Living With Chronic Pain

It is not always possible to completely get rid of chronic pain. Your goal may be simply becoming able to do more of your normal activities of daily living than before.

• Your doctor may ask you to rate the pain on a scale from 1 to 10.
  
  
• You also need to report whether it is possible to go to work, go shopping, exercise, sleep, or have sexual intercourse.
  
  
• Sometimes, the only measure of effectiveness of treatment is that you can do certain things that were not possible before the treatment started. This is what your doctor needs to know in order to make decisions about your treatment.
  
  
• If nothing else works for your pain and your doctor is unwilling to use opioids to control your pain, consider asking for a referral to a pain specialist or a pain clinic.