# What is the most painful thing you can think of **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230 "2011-09-14T01:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/61 "2011-09-15T14:04:27Z")
Ocerheard once: I’d give birth without painkillers before I’d use my epilady again. ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/62 "2011-09-15T15:42:42Z")
I’ve had chest tubes, which didn’t rank up there on the pain chart for me, but on the squoogee chart, 'cause when the doctor pulls them out, the end sort of slides around in your innards and feels like an alien is preparing to burst out. I think I stopped breathing in sheer horror. For me, the top has got to be a bone marrow tap. Lay on your stomach and the doctor takes a hammer and chisel to knock a hole in your hipbone, then sucks out bone marrow. I was partially sedated for the first part – was woozily muttering at the doctor,but when he sucked out the marrow I thought they had poured boiling acid in my hip. I levitated off the table, screamed and passed out. Unfortunately, I can’t beat up the doctor because he’s a midget and I would feel too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/63 "2011-09-15T17:07:42Z")
A Burn. When I was a child, I was toasting a marshmallow over the BBQ grill. It caught on fire and I, in all my years of wisdom, decided to shake the stick to put it out. It landed on my thigh, still on fire and splattered. When I think about it, I can still feel the pain of the burning and then the cleaning of the marshmallow out of the blisters at the hospital. Child birth, C-section, kidney pain, back pain and a broken ankle have nuttin on that kind of pain. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/64 "2011-09-15T17:24:50Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > I dislocate my knee quite frequently. It only stays out for a second or two but everytime the pain is incredible. > > (I am terrified of a day when it doesn’t go back. Hopefully, I black out.) I’m always glad to hear someone else say that a dislocated knee is very high on the pain scale. I dislocated mine years ago and the pain was so excruciating that i could hardly believe it. Mine was out for a few minutes and I had to use my hands and push the kneecap hard before it would snap back in (this broke several pieces of bone of the back of my patella). I’ve never broken a bone and for years I was terrified of breaking something because I felt sure that it must be worse than the dislocation. Since then I’ve heard from people that have done both that the knee was much more painful, which at least makes me feel a little better. The weirdest part about it was that a few hours afterwards I was lying on the couch in my shared apartment when one of my roommates came in and said “does it really hurt that bad?”. I didn’t understand what she meant until she pointed out that I was making this strange, high-pitched, animal like noise that I wasn’t even aware of (yes, I should have gone to the doctor, but for reasons that escape me now I didn’t go until the next morning). I’m sure there are many more painful things, but I really hope I never have to experience them. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/65 "2011-09-15T19:28:46Z")
My SO was in a car accident 8 years ago. He broke every one of his ribs. It was almost six months before he quit waking me up with random screams in the night. Oddly, the only visible scar he has from the whole ordeal are the spots where the put the drains into his lungs. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/66 "2011-09-15T19:50:36Z")
Necrotic digital ulcers due to ischemia. My wife described it as burning the skin off your fingers, then slamming them in the car door. When morphine wasn’t enough, she added dilaudid, which dulled it somewhat. But it never went away. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/67 "2011-09-15T20:00:14Z")
Toss up between having an EMS lift too hard on my leg while carrying me (20 minutes after) I dislocated my kneecap followed by him letting the leg go when they got me to the gurney allowing it to suddenly bend the other way, and having someone who thought I was my best friend fucking me over for a girl I had a huge crush on. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/68 "2011-09-15T20:08:06Z")
A burn. Just a LITTLE burn has an incredible amount of pain. I’ve experienced a lot of other pain in my life, but burns are … different. And after my husband set his hand on fire and was in the hospital for two weeks for debridement, I’ll always say a burn. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/69 "2011-09-15T20:34:08Z")
My stomach perforated in 2005. It hurt so bad I begged god to take me home. While I was recovering the person who was watching my parrot asked why I taught her to say: _Please God, help me_. She was saying it over and over. She could have only heard it that night. If there is anything that hurts worse than that, I don’t want to know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/70 "2011-09-15T20:54:38Z")
I think we need a pain chart. To wit: [http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probably.html](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probably.html) ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/71 "2011-09-15T21:29:38Z")
When I had my first back surgery I woke up after the operation and they had me on injectible morphine for the pain. Unfortunately for some reason the injectible stuff didn’t have any effect on me (however, the pill form of morphine does work, go figure). Anyway, when I woke up I was in unbelievable pain. I can’t even put into words how bad it was. My whole back was cut open and screws put into my spine. OUCH OUCH OUCH. To this day I have never experienced pain like that. FWIW, I would think a screwdriver in the eye would be pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Igrapeape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Igrapeape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igrapeape)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/72 "2011-09-16T05:47:02Z")
