It's just sometimes I get ideas for random blog post topics. And you know me- I like to go rando sometimes. I kind of have to since I post every day!
Today's topic is talking about the most physically painful things I have ever experienced!
This is not meant to be a depressing post. You have my permission to be entertained by my pain. Just make sure you leave a message in the comments about the most physical pain you have ever experienced!
I'm actually going to put these painful events in order. Let's do a countdown, shall we!!??
The 3rd most physically painful thing I have experienced...
ART on my Plantar Fascia
I seriously should have vlogged my last chiro appointment. By the time he is done working on my foot, I am drenched with sweat and my heart is racing. It's practically a workout!
Active Release Technique is a patented, state of the art soft tissue/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves.
So imagine you have plantar fasciitis and the bottom of your foot hurts really bad. Then imagine flexing your foot and having someone rub this tool along your plantar fascia REALLY FREAKING HARD...
Are you cringing? Sorry!
Also, that picture makes it look like the foot is being tickled by the tool.
Imagine a user that is 50x more aggressive!
But runners will agree with me, if a technique works and it gets us heeled up and running sooner, we will endure the pain!
The 2nd most physically painful thing I have experienced...
Unpacking and packing gauze in my mouth after wisdom teeth extraction
I believe I was about 27 when I got my wisdom teeth out, which is "old" in wisdom teeth standards. My biggest error in this whole fiasco was not keeping on top of the initial pain with Vicodin. I felt fine right after surgery, so Paul and I decided to go over to Penndot to renew my car registration. I know what you're thinking- STUPID, STUPID DECISION!!! Who the hell can handle Penndot let alone Penndot right after wisdom teeth extraction? But in my defense, the pain medication from the surgery was still working, so in my hazy brain, we'd just pop in Penndot, get the registration, and pop back out.
Well, by the time we pulled into Penndot, the medication wore off and I was in a lot of pain. I couldn't talk because not only was my mouth full of gauze, but it hurt A LOT. By the time we got home, I was bleeding through the gauze and it was dripping onto the floor. Uh oh. Time to change the gauze. Enter, Paul.
Poor Paul. I laid on the couch and wriggled, screamed, and cried until he was done shoving the gauze into the gaping holes in my mouth. It just had to be done because once it was packed in, it felt a lot better than when it was empty and the nerve was exposed. I really can't accurately describe how much this hurt other than saying it REALLY EFFING HURT!
Oh, a couple days later I got dry socket, which also hurt a lot but not as much as the actual act of unpacking and packing my mouth.
And now, the moment you have all been waiting for!
THE NUMBER ONE MOST PAINFUL THING I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SCRATCHED CORNEA!!!
I wrote about this horrible incident when it happened two years ago. I urge you to read that post if you missed it because the pain was still raw at that point and I think I did a good job at describing everything!
But the short story is that a tomato plant scratched my cornea while I was working in the garden. The initial scratch hurt, but then it felt fine. The next day I went to the doctor because my eye was red and it felt like something was stuck in it. I was diagnosed with a scratched cornea and given eye drops to put in every three hours.
About 16 hours after the initial scratch is when shit hit the fan. My eyes wouldn't stop watering and light of any kind hurt. I sat in my bedroom with the shades drawn and sunglasses on. I was so tired and exhausted but all I could do about the pain was grown because crying hurt. I couldn't even close my eyes to sleep because closing my eyes hurt so bad.
I basically felt like I was continuously being stabbed in the eye and I will admit I went a little crazy that night. The pain was making me loopy.
But I survived!
Ow.
Day #3, feeling a lot better.
Curios when you have ART, does he not work on your calf muscles? I believe PF can be caused by tight calves. My chiro mainly worked my calves and a little on the feet along with the Graston.
ReplyDeleteYes he does my calves too but that doesn't really hurt so I guess I didn't mention it!
DeleteI never thought I had tight calves until I had ART on them. So many trigger points! As long as I keep my calves in good shape, no PF. I do self Graston with a tool called the Heel Blade too and lots of yoga.
DeleteI'm glad you have it under control and can prevent it from happening again.
DeleteYikes! I can handle most medical things, but not eyes and teeth things! Those look pretty freaking terrible, your eye pic did me in!
