leejacksonaudio Posted July 17, 2022 Forgive me for breaking this out of my "Essential Info" thread, but this has more potential for feedback and discussion that would be out of place in that thread. Feel free to share your own experiences. Let me bring you up to speed, if you haven't been reading my thread. Here's the tl;dr version. I'm sick with cellulitis, a skin infection that requires multiple intravenous antibiotics delivered over a special IV called a PICC line in my upper arm. They're a chore to place, but aren't supposed to hurt going in if done right. Meanwhile, I've got BAD right shoulder and arm pain that keeps me from laying down flat on my back for any length of time. If I do lie down, I start hurting. BAD. Megabad. Fast forward to Monday, July 11. First try at putting in the PICC line in my upper left arm. Should only take 20 minutes max, so I try to grin and bear the pain in my upper right arm since the PICC line nurse promises a quick procedure. She gets the line stuck in my left arm going in, then can't get it to come back out. The twenty minute mark comes and goes. My pain hits 9.5 on the 1-to-10 hospital pain scale, with no pain medicine. The nurse has to leave the line in my arm until the next morning. Call off the procedure, finally give me some Dilaudid. Tuesday, July 12. I'm in a radiology lab. They're going to give me moderate sedation and pain relief (ha!) - Versed and Fentanyl, intravenously - while they try to resolve the situation. Again, they lay me down flat. Turns out the PICC line went off course and got stuck in soft tissue, not a vein on Monday. Again, 20 minutes comes and goes, and I hit pain level 9 in my upper right arm again. They pull out the line, then ask if they can start from scratch. I tell them hell no, not with this pain. I finally pass out from the pain. At some point I get Dilaudid again, and finally get some pain relief. Wednesday, July 13. After some haggling on Tuesday, I get a doctor to do a third attempt under general anesthesia. They give me Propofol, Fentanyl (again), and other stuff. Once I wake up, I wake up straight into level 9 pain in my upper right arm, since I'd been laid flat, and since by now, it's apparent that Fentanyl does absolutely nothing for me for some reason. They let me sit up and they give me Dilaudid. I also learn that my PICC line is installed on my right arm - the one that hurts so bad. While it's not a direct cause of pain, it does cause some occasional soreness. I've experienced a 10 out of 10 once before, but never have I experienced three straight days of 9 or greater. I don't ever want to do it again. What about you? What is the worst pain you've ever felt, on a scale of 1-to-10, and how did it happen? Be sure to use care in marking sensitive subjects with the spoiler tag. 18 Share this post Link to post
Dark Pulse Posted July 17, 2022 (edited) Bit of a long story, but I think you'll get both some cringes and laughs if you stick with it. When I was about 10 years old, I was visiting my father's house, who I saw on the weekends (my parents divorced before I was a year old). Dad had an old credit card of some sort that I liked to play with, and someone else had brought their kids over. We were running around, playing outside, as kids do. I think we were playing some sort of game of "the king has the card" or something like that. Either way, I'd gotten it out of the other kid's grasp. It fell near a parked car, and the kid didn't see where it'd fallen - but he sure saw me running for it. He took off after me, or so I thought. I quickly got down onto my hands and knees, and grabbed the card from where it had fallen into the street, right next to the curb. The next moment, I felt the most intense pain I'd ever felt in my life up to that point. Only two bee stings about a second apart (two years prior) felt even close to it - and they were a far sight easier to handle, since that only lasted an hour or two (thankfully, I wasn't allergic). What I did not know in that moment was that the car was the kid's parents' car. He'd run around to the other side to try to beat me (easy enough as I was a clumsy runner - had all sorts of physical therapy needed until I was 12-13, but that's another story), opened the door, climbed through the back seat, and opened the other door to try to get the card before I could. The only problem? My head was in the way. Ever hear a knife slicing into a cantaloupe? Yep. That was my head, thanks to the corner of the car door. So into dad's house I run, screaming and bleeding. Dad starts panicking - partially because he knew that business had just picked up with his son bleeding from the head, partially