6 Patient Guide Pain and Comfort Management Your MercyOne team is dedicated to providing a comfortable environment during your stay. Managing pain is an important piece to maintaining your comfort. You will be asked frequently to rate your pain. However, some pain and discomfort can be expected with certain procedures. Talk with your provider to know what to expect. Pain Rating Explanation 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 SEVERE: 7-10 UNBEARABLE MODERATE: 4-6 MISERABLE MILD: 1-3 ANNOYING NO PAIN: 0 Types of Pain Control There are many types of pain medication and different ways to give them. You may have one type of medication or a combination of medications to best control your pain. It is very important to tell your nurse if your medicine is not working. Sometimes the medicine needs to be changed to give you better pain control. Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) PCA allows you to push a button and get your pain medicine through your IV. The medicine works within minutes and can control even severe pain. One safety feature of the pump is that only a certain amount of medicine can be given. Once you are able to eat and drink, you may be started on pain pills. Usually your PCA will be stopped 30 minutes after your first dose of pain pills to ensure uninterrupted pain control. Family and friends should not push the pain button for the patient, as this may give more medication than needed and can result in problems with breathing. Only the patient should push the pain button.
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