What's the worst physical pain you've ever felt?

[sancta-simplicitas]

Random topic that I for some reason find fascinating. I have a weirdly high pain threshold (probably because of dissociation...) but these are my top five that either made me scream or faint:

1. Bit down on a piece of raw onion while having an infected wisdom tooth, because Google said it was supposed to help with the pain. It did not. Screamed for a solid 15 minutes, unable to close my mouth.

2. Period cramps without prior ovulation (due to stress). Was certain I was dying before I passed out after 30 minutes.

3. Inflammed vein from having had an IV that was too thick for too long. The nurse I complained to didn't believe me and opted for testing if I was faking by removing the dripping control on the line which made the fluids shoot straight into me. Screamed.

4. Gallstone stuck in a bile duct. Basically a 13 hour long gallbladder attack, until oxy being able to take some edge off. Fainted several times and woke up to the world having a greenish yellow tint.

5. Broken foot. Was pretty young and don't remember all of it, but I remember hearing a crack and then there was a brief paus and then a massive pain unlike any one I had experienced before shot up and reached my brain.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Gallstones. I had 13 attacks before they worked out what it was. Partly my lethargy in registering with a practice and the not so great NHS. A stone eventually moved into the bile duct. After 3 days when the pain hadn't gone, I finally got it sorted out. I thought it was a heart attack initially though. I didn't call for an ambulance because I was ready to die. Such a disappointment when I didn't. Apparently, they pulled out a bunch of sludge too. No wonder I felt so shit. I'm hoping I never have pain like that again. You trump me though. You've been through a lot!

 

[Dliena]

Appendicitis and Volvulus plus some loveliy helping toothaches on the side tho folks claim I got high pain tol but I'm not so very surtain about that anymore cause now any sort of pain little to big makes me want to demise.

But I'm very sorry to hear of your own undeserved grisly pain stories OP as well dear stranger above me and I wish you all eventual peace with no more sufferings for good from it all whenever it comes time for you both.

 

[MisplacedGirl]

Probably waking up the day after getting braces.

 

[Apathy79]

Jeepers that's a lot of pain!

Mine would be either when I dislocated my shoulder serving in tennis and my coach shoved it back in, or when my appendix burst in the waiting room to be taken out. Very different types of pain.

 

[sancta-simplicitas]

Ooof

Gallstones. I had 13 attacks before they worked out what it was. Partly my lethargy in registering with a practice and the not so great NHS. A stone eventually moved into the bile duct. After 3 days when the pain hadn't gone, I finally got it sorted out. I thought it was a heart attack initially though. I didn't call for an ambulance because I was ready to die. Such a disappointment when I didn't. Apparently, they pulled out a bunch of sludge too. No wonder I felt so shit. I'm hoping I never have pain like that again. You trump me though. You've been through a lot!

Ooof, I feel you. Gallstones are such a bitch, I'm glad you got it sorted out. Did they also diagnose you with gastritis at first? They did so when I came into the ER with my attacks in the beginning, despite gallstones having been confirmed on the ultrasound. Then they went all shocked Pikachu when the antacids they gave me didn't help. 13 attacks before diagnosis is a whole other deal though, wow.

Appendicitis and Volvulus plus some loveliy helping toothaches on the side tho folks claim I got high pain tol but I'm not so very surtain about that anymore cause now any sort of pain little to big makes me want to demise.

But I'm very sorry to hear of your own undeserved grisly pain stories OP as well dear stranger above me and I wish you all eventual peace with no more sufferings for good from it all whenever it comes time for you both.

Volvulus sounds so scary! How long did it last? I'm thinking pain tolerance absolutely can fluctuate, especially depending on our mental state. Ironically I tolerate it better the more stressed I am, but the opposite is probably more common. I hope you don't have to be in pain all that often nowadays.

DJeepers that's a lot of pain!

Mine would be either when I dislocated my shoulder serving in tennis and my coach shoved it back in, or when my appendix burst in the waiting room to be taken out. Very different types of pain.