because he was stoned out of his ass (dad was a bit of a pothead at this time), and he knew taking me to the hospital, in his condition, would be a bad idea. So what'd he do? He brought me home, with a pillowcase on my head to try to staunch the bleeding, to my poor mom, who that very same day, had all four of her wisdom teeth pulled. Naturally, she was quite drugged up herself, albeit on something far more legal and dentist-administered. Needless to say, mom wasn't in much better shape to get me to the hospital, but we went down on the bus to it. I waited for about three hours before they could see me, since the bleeding had stopped, and I was otherwise more or less okay. Doctors take a look at it. Realize they can see my skull slightly through the split. They talk to mom about what to do. Doctors decided the best course of action would be to staple my scalp shut. But since I'm so young, and they're so worried that anything they give me might mess with my brain... they do it without anesthesia. Remember how this broke the worst pain in my life up to that point record of two years, at that point? The new one was broken after only approximately four hours. Seven - yes, seven - staples were needed to shut my scalp. I screamed. I kicked. I flailed. It took several nurses to hold me down, and I screamed bloody murder the whole time. The nurses felt so bad for me that they gave me one sucker for each staple. By this time, it was easily 8 or 9 PM at night. We leave the hospital, to pouring rain and gusting winds. The hat I'd been wearing - to try to protect my scalp - almost immediately blew off my head, immediately exposing my freshly-stapled scalp directly to the elements. Spent a good 2-3 minutes chasing down the hat, and then we had to wait for the bus, in pouring rain. I was done. Mom was done. She came home, made me a quick dinner, we both went to bed. Sound bad? Don't worry, it gets worse! The next day, I go to search out my suckers. They are gone. And there could only be one cause of it - my then-sixteen year-old sister (in what would wind up being about the last year she lived with us). She had pretty much always picked on me (jealous of the fact I stole mom and dad's attention from her, plus was born near her birthday and due on her birthday), and obviously, no ten year-old boy is going to be able to stop a sixteen year-old girl from doing whatever she wanted. So she told me she ate my suckers, and they were good. At the time, I was an angry little shit (legit diagnosis of emotional disturbance). I punched her, as hard as I could, right in the tit (which in hindsight, considering she was still in the dying stages of puberty, probably hurt a decent chunk.) She, ever-so-thoughtful of the head injury her brother had suffered, punched me in the side of the head in return. Mom eventually came home, and, naturally, I ratted my sister out, both on the sucker stealing, and the head punch. Mom was pissed. I heard her spewing profanity upon profanity at my sister for about twenty solid minutes. Got a forced apology I know my sister didn't mean, but at that point, I didn't care - I was enjoying the vengeance, even if my head was throbbing from both being punched and the scalp being split the day before. I enjoyed it even more when mom baked a chocolate cake for me, and told my sister that if she even thought of laying a finger on that cake, she'd kick her ass. And considering mom was a tough woman who was a pool hustler for side money and knew how to handle herself in full-on bar brawls... believe me, she could back it up. Needless to say, I gave the biggest shit-eating grins I could if my sister came near me while I had a piece of that cake. Little brother may not be able to physically stop you... but he sure could wage psychological warfare. 11 Share this post Link to post
Thelokk Posted July 17, 2022 (edited) Kidney stones, a solid 9 out of 10, sometimes for days especially with limited painkiller option (chronic kidney insufficiency). Honorable mention: once I woke up (like, 100% awake) in the middle of umbilical hernia surgery. They sewed me up while awake 'cause I'm stupid and told them I could bear it. Unfortunately I have a long history of bearing riduculous physical pain just so I don't have to deal with anaesthesia recovery or heavy painkillers - I'd rather feel unbearable pain than feel not in control of myself. Lots of reasons for this that I'd rather not get into. Edited July 17, 2022 by Thelokk 8 Share this post Link to post
leejacksonaudio Posted July 17, 2022 1 hour ago, Thelokk said: Honorable mention: once I woke up (like, 100% awake) in the middle of umbilical hernia surgery. Good lord. To me, this is nightmare central. I wouldn't be able to handle that. 4 Share this post Link to post
