JOAN’S BLOG – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011 – CRYING WOLF

As an Alzheimer Spouse, I am trying to do what is best for my husband, but honestly, his messed up brain is making that task extremely difficult. One of my many jobs related to his care is to monitor his pain and inform the doctor if it is better or if it needs attention. There is no doubt that he has pain. His back has more diagnoses than there is room to write. Although his fractured knees are healing, there is still pain. His feet and legs hurt from the neuropathy. He winces and grimaces as he slowly limps pushing his walker. When I ask why he is having so much difficulty walking, he whines that his knees hurt. When he gets in and out of the car, chair, or bed, he moans in pain. When I ask what is bothering him, he says that his back (in spite of the 3 injections he has had in the last few months) is killing him. Only when he is sitting in his electric recliner with his feet elevated does he seem to be quiet and comfortable.

Wednesday morning, we went to his diabetes doctor, who inquired how things were going. After Sid gave his usual, “fine” answer, I told Dr. H. about the broken knees, slow healing and pain. He asked Sid if he was in pain, and he said……………NO.  I set the record straight for Dr. H.

When we returned to the car, the grimacing and groaning started again. I asked him if his pain was so bad, why did he tell the doctor that he was fine. “I guess I forgot”, was his answer.

Before he had 3 injections for back pain in the last 4 months, he told me his pain was at a #9 or #10 on a scale of 1-10. He currently moans just as loudly as before the injections, and complains more often, yet when I ask him what level of pain he is having, he says #4 or 5. How could all that noise be associated with a #4?  I have noticed that there is not one mention of discomfit when he is with friends, which leads me to wonder if his complaining is for my benefit in an effort to elicit sympathy and attention. One cannot discount his lack of meaningful employment, physical and social activity, and quality thinking, as contributing factors to his hyper focusing on himself. Simply put, he has nothing else to do but concentrate on his own aches and pains.

I want to emphasize that I am not doubting the existence of pain, just the level of it. It is the level that is important for me to know in order to determine whether to call the doctor for more intervention. I cannot do my job if the information I receive is inaccurate. Given the Alzheimer condition of his brain, how am I supposed to get accurate information?  When he is comfortable, he does not remember when or how much pain he experienced before. When he is uncomfortable, it seems to me that he complains far too much for a level #4.

My only recourse, as I see it, is to ask his pain level whenever he moans; elicit sympathy for anything #5 and below, and alert the doctor if it is consistently above #6. I do not want to find myself in a ‘cry wolf’ situation, where he whines so much that I end up ignoring a real emergency.

©Copyright 2011 Joan Gershman 
The Alzheimer Spouse LLC
2011 All Rights Reserved
Under penalty of copyright laws, this information cannot be copied or posted on any website, media, or print outlet, without referencing the author and website from which it was taken.

The material included on this website contains general information intended as information only. This site is not intended to provide personal, professional, medical, or psychological advice, and should not be relied upon to govern behavior in any certain or particular circumstances. The opinions in the blogs are solely those of the owner of the website. The opinions on the message boards are not necessarily endorsed by the owner of this website, and are the opinions of those persons writing the messages. All material on this web site is for demonstration and informational purposes only.           

The Alzheimer Spouse LLC 2010 All Rights Reserved