ReplyDeleteMy most painful thing was deep partial thickness (formally called 2nd degree) burns on 10% of my body surface. I was cooking pasta, and when I went to drain the water in the sink, the handle broke off of the pot and I dumped boiling water and a hot pot all down my stomach and right thigh. Stupid me didn't call 911 until an hour later when I went into shock from laying in ice cold water in the bathtub. That was 10 years ago this summer, and it still makes me cringe. Luckily my scars are pretty minimal and it just looks like a weird birthmark now. Having a huge open wound was pretty painful, I got Tylenol with codeine but only took it for a few days because it put me in such a fog I couldn't sleep or concentrate, I felt better on regular Tylenol even though it only took the edge off the pain.
That eye pic makes my eyes INSTANTLY water!!!!
DeleteOh my gosh I remember that horrible burn story!!! I am so sorry that happened! Where were you? Did you live alone? Do you have pictures??? (sorry I am gross)
Damn, ART on your PF sounds like TORTURE!
ReplyDeleteThe most painful thing I've ever experienced was walking back to my hotel after finishing the Portland Marathon and then sitting down for a good 20 mins allowing myself to stiffen up completely. That sounds so dramatic and not painful at all, but it was literally the first thing that came to mind! I feel lucky not to have experienced many physically painful things in my life!!!
Oh wait, one time I sat down on the sharp end of a compass (the math instrument) and then I sharply jerked my leg when the pain hit. I ended up with a 4 inch DEEP gash along the back of my leg that left a big scar!
Owwwwwww that compass gash!!!!
DeleteYour post marathon story does sound painful because I was there once! It was either the Flying Pig or Philly Marathon but I had a lot of trouble walking!
Oh I remember so well when that plant scratched your eye. I could feel the pain through your words!
ReplyDeleteI also ha my wisdom teeth out at an older than normal age and because of that, the doctor said it would be very painful so I was expecting the worse. I was pretty out of it when I left the hospital and remember vomiting in Scott's new truck as soon as I got in but he was a good sport about it. After that I really didn't experience any pain! Scott says it was because he took care of me very well...lol
Probably the worst pain I can remember was ITBS. I had this on and off for 18 months. I can remember laying in bed just crying cus it hurt so bad. It was suggested by some friends that I get ART done at my Chiro but when I went, he wouldn't do it cus he said it would hurt me way too bad! I don't know if that would have sped up my recovery or not.
Awww so nice Scott was there for you and didn't mind a little bit of vomit in his truck. :) Do you think the anesthesia made you vomit? I did not vomit from anesthesia after wisdom teeth but after my knee surgery I vomited several times throughout the rest of the day.
DeleteWow I did not realize your ITBS was so bad! I am sorry, that sucks. :(
I remember when you scratched your eye!! I felt terrible bc I was sure that sitting in the sun was NOT helping 😕
ReplyDeleteMy worst pain? 2 babies, same time. 'Nuff said.
2 babies at the same time- you win!!! Although I didn't read all my comments yet and maybe someone can trump you with 3 babies???
DeleteI don't understand how I drove to Millersburg that day! But really the real bad pain happened later! Just shows how much I wanted to hang out with you that day!! :)
Oh man...that cornea sounds like the worst... I just can't imagine what that would feel like. I hate eye stuff. And PF sounds nasty too! The worst pain I've ever felt was when I tore my ATFL in my ankle. It was so bad that I almost passed out, and then threw up. I can't even describe what it felt like.
ReplyDeleteWow that must have been horrible if you were throwing up and almost passing out. Were you able to ease the pain quickly with treatment and/or meds???
DeleteHaha...no! It happened at night and I had to wait until the next day to see a doctor. I stabilized it with a brace and took a lot of ibuprofen. When I saw the doctor, he sent me out to MRI and saw the full tear. It was 2 weeks of no walking at all, and then a long time of a boot. It was the worst!
DeleteOh man! Not cool.
DeleteI had a wisdom tooth pulled under a local. It was partially erupted. I think the dentist was shocked that I was dealing with the pain, but it hurt a LOT. I also hurt my ankle somehow at a track 2 years ago, and I think I broke it completely or sprained it, but I didn't realize that it wasn't okay and still cooled down. When I finished my run, it was the worst pain I have ever been in. When I was able to walk again, I was diagnosed with a stress fracture but I'm convinced whatever I did was so much worse! I have a crazy high pain tolerance and it's weird... I was actually bitten by a dog a few weeks after the foot issue and the dog bite really didn't hurt (lol).
ReplyDeleteART looks very painful! In fact all of these do! I have heard kidney stones are worse than having kids, too.
Oh I have heard about kidney stones being horrible! I guess when you scale it done, a kid coming out of a vagina is prob the same as a kidney stone coming out of your urethra!
DeleteWow you must have a high pain tolerance! My cat bit me and that hurt so freaking bad. I kind of forgot about that one...
