WHAI IS PAIN?

April 21, 2009, 4:48 am

T he word pain comes from the Latin word poena or the French word peine. It is important to realise there are many different types of pain. For example:

Jill’s trigeminal neuralgia

Jill had trigeminal neuralgia a lightning-like pain in the face and mouth, which is so severe that it makes some sufferers feel as though they want to kill themselves. ‘My pain feels like someone is jabbing my face with a red-hot electric needle. The worst thing about the pain is that it’s so unpredictable. I never know what’s going to set it off— swallowing, laughing, or talking. Even the smallest thing can set it off. I try to stay home and go out as little as possible.’I don’t use make-up. I don’t wash my face. I don’t even brush my teeth. Sometimes I don’t have any pain for days.Then I find myself starting to worry about when it may start up again.’

Mary’s post-operative pain

‘After surgery to remove the gallstones, I felt miserable. The pain near the incision was sharp. It seemed to spread all over my body. The nurses gave me some pills which took the edge off the pain and by about three days after the operation, the pain was mostly gone.’

Rudl with terminal cancer

‘At first, I didn’t mind the thought of dying, so long as it wasn’t too painful. But, then I began to worry about all those drugs they were giving me. They were making me groggy and confused. I couldn’t think properly or even feel like I was alive. There were times when I didn’t take the pills because I wanted to be alert for whatever was left of my life.’

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