Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

What is the most pain you have ever experienced?

339 replies

Rnm62 · 04/10/2022 03:40

Some say tooth pain is one of the worst pains to have.

What would you say the worst pain is you’ve experienced?

OP posts:
louderthan · 08/10/2022 11:35

Impacted wisdom teeth. Ear infections almost as bad.

Threelefthands · 08/10/2022 11:35

Another vote for gallstones

Migrainium · 08/10/2022 14:05

I have a really low pain threshold so if I’m in pain, I could swear it’s the worst I’ve experienced!

On a par would be childbirth (for the intensity) and an ear infection when I was 17 (for the intensity and length). I spent a week in bed, alternating between dozing and crying while pus streamed down my face. Went to the ENT for follow up a month later and I heard the doctor tell his student to note the black spots on the ear drum, named the virus (which had the word meningococcal in it) and said it’s extremely painful - yep!

I get migraines and headaches a lot which can be very painful and I also broke my arm in three places when I was 10 (painful and traumatic!). I’m currently 4 months in to a chronic fissure (surprisingly painful) and I’m not coping at all well with it 😞 It’s really made me feel for anyone living with a chronic pain condition because you can’t do or think about anything else.

TigerRag · 08/10/2022 18:54

The 2 week following tripping over and banging my head, broken ribs

Lovegossip · 09/10/2022 16:39

Bigslippers · 04/10/2022 03:49

Absessess on gum (needed tooth pulled after healed)

Tongue biopsy. 3 stitches in back of tongue. Tongue swelled so bad and the stitches felt like razors. Had to keep mouth propped open so was dry too. Hurt like words cant explain.

I also had a lump on tongue that was removed and the pain after the anesthetic wore off was horrible, couldn't eat or drink for 2 days

Lovegossip · 09/10/2022 16:40

Just to add it was in the middle of my tongue towards the back and also had 3 stitches

Expatting · 09/10/2022 16:41

Shingles on the roof of my mouth. Awful pain

theemmadilemma · 09/10/2022 16:46

I've had quinsy, pleurisy, pneumonia (on life support) and broken my wrist in two places.

The absolute worst pain was when I had my wrist pinned, and do so they numbed my arm from the shoulder down, 100% numb (was weird). When I came around after surgery the numbness started wearing off and it was like a million neurons firing off. The pain was immense, morphine wasn't doing it at the doses they were giving. I was wimpering and eyeing up the window considering jumping out to make it stop.

Crikeyalmighty · 09/10/2022 16:47

Childbirth with forceps

Gallstones trapped in duct with an emergency op to remove whilst on holiday abroad

Hairlikeabewitchedhaystack · 09/10/2022 19:47

Dry socket after wisdom tooth extraction.
Blocked sinus cavity due to retained tooth root travelling and lodging there.
Cramps from e coli infection that caused me to pass out they were so severe.

SirB0bby · 09/10/2022 19:48

Gallstones, hands down. Even worse than childbirth with just gas and air.

Tilda77 · 15/10/2022 16:33

ellieboolou · 04/10/2022 22:48

Thanks @Tilda77 - absolutely dreading it as knew it'd be a painful recovery, could I ask how long roughly it took to feel better? I've had a gallbladder removal and 2 c sections but I'm actually more terrified by this op 😬

Did you have your operation? Hope you're recovering well and you're not in too much pain

BirdsAndButterflies · 16/10/2022 09:01

Oh gosh...it’s hard to say which was the absolutely most painful as the pain was so different. Abscess under a wisdom tooth was horrific. Severe, intense, pulsating pain.
Just topping that was induced labour with no pain relief. It was back to back agonising contractions for 12 hours with no let up between them at all. I was screaming for an epidural and once it was in place I had an out of body experience (due to the pain) which then ended with what felt like lights coming on. Hard to describe. I don’t think I physically passed out, but it felt like I had mentally gone to another place. When the epidural kicked in (took a while and only numbed one side) I came back.
Also excruciatingly painful, though certainly not as bad as the labour, was being forced to stand up the next day, after an emergency c-section, with a 20cm wide incision in my belly. I cried that I couldn’t do it and the nurses dragged me out of the bed screaming (me, not them). Appalling experience of childbirth that put me off ever have more kids.

