“When I was 14, I was riding a bike barefoot and my foot got caught in the spokes, tearing my big toe completely off. After six surgeries and 50 years, my toe may look like Frankenstein’s, but I can walk pain-free with just a slight limp.”
Physical pain always hurts, but sometimes it can be extremely severe.
Reddit user u/big_gloveguy recently asked, “What’s the most physically painful thing that has happened to you?” Try to read through these responses 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. Now, I’m terrified of the dentist.”
2. “Salmonella 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. “When I was 14, I was riding a bike barefoot and caught my foot in the spoke, tearing my big toe completely off. After six surgeries and 50 years, it resembles Frankenstein’s toe, but I can walk pain-free 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. “Gallstones led to a surprise emergency gallbladder removal. I was so sure I was dying that I couldn’t believe I wasn’t.”
—u/ninakarenina
9. “I stubbed my toe while watering my spice garden and cried for 20 minutes.”
—u/DMmagician
10. “Cluster migraines. Nothing like begging every god and devil 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 was removed, my other organs didn’t want to ‘wake up.’ They had to shove a big tube up my nose, down my throat, and into my stomach to pump out dangerous fluid. I was awake the whole time. It was awful, and I kept vomiting blood from the tube rubbing my throat raw. Even though I live with chronic pain from interstitial cystitis and have given natural birth to four large kids, nothing compares to the pain of that tube going in and coming out.”
13. “I was kept in the hospital for five days, dreading every time I needed to urinate due to massive pain. I had to have a PICC line inserted to self-administer antibiotics near my heart.”
—u/RedditKumu
14. “I was mauled by a dog for five minutes and completely scalped from ear to ear. It took over 300 stitches and four reconstructive surgeries to fix it.”
15. “I bit into a peanut butter and jam sandwich with a tooth that 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’ve had lots of injuries, but that was the most painful for sure.”
—u/LagartijaNik
17. “At four years old, I landed in hot asphalt while playing tag. The pain of taking my feet out of a tub of ice water was excruciating. This resulted in third-degree burns on the bottoms of my feet, a cast, and crawling on my hands and knees for over a month.”
—u/skbrown
18. “I partially expelled my IUD on a Friday night. The waves of pain were worse than any cramp I’ve ever had. I vomited each time a wave hit, and my boyfriend carried me into the ER. They refused to remove it and charged me $1,200 for unnecessary imaging. I had to endure the pain the entire weekend until my OBGYN removed it on Monday. I cried in relief when they pulled it out and switched back to the pill after that.”
—u/ThePANDICAT
19. “Uterine rupture. It tore in half. Both my daughter and I would have died if we’d lived more than five minutes from the ER. AGONIZING pain. It was world-endingly painful.”
—u/AliMcGraw
And finally…
20. “I had a vasectomy. A girl I used to hang out with accidentally nut-tapped me three times while watching movies on the floor. We ended up getting married.”
Got your own story? See you in the comments — and stay safe out there!
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- About the Author
- Latest Posts
I’m Iskra Banović, editor of Blufashion and the voice behind its fashion, beauty, and lifestyle stories. Fashion, beauty, and lifestyle are my playground, but I’m just as likely to share the messy side of it all, like the time I tested a “must-have” skincare gadget and ended up with glitter stuck in my hair. I love turning trends and everyday finds into something useful (and fun) for real people.
