30 January, 2010 | Leave a Comment

On Thursday and Friday, I suffered the worst physical pain I have ever felt in my entire life.  I was suffering from an ailment that we all get from time to time and which is not normally a big deal, but for some reason my little situation turned extreme.  [I won't share any further details, because, you know, TMI, but it wasn't a "female" thing - just a "human" thing.]

Oh. My. God. I have never given birth, but the pain I felt had to be equal to that.  It was literally excruciating.  I’m talking about the kind of pain that makes you scream involuntarily.  It wasn’t constant pain, but came and went.  When it hit, I had to psyche myself up and muster every ounce of willpower and energy I could just to survive without blacking out.  I never thought I could withstand that level of pain.  Last year I suffered from sciatica – that was a walk in the park compared to this.  I’m not a wimp, either.  I’ve had surgeries and a whole host of problems in my life.  I had double pneumonia once, which was the worst misery I have ever felt, but it didn’t cause pain.  What happened yesterday was sheer, pure pain.  Unfortunately, given the nature of the problem, the only type of pain killer that would work would be something like anesthesia from a doctor.

I did call NHS Direct yesterday and spoke to a nurse, which was helpful.  There really isn’t much doctors can do for you unless the situation lingers on for a long time, so I was stuck caring for myself at home, though the Boots pharmacist did give me something that ultimately ended the problem.  As of today I am okay, but if this problem hadn’t gone away last night, I would have been at the ER this morning, begging them to just to knock me out.  I’m so relieved it didn’t come to that.

1. Comments RSS

1. Mariah Says:

   January 30th, 2010 at 4:08 pm

   I don’t know the source of your pain, but I can feel it. I think I am on the downside of a case of shingles and that holds the pain record for me. Hang in there and good luck.

2. Ken Says:

   January 30th, 2010 at 8:22 pm

   Anglofille: I won’t get into swapping stories, except to say I thought I knew what pain was until last year. Then I discovered a whole new level.

   You have my sincere sympathy. I’m very familiar with that wanting to knocked out feeling. Physical suffering knows no ideology

3. Anglofille Says:

   January 31st, 2010 at 4:52 pm

   Thanks for the well wishes. Seems like this epidemic of pain is going around. I hope you are both okay. I still feel a bit wobbly, but at least the pain is gone.

4. Caroline Says:

   January 31st, 2010 at 11:23 pm

   Yes, bringing back fond memories of lying with third-degree burns in an Algerian hospital, flies and moaning people round the bedside…

   Give yourself time to recover. After a lot of pain you can feel weak and depressed. Don’t do anything too taxing.

5. Anglofille Says:

   January 31st, 2010 at 11:43 pm

   I have felt a bit blue the past few days, since this happened. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the pain, but maybe so. It was completely draining physically and emotionally.

6. Caroline Says:

   February 1st, 2010 at 6:32 pm

   “After great pain a formal feeling comes
   The nerves sit ceremonious, like tombs.”

   – Emily Dickinson

7. Anglofille Says:

   February 1st, 2010 at 8:06 pm

   thanks for that!

8. william Says:

   February 2nd, 2010 at 12:24 am

   Feeling better now? Thinking of you!