Damn. My ex had to get her arm relocated once and they had to knock her out so I can only imagine what that must've felt like.

 

[Apathy79]

Damn. My ex had to get her arm relocated once and they had to knock her out so I can only imagine what that must've felt like.

Yeah that's what you're supposed to do. Go to hospital, get sedated and have someone who knows what they're doing relocate it carefully. He didn't know that and thought he had to react fast or it would get worse. Interesting part was the shoulder actually dislocating didn't hurt much at all. It was only when it got shoved back that it kicked in. Had to lie down to avoid passing out from the pain. But it subsided reasonably quickly fortunately.

Pain is so relative though. I remember watching my brother have to play on in rugby after severely tearing his rib cartilage, because they had no-one left on the bench. And the opposition targeting his ribs because of it. That looked way worse. Then there's the stuff you see online from wars, unit 731, etc - unimaginable.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

The worst pain I've ever felt were from the really bad migraines I used to get between grades 5 to 6. I used to get them so frequently around that age and I still don't know why.

 

[Malaria]

Tie between two injuries I got.

When I was a kid, I had a metal shower door slam on my big toe, which caused it to have an infection as well as be really painful to walk on.

And then about five years ago I tore my ACL in an accident. I had to get surgery for that. My leg still can hurt even though I got surgery and physical therapy.

 

[Dliena]

Volvulus sounds so scary! How long did it last? I'm thinking pain tolerance absolutely can fluctuate, especially depending on our mental state. Ironically I tolerate it better the more stressed I am, but the opposite is probably more common. I hope you don't have to be in pain all that often nowadays.

Two weeks during December 2015 it's better now for now I do try to be more cautious of it more often and yep it was indeed scary had to get a couple surgeries for it with a NG tube down thru my body but I was ready with whatever happened good or bad.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Ooof

Ooof, I feel you. Gallstones are such a bitch, I'm glad you got it sorted out. Did they also diagnose you with gastritis at first? They did so when I came into the ER with my attacks in the beginning, despite gallstones having been confirmed on the ultrasound. Then they went all shocked Pikachu when the antacids they gave me didn't help. 13 attacks before diagnosis is a whole other deal though, wow.

Volvulus sounds so scary! How long did it last? I'm thinking pain tolerance absolutely can fluctuate, especially depending on our mental state. Ironically I tolerate it better the more stressed I am, but the opposite is probably more common. I hope you don't have to be in pain all that often nowadays.

Damn. My ex had to get her arm relocated once and they had to knock her out so I can only imagine what that must've felt like.

The doctor asked me what I thought it was- I felt like saying- you're the one who went to medical school! I've got a degree in art! He mentioned gallbladder issues but they did the same as you- and gave me antacids that (naturally) made no difference. Kind of annoying because I found out later my symptoms- which I did describe, were pretty classic of gallstones. Abdomibal pain on the right hand side radiating to the lower shoulder blades, especially after eating foods with fat in. They did an ultrasound and couldn't even find the gallbladder! It was in the second round of diagnoses that they did an MRI and saw the stone.

They were nice at the hospital mostly but it was kind of shocking that the food there all had fat in and I think all the people on the ward had gallbladder issues. One day, all I could eat off the menu was carrots and a pear. They were really sweet and made me some dry toast but it can be pretty shocking.

Did they do an ERCP with you to remove the stone? I was absolutely dreading that. My Grandma had had quite a few endoscopies and described them in horrifying detail. As it turned out, it was absolutely fine. I guess technology has improved. They did keyhole to remove the gallbladder in the end and, touch wood, I've not had severe trouble since. Just the odd twinge like my body is going- where's that gone? I feel weird after eating some oily foods but it's quite impressive how the body compensates. Are you all recovered too?

It was awful at the time though. I was so afraid to eat. Especially at the start when I didn't even know what I should be avoiding. I think it's the not knowing that makes these kinds of things worse. A friend of mine also suffered and she described it like trying to tip toe around a sleeping giant all the time.

