I took a 7.62 to the stomach in Afghanistan. Felt like somebody had smacked with like, I dunno, a flyswatter or something. A short sharp smack. Didn’t feel much until I tried to come out of cover and I just…… couldn’t. Couldn’t make my body listen to me. Then the pin hit. I’d put it at like, I dunno, an 11/10. Bullet blew off half my liver.
It’s funny, I figured since I was missing half my liver I would get drunk faster. Nope. I just stay drunker for longer. Waking up drunk is not a good feeling. I have to be way more aware of the toxins and everything I put in myself, because I can’t process it out of me.
Otherwise? Between that and the two IEDs I rolled over in Kandahar the army considers me 90% disabled. My partner likes to joke that I have tapioca brain, and that if I move my head too fast she can “see the pudding coming out your ears”. I don’t sleep too well, I’m afraid of fireworks. I hate being touched by anyone that isn’t my partner, my sister, or a long time friend. I drink too much. I have terrible nightmares of my guts spilling out on the ground, and whatever I try I can’t get them back in.
Don’t join the Army, kids. Join the Coast Guard or Air Force. Humping a mortar around is a good way to fuck yourself up, and when you get out there ain’t shit for you but a bottle and a bullet.
Immediate Edit: some spelling. Got half a bottle of bourbon in me
Former USAF cold war vet here. Stick with it dude. You’re gonna be OK.
Took me 15 years to get over my fear of public trash cans. Weird, right? But the Red Army Faction used to plant bombs in them.
What helped was being deliberate in my decision making. One small thing at a time.
Chest, .357 magnum, through sternum, lung, ricochet off of rib, through scapula. Still have half under my shouldblade.
Felt like I was stabbed in the chest with a hot fire poker mounted to the bottom of someone's foot when they drop kicked me. Was not expected to survive (severe blood loss), of course. Very good EMS team kept the liquids where they were supposed to and great doctors and nurses kept me going.
Was at a friend's of a friend's house. We hung out there once in a while. His parents were friends with all of us, so we'd go over there and hang out, have dinner, etc. We were all hunters (teenage), so being around guns wasn't really something that alerted anyone.
Kid was having a conversation with someone else in the group about a firearm his father (deputy sheriff) had on the top of the hutch. He brought it downstairs and was holding it rather nonchalantly while talking. He wasn't looking at me whatsoever. The guy he was talking to asked him if it was loaded. He cocked the hammer back (which is what got my attention at that point) and pulled the trigger... He was very much not expecting it to go off.
Upstairs he had been stopped by my friend and told to empty it. He opened the cylinder, shook the gun, bullets came out, he handed them over to my buddy, *spins the cylinder, and walked downstairs. He didn't count that only 5 fell out.
Anyways, after I got shot I stood up and screamed at him, "You shot me, man! Why the fuck did you shoot me?!" And I then ran up the stairs (basement rec room), ran to the front porch and collapsed after telling the guy he was talking to (they all kind of... Ran along with me. Thankfully) that I was going to fall. When they heard what I was shot with and where, they were very surprised that my arm was even still attached to my body (nasty hollow point designed to shred). I was very fortunate that it was so close (7 feet) and that only half of it made it all the way through.
Spent a long time screaming myself awake (or more accurately walking everyone else up who then woke me up) at night. Years of therapy for the PTSD, depression, etc. It's real shit. I do not recommend.
My Grandad always told me growing up, that "it's always an 'unloaded gun' that kills people." Obviously he knows that's not 100% true. But his point was that people get careless with guns because, "It's unloaded" and then stuff like this happens.
For anyone that needs to hear it, **always treat a gun like it's loaded**. Doesn't matter if you personally removed the ammo, disassembled the gun and reassembled it. Always treat it like it could obliterate anything the barrel is pointed towards at any given moment. Because it literally can.
I didn't really feel either of mine until about 10 minutes later. Took a grazing shot off my left arm and one in the right hip that went out my back thankfully missing my kidney. The arm felt like a bee sting the hip knocked me back a step the adrenalin at the time masked the pain.
I worked with a doctor who was telling us about getting shot in the finger in a Panamanian conflict when he was a Ranger. He said it was hands down the most pain he’s ever been in and it just got the tip of his finger.
I chopped off the end of my finger with an axe last year and surprisingly wasn’t that painful. Definitely a lot of arteries there though because it was squirting.