I have to have that on one leg. I had it done 10 years ago, and I can’t remember it being bad. Please tell me you’re kidding, exaggerating, something. Mine would be for upper part of leg, but they only have scheduled for one leg, not both. I do remember they starting off at like a 1 and then they said OK a little higher 3 and then it did get up to there it was involuntary jerks but they only did it for 3 seconds. Ya got me worried, like maybe I’ve forgotten some of the pain all these years lol. > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > As far as things that have actually _happened_ to me: > > 1. Induced vaginal delivery, cervix not ready to go but water had broken so no choice, botched epidural. > > 2. Electromyelogram on both legs. They go zapzapzapzapzapzapzap **OMG I’LL CONFESSS**. > > Then they do the other leg, and you know what’s coming that time. Makes it extra special. A similar experience with “sensory evoked potential” on the legs was maybe an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, but there wasn’t the pause, it was a nonstop thing. > > 1. Getting my finger caught between the top of a chair leg, and the improperly-fastened-down semi-flexible plastic of said chair, as I brought my entire weight down on the seat while scooting the chair forward. Only time I nearly threw up from pain. As I was sitting at a tableful of strangers in a company cafeteria, I’m VERY glad I was able to hold it in. Though I don’t think the not-so-muffled schriek of pain helped their digestion much. > > By comparison: C-section with incomplete epidural, gallbladder attack, and broken elbows (got a matched pair of those) were a walk in the park. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/73 "2011-09-16T05:52:18Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > The pain of a broken heart. > Seriously though, I once had a dream that I got nuked and somehow survived. It was the most painful experience I’ve ever had. Worse than getting a fractured tibia when I was kid. Worse than getting pinned under a quad and nearly having my balls ripped off. Worse than getting beaten and thrown around by my father (which came with a fair amount of psychological pain). That dream with the nuke… my brain cooked up some really amazingly unreal pain that there really aren’t any words to describe. It was a dry, burning pain that robbed my body of every ounce of water, and persisted… it was so bizarre. I will never forget it. The pain of a broken heart, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Igrapeape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Igrapeape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igrapeape)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/74 "2011-09-16T05:56:02Z")
The back pain stuff does hurt, and I’ve heard the pill vs IV story also. And also I’ve heard the pill didn’t work, but the liquid (drinkable pain medicine) worked for some) with access to the back I noticed basically anywhere the dr touched sent the worst pain through the whole body. > [@obbn](#): > > When I had my first back surgery I woke up after the operation and they had me on injectible morphine for the pain. Unfortunately for some reason the injectible stuff didn’t have any effect on me (however, the pill form of morphine does work, go figure). Anyway, when I woke up I was in unbelievable pain. I can’t even put into words how bad it was. My whole back was cut open and screws put into my spine. OUCH OUCH OUCH. To this day I have never experienced pain like that. > > FWIW, I would think a screwdriver in the eye would be pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/75 "2011-09-16T06:29:02Z")
Herpes in the eye. Yup. Maybe a 7 or 8 on a scale of ten and only when going from dark area to bright. Burn? 1st and 2nd all over my chest and stomach from a burst radiator. Call it an 8. Bad tooth that needed a root canal? Hurt at a 7 or so for the first day but by the time I got to a dentist 4 days later the pain and I were old friends. Want to see a doctor flinch? Tell them you broke your heel. Your feet are just chock full of nerves. And I swear every single one of them went bat shit when I fell. This for me was the perfect 10 on the pain scale. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/76 "2011-09-16T12:59:15Z")
> [@Igrapeape](#): > > I have to have that on one leg. I had it done 10 years ago, and I can’t remember it being bad. Please tell me you’re kidding, exaggerating, something. > > Mine would be for upper part of leg, but they only have scheduled for one leg, not both. I do remember they starting off at like a 1 and then they said OK > a little higher 3 and then it did get up to there it was involuntary jerks but they only did it for 3 seconds. > > Ya got me worried, like maybe I’ve forgotten some of the pain all these years lol. If it wasn’t that bad for you 10 years back, it probably won’t be this time either. The subject came up among another group of online friends who’ve had the procedure and it ranged from “??? not that bad!” to “OMGI’LLCONFESS”. If it’s of any comfort, I think I may be more sensitive to some sensations in the legs than some folks. I loathe pedicures for example (while a close friend LURVES them); OTOH, I can take a serious mangling from a massage therapist, leg-wise (and everywhere else - when they ask how firm I like the massage, I say “hurts good, if that makes any sense”), while my same friend cannot STAND a massage. ---
**Author:** ![beachbetch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@beachbetch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beachbetch)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/77 "2011-09-16T15:34:24Z")
Corneal puncture. Without a doubt. I’ve had MAJOR spinal surgery (opened from my neck to my buttcrack), bone grafts, ripped tendons, bursitis, gum grafts, teeth pulled, MAJOR dog bites, bleeding ulcers and broken bones. The corneal puncture had me writhing in the ER and being unable to be examined until morphine was given. It was horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/78 "2011-09-16T15:41:14Z")
> [@mack](#): > > Being burnt. You’d think so, but it’s actually not. Really severe burns do so much damage that the nerves are destroyed, and it has the same effect as a root canal. No more pain! ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/79 "2011-09-16T15:45:12Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Spoilered because it’s gross: > > My wife worked at a hospital that had a call that a motorcycle accident victim was on his way in. After he got there, they got the whole story. He had ridden his bike through a barb wire fence and crashed. He also had the misfortune of landing on a nest of fire ants. He had a gaping wound in his midsection and his guts were falling out. Fire ants, being fire ants swarmed and attacked his innards. If you’ve never been bit by one fire ant, it hurts. It hurts a lot. I cannot fathom hundreds or thousands of them feasting on my insides. That’s it. That’s the winner. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230/80 "2011-09-16T15:51:00Z")
I was trapping a semi-feral cat and he bit me on the wrist. Didn’t just hit non-essential tissue, but sunk a canine tooth into my median nerve. The pain made me want to pass out and vomit at the same time. It hurt less than breaking my nose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-painful-thing-you-can-think-of/596230.md?page=5)