What's the most pain you've ever experienced?

[powellrj]

Mental was watching my mom die from dementia

Physical knees before knee replacement surgery, back pain from auto accident and a grade 3 spondy plus other back issues.

 

[dotfurio]

I've had gallbladder attacks and my gallbladder out, had 2 kids, and when I was a kid I was in an accident that required me to have over 200 stitches in my leg alone, not counting my side, arm, and hand. None of those even compared to the pain I had with a herniated disc. Mine was at L4-S1 (no L5). The pain radiated down my leg. I developed drop foot. I was an x-ray tech at the time and our neuroradiologist recommended against surgery because in his experience many people ended up worse than before surgery in the long run. I worked with the spine dr on meds and injections. I was on the floor for about a month. Then slowly I started getting better, got some physical therapy, and now I'm completely fine.

Herniated L5-S1 intervertebral disc. I couldn't move, it hurt to breathe. Unlike labor, it didn't come and go, like contractions - it was constant. The only thing that saved me was after 12 hours, the nerve was so compressed, my leg went numb.

I totally agree with this one - This is how I described it to people. Like as bad as the worst contractions in my lower back and running down my leg but with no break.

Me too! Same thing but my leg never went numb. I wound up with foot drop (right foot totally dead)...couldn't walk. Had to crawl to the toilet and scream in agony while attempting to sit up to pee. It started on a Sunday, the searing agonizing pain shooting down from my lower right back, down my leg into my foot. A chiropractor nearly crippled me on Monday (foot drop began after he "adjusted" me). On Wednesday my good friend had her DH (a pain specialist) order me an emergency MRI. An hour after the MRI he called me and told me to lay flat on my back and not to move until he got me in to a surgeon...he said my L5-S1 was wrecked and I needed immediate surgery. He got me in to an ortho the next day, Thursday. Surgeon took one look at me crying on his exam table unable to sit up and then the MRI and scheduled me for his next opening, first thing Tuesday (that was Easter weekend). I was in agony right up until the anesthesia took me under, and when I woke up in recovery I was 95% pain free. Just sore from the surgery. The surgeon was standing over me with a huge grin, holding a jar with my disc in it and proudly proclaiming it the largest thing he'd ever removed. Apparently the disc had not only herniated, but it had jammed into my spinal cord like hair clogged in a drain, and he had to call in a neurosurgeon midway through to oversee the discectomy.

Best thing I've ever done for myself. Had to have another discectomy of the same spot 4 1/2 years later though when it happened again. Next time it will likely be a fusion.

I've wondered if the long term pain was worth it or if I just should've had surgery. I think if it happened again I would for sure. Techniques have come a long way since then.

 

[jarofpickles]

gallbladder attacks
childbirth
abscessed tooth

 

[Gumbo4x4]

abdominal surgery

DD will say kidney stone......not fun at all

Physically, the kidney stone was my worst. I've gotten stitches, wisdom teeth surgically removed, broken leg, broken thumb, broken arm (in 4 places). But, nothing compared to that tiny stone

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

physical - kidney stone

mental - my brother's death

 

[gincz24]

Gallbladder, I literally thought I was dying. By the time I gave in and let my husband take me to the ER, I was hours from my gallbladder bursting.

And I've had four natural births, one of those a set of twins.

 

[nicolita3]

The worst pain I had was my first out patient abdominal surgery. I woke up and immediately started crying, the pain was horrible. The nurse wouldn't give me any more pain meds, I cried the entire way home (about an hour drive). My second abdominal surgery was the complete opposite I was walking with in 30 minutes and felt fine...don't really know what happened that was different but I was glad I wasn't hurting the second time.

 

[VolvoManiac850]

Rotavirus at age four. I thought for sure I was a goner.

 

[E&Cmom]

Physical- back labour. The c-section and recovery that followed it was less painful.

Emotional- watching my mom suffer with ALS for 3 years.

 

[potterfanatic]

About a month into my marriage I got a really bad ear infection. I didn't have any medical insurance so I tried to put off going to the doctor but on the second day it was so bad I was awake all night crying just watching the clock waiting for morning when I could find a doctor. I went into the bathroom and passed out and stopped breathing. Luckily, when I passed out I fell into the door and slammed it shut which woke my husband up. When I asked the doctor about the passing out the next day he told me that my body just couldn't handle the pain anymore and gave up. I've forgotten the pain, but I won't ever forget that my body is a quitter.

 

[smiths02]

I've never broken a bone or had major surgery or anything like that. Physical pain, I would guess my first childbirth. I did eventually get an epidural, but I had basically just constant cramping for hours...and the nurses were saying they weren't contractions (and they weren't like you see in the movies where you are okay then pain, it was just constant). Having tears after my first and my twins was pretty bad too once the epidural wore off.

Mentally--thinking my first son was going to die the night after he was born. Then thinking he would be very disabled if he survived.

 

[Poohlove]

About a month into my marriage I got a really bad ear infection. I didn't have any medical insurance so I tried to put off going to the doctor but on the second day it was so bad I was awake all night crying just watching the clock waiting for morning when I could find a doctor. I went into the bathroom and passed out and stopped breathing. Luckily, when I passed out I fell into the door and slammed it shut which woke my husband up. When I asked the doctor about the passing out the next day he told me that my body just couldn't handle the pain anymore and gave up. I've forgotten the pain, but I won't ever forget that my body is a quitter.

Your body isn't a quitter, everyone has their breaking point especially when it comes to pain threshold! When I was a kid ( I won't say growing up because I am not sure that I am done yet tee hee) I used to get horrible ear infections and was afraid of getting them while at a sleepover or something when I would leave the house overnight I would sneak my eardrops out with me. Earaches are a terrible pain!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

3 days out of hospital for something else I fell over and fractured my hip. Had a dynamic hip plate put in but complications with the anasethic meant it didn't work..

Oh and at MCO each time seeing the Virgin Atlantic plane saying London Gatwick return on it... Noooo...

 

[Kellykins1218]

Had my tubes tied and the epidural had worn off. Doctor sliced me open and I felt everything. They had to quickly knock me out....probably to stop my screaming as much as anything.

 

[Princesca]

Getting my first adult paycheck and seeing how much of it went to the government.

 

[HM]

Gosh this is kind of a horrendous thread, isn't it?

For me it was the birth of my son. Natural childbirth with 21 hours of labor, three of those trying to push him out.

Food poisoning was probably next worst. Or maybe one of my early migraines. Or that bladder infection.

 

[Jestocost]

Acute appendicitis.

 

[mnrose]

Wow. Lots of painful stories here. Egads. It's amazing what the human body can endure.

For me, it was after my c-section (which was no problem at all, as I had a spinal). Later that night, I started bleeding uncontrollably and the on-call doctor determined that I wasn't clotting satisfactorily. Gave me some sort of shot. That didn't do the trick, so he decided that a "uterine massage" was the ticket. So, he massaged DIRECTLY over the incision site very vigorously. That was THE worst pain I've ever experienced, and hope to never experience again. I'm pretty sure the entire hospital heard me screaming. OMG. Gives me the willies just to think about it.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Acute appendicitis.

Yeah, that was the 2nd worst pain I've ever had.

 

[3Gsandme]

Labor up until I decided I didn't need to be a hero and got the epidural.

Prior to that, having a 4 c glass pyrex measuring cup dropped on my big toe nail. OMG.