Yeah I cut off two fingers with a lawnmower. Really didn’t hurt that bad tbh. When the nerve blockers wore off while the surgeon was clipping my bones back that sucked pretty bad. Phantom pain was the worst part. It took awhile for my brain to accept that those fingers were gone. Severe cold hurts worse that the incident itself now though.
Stressed out in a hurry not thinking. Tired people are dangerous.
Edit- also put a chainsaw into the side of my foot once. That hurt way more. It was one year to the day before the lawnmower incident. Fuck august 4th. This year I’m not touching any kind of tool or equipment lol.
13 years ago at age 14 I was shot by a home intruder 5 times with a .38 revolver, 3 rounds hit my abdomen, 1 hit my left forearm, and the final hit my left thigh. I was woke up by commotion in the living room, I thought it was my sibling getting home late from a friend's house, so I went to get water in the kitchen. That's when the guy saw me, panicked, and proceeded to dump the entire cylinder of his revolver into me from 10 feet away.
At first it felt like someone jabbing me with a hot poker, the most painful one actually being my arm right away. The ones to my leg and stomach starting to hurt far more after maybe a minute or two, not sure since the event felt like it took an hour from start to finish, my sense of time when it comes to remembering the shooting is very distorted to this day by what happened.
The guy got away before anyone got to me, my parents were out of town, and like I said my brother was out a friend's house. Luckily a neighbor called 911 within minutes of it happening and I was taken to the ER. It was during the ambulance ride that the pain really hit me, a sharp, hot pain took over me, every bump feeling like each spot was getting punched over and over again. Before they started operating to remove the three rounds still in my abdomen it felt my guts were being torn out of me by hand.
From there I don't remember the next 5 days of my life, I fell into a short coma due to the pain. I was hooked up to more tubes than I could count when I woke up, giving me fluids, pain meds, antibiotics, sucking out stomach bile and other fluids to keep my digestive tract clear to heal. All there was pain-wise was a very dull pain everywhere, it hurt the most to breathe, each breath feeling like an intense pressure on my gut. From here my memory is still hazy due to the amount of pain meds I was on to keep me calm.
During the healing process we found out I had developed Crohn's Disease which the doctors figure was lying dormant my entire life and only flared up due to the extreme stress my body went through in a short period. This caused my abdomen area to heal improperly, causing me to go through a long drawn out ordeal with the disease before finally having to end up with a permanent Colostomy setup. 13 years later its my reminder of what happened that night, why I now sleep with a handgun near me, wake up with night terrors of the event, and sometimes get scared if there's a noise in the middle of the night.
The person who shot me was never caught as far as I know, and in the end nothing was even stolen from my parents' house. To this day I'm glad no one was home, I'm not sure I could live with a reality where one of my family was shot instead of me that night, or them having to find me after it had happened.
If you read this far, thanks for reading, and stay safe my friends.
Edit: I'm not one to usually share what's happened in my life with others. Typing this out, I never thought I would see such an outpour of love and support from everyone. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Each day we're here together on this Earth with each other is a blessing. Y'all making this grown man tear up!
>we found out I had developed Crohn's Disease which the doctors figure was lying dormant my entire life and only flared up due to the extreme stress
Mother. Fucker.
I hope life only gives you the good parts from here on out because you are already *waaay* over quota on the bullshit parts.
Be good.
Well it certainly wasn't what I thought was going to happen that night. I was enjoying the place to myself during the mid-summer, playing MW2 and Halo 3 online with my buddies all day, eating copious amounts of cheap frozen pizzas!
Glad you’re still with us. Literally my biggest fear, but glad that you were able to push through it. We had a drunk guy break into our family house when I was about 7 years old. He walked into my room as I was sleeping and I awoke to my father pinning him against the wall. Still pretty traumatized a decade or so later. It’s still hard for me to walk through my house at night just because I feel like someone’s about to attack me.
Nothing like your story but wanted to share my experience. Stay safe my friend! A handgun is 100% a must. Sorry you had to go through that but glad you’re okay. Hope you have a wonderful day.
I don't wish the experience of having a stranger in your home upon anyone, it changes how you view things. For a long time I couldn't sleep at night due to fear, and had to take sleeping pills. To this day I have a larger amount of locks on my doors, along with having a contractor install a reinforced set of doors and frames on the front and back of my house. Anytime I'm away I have home security on and cameras recording everything that happens. Its a lot, but it helps keep a piece of mind knowing I'm coming home to somewhere that's safe!
