Physical pain always hurts — but sometimes it can be really, really severe, too.
U/big_gloveguy recently asked the people of Reddit, "What’s the most physically painful thing that has happened to you?" Try to make it through this without wincing, I dare you:
1. "The novocaine ran out during a cavity drilling. I was 17 and didn't know you could ask for more, so I just clenched my toes and got through it. I'm terrified of the dentist now."
2. "Salmonella. It feels like acid is eating your insides."
3. "I had pancreatitis and a torn ACL. I wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy."
—u/NxDisney21
4. "Sneezing with three broken ribs."
5. "I was 14 and riding a bike barefoot. I caught my foot in the spoke and tore my big toe completely off. Six surgeries and 50 years later, it resembles Frankenstein — but I can walk pain-free and with a barely noticeable limp."
6. "An RPG blast blew out a 4-inch section of my forearm bone."
—u/bavindicator
7. "An ovarian cyst rupturing."
—u/scrappyroot
8. "Gall stones, which led to a surprise emergency gallbladder removal. I was actually so sure I was dying that I couldn’t believe I didn’t."
—u/ninakarenina
9. "I stubbed my toe while watering my spice garden and I only cried for 20 minutes."
—u/DMmagician
10. "Cluster migraines. Nothing like begging to every god and devil you can think of to either save or kill you."
—u/cabandon
11. "A horse stepped on my pinky toe and wouldn’t get off 🥲."
12. "After my appendix burst and I had it removed, my other organs didn't want to 'wake up' — apparently I had some dangerous fluid building up in my stomach. So they had to shove this big-ass tube up my nose, down my throat, and into my stomach to pump it out. I was awake for the entire thing. Two nurses held either of my arms, while another shoved the tube in. Even after it was in, it was awful. I kept vomiting over the days I had to keep it in, and eventually started vomiting blood from it rubbing my throat raw. It totally sucked. I live with chronic pain from interstitial cystitis, have given natural birth to four large kids, recently broke my tibial plateau in three places, and had surgery — and NONE of it compares to the feeling of that tube going in & coming out."
13. "I was kept at the hospital for five days, dreading every time I would need to urinate due to the massive pain — and it was frequent due to the amount of fluids they pumped through me. Then I had to have a PICC line inserted so that I could self-administer the 'nuclear option' antibiotic near my heart."
—u/RedditKumu
14. "I was mauled by a dog for five minutes and was completely scalped ear to ear. Took over 300 stitches and four reconstructive surgeries to fix it."
15. "Bit into a peanut butter and jam sandwich with a tooth that I soon found out needed a root canal. It stopped me in my tracks. Dental pain is no joke."
16. "I gave birth to a 9-pound, 6-ounce baby with no drugs because my labor lasted less than two hours. I have had lots of injuries in my life, but that was the most painful for sure."
—u/LagartijaNik
17. "When I was four years old, we were getting our driveway paved. It was a hot, 90+ degree day and my friend and I were playing tag. I was 'it' and chasing my friend, who was three years older and significantly bigger. We ran down my stairs when my friend jumped over the four-foot wide gap of steaming hot asphalt. I, being four and not knowing any better, tried to jump the gap — only to land and sink about an inch deep. I ran into the house with the asphalt stuck to the bottoms of my feet. Mom quickly put my feet in a tub of ice water and drove me to the hospital, I'll never forget the pain of taking my feet out of that water — the sound and feel of literal sizzling pain. This resulted in third-degree burns on the bottoms of my feet, a cast, and crawling on my hands and knees for a little over a month."
—u/skbrown
18. "I partially expelled my IUD on a Friday night. We had waited the full recommended three months for intimacy, but it still happened. The waves of pain were worse than any cramp I've ever had _ which is saying something, since I have PCOS. Every time a wave hit, I would immediately vomit. It radiated up my spine and down to my legs. My knees buckled and I was unable to walk. My boyfriend carried me into the ER but they refused to remove it — however, they didn't hesitate to charge me $1,200 for all the unnecessary imaging. They told me to take some Advil and call my OBGYN on Monday to remove it. I had to endure the pain the entire weekend, unable to eat and barely able to drink anything. I called my gyno the moment their office opened, and luckily they saw it as an emergency and told me to head their way ASAP. I cried in relief when they pulled it out, and the nurse hugged me. I went back to the pill after that."
—u/ThePANDICAT
19. "Uterine rupture. It just ripped the fuck in half. Both I and my daughter would have died if we'd lived more than five minutes from the ER. AGONIZING pain. I'd been through a lot in my three pregnancies, but this was world-endingly painful."
—u/AliMcGraw
And finally...
20. "I had a vasectomy. A girl I used to hang out with would lay down next to me on the floor to watch movies, since that was the only comfortable place for the first couple of days. She accidentally nut-tapped me three times. We wound up getting married."
Got your own? See you in the comments — and stay safe out there!
These entries have been edited for length and clarity.