# What was the most painfull thing you ever did? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457 "2014-04-19T00:16:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/81 "2014-04-22T01:50:34Z")
Paper cut to the eye. Worse than childbirth. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/82 "2014-04-22T03:40:51Z")
Root canal without any anesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/83 "2014-04-22T07:40:50Z")
I once used Plaster of Paris to make a mould for casting with pewter, but didn’t bake the mould long enough to dry all moisture. So when I poured in the molten pewter, there was a steam explosion and I got my arm showered with molten pewter, which burned through my shirt and onto my skin. It went beyond pain into this kind of frozen feeling. I’m lucky that the shirt turned it into a second-degree rather than third-degree burn. Also lucky it was pewter rather than the bronze I had plans to cast later. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/84 "2014-04-22T12:45:40Z")
Dislocated shoulder was the single most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. Definitely more painful than a broken leg. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/85 "2014-04-22T12:49:55Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > I’ve had a few nasty migraines, including one in which my face felt like it was sliding off. While driving home in at night. In the rain. > > I’ve bent my thumbnail back halfway. > > The worst pain, I think, was whateverthehell I did to my lower back a year and a half ago. The doctor thinks it was a muscle spasm. I suggest you find a doctor who is willing to let you take an MRI. Sounds to me like you may have broken some part of your back bone. Best to find out before it happens again. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/86 "2014-04-22T17:27:41Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I had a labrum tear in my left shoulder. If I moved a certain way, I would see a flash of bright light and be in intense pain for about 15 seconds. > > Then I had surgery to correct it. I had never felt such pain. It went on and on and on…I slept in a chair for a month because I could not lay down. the painkillers dulled it a little but Jeebus, it hurt. > > I have no pain now, but if I had to do it over again…I think I would pass. This^. About 2 days after the surgery I was gingerly walking down the hall in my house on a late night bathroom run, trying not to jiggle the shoulder or wake the kids, when I tripped over a box someone had left in the hall and hit the floor with a thud. My screams woke everyone in my house, and likely everyone in the neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/87 "2014-04-22T19:38:22Z")
After an unsuccessful prostate operation [too long to describe details…] I felt the need to urinate but couldn’t. Went back to the clinic (1 1/2 hour drive). Stopped twice on the freeway to try to pee. Doctor wasn’t there. Had to wait 3 hours. Needing to urinate while being unable to do it and having to wait over 4 hours is an un–des–cribable pain. It’s torture. A dislocated shoulder comes second after that. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/88 "2014-04-22T20:31:34Z")
Nasal cauterization back in the 70s when I was 8. The hot metal method. Scarred me for life, literally. And my wife wonders why I’m hesitant to go see doctors. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/89 "2014-04-22T21:06:05Z")
A probable tie between kidney stones and this - When I was around eight, racing my brother to the car to get ‘shotgun’ (we hadn’t heard about calling shotgun at that point). He got there first, and slammed the door shut after himself. With my hand in it. And then he locked it. I’m surprised nothing was broken, but my hand sure swelled up nicely. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/90 "2014-04-22T21:09:59Z")
Stepped on a stingray. He wasn’t too happy, and neither was I. I could literally feel the poison traveling up my leg, and then my leg started shaking crazily. I thought that I was going to die right there on the beach (because I had no idea what I’d done). Relief came when I stuck my foot in a pot of nearly boiling water. (Now you know.) Bizarro. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/91 "2014-04-22T21:37:01Z")
Waking up seven months pregnant and unable to keep food down probably from old scar tissue for an operation I had at three days because of an intestinal blockage. I spent two weeks in the hospital, crying, throwing up and begging the nurse for morphine. I lost five pounds during those two weeks. When my eldest showed up two months and eight days later she was an unmedicated birth and it felt like almost nothing in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/92 "2014-04-22T23:50:57Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned this: Road rash, as it’s healing. Well, maybe because this was a while ago and I was a starving student. I probably could have handled it better. Short explanation: I was roller skating, fell, and scraped up my calf, about 3" by 8". It hurt some when it happened, but a day or two later as it was healing, my god, the agony. Any time I moved it I either had to curse at the top of my lungs or cry. This went on for 2 or 3 days. Looking back on it, I could have done a better job. It hurt so much because it was drying out and any little movement pulled on all of the exposed nerve ends. I should have 1) kept it moist with antibiotic cream or ointment and 2) bit the bullet, gone to student health and gotten serious pain meds. Ah, to be young and stupid again. Or maybe not. 🙂 J. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/93 "2014-04-29T09:43:53Z")
I hope this will count. It was not specified whether the pain element must have been suffered by me or caused by me and suffered by my victim. When I was 6 years old I was just starting the first grade and my teacher was a very mean woman who did not seem to derive any joy or pleasure from anything and she was exceptionally mean to me. I think she was so mean to me because she realized that I knew she did not derive any pleasure from her life. One day, I sneaked into the classroom (I said “sneaked” because I don’t think that “snuck” is a valid word) and I put a thumb tack on her chair. When class began, sure enough, she sat herself down on her chair and let out with a (very) loud yelp. “YELP!”, she yelped. At that time, this incident was the most painful thing I had ever done up to that point in my young life. If I would have gotten caught, I’m sure that she would have made me suffer in an exceptional way. But, thankfully, I did not get caught. I was growing up and learning fast at that young age. Looking back, all I can say is, “Thank you Lord for keeping my secret”. P.S. Does anyone know the correct way to use the English verb “sneak” in the first-person singular past tense? P.P.S. I have a few other good stories about this teacher and the battles she fought against a tiny 6 year-old boy in case you may be interested. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/94 "2014-04-29T12:16:52Z")
