Pain and the need to know what else to do

How are we as human beings in describing verbally how we feel when asked by someone who really needs to know, like the doctor? I am sure that you as well as I can come up with quicker answers with anyone who asks, “How you doing?” Most who know that people just are saying that as a polite hello when asked that loaded question, for me anyway, and so the masses that are generally just as polite have a natural instinctive reflex to give an answer of, fine or good, and you? In reality I am still working on that. I always argued why ask it if you don’t really mean it and want to know every detail. So I begin to tell people (the truth) and you know what happens when you do that?
They usually walk away, quickly, LOL. I suppose I am still slightly childlike in my desire for people to idealistically to mean what they say, and I believe that, that inquiry for sheer politeness is way over-rated and a waste of time.

And so when I go to a doctor’s office and I am asked that question I have a tendency to be rather bold by saying, “If I were fine; why would I be here?” And that usually provokes a laugh from the asker, and that is OK, but could be misconstrued as rude by some. Not by me though, since I believe we are all conditioned by rote in many ways no matter what situation we may find ourselves in; we react how we have been trained to. That’s why I find it odd that doctors who attend college for 8 years then residency for many after should know better than to ask that question so off the cuff, so to speak. I find myself asking them how they are, but they are getting paid to ask me and I am not. Although, if you try it you will be surprised at the response you may get. I have gotten some whoppers over the years. Any-who, you get where I am going here?

The doctors have a system to find out how you really are, did you know that?
If you say you have been in a lot of pain, they not unlike the physical therapists will ask you on a scale from 1 to10 with 1 being almost no pain and 10 being horribly excruciating pain; where is yours? Here we go again with obligation, you know what I mean, and why in the world would you be wasting their time if you weren’t in excruciating # 10 pain, right? Anything below a level 5 you can deal with at home and why bother them with it? After all their time is money, right? Well, I like to be honest, mostly because when I go to the doctor it is after I have taken any medicine that I had been prescribed and so I may only be a 7 or 8 by the time I get to them, and I will tell them that, the truth. I wonder at times if they realize that most of the answers they get about that pain level thing are not at all that accurate. You see, pain, like so many other things in life is a matter of perception, not a true indication on how you are, because some of us have a very high pain tolerance while others do not, it's as simple as that. So when this professional medicos ask that provocative question how can it help them to help you? That’s all I’m saying is that wouldn’t it be more beneficial to ask you to be very specific in describing when, where, why, which and even who makes that pain come or go, don’t you think? Personally I think we should all walk in the door of the doctor’s office with our script in hand with full documentation, and of course a copy for the doctor to keep on file. Wouldn’t that be more advantageous for telling and or diagnosing?

I bet you’re wondering what brought this vein of thought out of me tonight, well, it’s my pain and spasticity it appears that I am now under the control of my Baclofen since I have now been taking it according to the direction for the last two days, due to my uncontrolled spasms. Today they were like those muscle pulls most people get in their calves, but mine are in my back, not good.

And so I will bid you all a good night and to all count those blessings and I will too!