People of reddit, what’s the worst pain you have ever been in? Doctors and nurses, what’s the worst pain you have seen a patient in?
People of reddit, what’s the worst pain you have ever been in? Doctors and nurses, what’s the worst pain you have seen a patient in?
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Mine is having my leg amputated. The muscles and tendons cut and pulled back, the bone cut and shaved down then the skin, muscles and tendons pulled down and over and stapled.
The worst pain I had was the three hours of pain after eating my last meal before needing my gall bladder removed.
I’m a medical student. The worst pain I’ve ever seen was someone trying to pass a large kidney stone. Terrible
Acute gout. It’s tiny little crystals that build up in your joints, often your big toe first. They’re super sharp and make it impossible to move the joint. A bed sheet touching my toe made me sob for 20 minutes. No over the counter painkillers do anything.
I would have sawn my own foot off with a rusty butter knife if there wasn’t any other way to make that pain stop.
Thankfully, there are drugs that will dissolve the crystals, and make it better within a couple days.
Mine was when I had my femur shattered playing rugby. Every slight movement of my leg felt like a gunshot and there was no comfortable position to lay without feeling a rush of pain on repeat.
Personally – post op after open heart surgery, when they removed my chest drains. Holy shit it was agony.
As a nurse – someone with acute pancreatitis secondary to their cancer
I played lacrosse in high school. I was playing defense and helping guard or goal. A kid on another team ripped a fast shot that went super low, it hit me square in the nuts. Lacrosse balls are super dense, even though I was wearing my cup it dropped me to the ground and I was unable to walk again for several seconds.
Ruptured gall bladder. Literally passed out from the pain. Having the drain tubes removed, they just grabbed them told me to take a deep breath and BAM!
I have epilepsy and typically when I convulse, I bite my tongue hard. For as long as the seizure lasts. The tongue pain is both unbearable and due to location; can never not feel its sting. It’s a toothache on the pain scale. Takes about two weeks to recover. From the moment I wake up to when I put my head down for the night, the sting is constant.
After a Whipple surgery 😩
Snapping my elbow backwards in a Judo competition was pretty gnarly. Permanently damaged from that one and still have problems almost 2 decades later.
2 years ago I had a compound dislocation of my pinkie. Bone tore through the skin. Being driven to the emergency room my adrenaline started to drop and everything in my right hand went ridged and tight to the point my fingers felt like they would snap backwards.
I’ve been burned, frost burned, cracked my head open on a brick fireplace, lost my big toenail by dropping a 1000 gallon water tank on it, cut, finger popped open from getting caught and popped open like a zit.
I think I’d rather experience all of the above at once , than ever having to relive a kidney stone again
Tooth infection. I was screaming and crying for days with no sleep and started banging my head against the wall.
Kidney stones!
There’s a hilarious (cuz it’s true) bit addressing this in Brian Regan’s hour-long I WALKED ON THE MOON (1999). IIRC, it’s right at or soon thereafter in its opening segment.
1 – After being in place for days, literally becoming a part of my body – the catheter being pulled out from my organ! hurts even typing this.
2 – kidney stones when they go sit at the most hurtful place.
Childbirth was my worst physical pain, but the worst pain I’ve ever experienced was emotional
Had a spider bite on the inside of my thigh. Turned black and became very hard. I called my mom cause she’s a nurse, and she said she needed to squeeze out the poison for it to get better. Cue me laying on the bed being held down by my brothers while she basically dug her nails into the bite. I’ve never been shot, but I imagine it was a similar feeling. It hurt so bad I passed out a couple of times. Went to the doctor anyway and they gave me some pills that made all the black gunk leak out of my leg and some antibiotics. I don’t know what kind of spider bit me, but it was the most painful experience of my life.
Decidual cast
Pancreatitis.
Rheumatoid arthritis flare up in every joint in my body. I was in agony and bedridden for nearly a month before it was under control, and it was worse than childbirth.
Currently sitting on Reddit trying to distract from pain caused by my coil insertion over a month ago.
Cluster headaches
CRPS pain
When my IUD was placed. I was literally blinded by the pain. I didnt even know that was a real thing that could happen.