ART is so similar to the scraping (Graston) I have had done on my high hamstring injuries. I would say, though, the cortisone injections are pretty intense. Very large needle that goes in and out like 5-7 times while they "bathe" the area -- ugh. High hamstring is a delicate area, people!! And cornea injuries are the worst. In college I got an eye infection and developed 9 corneal ulcers. OUCH. That pain is no joke. Post op is a funny time where you really feel amazing, right? When I had my lumpectomy we stopped by Kohl's so I could buy a George Foreman grill (WTH?!?). I am sure Rick thought I was crazy but he knows when I make up my mind about something best to just go along. Let's just say 3 hours later I was in a lot of pain and NOT using my George Foreman grill that day.
ReplyDeleteLOL at your George Foreman grill story!!!!!!!! Susan that sounds just like me heading to the DMV post wisdom teeth extraction!!! :)
DeleteThe hamstring injections sound horrible. And the corneal ulcers? I bow down to you.
I think Paul and Rick are very special guys to be married to the level of crazy we both sometimes exhibit. Am I right?!?
DeleteYup!!
DeleteCan we say super, triple ouch!! All of that sounds painful, and I cringed when reading "Paul and I decided to go over to Penndot to renew my car registration" Pure Torture !
ReplyDeletecould you wear an eye patch? it sounds like the only possible fix. did you get a scar?
I went listened to Jimmy Eat World's Pain to
find inspiration and remember my worst pain... aside from the pain of giving birth, which one eventually does forget... one time I remember being in terrible pain was when I hurt my left elbow. Don't know how it happened, but I couldn't bend my elbow at all, and it was in a constant 30 degree angle for 2 weeks. Even when running, it had to be kept still at my side.
I guess I could have worn an eye patch. I didn't ask for one and they didn't give me one!
DeleteDid you go to the dr for your elbow??
My chiro does ART, as well as acoustic wave therapy. My favorite was when I first went to them, he asked if I bruised easily. Um, no. But ART and the medical massages can leave me bruised. I'll see if I'm bruised after tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOoh I have gotten bruised from them before! Usually on my thigh!
DeleteYou might think I would say childbirth, but since I had two c-sections, it was NBD! But, the gum surgery I had last year was BAD. Oh man, felt like I had been smacked in the face with a board. bad. bad. bad.
ReplyDeleteThe sports massage lady I just visited used that scraper thing on my toes! That wasn't very enjoyable either. That, and deep tissue massage.
Oooh why did you need gum surgery? That sounds painful. I have a deep appreciation for mouth and eye pain!
DeleteGum grafting! They cut a slice of skin from the roof of my mouth and grafted it to my gums to repair my receding gum line. The results were great, but it was as painful as you can imagine!! I had it done twice, one side at a time 2 years apart.
DeleteMy colorist and I were just discussing her scratched cornea. Her 2 year old stuck her grubby paws into her eye. She said it was the most painful thing she ever experienced.
ReplyDeleteMine? When I fell down the stairs and landed on my tailbone? Last weekend when I slipped on a rock and jacked up my PF again? Shockwave treatments for my PF? I sense a theme here.
Shockwave treatments!? I will have google that but it sounds horrid.
DeleteThe worst part about intense massage or scraping on your foot is that it tickles AND hurts OMG.
ReplyDeleteI have a fairly high pain tolerance and a bad memory, because apparently I can't remember the worst pain I've been in. Maybe I blocked it out from PTSD!
LOL I know what you mean about tickle/hurt!
DeleteWell I am glad you cannot remember any horrible pain!
I think the most painful ART I ever got is on my psoas! Its such a sensitive area and one that never really gets stretched in that way. Also, I have been sweating and not able to breath from ART on my piriformis. Oh the things we go through to be able to run!
ReplyDeleteI know. It just shows how much we love our sport!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Runners are NOT SISSYS!!!
DeleteOne time I got a really awful, horrible, excruciating headache while in the shower. It was so painful I almost fell over. I immediately started crying and thought I was dying. It came on very quick and lasted maybe 5 minutes. I don't know if it was my worst pain ever but it was the scariest because it was so random and it never happened again--thank goodness!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you went to PennDot after wisdom teeth haha
That sounds very, very scary! I would be afraid it was a blood clot or brain annyerism (sp?) or something like that. Did you ever go to the doctor for it?
DeleteOmg I have heard an ectopic pregnancy hurts so bad. Ugh I am so sorry about that!
ReplyDeleteI agree, seeing a love win in pain is horrible. :(