Chronic Pain is Exhausting: Fatigue Severity Scale

I found this fatigue scale during my research and felt it applies to any patient who lives with constant pain.

Chronic pain is exhausting.

Even if we are ignoring it mentally, our bodies have to cope with the constant stimulation of pain signals from nociception and inflammation. These biological activities come with a cost: depleted energy.

This “Fatigue Severity Scale” is used to measure the fatigue caused by Lyme disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis – why not EDS as well?

I evaluated my own fatigue quickly, trying not to overthink the questions, and arrived at the value of 5.9.

I was surprised how close this is to what’s experienced by Chronic Fatigue sufferers, whose fatigue is considered disabling. Perhaps I’m so used to living with the constant energy drain of chronic pain that it’s just become my norm, but I’m often amazed how much more energy “normal” people have than I do.

My fatigue, this deep weariness I struggle against all day every day is definitely a big part of my disability.

You can download a copy of this scale here: Fatigue_Severity_Scale