ReaperAA Posted July 17, 2022 It saddens me to see you going through such pain Mr. Jackson. I really wish that you will recover soon. As someone under 30, I have been fortunate so far that I haven't suffered anything worse than a joint dislocation or my head getting bust open with bleeding. I think my worst joint dislocation would probably be a 6 or 7 out of 10 on my pain scale. 3 Share this post Link to post
icecoldduke Posted July 17, 2022 Hey Lee, Sorry to hear your going through this; the only time I've had extreme pain as someone else said was kidney stones. I'm 30 and few months ago I woke up and was unable to pee and within about 30 minutes of that I felt the most extreme pain you could ever feel on my lower right side of my stomach. I eventually went to the ER because I had no idea what was going on. So for about 10 hours I felt extreme pain mixed with a crazy urge to pee it was terrible, but after a catscan I saw that something that size of a piece of sand was causing all of this. I wish you the best Lee, I never personally appreciated how extreme pain can actually bring someone to their knees until I went through that. -Justin 3 Share this post Link to post
IDHLEB Posted July 17, 2022 Hi Lee. The worst pain I've experienced was an inner ear infection (Otitis) when I was 15. About a week of constant pain and crying myself to sleep. 10/10, worse than a tooth pain. About a year ago I got bitten by a nasua, damaged my toe and spent another wonderful week with infection both in my arm and my toe. That was a 9/10. P.S. Infections suck 2 Share this post Link to post
Solmyr Posted July 17, 2022 Some of the stories here are the stuff of clinical nightmares, i heard how horrible kidney stones feels like and waking up during a surgery (even if it's when they are dressing the wound and stitching) is horrifying, but i thought celullitis was more of a cosmetic thing and not something that required IV treatment and bring so much pain and discomfort. The worst pain i felt was back in 2014, several hours after i woke up from surgery for my right broken leg, specifically a tibial plateau fracture surgery which involved drilling three titanium screws, i remember writhing in agony for 3 days sweating profusely and trying to sleep which i could only do so on intervals of a couple of hours. The doctors didn't gave me painkillers other than paracetamol which barely did anything, because i'm so allergic to antibiotics and several other types of medications they feared i would undergo an anaphylactic shock and die of cardiac arrest. They gave me an anticoagulant alongside a strong anti-allergic medication. I would rate that pain a 15/10. Fun fact: anxiety heightens pain so i probably felt it even worse than what it should be. 3 Share this post Link to post
TheMagicMushroomMan Posted July 18, 2022 (edited) Was going to post in the Drug Users thread, but it fits here as well. Content warning: explicit drug use Spoiler In terms of physical pain, the worst I've ever experienced was having two root abscesses at the same time. I never took care of my teeth as a kid, and by the time my insurance expired as a teenager, I still had 11 cavities needing to be filled. Besides general toothaches, no severe pain at that point. By the time I was 22, I had multiple cracked teeth, most of them filled, and drug use was leading to rapid decay. One of the fillings fell out one day while I was eating, and without me realizing it had dislodged, I bit down and the filling broke the tooth next to it. Due to drug use and a tolerance, painkillers do nothing. They abscessed at the same time about eight months later, and I had to get a total of eight teeth pulled. My drug use has also caused severe stomach pain, and at one point in time I was using the bathroom on average about two or three times a month, unless we include vomiting. I had a never ending supply of opiates and opioids, stimulants, as well as marijuana that I couldn't smoke because I'm allergic. Eventually I kicked my nastier habits and most of the drugs I began using were psychedelics, which benefitted me much more mentally without wrecking me physically (and mentally). Eventually, these preferred drugs became very hard to find so I gave up looking for them. Considering the fact that I think about putting one through my head every ten minutes or so, I miss being able to actually relax and appreciate life. I pay $2300 dollars a month now for a single room, and might be homeless soon, so this last Wednesday I figured "well, fuck it, I might as well try some of this meth I found in