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.
A funny thing has been happening to me lately. While experiencing some sort of fibro fog is normal for me, I've noticed that I tend to feel more foggy in warmer weather. I'm not exactly sure what or why this is, but as an example, today, it was in the 90's and I just feel like I can't focus or concentrate.
