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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask if there is any pain you have experienced..

712 replies

ChocolateQuiltedShitPig · 31/05/2020 23:56

That is worse than childbirth?

Just trying to ease my anxieties over giving birth, due this week!

I hate the unknown and not having a client what level of pain to expect. I know every labour is different but I cant sleep and thought I'd ask!

OP posts:
hulahooper2 · 03/07/2020 23:46

Childbirth was a lot easier than I expected , and went in to do it again , but gallstones were 10000 x worse

LoadsaBlusher · 03/07/2020 23:53

I’ve got three kids

Sciatica is worse

In childbirth it comes in subsiding waves

With on point extreme sciatica it is shooting pains of white hot electricity With no rhyme or reason when it will stop

Childbirth is agony ( I done it on gas and air only ) but genuinely the waves of pain were MUCH more bearable than 10/10 sciatica

I genuinely think only ladies that have had both can explain this

P.S I’ve also had kidney stones
Childbirth was worse than kidney stones but not sciatica 😬

Serin · 04/07/2020 00:03

3 natural births with no pain relief, just welcomed each set of contractures and pictured them as waves that opened my cervix. Grin
But I could not cope with the pain of a dental abscess. Awful.
And actually the terror of not being able to breathe with Covid was worse as well.
With childbirth its expected and normal and the beautiful end is in sight.
You got this OP!

Furtheloveofcats · 04/07/2020 00:08

Given birth twice using tens machine, gas and air and pethidine (first ended up a ventouse delivery).

Have had severe tonsillitis twice and would happily have chopped my own head off the second time. To me, this was far worse than childbirth.

AngeloMysterioso · 04/07/2020 00:08

Given that this thread was started over a month ago and the OP was due within a week, chances are she knows how much childbirth hurts (one way or the other) by now...

notangelinajolie · 04/07/2020 00:10

Yes, there is a pain I have experienced worse than childbirth. Massive DVT ( 4 weeks after childbirth), I thought I was in a horror movie - my leg swelled up so much that it felt like it was literally about to explode. They had to inject me with something very strong to knock me out. I nearly lost my leg.
Childbirth is very painful but the very moment of extreme excrutiating pain that leaves you unable to even remember to breathe is also the very moment of the most extreme joy you will ever imagine so they kind of cancel each other out and within seconds it's all over and you have a baby.
Have an epidural if it gets too much.
Good luck, you will be fine Flowers

DelphiniumBlue · 04/07/2020 00:11

Toothache is worse. Also injections in toe prior to in growing toenail surgery.
I've had 3 babies without any pain relief, not because I'm so brave, but because it really wasn't that bad. I remember transition being painful for about 5 minutes with DS1, but other than that it was like bad period pains, but productive. Controlled breathing really helped, I used Yoga techniques and visualisation. It's not like that for every one, but you needn't assume it's going to be terrible. You might even enjoy it. If it's really bad you will be offered help.

ColdCottage · 04/07/2020 00:13

Sciatica. Herniated disc. Both a week after childbirth so both fresh in the memory.

I found the loss of control and the contractions being so close together at the end the hardest (water birth with No2). My mother explained it well, once they really get going it's not that the pain gets worse there is just no let up/gap/ recovery time in between.

I'd say just opt for the epidural. There are no medals for doing it without. I've done both and would go for the epidural if I had another one.

ShutUpaYourFace · 04/07/2020 00:23

I totally agree about gallstones. The most pain I ever experienced was just after the birth of my first child by c-section. Before the birth, in labour, the pressure to push was overwhelming but I wasn't even 3cm. I just felt my insides were gonna come out. I had a epidural, then an emergency c-section. Then an attack of pain after the birth whilst still in hospital. Got sent to x ray they said I was constipated! On returning home I had 2 more episodes of extreme pain. Doubled up, couldn't move it was worse than anything. Turned out to be a gallstones. Had op when my baby was 3 months to get my gall bladder removed. Definitely was worse pain than the Labour.

MCbatcommander · 04/07/2020 00:33

For immediate pain, standing on a wasp. Sting to the arch of my foot. I had 2 back to back labours. For ‘not sure when it will end’ pain, gall bladder (According to My mum who thinks all tv / on screen childbirth is a total over reaction But had gall bladder issues and has birthed 4 very large babies)

DrCoconut · 04/07/2020 00:36

Kidney stone. And later on a kidney infection. Horrible horrible pain. I hate needles but the relief of being injected with pain killers in hospital with the stone was just amazing. I actually thought I was going to die until then. Not certain what they gave me because the pain was so awful but it made me sleepy and able to get away from the pain a bit.

