Please correct me if I'm wrong, but we always want to remain subjective. As in we don't know what their pain is. We can't measure the patients pain. I'm a big advocate for patients not being in pain. I feel that with the opioid epidemic, it's a lot harder for patients to get adequate treatment. That's where we need to advocate for them.
I hope this helped a little bit. Have a great day! :)
I have experience with this. There was me before I had chronic pain. I could sympathize with my patients but didn’t truly understand how someone could report a high pain number but continue to smile and carry on a conversation. That changed when I was injured on the job. My pain reminded me of having dental work and having cold air blown on a sensitive tooth. This was how I felt in my upper left arm (most likely my radial nerve as it came from my elbow). I was eventually diagnosed with CRPS. I now have lived with this nerve injury that spread pain to several areas. I now receive monthly lidocaine infusions to treat the pain as well as take several medications. I can tell you that my pain progressed to chronic pain syndrome and I have learned to cope with it. I can carry on a conversation and smile while having high pain. I now empathize with patients and no longer will I judge anyone that lives with chronic pain. So to remain objective, remember my story and be thankful that you don’t know what chronic pain feels like.
A patients pain level is what the patient says it is. If they say their pain level is a 10 and they are laughing and joking with friends you would document patient states pain level is 10 laughing and joking with friends. You don’t with hold medication but instruct them in risks such as tolerance around using pain medication too frequently and make sure the doctor knows. He may want to change medication, frequency or dose. A person who appears to be resting may be in too much pain to move and should be medicated as prescribed according to their level of pain.