Passing a kidney stone. I almost threw up.
Ovarian cyst. It was ridiculously painful. I really thought I was dying.
Food poisoning. I wanted to die.
A bus drove over someone’s pelvis. Dual wheels. Patient was alive, but flat in the pelvis area. The ER surgeon tried to wrap up the organs and send him to surgery, but he quickly died.
5 gallstones, each the size of a quarter, one of which was lodged in a duct. My first attack had me absolutely sure I was actively dying.
Second worst is when I tripped and fell 3 days after a C-section. Ripped my shit right open.
costochondritis. the WORST pain I have ever felt. I couldn’t move and couldn’t breathe without pain. the only thing i would wish upon my worst enemy
Trigeminal Neuralgia. Flares are the most horrific pain you can imagine.
Shingles on my eyelid
Endometriosis. Every month since I was 13 I wouldn’t be able to move or function for at least 3 days. Most doctors don’t care about women’s health, so I was told to take ibuprofen and wait it out. I was finally diagnosed when I was 30 and have what I need to manage this. However, I suffered with excruciating pain to the point of nearly passing out for way too long.
Getting my feeding tube stoma dilated to put a larger tube in. They did use lidocaine injections beforehand but still hurt like a bitch
It’s between gall bladder failure and the surgery recovery from having it removed!
The pain of a gallbladder attack is hard to really describe if you have never had one, but feels like an immensely painful cramp under the right side ribcage. Mine was triggered by any amount of fat. Nothing was safe, and my worst attack was from eating a bit of cheese.
The surgery recovery was more painful than a c-section. Felt like my adlbdomen was bruised for months afterward. It took me a week before I could even properly sit or sit up from laying on my own. I had to hold a pillow to my abdominal area to help counter the pain as I stood up. For the c-section, I was given a binder wrap that I think could have helped a ton with the gallbladder surgery, so I’m not sure if my pain could have been less.
Kidney stones! I’d rather have another kid (at 59 years old, lol) than have another kidney stone. Seriously thought I was dieing!
2 chronic ear infections at the same time that was fun!
During my 4th depression relapse, I experienced one of the worst pains in my life—both mentally and physically. I was stuck between wanting to die and not wanting to. Normally, I can tell if it’s about dying or just escaping everything, but this time I couldn’t. I started making plans. It felt like the illness had fully taken over.
My body was shutting down too: I couldn’t breathe properly for over an hour, my chest hurt, my stomach cramped, and my head was pounding. I thought about going to the ER, but then I asked myself: why? Nothing ever gets better anyway.
Eventually, when it got too much, I forced myself to call someone. A friend picked up—and honestly, that phone call saved me.
That feeling of total desperation was one of the worst kinds of pain I’ve ever known.
I surgery on my tail bone area. Not butthole. They cut muscle and tendons. The spasming that took place for the next week was by far the worst. From the back of knees to my shoulders. It was 25 years ago and it still makes me shudder.
So when I was 14/15 I was using a self propelled mower and it got tangled in a line that was sectioning of space for parents to make a garden. I couldn’t pull the line off so I went to push the mower back and moved it with the palm of my hand placed directly on the exhaust. The entire inside of my hand was a blister. I think it was second degree burns, it’s been years since best part: went to ER and doctor had to pop/cut of the blistered part of my hand. Worst pain in my life.
Passing kidney stones for me.
Sludgy gallbladder… when I used to get flair ups I didn’t know what to do with myself.
Breast reduction surgery ..it was like for 3 days of having a hot branding iron laid on my chest ..no one warned me ..it was horrible
Gall Bladder surgery old style
Having all my toenails removed on both feet .. I got a horrible infection in. Both feet from my parents making me wear shoes that were way to small..which was painful … the Drs needed to relieve the pressure from my toes ..they were horrible and huge with severe infection … so they removed all 10 toenails ..and disinfected..let them drain ..i had huge wrappings on my feet and couldn’t walk for 2 weeks….. lots of tube’s and antibiotics later I was ok..but couldn’t wear shoes that were closed for several weeks … my parents got severely scolded by the drs … and they never did that again …
Spinal headaches. Couldn’t sit up or stand without awful head pain. It was really fun with a newborn to not be able to go to her because all I could do was lay down.
