rating and describing pain can be difficult

When you have a condition that involves pain doctors will often ask you to rate your pain on a scale from one to 10. Especially when I first developed my pain I found this question to be exasperating. I just knew I was in a lot of pain I had no concept of how to quantify it. it was just as frustrating when the doctors ask me to describe my pain they asked me if the pain felt like burning, tangling aching sharp etc... I had a very clear burning sensation in my feet but other then that I had a very hard time describing the pain in the rest of my body. I was in pain for over 10 years and I was asked to rate my pain a lot over that time period. it became a little easier over time however I never was completely comfortable with rating and describing my pain.