronic pain can be excruciating, debilitating, and hard to describe. It all starts before you even walk in the door for your appointment. Early acknowledgement can help keep your joints in tip-top shape. Written by Mat Lecompte Published on December 24, 2020. How to Talk to Your Doctor About Arthritis Pain SUNDAY, Dec. 20, 2020 – Chronic pain can be excruciating, debilitating and hard to describe. Talk to a doctor about your pain if: You experience intense or severe pain. Rate the intensity of your pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being pain-free and 10 being unimaginable. The Talk to Your Doctor About Joint Pain Handout has been designed to: Assist those with or at risk of OA, in having better conversations with their doctors or other health care professionals, by informing them about the care they can expect to receive. When knee pain limits your ability to do things you want to do, you should talk with your doctor about treatment options. Functional Impact of Pain. How to Talk to Your Doctor about Pelvic Pain or Vaginal Pain. Because pain is so subjective, people often have trouble communicating how they feel to their health care providers. You think that you need stitches, your injury is infected, or you have broken a bone. Whether you have gynecological pain, pain with intercourse, or pelvic pain, it’s important to share it with your doctor, advises Dr. Alappattu. Summary. Rate the intensity of your pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being pain-free and 10 being unimaginable. Yet the best way to get the right treatment for the exact pain you're experiencing is to put those symptoms into words, so your doctor can pinpoint a diagnosis and help you find relief. Explain where the pain is felt in your body, how frequent it is, and how severe it is on a scale of 1-10. Functional impact of pain. This can help a doctor determine the type or dosage of pain medicine you may need. Pain can be difficult to describe. The pain is in your chest. Be proactive and prepared! If your pain has already sent you to the doctor’s office, ... (like they seem too busy), you can always talk to a nurse or physician’s assistant. Your pain should be controlled enough so you can walk to the bathroom, sit in a chair and cough. When they don’t seem to listen, here’s how to make sure you’re heard. The preparations for your talk with the doctor about your pain should ideally begin well before reaching his or her office. But your doctor doesn’t. Don’t hesitate to tell your doctor if you’re feeling pain due to your cancer or its treatments. If […] The Arthritis Foundation created a guide with suggestions for communicating your discomfort. Communication between you and your doctor can sometimes be challenging. Your doctor should be asking you questions about your cycle, including how it affects your life, any symptoms, like pain, that you may be experiencing, and what pain you have before, during, or after your … Your doctor can put you on a pain management program that can eliminate, or at the very least alleviate, your chronic pain symptoms. The first step in overcoming pain is talking about it with your doctor. How to Talk to Your Doctor About Flector. But your doctor doesn’t. How do you know when it's time? You may know how pain has changed your life in a larger sense; how it’s made you a different person, or caused you to give up activities you loved. How to Talk about Pain with Your Doctor. How do you talk to your doctor about pain and pain management? Dr. Robert Twillman, a pain management specialist, explains why discussing pain is so important and gives tips for making the most of these conversations. Yet the best way to get the right treatment for the exact pain you're experiencing is to put those symptoms into words, so your doctor can pinpoint a diagnosis and help you find relief. Pain levels, lengths and triggers Where does it hurt? Be specific. Talk to Your Doctor about Arthritis Pain So That They Can Pinpoint a Diagnosis Reviewed by Dr. Victor Marchione, MD. 1) How did the pain … And Then Keep Talking. Here are some tips to help you talk to your doctor about how you are feeling. However, since the average medical appointment doesn’t allow much time for flowery speeches, and the average doctor interrupts or stops listening to a patient after 11 seconds , you have work to do: You need to learn how to talk about pain: how it feels, how it rates on a pain scale, and how it affects you. Although up to 95% of cancer-related pain can be successfully managed, not all people with cancer benefit from pain-relief strategies because they don’t talk with their health care team. He or she can help you find relief. If you are suffering from pain, whether it is chronic or periodic, it’s important to be able to talk to your doctor about it effectively. One caution: Your story shouldn’t be a novel. Think about how to describe your pain in words—lots of words, including flowery language and metaphors—and how to describe the ways that pain affects your daily functioning and quality of life. 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