Gall bladder failing.
Second worst was uterine fibroids degenerating while I was pregnant.
But that gall bladder had me crying out for help like I’d been shot in a hotel lobby
Gull bladder attack. I thought I was having a heart attack. I’ve had 3 kids and this was worse than labor.
Broken tibia and fibula at the same time.
Abscess of my front tooth
Endometriosis .. been suffering monthly since I was 7. got my IUD one year ago and now I’m pain free.
Speaking of IUD .. inserting it made me pass out and vomit all over the doctors place out of pain for 3 hours straight.
Also passing gallstones and having a gallbladder attack 17 hours after the other one.
When I was in college I tripped and spilled a pot of boiling pasta water on myself. I then slid on the water and fell on the floor covered in boiling water. My entire right arm was covered in second degree burns (I still have a mark from where my metal watch melted my skin), my legs had a zillion first degree burns but the doozy……the boiling water had soaked into my shoe and sock on my left foot. The top of my left foot was GONE.
That day, they gave me pain meds at the hospital so I felt pretty good. Heck this isn’t too painful
Well then every day in the burn unit they scrubbed the burns. Aggressively, I assume to encouraging new skin growth and slough off dead.
I have given birth drug-free, I pushed for 3 hours and ripped like tissue paper.
But having your burns scrubbed, nothing has topped that
Osteomyelitis (bone death) of the head of my femur. It was caused by MRSA infection of surgical pins.
Toothache. I’d gladly go through anything else again but not that. I HAVE to eat and toothpain doesn’t go with that.
Toothache. My tooth had its own heartbeat and it kept me up at nights. I had tears going down my face with how bad it hurt and the fact I couldn’t go to my dentist until a few days later as he was booked up. I ended up getting a root canal. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Kidney stones then giving birth
Knee replacement (2 last year). Broken jaw in 3 places. Pregnant with 4 kidney stones lodged in my bladder. Placenta not coming out and literally stuck after three of my 4 pregnancies.
Natural childbirth where my baby’s head was very large and I tore and required 60 stitches. I kept hoping to pass out, but no such luck.
Never had a worse, more painful and debilitating condition than having pneumonia and becoming severely dehydrated during it.
Kidney stone for me
Externally? Traumatic amputation. Testicular trauma. Large degloving injuries. Large areas of road rash. Internally? Kidney stones, heart attacks, meningitis, labor, cancer, probably some other things gut related (pancreatitis and others).
Wound debridement from a necrotic c-section. I had a wound vac on for 10 weeks, having it ripped out 3 times a week with little to no pain medication.
Burn patients and graft versus host disease in a transplant pt
Birthing my child without meds. I’ll never forget that pain.
Endometriosis whilst on cycle
Kidney stone. I’ve had cuts, broken bones, blows to the head, a nail ripped half off but kidney stone was the worst. It started out not so bad but before they gave me narcotic pain killers I was in absolute agony. Felt like someone took a pliers, grabbed a chunk of my back, and was twisting it like it was attached to a drill. Thank goodness for narcotics. Passed the stone without noticing it after 2 shots of dilaudid.
Bulging 2-5 discs.
Constant pain in my hands from arthritis and lupus. It never goes away and I get to keep it all my life. Lucky me.
Having a chest tube removed after open-heart surgery. The PA told me to hum while he did it, I guess assuming that it would help. It didn’t.
Broken femur. Not me but a close friend. He was one of those “tough guys” who I saw shrug off massive hits in football. He screamed bloody murder for a solid half hour until the paramedics administered some pain killers.
It’s a toss-up between acute pancreatitis due to gallstones or a blocked bile duct due to gallstones. I think the bile duct was more traumatic because of an infection and feeling like I was dying. Pancreatitis pain was more intense. Gallstones attack is worse than childbirth and these were even worse than a gallstones attack
I got shot through my thigh point blank with a .45, it went through my femur. When I dragged myself to the phone I could feel the bits of bone grinding/tearing against everything- it was not awesome.
