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When assessing a patient, it is standard procedure to evaluate
the patients temperature, pulse, blood pressure and respirations;
but evaluations should include one more important factor, the patient's
level of pain. The pain scale allows the patient to convey to their
caregiver how they are feeling and allows the caregiver to adjust
medications accordingly.
Helping a patient who is coping with pain issues can be a challenging
task. Aggie a healthcare professional, and individual living with
pain, has shared her story to help others better understand those
suffering from chronic and acute pain.
My pain started on any other normal day. As a CNA the days can
be long and physically exhausting. On this particular day, I had
pushed my body too far. The next morning I awoke with a terrible
pain in my back. My doctor explained that I sprained it and I would
be fine with NSAID's and a day or two of rest.
Fast forward a few years- I am working in the same job and again
I hurt myself doing more work than I should. This time the pain
did not
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go away, in fact it got worse.
The pain started in my back and spread to my neck; before long
it had traveled through my entire body. My muscles were my enemy.
I was passed around from physician to physician with little hope
of finding a cure. No one would listen to me; I was "too young"
to be in that much pain.
I had tried every treatment imaginable - physical therapy, nerve
blocks, massage therapy, you name it. Nothing had worked and I was
still visiting new doctors every week. At only 26 years old my life
had become a nightmare. To add insult to injury, I was in a terrible
car accident that compounded my pain to a level that was unbearable.
I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Myofasical Trigger
Point Syndrome. Now my complaints about chronic pain were validated,
but I still needed a course of treatment to manage this pain.
After an arduous search, I found one doctor that helped, she
made the Roller Coaster stop. We tried low doses of narcotic pain
medications
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and it worked for me. Many people had been reluctant to provide
these medications to me for reasons of addiction, but these drugs
saved my life. They still work to ease the pain and I am finally
able to focus on my life and not my medical condition.
Aggie's experience is a familiar one. A common thread found in
the stories of many pain sufferers is one of frustration. Often
times, those who are suffering from pain feel ignored.
As a healthcare professional, you must realize that pain is subjective.
It is different for everyone and should be treated as an important
part of the patient's care plan. Proper pain management will relieve
a patients anxiety and allow them to heal. It will also dramatically
improve quality of life. To learn more about training your staff
on pain management techniques, please visit the NEVCO website at
www.nevcoeducation.com
or call 1-800-252-5604
American Pain Foundation
Story Submitted By Aggie
January 28, 2008
www.painfoundation.org
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