To think there are worse pains than labour?

[coraltoes]

Having recently badly broken a bone WIBU to say actually, it hurt a fuckload more than giving birth? I honestly thought nothing could hurt more than labour, but lo and behold something did! (for less hours admittedly but nothing amazing to cuddle at the end). The bone had to be pulled back into place with gas and air and a local block, which made me nearly vomit.

Come and share with me your injury horrors and tell me whether they trumped your labour pains. please do not thik i am trying to undermine ladies with horrendous labours, i am sure some of you would put me to great shame :D

My broken wrist and three bones in foot pale into insignificance after medication free labour bought on from induction. When they turned that drip up, I was trying to crawl off the back on the bed, it was just unbearable.

Pain from C Section cut is very bearable though I must say.

I'm fortunate not to have broken any bones or had anything like gall stones, so I have nothing to compare labour with. What I do remember is that in my first labour I would have been happy for someone to kill me, just to make it stop!

You can't really compare pain though, surely? If something fucking hurts, it fucking hurts. You're not in transition thinking "Oh well, at least I've not broken my leg in three places".

(((ThreeBee)))

I'm coming on to this thread to add another vote for gallstones. Way worse than crowning in labour. At least I knew that would be over quickly!

Gallstones was awful. Worse than labour. And I had problems with a wisdom tooth once. And that was worse as well.

I had a trapped nerve in my neck and that was pretty agonizing. Even with morphine a sudden movement would cause me to pass out with pain.
However I've not experienced labour (yet) so I may be in for a real shock.

Also, my mum says without a doubt, kidney stones were more painful than labour.

Dislocating my knee twice is the most painful thing I have ever gone through, followed by bowel obstruction. Both of these were much worse than my labour!

It's so true that labour pain can vary enormously. I had my two with no pain relief whatsoever and never felt like I needed any. But then neither of them were particularly big or in a weird position, and I was very motivated to have an active birth - feeling I was taking control of the contractions helped control the pain, somehow.

I've had chronic pain for many, many years (endo, like several others here) and by now just have the attitude that you have to put up with it - in fact, the pain in early labour felt so normal that I only made it into the birth centre both times at 8cm dilated, because it didn't feel like it hurt enough to justify going in. It was amazing - you have the baby and then the pain goes away - what a great idea. If only my chronic pain would do the same thing.

The worst pain I have ever experienced by a long chalk was when I was 17 (well over 20 years ago), I had a huge abscess on my back which was pretty painful in itself, but was absolutely excruciating when the GP lanced it with a scalpel AND NO PAIN RELIEF. I so nearly vomited over him - pity I didn't really. It was only 2 years ago I realised how badly I had been traumatised by the experience, when I had a very minor piece of toe surgery under local anesthetic and had terrible flashbacks. The surgeon 2 years ago couldn't believe what the GP had done!

I ripped the cuticle on the side of my thumb. It got infected. 2 weeks of agony. MUCH worse than my 2 labours

The pain of labour is very variable. A lot depends on whether the mother is unlucky enough to tear. My second labour was very easy, but my first labour was very unpleasent as I tore.

I am recovering from breaking my thumb on 8th December and I am still in a lot pain. Breaking bones is worse than either of my labours. However every labour is different and I am sure that some labours are excrutiating.

Toothache, far far worse

Ok labour is real pain, I had 3 dc so I too know, but I kid you not the hairdressers was worse for me.
My hair is very curly and I'm head sore. They used to pull it through a cap thing to colour it and then brush it hard to try to straighten it.
The amount of times I could not stand the pain anymore are vivid in my mind.

Can I just confirm whether it's the gallstones or the gall bladder removal op that are the most painful?

I've had a 28 hour induced labour with a back to back baby that left me sobbing and vomiting, unable to lie down but with knees buckling every time I stood, followed by a hack and slash emergency c-section....but I've now got a 3cm gallstone and need my gallbaldder out too. The attacks have been bad but nowhere near as bad as labour for me.

Please say the op isn't awful.

kidney pain, all I wanted was someone to knock me out stone cold. It was unrelenting

Gallstone pain beats labour hands down - having birthed two children with only gas and air, i suffered gallstones and was practically suicidal with pain even with gas and air and tramadol!!! . I notice someone upthread said that their stones weren't as bad as labour - its relative i guess as some gallstones can be asymptomatic and give mild discomfort, but an infected gall bladder apparently is second only to kidney stones, apparently. Pancreatitis is supposed to be bad too, my BIL had this and has been known to scream in pain :(

A kidney infection was about a million times worse than labour for me. But then my labours were easy.

Oh, and having a toe-nail pulled out without anaesthetic. That hurt a fuckload too.

Blather - gallbladder op is a stroll in the park - i had complications and they spilt bile acid in my body cavity (fucking owwwww!) but i was put on a morphine drip on recovery and was happy as a pig in shite :) Had that not have happened there would have been discomfort that could have been managed with paracetemol. Intereting that you have a large stone, mine were like the ones you have in the bottom of a fish tank and apparently those are more painful - not that its a competition, i hope you feel better soon. I have never looked back since my gall bladder removed, no more pain.

Oh, YA definitely NBU.

Labour x 2 was manageable.

Shingles was AWFUL. Worse pain I have ever experienced in my life.

An abscess in my tooth. It was so painful I genuinely wanted to either rip my head off, or go to sleep (some fuckin chance) and never wake up again.

So, definitely worse than labour

I think that the reason women cope so well with labour pain is because it has a positive outcome so there is less fear and anxiety surrounding it. And there is an end in site, even though it can be a long old road, theres a ickle baby at the end of it :)

I have been known to wish myself dead with a UTI too

My periods are more painful than my labour, at least the contractions come in waves, my period pain is just 48 hours of straight pain. I guess maybe my periods would be less painful if I had gas and air.

It really really isn't helpful when people say labour is the most painful thing in the world, I was heavily pregnant when that facebook thing about broken bones was being circulated, I wanted to un-friend anyone who shared it.

I have been told that periods are less painful after yiu have given birth, I bloody hope it's true!

Agree, gallbladder op pain is nothing compared to the gallstone attacks.

I have had a couple of bouts of colic since the op, not pleasant but not as bad as the full attacks.

Back to back birth of 2 10lb+ babies (not at same time of course). I've had worse pain than the normal labour I had but not than a back to back one.

The only pain i've had worse than the normal labour was Quinsy. My tonsils were so swollen I could barely breathe/couldn't open my mouth. Had to have them drained with a huge needle. I thought I was going to die.

Thank you frustratedworkingmum Panic attack averted :)