Handbook for Mortals : Controlling Pain : Types of pain : Pattern of pain

Your doctor will ask about the pattern of the pain you feel.

Try to recognize the pattern of your pain. It will help the physician decide which types of pain medicine are right for you: long-acting, short-acting, or a combination of the two.

Do you have pain all the time? Even if your pain relief is good most of the time, does pain occasionally come unpredictably and intermittently? If so, you have what doctors would call "breakthrough" pain.

Does it occur predictably when you do certain activities, like taking a bath, changing wound dressings, getting out of bed, or traveling? If so, you have what they would call "incident" pain.

Does the pain increase just before the next dose of medication is due? Doctors call this pattern "end of dose" pain.

The pattern of your pain may be like one or more of these, or it may have its own pattern. It is important to describe all your pains for your doctor.

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Copyright © 1999, 2006 by Joanne Lynn. This extract from the Handbook for Mortals by Joanne Lynn, M.D. and Joan Harrold, M.D. is used with permission. To learn more about improving care at the end of life visit the main web site for Americans for Better Care of the Dying.