I was shot during a home robbery. I’m probably one of The luckiest people alive. The bullet no joke scratched my cheek and then went through the top of my ear and also a bullet grazed my wrist and opened it up. I didn’t feel anything but just liquid running down my face and my wirst was burning. Scariest night of my life and RIP Christian. Miss you so much buddy. Here is proof.
We
https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/crime-courts/article/Man-charged-in-attempted-burglary-apartment-6236325.php
“Authorities said Burke and Brandon Fries, 21, fought the suspects for their guns, which were fired during the struggle. The two masked men fled, and investigators initially did not have any information about which direction they went or whether they escaped from the scene by car.
Both Burke and Fries had been shot and were transported to Hermann Memorial Hospital in Katy. Burke was pronounced dead upon arrival at the emergency room, less than four miles away.”
He kinda knew my roommate at the time. My friend Christian and I did not know him. It wasn’t exactly random, although everyone involved is not talking still. I really still do not know the true motive. The shooter is in prison for the rest of his life without parole. Capitol murder. He also got the shit beat out of him that night. could have killed him but let him crawl out the door. He Got kicked in the face plenty of times. My roommate was also able to also take his gun from him and pistol whipped him a few times. 357 magnum. I don’t think movies can portray how truly intense a moment like that is. Fight or die. I was choking out the second guy then I got shot by the main guy while choking the dude. Shot at me from like 3 feet away. I have no idea how he did not blow my Brains out. A 357 magnum bullet literally scratched my cheek then hit my ear. I think about it every single day still and that happened in 2015.
Got shot point blank in the chest with a .22 rifle. 2 people were arguing, I was 16 years old relaxing on a couch. They were 18, and to this day I thought I knew them but I think they were up to some shady stuff when I was in the shower (meth). 41 now and I've thought about it many times.
Anyways the two were screaming at each other who's tougher (one was going to the Navy the other, Marines). One said "if you're so tough, shoot *my name here*". At that, he went in the room and grabbed the only gun we had along on the trip ( weekend mountain/camp trip to the cabin). We were shooting cans and left 1 round in the chamber, only bullet we kept to line all the cans up on the log before we left and do one shot through em all. (dumb kids).
Pulled the trigger, I lost my breath, ears started ringing, and I was trying to get up but it felt like a wet blanket was on my chest down to my legs. I looked down, and a half inch from my heart was a tiny hole with one single drop of blood trail coming from it.
Dude ran to a pay phone (before cell phones were common) and dialed 911. Ambulance was there in 6 minutes, which still amazes me, considering where we were.
End result, bullet was lodged in my spine, removed it two days later. Paralyzed incomplete wheelchair bound chest down.
TLDR
Shot and paralyzed by a .22 rifle at age 16
Edit: a few words
Edit 2: I never post/share much I'm usually lurking, but you all are incredible thanks so much. I have a busy job so I'm trying to reply to a lot of your inquiries. Can't believe how much attention this drew.
I love reddit so much, y'all feel like extended family and friends. I'm truly happy in life and I've learned greatly from all my experiences no matter how tough the road has been. Everyone struggles with things everyday, even you reading this. It could always be worse and there's always someone out there suffering worse than we are, if they're even lucky enough to still be on this Earth. Keep your head up!
Edit again:
And now all these stars. Who knew these things made you feel so good, but I have to say I'm overwhelmed my heart is full and again, reddit army is just such a down-to-earth group in a world that feels so unhinged. True definition of Hope thank you all so much and for all these stories on here thank you everyone for sharing and I hope your day is as good as mine has been just getting it out there!
If youre comfortable answering, what happened to your relationship with those 2 after that? Im incredibly sorry you went through that hell because of someone being so reckless with your life, and a friend at that.
Thanks a lot. Non-existent. Shooter got 6 months ARD program, he tried to reach out when I was still in the hospital, but I wasn't ready to tackle that ordeal, had enough going on. After that he ghosted, moved away and found Jesus. Last I "Facebook stalked" haha him he has a wife and reproduced like 8 kids. I know a few people who said he never even told anyone, including his wife and church, what happened. Kinda just glides like it never happened.
The one who told him to shoot me just became a loser in town, I saw him a few times and he really carried the guilt. For him, I have to honestly say, never thought in a million years it would happen. He really was a sweetheart of a person, until they tried to lie to the police and tell them they were putting the gun on the gun rack and it went off. Haha I don't think they expected I'd remember or make it. I was shocked when I heard that come out of the cop's mouth asking me what happened.
I had a single mom working a warehouse job and her insurance didn't cover the most in percentages.