OnlyJoking1 · 04/07/2020 00:49

Burst eardrums, bulging discs, kidney stones, the first time whilst pregnant with twins. I’ve had two more kidney stones and sepsis three times, resulted in me being in icu in a coma, nephrostomy.
Tooth abscess dry socket.
Endometriosis, ectopic.
Had c sections both times, way easier than all the above.
Take the drugs you’ll be fine, good luck.

Maverick66 · 04/07/2020 00:52

Slipped disc

EvilEdna1 · 04/07/2020 00:52

Dental pain. My impacted wisdom tooth growing sideways into my back tooth was unrelenting. The.only pain that's made me cry.

Shingles in my jaw was also bad.

mamakoukla · 04/07/2020 01:00

Period pain would make me pass out. Giving birth was a doddle in comparison, and over much sooner too

Bellecurves · 04/07/2020 01:39

I read some positive birthing stories and took a bit of a crash course in hypnobirthing. I found both put me in a positive frame of mind which helped manage the pain but also everything else going on - long labour, sepsis, no epidural etc. I have positive memories of the birth despite all that.

thepositivebirthcompany.co.uk/blog/category/first+time+mum

Nerve pain was much worse than labour - tooth, sciatic, cysts, abscesses.

Bellecurves · 04/07/2020 01:42

Pools wrong link
www.tellmeagoodbirthstory.com/birth-stories

CoffeeRevelLove · 04/07/2020 02:00

I found contractions ok because you knew they would ease off. As a sufferer of severe period pains I found contractions ok.

The most severe pain I have suffered and suffer most days is due to post birth complications. My advice; don't have a forceps delivery

mineofuselessinformation · 04/07/2020 02:18

The only pain I have ever had where I thought I was dying was when I experienced a severe reaction to an antibiotic. The lining of my gut shed itself and bled. I genuinely thought I was never going to see my children again when my now xh finally took me to the hospital.
I've never known pain like it - and my first birth was a very long back to back labour with contractions every three minutes from the start, involuntary pushing, the whole bundle.

Lesserspottedmama · 04/07/2020 02:31

I’ve had 5 DC and none of my labours were easy but the time I had a large kidney stone stuck in my urethra was 10x worse. I didn’t have pain relief for labour and kept my head all the time whereas the kidney stone I was laying on the floor in A&E screaming and begging for help.. no one helped for a long time. At least in labour you are looked after.

EuphieKat · 04/07/2020 02:33

Yep. Having my wisdom tooth taken out by a trainee dentist was pretty atrocious.
I’ve had severe back problems for years and take morphine, gabapentin and tramadol most days; often the pain in worse than childbirth. Appendicitis was pretty bad too.
Not trying to minimise it at all, but I had an induction (oxytocin drip, maybe?) which is supposed to make contractions worse, but honestly they were bearable (I used a Tens machine but nothing else). Sending you all my best wishes!!

BlackeyedSusan · 04/07/2020 02:34

Earache.

Labour didn't hurt....pethidine, gas and air and epidural.

GlamGiraffe · 04/07/2020 02:47

Broken neck, dislocated shoulder amongst other very painful things. Pain from a rupturing ovarian abscess which nearly killed me.

Labour wasnt the same sort of pain. I had my pitiful ow it hits moans gor the odd second here and there but they were referring uo the odd twingy nature of fone of the contractions. Because eventually you have them throughout tour whole torso pretty much and not just stomach ( you feel them through front and back all at once) I found it not so much of a pain thing more of a brief overwhelming moment thsy you just had yo hang on for as it passed. Actiallycworking outcearly on how the gas and air works whill solve this for you though! I realised late on you need to be taking long deep breaths before you can really feel any significant contraction. If you ate timing use that as your guide when to start gulping the stuff, if you are wired yo a tocograph watch for the one yo start yo rise slightly the breathe away! Dont stop when you get a bit woosy. That's what stops discomfort and pain. I didn't find birth anything like as painful as people describe and mine was a fast induction with drips. You'll he fine good luck.

Indigochi · 04/07/2020 02:48

After giving birth I was astonished at how dramatic people had made out the pain of it to be tbh

blubellsarebells · 04/07/2020 03:02

Ive had worse period pain than i felt in labour.
I did only dilate to 6cm and ended up with emergency c section with gas and air for the first 24 hours.
It was a long labour but at least it comes in waves and you get a lovely baby at the end of it.
I spent a day a month in agony with period pains with only paracetamol to ease it.
Funnily enough my painful periods got much better after i had my baby.