"Are you in any pain today?"

It's such an innocuous question, isn't it? "Are you in any pain today [or "right now"]?" You hear it every time you go to the doctor, or at least I do. I can't remember not being in pain. It's been years if there ever was a time. Right now, my hands hurt, my neck and back hurt, and I have a vague, all-over ache. On top of that, I have a spring cold and/or allergies that have caused a sore throat. A couple hours ago, when the intake nurse at the clinic here asked me if I had any pain right then, all I could say was "no more than usual." Actually, it hurts like hell to walk on my right foot, but as I wasn't walking at the time, it was fine (and it was reasonably OK walking with the surgical padding, anyway). (As a side note, it wasn't a wart at all, thank the gods; just a very nasty splinter that my immune system had pretty much managed to destroy, but there was a pocket left, around which was a great deal of inflammation that made it hurt to walk. I am more than pleased--no liquid nitrogen + no strange skin viruses = happy Jack. To be honest, I can watch surgery more easily than I can deal with the thought of certain skin conditions; warts and ants squick me out seriously).

Anyway, what does a chronic pain patient say to "are you in pain today?" For a checkup or a visit related to the chronic condition, the truth is relevant, but for a specific, acute problem, don't the other pains cloud the issue?

In what other ways do Fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions get in the way of treatment? We don't always respond the same way to medications or treatments; physical therapy and chiropractic care can either do wonders or backfire severely. Doctors may shy away from us entirely, or overprescribe varying protocols and cause medication interactions or overdoses. And gods forbid we go into an office having done our homework or research; in my experience, most doctors hate prepared patients (the good ones don't).

Post a comment below on whether you've ever had pain cloud the issue when you needed a specific problem addressed by your medical provider.