WorryMcGee · 19/10/2022 00:57

Completely rupturing my ACL. Agony. And I’ve had a baby, a lumpectomy and axillary node clearance and all those things were painful but they’re still not on the same level as the ACL!

ThisIsMeToooo · 19/10/2022 01:00

Gall bladder pain.

MidnightConstellation · 19/10/2022 01:10

Kidney infection. Two wisdom teeth out. The pain kept me awake for several nights afterwards.

MidnightConstellation · 19/10/2022 01:14

BirdsAndButterflies · 16/10/2022 09:01

Oh gosh...it’s hard to say which was the absolutely most painful as the pain was so different. Abscess under a wisdom tooth was horrific. Severe, intense, pulsating pain.
Just topping that was induced labour with no pain relief. It was back to back agonising contractions for 12 hours with no let up between them at all. I was screaming for an epidural and once it was in place I had an out of body experience (due to the pain) which then ended with what felt like lights coming on. Hard to describe. I don’t think I physically passed out, but it felt like I had mentally gone to another place. When the epidural kicked in (took a while and only numbed one side) I came back.
Also excruciatingly painful, though certainly not as bad as the labour, was being forced to stand up the next day, after an emergency c-section, with a 20cm wide incision in my belly. I cried that I couldn’t do it and the nurses dragged me out of the bed screaming (me, not them). Appalling experience of childbirth that put me off ever have more kids.

Oh my God how absolutely awful. I say this as someone who also had an induced Labour and C section. ( Different pregnancies). Thankfully I had an epidural with the induction quite quickly but the pain up to that point was awful. The midwife was an utter bitch too.

MidnightConstellation · 19/10/2022 01:17

Actually, no. I had forceps and ventouse with a shoulder dystocia . The pain was beyond belief when they actually had to wrench the baby out by hand.

ifonlylifewasthateasy · 19/10/2022 01:34

I've had a few things ... child birth (as most of us have), broken and dislocated ankle, dry socket, migraines, nerve damage etc.

However, by far the worse thing was a bad case of shingles that went on for weeks! I still have issues from it now!

FishBowlSwimmer · 19/10/2022 02:58

Osteomyelitis of the lower jaw. Infection caused my jaw to explode, I had jaw bone sticking through my gums. I was in despair with it. Absolute Agony.

Started in February still have an open wound, waiting for operation next month.

freckles20 · 19/10/2022 03:18

Dry socket (after wisdom tooth extraction), kidney stones and worst of all was gall stones.

freckles20 · 19/10/2022 03:20

freckles20 · 19/10/2022 03:18

Dry socket (after wisdom tooth extraction), kidney stones and worst of all was gall stones.

To add to this I have had appendicitis and kidney stones but for me they didn't hurt as much as the above 3.

I guess we are all different and it's not an exact science!

ellieboolou · 19/10/2022 11:06

@Tilda77 yes thank you I did have it! I'm day 9 into recovery and can honestly say the first 7 were horrific! I'm actually almost ok now though, did lots of research and have been eating high fibre diet, taking lactose and some drink called Laxido to help, plus drinking so much water. Can't say it's a pleasant experience and definitely hurt more recovery wise than both my c sections!

vipersnest1 · 20/10/2022 08:11

I've already posted, but reading back through has reminded me of something that deserves an honourable mention:
I had glue ear as an adult, so had to have grommets fitted.
Having already been for one checkup where one of the grommets had come out, I had to go back to make sure the second one had too.
It had, but was stuck to my ear drum. The doctor had about five goes at removing it with forceps, with the nurse assisting saying over and over 'would you like the suction?'
The pain was similar to (but worse than), if you accidentally poke yourself in the ear drum with a cotton bud - truly special. And yes, when he finally gave in and used the suction, it was painless. Bastard.

Tilda77 · 20/10/2022 08:15

@ellieboolou Glad your recovery is going well! I forgot to say previously it was all worth it in the end...once the pain went away!