Monday, March 11, 2013

"How Do You Feel?" - CFS/Fibromyalgia Pain Scale


The above picture is what some people think of when they think of telling people about their pain, but the scale ot even a "1 to 10" scale is not sufficicient to describe the pain tha people with Fibromyalgia experience.

Below is a scale for rating CFS and Fibromyalgia Pain. It was developed by Bruce Campbell and I feel that it can be used to adequately help define what I believe that Fibromyalgia suffers have a difficult time defining.


What do you say when the doctor (or others) ask, "How are you feeling today?" or, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you feel?" Here is something that will help you make that determination.

100-- Fully recovered. Normal activity level with no symptoms.

90--Normal activity level with mild symptoms at times.

80--Near normal activity level with some symptoms.

70--Able to work full time but with difficulty. Mostly mild symptoms.

60--Able to do about 6-7 hours of work a day. Mostly mild to moderate symptoms.

50--Able to do about 4-5 hours a day of work or similar activity at home. Daily rests required. Symptoms mostly moderate.

40--Able to leave house every day. Moderate symptoms on average. Able to do about 3-4 hours a day of work or activity like housework, shopping, using computer.

30--Able to leave house several times a week. Moderate to severe symptoms much of the time. Able to do about 2 hours a day of work at home or activity like housework, shopping, using computer.

20--Able to leave house once or twice a week. Moderate to severe symptoms. Able to concentrate for 1 hour or less per day.

10--Mostly bedridden. Severe symptoms.

0-Bedridden constantly. Unable to care for self.

This scale was copied from recoveryfromcfs.org by Bruce Campbell, PhD.

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