I don't think I do have a high pain tolerance though. It's difficult when they ask you to rate the pain on a scale though because it's like- I don't have anything to compare it to. It's the worst pain I ever had but I'm sure there is worse out there. I think I underplayed it to begin with. I get the impression kidney stones might be even worse. I dread having anything like that again.

 

[4am]

teeth whitening at the dentist. idk what the procedure was called exactly, but it was the one where they use the thingy with high pressure to clean your teeth. anyways it was fucking unbearable, i can still kinda feel the pain subconsciously

 

[BackToLobby]

Nothing yet but sometimes I walk around poor neighbourhoods of my city for a chance to get robbed or beat up

 

[xinino]

1. Stitching without anesthesia
2. hemorrhoids with dizziness, fever, itching, pinworm
3. passing out due to a bad diet and hemorrhoids "lose ability to control arm, legs, and vague vision, can't stand up, lose consciousness in the toilet when trying to stand up."
4. Wisdom teeth movement, inflammation : my upper and lower jaws were mispositioned with teeth jammed.
5. Lack of sleep or bad sleep for days as a college resident, I think I was functioning with half my brain during the day.

 

[leavingthesoultrap]

Bladder infection, infected root canal (tooth) but worst of them all: endometriosis pain. Because of how many days it left me incapacitated and the severe level of pain. I did some math and it was 390 days of my life spent in severe pain total

 

[Alltheywanted]

I spelled boiling water over my legs. For the first 30 minutes I just sat in the icy water, but when it stopped working I had to get out of the tub and my dad took me to the hospital. This was the first and only time I literally cried in pain. Then they injected morphine into my veins and after a few seconds the pain went away.

 

[gingermacie]

Probably my ear drum rupturing from a sinus infection. That entire side of my face felt excruciating, even in my teeth and jaw. Had to pass out just to deal. Couldn't hear out of that ear for weeks.

 

[Forveleth]

Mine are pretty tame
-Grill cleaner from fast food job. 400F, instantly dissolves grease, so getting it on my hand was pretty bad. Still have scars 20 years later.
-Getting a shot in the roof of my mouth. That needle felt like a screwdriver.
-Bad gas pain. I've had gas bubbles where I can feel them snaking back and forth through my intestines for hours. I usually curl up in bed and cry.

 

[Pikanoose]

Never felt major pain in my life and I'm thankful tbh. But honestly maybe lack of experiencing real trauma is what led to me developing into such a weak manchild.

 

[bookie]

I had the worst pain after my skin transplant

 

[theboy]

the blows of my schoolmates

 

[WhiteRabbit]

Kidney stone and really god awful period cramps.

 

[Final_Choice]

I get these sharp pains in my head regularly which feel like an axe hitting the back of my head or lightning striking me, causes me to completely pass out among other painful and debilitating things but they only last a few minutes before I'm back to normal. But that initial sharp pain is easily the most painful thing I've experienced.

 

[1MiserableGuy]

Freshman year of high school I snapped my collar bone during wrestling practice and missed half the season over it

 

[Astoria]

I got a big chunk of glass stuck in the heel of my foot. It was too late at night to go get it taken out by a health professional.
Long story short, I ended up having someone dig around in my foot. They did not get it out, and it hurt like hell.

 

[Angchris@114]

Chest tubes from lung collapses and very big gutt surgery at the same time. (The chest tubes were more painful than all the removed from gutt infection)

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Not being given any pain relief except paracetamol immediately after major abdominal surgery

 

[L I F E T O L O S E]

teeth pain

 

[thenamingofcats]

Migraine for a week. One night ended up on hands and knees with labored breathing. Felt like I was giving birth or something. Most people would have gone to the hospital around day 2 or 3 but my copay for that is too high. I always wonder if a migraine like this can cause you to stroke out.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Honestly, heartbreak. The mental pain from it is probably distorting my perception of its efficacy though.

As for a purely physical phenomenon I'm lucky to have never broken my bones or anything. I think one time I got up and had this really sharp pain in the meat of my legs behind my shins but that went away eventually.