Childbirth
Approximately 20 years ago I had abdominal surgery. You’ve all the horror stories about the general anesthetic wearing off during the operation . Yup. That happened to me halfway through the surgery. I went from sedated to un-sedated in a matter of seconds. Immediately went into shock. I didn’t know pain like that existed in the world.
36 hour labour, just gas and air, baby got stuck so I was pushing for 2.5hours – totally incompetent and nasty midwife, doctor came in and decided to give me an episiotomy without my consent, without preparing me and without any anaesthetic. It was barbaric and the pain was indescribable.
An anal abscess. Could not sit properly or walk for weeks on end. Went to Norton’s Healthcare (fuck you) and got mid-diagnosed twice with an anal fissure. It was such a degrading injury/surgery/recovery. 0/10 would not recommend
When one of my left ribs was slipping (fixed surgically) and now one of my right ribs when it slips/subluxes out of place.
Labour and childbirth were both FROM HELL! 14.5 hours while being induced the whole time to make it go faster 😱 Never again.
When I got my IUD put in, I’ve broken bones and all, but that IUD was the worst hot blinding pain I’ve ever felt, even worse than getting my tonsils out and that was a rough one as well
Motherfucking kidney stones. It is absolutely what I would wish upon my worst enemy.
Not me but my tough grandfather who never complained had it really rough with shingles. I am for sure getting that vaccine.
My spinal block wore off during a C-section. My stomach muscles being pulled apart was the worst part of it strangely. The nurses said they had never heard anyone scream that loud and that a lot of other patients on the floor were asking about me because they could hear it.
When I wore braces as a child, the wire was a bit too long and was ripping the inside of my cheek for MONTHS until my next dentist appointment.
Since me and my parents had no clue what to do (we didn’t really think about asking the dentist if it’s normal), I just had to say tough luck and suck it up
Giving birth for the first time without painkillers.
Kidney donation. It was laparoscopic, I had bad trapped air. The recovery was rough, it felt like I had a loose rib? I lost 50% of my function in 4 hours, I was so very tired. My innards felt a little too giggly, which was freaking weird on its own.
Stuck Kidney stone. Felt like my side was being ripped apart
I have had 2 vaginal deliveries of my children then had a c-section for my twins BUT the most painful event I EVER had was being thrown against and over the handlebars on a motorcycle. Bone bruised my pelvis bone. Flown from one hospital to another. Spent 4 days unconscious from pain medication. Hope and pray nobody ever goes through that kind or ordeal.
Pissing kidney stones
The worst pain i experienced was when i was having my c section my spinal failed and when i say id never screamed harder and felt every single thing… ill take my kidney stones over that
I had an emergency c section and I refused pain medication because I have a family history of addiction. It was horrible
Trigeminal neuralgia
Either when my drained abcess wound was over packed my first time going the clinic to have ti done after my hospital discharge, or when my wound drain from my appendectomy was placed by my pubic nerve and slipped onto the nerve the last night i was in there – over 12hrs of agony, omyl to be told off by the dr for not recovering proactively enough due to not being able to walk to the toilet yet.
A procedure to block off certain arteries so the lack of bloodflow would kill the tumors in me. At first when I was coming out of anesthesia, the surgeon asked me “Do you feel any pain?” I said. “No.” He said, “you will.”
Then they wheeled me away to a room where…it began. Mind you, I was already dosed on morphine but it did nothing. (Or, it did something, but thos was just so bad, it felt like it did nothing!) I asked the nurse why the pain was so bad, and she said, “well, we’re killing something inside you, and nothing wants to die.”
She also told me (amid my moans and cries) that people have said it’s 1,000 worse than child birth and have dragged themselves out of the hospital bed to the nurse’s station screaming for mercy.
I didn’t get to that point, but when the doc came back in I told him I needed the strongest pain medication he had. He put me on a drip of something (can’t recall the name) that he said made morphine seem like a mere Tylenol. He was riiiighttttt. I sunk into bliss after that.
It was actually pretty eye-opening because I understood drug addiction much more after that. Like, I obviously had understood it to a degree before, but after that experience, I totally saw how easily it could happen.