a hotel room three months ago, good thing I made such a wise decision by not throwing it out". Anyway, today is Sunday and I haven't slept since doing it, and last night I accidentally got some in my eye. They make this shit with battery acid and other pleasant chemicals, so it felt really good and doesn't hurt any more at all today. Oh, and it tastes wonderful, I don't know how I was able to resist seeing what it felt like in my nostrils. My resting heart rate is 115bpm and goes up to 140 as soon as I stand, so I'm sure my blood pressure is good, that's how it works, right? My chest hurts, but that's probably because my bed is as hard as a rock. But you know what the most painful part of this is? The shit sucks, the high is on par with consuming 600mg of caffeine and a bottle of liquid ego. All this anxiety with no benefit other than knowing that I don't have to worry about doing it again. For me, the worst pain is knowing that there's nothing you can do to relieve your pain. It works in this order: Mental pain that isn't my fault>attempt to escape mental pain>physical pain that is my fault>mental pain that is my fault>attempt to escape mental pain>__________ Pretty easy blank to fill in if you learned about patterns in second grade. 2 Share this post Link to post
Dark Pulse Posted July 18, 2022 34 minutes ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said: I pay $2300 dollars a month now for a single room The hell do you live? New York? San Francisco? Here that sort of money gets you a whole house and all bills paid per month. 0 Share this post Link to post
TheMagicMushroomMan Posted July 18, 2022 2 minutes ago, Dark Pulse said: The hell do you live? New York? San Francisco? Here that sort of money gets you a whole house and all bills paid per month. I live in Florida. I used to pay $900 for a home, which got foreclosed. So I moved into a hotel I worked at, and ended up getting stuck there for eight years because it drains my money to the point where I can't save anything up, and the housing available here still starts at around $1200 unless you want to live in a bombed out crackhouse. The rent increased during covid due to low tourism, and again due to gas prices. 1 Share this post Link to post
Dark Pulse Posted July 18, 2022 3 minutes ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said: I live in Florida. I used to pay $900 for a home, which got foreclosed. So I moved into a hotel I worked at, and ended up getting stuck there for eight years because it drains my money to the point where I can't save anything up, and the housing available here still starts at around $1200 unless you want to live in a bombed out crackhouse. The rent increased during covid due to low tourism, and again due to gas prices. Plus you have that idiot DeSantis as a governor? Sounds like you need to get the hell out of Florida. 3 Share this post Link to post
Arrowhead Posted July 18, 2022 (edited) I was sparring w/ a buddy of mine about a decade ago - we were both in Tae Kwon Do - 'olympic style' TKD, the kind where there's full head contact and all of that padding. Long story short - I zagged when I should have zigged, and took a big uncut toenail across my eye. Hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. Like getting vinegar in a small cut, but magnified x100. Luckily, it didn't get infected, and luckily, my vision was not damaged permanently. Thankfully, the cut to the white part of my eye was not too deep. It healed up about 3 weeks later. My buddy has now gone off to join the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL. I'd rate this lovely experience as an 8.5/9 out of 10 on the pain scale, as I'm sure there's worse out there. Edited July 18, 2022 by Arrowhead 2 Share this post Link to post
Dark Pulse Posted July 18, 2022 30 minutes ago, Arrowhead said: I was sparring w/ a buddy of mine about a decade ago - we were both in Tae Kwon Do - 'olympic style' TKD, the kind where there's full head contact and all of that padding. Long story short - I zagged when I should have zigged, and took a big uncut toenail across my eye. Hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. Like getting vinegar in a small cut, but magnified x100. Luckily, it didn't get infected, and luckily, my vision was not damaged permanently. Thankfully, the cut to the white part of my eye was not too deep. It healed up about 3 weeks later. My buddy has now gone off to join the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL. I'd rate this lovely experience as an 8.5/9 out of 10 on the pain scale, as I'm sure there's worse out there. I dare say I almost need to know this man's identity. That's something you could sell to a tabloid for $1.89 maybe. 2 Share this post Link to post
