NO GAIN

‘Dimensions of Pain’ categorised in a celebrated medical questionnaire:

Sensory
Flickering, Quivering, Pulsing, Throbbing, Beating, Pounding
Jumping, Flashing, Shooting
Pricking, Boring, Drilling, Stabbing, Lancinating
Sharp, Cutting, Lacerating
Pinching, Pressing, Gnawing, Cramping, Crushing
Tugging, Pulling, Wrenching
Hot, Burning, Scalding, Searing
Tingling, Itchy, Smarting, Stinging
Dull, Sore, Hurting, Aching, Heavy
Tender, Taut, Rasping, Splitting

Affective
Tiring, Exhausting
Sickening, Suffocating
Fearful, Frightful, Terrifying
Punishing, Gruelling, Cruel, Vicious, Killing
Wretched, Blinding

Evaluative
Annoying, Troublesome, Miserable, Intense, Unbearable

Miscellaneous
Spreading, Radiating, Penetrating, Piercing
Tight, Numb, Drawing, Squeezing, Tearing
Cool, Cold, Freezing
Nagging, Nauseating, Agonizing, Dreadful, Torturing

Source: the McGill-Melzack Pain Questionnaire

It has been noted that this questionnaire is difficult to adapt to langauges with lesser / different vocabularies. Below is the equivalent list developed for Welsh speakers, translated back into English:

Sensory
Locked, Frozen, Jabbing, Scraping, Sweeping, Hammering, Spasm, Feel a draft, Hard, Soft, Light, Knock out, Getting worse, Severe, Uncomfortable

Affective
Worrying, Imprisoning, Suffering, Restless. Self-doubting, Difficult, Isolated, Bored, Depressing, Flat, Low, Really low, Going crazy, Impatient, Fed up, Stress, Guilty, Burden, Acute

Evaluative
Excruciating, Particularly bad, A little pain, Bad, Very bad, Terrible, Easing, So-so, Worse every time

Loss and disability
Miss work. Lose confidence. Miss things I usually do. Put an end to my active life. Old age coming at once. Can't get up. Can't turn. Can't stand. Can't move. Can't walk. Can't bend down. Can't sit. Can't sleep. Can't work. Can't do anything. Can't do things. Can't go to chapel. Can't settle.

Coping
Been through everything. Keep busy. Fight. Find a way around. Cope. Leave things. Not expecting too much. Determined. Put it out of your mind. Try and keep going. Try again. Try to hide it. Try everything. I won't be an invalid.

Giving in
Never going to be free of this. Don't make an effort. Let myself go. Give up things. Too much trouble. Change someone's life. Put a stop to everything.

Gratitude
Grateful. Thankful. I can't complain. Lucky.

Source: Describing chronic pain: towards bilingual practice. Roberts, Kent, Prys and Lewis, published in Nursing Studies, 2003.