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Monday, November, 23, 2009
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Keeping a Pain Diary

Karen Lee Richards
Karen Lee Richards
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Co-Founder of the National Fibromyalgia Assn.

Karen Lee Richards’ career as a writer and patient advocate grew...

Karen Lee Richards

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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You may have noticed that I sometimes recommend keeping a pain diary.  Basically a pain diary is a daily log that tracks your pain intensity as well as medications, therapies and other activities that may impact your pain.  The pain diary can be a very useful tool in the diagnosis and treat...
  1. Pain Diary
    jewel
    Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 02:28 PM

    I have found that keeping a pain diary is extremely useful for seeing patterns (ie

    that I will have flare ups after shopping or driving)  It is also helpful to compare my

    memory with what I wrote.  My memory is often incorrect.  Using the data from the

    pain diary can help me be accurate when answering my doctor's questions about my

    pain.  To save time, I use code letters in place of words, P - for Pain level, M for medications, E for emotional state, A for activities.  

     

    Jewels

     

    Reply
    re: Pain Diary
    Mariepi
    Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 10:57 PM

    I started using a pain diary many years ago even before chronic pain. I don't use the 1 to 10 scale tho. Just for me it 1 to 5. I never go to 1 or 5 so I swim between 2 and 4 .....I can go back to my old diaries for information . I use a daily timer and make a point to register all meds taken.  I had an incident  once during a night I took 3 times the amount of migraine medication ( aborter ) and Tyl #3 I was os scared now I can't do that because I have to walk down the stairs if I need meds and the book is with the meds on the top of them. It is very easy in severe pain to forget to have taken our meds or the time of it. Now being on morphine it tells me when and how many I do take.

    Marie

    Reply
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