Varis Alpha Posted July 18, 2022 kidney stone, easily. i've had the misfortune of having 3 of them now, and the worst aspect of it personally is that, alongside the agonizing pain, it always upsets my stomach and i throw up, but i don't know when it'll actually occur. it's that period of uneasiness until it finally happens that i really goddamn hate. 3 Share this post Link to post
eargosedown Posted July 18, 2022 Worst traditional pain: having my wisdom teeth out. I had to have emergency surgery on them due to an abscess. Dentist opted to remove all four under just lidocaine injection. Due to "special anatomy" I have 5~ roots on each tooth (most people have 2-3) so it took a long time. I went into full shock from the pain and discomfort. Worst experience: post surgical sepsis mixed with morphine withdrawal symptoms. 8 hours felt like 8 days of feeling more miserable than I could describe. If there's a hell, I was in it. 2 Share this post Link to post
leejacksonaudio Posted July 18, 2022 5 minutes ago, Varis Alpha said: and the worst aspect of it personally is that, alongside the agonizing pain, it always upsets my stomach and i throw up, but i don't know when it'll actually occur. it's that period of uneasiness until it finally happens that i really goddamn hate. Talk to your doctor and lay hands on an emergency supply of Zofran (generic name - ondansetron). It is the most powerful anti-nausea medication I have ever run across. Dissolve one tablet in your mouth, and bang goes your need to barf, in 98% of cases I've encountered. And I suffer from chronic post-gastric-bypass nausea attacks at times. You never know when one of those is going to hit - my wife has to carry Zofran around in her purse for me. 0 Share this post Link to post
Doomkid Posted July 18, 2022 So far all the stories here are worse than anything I’ve dealt with. Worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life was an ear infection I got about 3 years ago. I was doubled over for 3 days straight, it felt like my brain was swollen to the point where it was spilling out of my ears and that my head was going to crack like an egg. At the absolute peak of pain, I was totally wailing, basically just screaming something like “please kill me” repeatedly because my body didn’t know how else to cope with pain this severe. Eventually I was put on strong sedatives, had my inner ear examined by a doctor, and was given appropriate medication, but either way that’s the most pain I’ve ever experienced. It took a while to get what I needed, because the state I live in was on fire and there were on-and-off blackouts for weeks. I can’t even imagine what pain beyond that would even feel like nor how one would survive it, but based on some of the tales I’m reading here, it couldn’t possibly have been above an 8.. Which is a scary thought. I was sure that was the brink of what I can bare. 4 hours ago, Dark Pulse said: Plus you have that idiot DeSantis as a governor? Sounds like you need to get the hell out of Florida. As a Floridian who left long ago, I can confirm that this is always the wisest course of action. 3 hours ago, Arrowhead said: Long story short - I zagged when I should have zigged, and took a big uncut toenail across my eye. God damn, that is so fucking nasty. I’m really glad you didn’t lose your sight from that! 1 Share this post Link to post
Codename_Delta Posted July 18, 2022 (edited) I recall smashing my head open at about 6 (so 8 years ago now) And I sadly cannot remember any of it, I do recall spinning around and the falling and hitting my head on something, I've got a scar going a ways across my forehead now, I also remember smashing my nose open (ouch) Also at about 6 (they apparently had to use skin fron my ear or smthn to fix it up) and most recently I was playin' and accidentally ran right into a wooden pole and again smashed my part of my head open and had to get it like medically glued up, but before that it hurt like HELL, probably a 7.5 or 8, and had to keep it from getting wet for like a week, it rained for most of that as well. But the hospital was atrocious, had to wait like an hour with my eyebrow occasionally bleeding and stinging the entire time. AND most most recently sliced a vein in my right arm on a sign or something it wasn't that bad but has scarred, leaving a little red line with red dot next to it. So the moral of the story is to not be an idiot like me. 0 Share this post Link to post
DavitW Posted July 18, 2022 Worst pain I've ever felt was a staph infection I got from my cousin's ghetto ass basement. 0 Share this post Link to post