Anyway, it was all worth it because those MF-ING tumors died!!!!
My 10/10 was having a wart burned off the bottom of my foot in a not super up-to-date with medical care country.
Second is childbirth. 9/10.
Kidney stones. I’ve had them half a dozen times over the last 30 years. The docs and nurses always commented that it’s known to be worse than the pain of childbirth. Eventually, I had a child myself and discovered they were absolutely right.
Sciatica is my top one. For mine, I would get a twisting, burning sensation in my left leg anytime I sat, the longer I sat, the pain would amplify. It felt like a scalding blade was being inserting into my calf and someone was twisting it more the longer I stayed sitting.
I was trying to live through it, but driving became the worst (I work mostly standing). When I finally went to the emergency room, morphine did nothing. I’m now on a drug treatment for nerve pain. They tried back surgery to fix the disc causing the sciatica, but no luck.
My number 3 is gout. I don’t know what my number 2 was. It took me to a hospital with a crushing headache and vomiting, again, morphine was useless. They never did get it diagnosed, but it went away. Their best guess was food poisoning.
Murse here: gall stone and kidney stone patient can’t lie still on the bed, the crawl around on the floor, with me running after with medication to ease the pain.
Extra uteral pregnancy are extremely painful.
Bigger trauma when the adrenaline rush passes isn’t fun either.
Are you planning to torture someone and need tips?
I was admitted to the ICU with an undiagnosed infection of my left leg. Took 2 days to diagnose. Attacked my artificial knee and spread throughout. Never knew such pain existed. Spent 2 weeks in ICU.
I had intussusception (where part of the intestines telescope in on itself)
My uterus decided to expel the whole lining. It was a chunk of physical tissue(not a clot) the size of a tennis ball.
I was travelling in London England when it first happened. I was in so much pain I went to the bathroom and threw up and then laid on the floor while my cramps destroyed by insides and then I gave birth to the tennis ball tissue.
I had a testicular torsion.. that’s was terrible.. and pancreatitis.. honestly that was way worse.. good times
Depression
Any patient with a shattered pelvis, extra points if they end up with an external fixator.
Abdominal adhesions. Even had loop of bowel around an ovary. It happened couple days after a lap appy. Worst pain ever, and I went through 42 hours labor and emergency csec that couldn’t compare to that adhesion pain.
Kidney stone that I had to have removed in two procedures 8 weeks apart
I’ve broken bones and had several other nasty things happen physically, but honestly the worst pain i’ve had was going through panic disorder 😭
I had a stye surgically drained. I felt nothing during the cutting and draining. What I did feel for 25 minutes was the clamp used to hold my eyelid in place. The surgeon told me to stop being a baby since he gave me local anesthesia. Most painful experience of my life.
Had a brain aneurism. The worst migraine ever for three weeks. But thank goodness for modern medicine!!
Personally – migraine mixed with wisdom tooth coming through. I was borderline suicidal with the pain. A close second would be pyelonephritis.
As a nurse: 60% burns to the body with a ruptured eyeball. Still conscious (briefly). Steven Johnson’s syndrome. Partial traumatic amputation of the arm.
49 year old male, father of three. I had a really bad cold
Kidney Stones
Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome
5 days of cyclical vomiting from intense abdominal pain. No sleep. No relief except from short scalding hot showers that burned me all over.
Kidney stones. Thankyou to the lovely incompetent staff at my local hospital for dusting themselves off after giving me an over the counter panadol for it fml
I’ve had kindey stones and gallstones; ive even had to get surgery to remove a kidney stone and have a stint left in for about a week. Nothing was more painful than when I found out I had ovarian cysts after one burst. I was in so much pain I threw up, I had a fever, I couldn’t take a deep breath. My brother had to carry me to the car to be driven to the emergency. It was horrible. They ended up putting me on birth control to shrink any other cysts I had.
Dressing changes for a woman who was caught in a trailer fire. Ketamine, Fentanyl Propofol and still screaming. Daily dressings combined with occupational therapy to keep contractures at minimum. Please check your smoke
detector batteries. (Icu nurse)