When you're experiencing pain, scheduling a doctor's visit can give you a chance to discuss your pain, find a diagnosis and choose a solution with your primary care physician. Unfortunately, attempting to explain the site, severity and qualities of your pain can sometimes be difficult. Pain is ultimately a personal sensation and describing your pain properly could mean the difference between daily suffering and finding the right diagnosis and relief quickly. Using a formula, you can easily record the information you need to explain your pain to your doctor.
Step 1
Record your pain in a daily pain journal. This can help you keep track of your symptoms to present them in a clear and organized way to your doctor. Each time you feel pain, record its characteristics using the LOCATES scale suggested by the American Pain Foundation. Write LOCATES vertically down the side of your page and fill in details alongside each letter.
Step 2
Write the exact location of your pain under the "L" heading. This means tracking the pain to the exact spot on your body where it hurts, whether it's your knee, hip or hands. Specify whether the pain travels to other areas of the body.
Step 3
Specify other symptoms under the "O" heading. For instance, if you have a headache but you also experience blurry vision and faintness, your doctor needs to know.
Step 4
Describe the character of the pain for "C." This means explaining how the pain feels. You may experience a throbbing sensation, a burning feeling or even sharp, stabbing pains. Do your best to be accurate for the best diagnosis.
Step 5
Write down the aggravating and alleviating factors for "A." This includes anything that seems to make the pain worse, such as exercise, and things that make your pain feel better, like heat.
Step 6
Record the timing of the pain for "T." Your doctor needs to know when the pain most often occurs, how long it lasts and whether or not it's intermittent. It helps if you record the pain as soon as it occurs so you have an accurate report of the time. You'll also want to note whether the pain came suddenly or slowly.
Step 7
Tell your doctor the environment you were in when the pain struck for the letter "E." You may experience your pain more at your workplace or while in the car and your doctor needs to know where you most often feel pain.
Step 8
Finish by using a scale of 1 to 10 to explain the severity of your pain for the letter "S." This is a scale used often by doctors and hospitals to get a general idea of how you personally react to the pain. While your level 10 may be another's level six, you can be sure that your doctor will take your pain level seriously.
Things You'll Need
- Journal
- Pen
