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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask what's the worst (physical) pain you've ever experienced?

1000 replies

canwetalkaboutcake · 03/10/2023 21:00

I've never broken a bone or given birth, but I have had some very painful periods that have made me feel like I'm going to pass out. Also terrible travel sickness / vomiting on a 20 hour trip that left me wishing for death due to how crap I felt.

OP posts:
Carriebelfast · 03/10/2023 22:42

Dental pain from an infected nerve which turned into an abscess in my jaw.
It was agony and prolonged
Definitely worse than both times I gave birth once via forceps and once naturally both without pain relief

Titective · 03/10/2023 22:42

Laser eye surgery. I'm not sure if the anesthetic didn't work or whether she didn't use enough but I could feel the laser cutting my cornea. Unimaginable pain. Both eyes. I had to carry on because I was never going back.

Sienna9522 · 03/10/2023 22:43

Other than childbirth - Bartholin abscess and most recent ear infection. Was hallucinating with the abscess and was in A&E with the ear infection twice. No painkiller was touching it and I couldn’t even concentrate on a conversation. Grim.

MariaVT65 · 03/10/2023 22:43

quirkychick · 03/10/2023 21:07

Gallstones
Migraine
Both of which, even 5 hours plus after the pain went, I still felt horrendous
2nd c‐section when the spinal block wore off part way through.

Christ! I’m due for my second section next month and that is terrifying me! How did you cope? Did they knock you out in the end?

Mooshamoo · 03/10/2023 22:43

Period pain. I had pretty painfree periods for most of my twenties. They werent totally painfree but they were bearable.

I hit my late thirties and oh my god the pain of my periods. And the contractions. My womb now feelals like it contracts over and over on my periods. I went and got checked out by the doctor and got ultrasounds and they can't see anything wrong. So it seems to just be something with age with me

Ladyoftheknight · 03/10/2023 22:43

4 births, 5 pregnancies. Still by far the worst pain is the feeling of each 4 of my discs rupturing aged 13. Pregnancy and childbirth is a walk in the park compared to that (even while living with chronic pain)

Torganer · 03/10/2023 22:43

Appendicitis
Sciatica
(labour pains were fine after the gas and air, and recovery from my c-section was an absolute breeze)

Arthurnewyorkcity · 03/10/2023 22:44

Failed epidural (not spinal) during a c section.
Broken collar bone was also agony

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 03/10/2023 22:44

When I had swine flu I had the most horrific stomach pain, and there was no relief to be had from it.

I think it was worse than childbirth.

Invalidusername88 · 03/10/2023 22:44

Also as a side-thought Heartburn is a pretty under-rated pain I feel. Started having it these last few weeks. Both times I swear I thought I was having a heart attack - their symptoms are surprisingly similar I believe.

VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia · 03/10/2023 22:45

An unusual migraine that wouldn't respond to my usual pain relief. My mum had to call 111 because I was sobbing uncontrollably with the pain in between bouts of vomiting. Honestly, if you'd offered to kill me at that point, I'd have said yes. A&E gave me morphine, utter bliss when it kicked in after twenty minutes.

Wishihadanalgorithm · 03/10/2023 22:45

Dental nerve pain literally made me stop and hold myself until the pain passed. I couldn’t drive because if the pain had hit I would have crashed the car.

kidney removal via my c-section scar was horrendous.
More painful than when I had my c-section.

Burst ear drum was horrific -felt like someone was shoving a knitting needle in my ear. Luckily it didn’t last long.

These are the worst pains I’ve ever had -!: in this order.

WearyAuldWumman · 03/10/2023 22:45

Believe it or not, having my big toes cut and re-set (once the pain block wore off). Worst ever. (I inherited Dad's flat feet and my toes were so crooked, I could barely walk. Was in my 50s when I got them done.)

I've had a dislocated elbow fracture: it was bad, but not as painful as the toes, though I did scream when the arm was straightened.

Have also had kidney stones and a reasonably painful (though not very advanced) miscarriage. Neither of those were as bad as the elbow.

Also had 2nd degree burns to my hands which were painful, but - again - the elbow and the toes were worse.

Oh...How could I forget...Last year, a male consultant decided to cut out polyps with no pain relief. That was bad. He finally stopped when he couldn't get the one on the cervix and the rest were done by a female consultant under GA. That was really bad, but at least it didn't last as long as the toe pain. At one point I recall asking the consult whether he'd stick a scalpel up a penis with no pain relief.

I thought that I was going for an ultrasound done externally plus a biopsy with local anaesthetic. Ha! Yes, I did tell the doctor that I had never given birth.

On the plus side, I'm told that the polyps hadn't turned cancerous.

When I got home and went to bed after the gynae procedure, I actually hallucinated that I could hear my late husband coming to check on me.

Cati482 · 03/10/2023 22:46

Dental abscess. A whole weekend of excruciating pain from my jaw to my ear which left me absolutely sobbing and rocking in pain. Only got some relief after it burst and two very strong courses of antibiotics. Never experienced anything like it before and hope to never again!

Singingintherain23 · 03/10/2023 22:47

Tooth ache was unbearable. I remember crying in the night rocking back and forth begging for relief!
Had a c section but never cried because of the pain so can't have been that bad.

uncomfortablydumb53 · 03/10/2023 22:47

Complete nerve entrapment of my trapezius/ shoulder
Dental abscess( tooth exploded before antibiotics worked
Femoral Osteotomy to correct my Cerebral Palsy
Birth of DS3 without even a paracetamol
( 7 minutes after I got through hospital door)
10 years on and I have absolute dread of trapping the nerve again
I was literally rolling on the floor in agony

Forgottenmypasswordagain · 03/10/2023 22:47

I think eye abrasions.

Humblebottomous · 03/10/2023 22:48

Childbirth with no pain relief, back to back

Blueink · 03/10/2023 22:48

Infected bone

Fishpieandchips · 03/10/2023 22:48

Bartholin cysts x many.
Broken shoulder.
Passed out with pain for both of these issues

ohyesohyesoh · 03/10/2023 22:48

Period pain that have made me vomit and faint. A million times worse than both births

catrescuelady · 03/10/2023 22:49

Pancreatitis due to gallstone being stuck in duct.

AllTheChaos · 03/10/2023 22:49

Childbirth.
Colposcopy.
Liquid nitrogen treatment for verrucas.
All horrific!

Iwrotethelyricstoaxlf · 03/10/2023 22:50

Gallstones

ive also given birth (forceps), 2 miscarriage 1 molar pregnancy and had 3 bowel resections and a stoma out in and reversed but gallstones is absolutely the worst thing

Knittingisacraptherapy · 03/10/2023 22:50

Ruptured gallbladder full of stones, natural childbirth didn't even compare. Nuff said.

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