I thought that maybe I should post another example of pain where I was the victim and not the victor. Oh gosh! Can anyone tell me the correct English form of the noun associated with “victim” when you are the person feeling the pain vs. the person causing another to feel the pain? I was once invited by a friend to go horseback riding. I told them that I had no experience with that and I was worried that it would be painful. They told me not to worry and that it was not a problem. So, we went to this dude ranch and rode horseback for an hour or so. Can you guess the name of the horse they gave me? It was Buttercup, naturally. I must admit that she was a very well behaved horse and she never did anything aggressive. However, the next day, I couldn’t hardly walk or sit. My bum was one big bruise and the pain level was agonizing. I never imagined that it would hurt so much. I was 19 years old at the time and relatively fit. I couldn’t imagine that sitting on a saddled horse for an hour would cause me so much pain. Many years later, I concluded the reason for the pain was that I did not know what I was doing and instead of riding “with” the bounce. I rode “against” the bounce. In other words, it’s just my guess, but when riding a horse, I think you have to learn how to bounce up when the horse bounces up and you have to bounce down when the horse bounces down. I have never heard that before. But I’m guessing that is some kind of horse wisdom that should be explained to all new horseback riders. Can anyone explain how that works so that you don’t have a terrible bruised ass from riding a horse? Is there anyway to learn how to do that? ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/95 "2014-04-29T19:51:53Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I thought that maybe I should post another example of pain where I was the victim and not the victor. > > Oh gosh! Can anyone tell me the correct English form of the noun associated with “victim” when you are the person feeling the pain vs. the person causing another to feel the pain? Perpetrator is one. Aggressor would be another. Asshole is also an appropriate word… > [@](#): > > I have never heard that before. But I’m guessing that is some kind of horse wisdom that should be explained to all new horseback riders. > > Can anyone explain how that works so that you don’t have a terrible bruised ass from riding a horse? Is there anyway to learn how to do that? The word you’re looking for is “posting” and yes, you need to do that when a horse trots. Also, you need to time your posting right, since lifting when the horse is descending and then sitting when the horse is ascending is a good way to crack your tailbone. Ask me how I know this. 😛 Couldn’t sit for weeks. Worst pain is still the bone marrow biopsy, though. Only time in my life I’ve screamed, and then cried, from physical pain. Uurrgh. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/96 "2014-04-30T01:25:11Z")
Can sure believe that childbirth, bone marrow bx and debriding 3rd degree burns are the worst, since Ive witnessed and assisted in them, but for me, 5 days of unrelenting renal colic + C Dif nearly made me jump off a bridge just to escape my own body! I was traveling with my DH to another city to drive him home from cervical spine fusion surgery and didnt have time to be sick myself or worse: admitted, so I just bucked up and dealt til we got home. THEN I went to the ER. I was just praying to die the whole time but then who would drive the DH home? ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/97 "2014-04-30T15:19:15Z")
I was using a drill with a Philips bit to drive deck screws, I slipped and drilled it the bit deeply into the meat of my index finger pad. That was painful. I then rushed to the bathroom and started cleaning out the wound, that was excruciating. Then I decided I needed to do something about the fleshy lump of finger meat that was hanging out of my finger, so I snipped it off with some scissors I’d just sanitized with rubbing alcohol. That was agony. I broke the end off of my fibula and got a spiral fracture of my tibia playing rugby. My foot was turned around 180°. That wasn’t as painful as when the ER doc tried pulling it back into place. Twice. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/98 "2014-04-30T18:40:31Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Many years later, I concluded the reason for the pain was that I did not know what I was doing and instead of riding “with” the bounce. I rode “against” the bounce. In other words, it’s just my guess, but when riding a horse, I think you have to learn how to bounce up when the horse bounces up and you have to bounce down when the horse bounces down. > > I have never heard that before. But I’m guessing that is some kind of horse wisdom that should be explained to all new horseback riders. > > Can anyone explain how that works so that you don’t have a terrible bruised ass from riding a horse? Is there anyway to learn how to do that? Riding English, you post. Western, you sit. Hard to explain, but your but naturally grips the saddle and you don’t bounce the same way… Now you know 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/99 "2014-05-01T04:49:55Z")
The last kidney stone I passed. I took my Vicodin as the pain started, but no good. The pain was so bad I broke out in the worst cold sweat of my life. In a few minutes my shirt was soaked and I had to peel it off of my body. Then I started vomiting. I didn’t know intense pain could cause vomiting. I got carried into an emergency room and they Doc loaded up a syringe of liquid from a small brown bottle. Five minutes later I walked out of the ER giggling and scratching the tip of my nose. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457/100 "2014-05-01T05:03:54Z")
Infected /abcessed wisdom tooth. Nothing like it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-painfull-thing-you-ever-did/686457.md?page=6)