The pain RC isn't the most reliable one I've found. I feel pain in dreams and if I hurt myself as a RC I will still feel it if I'm dreaming. The only foolproof one that I've found is plugging my nose. If I'm dreaming I can still breath when all my airholes are covered by dream hands. Another one I've heard people using and being very successful with is looking at their hands. Just simply looking at them makes them lucid. I've never used it before but I hear it works.