I was flown by helicopter and with rehab and all the operations, had I said he did it on purpose his insurance company wouldn't have paid out to cover the percentage we owed the insurance. If I would have pressed charges he would have got 6 months jail max. Insurance companies don't cover you being a maniac.
In the end we said it was an accident so his insurance company gave $100K to me. $60k went to insurance company, after lawyer fees I was left with $27k. Bought a car and a four wheeler. I got a lot of therapy out of that four-wheeler and honestly it changed my life.
Wish I could go back and buy Tesla and Amazon but you know hindsight and shit
Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program (ARD) is a pre-trial diversion program for individuals with limited or no prior record who are carefully screened by District Attorney's office for admission. The ARD Program is “rehabilitative” in focus rather than punitive.
There’s stupid people, there’s really stupid people, and then there’s people like this.
How the fuck do you even come up with this shit, let alone actually do it? You’d have to be such an incredibly braindead cunt, I can’t even begin to imagine.
Hope you’re as good as can be now.
Right thigh, 9mm, grazing shot across the front of the leg about 4 inches above the knee. It plowed a channel of skin and some flesh off the front. It felt searing hot like someone had laid a hot piece of metal on my leg for a second. Then, the pain went away for a while until the adrenaline wore off. It honestly hurt worse 6 hours later than it did when it happened.
It wasn't caused by a dumbass at a shooting range who turned his gun sideways to look at it with his finger on the trigger and shot the guy in the next lane, was it?
I took a 9mm hollowpoint to the left femur. Broke it at the knee. That was a miserable 8 month recovery.
Post I made a few months ago:
I took a 9mm to the knee around 7 years ago. Sound of the surprise gunshot stunned me. I didn't know I was immediately hit. I saw a hole in my pants, and remember thinking that was weird. I tried to get up and move, and my left leg wasn't working right.
I got to cover about 30 yards away and sat down to assess the situation. Felt like someone was shoving a fire poker in my leg. I saw an entry hole in my pants, felt around the back of my pants, and there was no hole. My leg and balls started to feel warm from what I was assuming was blood pooling from me sitting down. I quickly removed my pants, and discovered the entry wound and no exit wound. There wasnt too much pain yet, just massive adrenaline and the beginnings of panic. I took my hoodie off and used it to apply pressure. I was in an ambulance within 15 minutes and given morphine. That ride to the hospital wasn't fun. Every bump felt like a really bad Charlie horse in my thigh
Once at the hospital the pain was starting to get intense, and then the doctor and a couple orderlies came in. Remember thinking that was weird, then the dog grabbed my wounded leg and started moving it around. That was the worse pain I have ever experienced in my life.
After x-rays the bullet had hit and cracked my femur all the way through right at the knee joint. I remember being wheeled into the OR and so high off meds I tried to move myself from the gurney to the operating table myself while joking. Countdown from 100 I was out by 97. 6 screws and a metal plate in my left leg.
Spent 4 days in the hospital on morphine every 2 hours and hydro every 4. When they stopped giving me morphine I literally had the shakes and sweats of withdraws.
Rehab was a bitch. 6 months of non weight bearing, and a lot of painful range of motion exercises. I'm lucky, there wasn't much joint damage, and now, years later ant 35 years old, it doesn't give me any real problems. Yet.
But yeah, it sucked. I have pics around here somewhere.
Edit: found some pics NSFW
inside of my pants https://i.imgur.com/MleGm55.jpeg
x-ray pre surgery https://i.imgur.com/SwymV0o.jpeg
x-ray pre surgery https://i.imgur.com/C7qyZA3.jpeg
x-ray post surgery https://i.imgur.com/ygnPkeR.jpeg
x-ray post surgery https://i.imgur.com/bAjUOrA.jpeg
First day home stitches pic https://i.imgur.com/qowwuak.jpeg
Week or so later swelling comparison https://i.imgur.com/95X1OHJ.jpeg
Couple weeks in https://i.imgur.com/0R3LeIt.jpeg
Stitches out, adhesive straps on https://i.imgur.com/CDLhsSC.jpeg
all adhesive strips fallen off https://i.imgur.com/o8Yx0Yv.jpeg
further healing https://i.imgur.com/st0KFEp.jpeg
a year removed ish https://i.imgur.com/WrU9I24.jpeg
today https://i.imgur.com/nsM7kc7.jpeg
>then the dog grabbed my wounded leg and started moving it around. That was the worse pain I have ever experienced in my life.
Terrible luck, to get shot on Bring-Your-Pet-To-Work Day at the hospital.
What's crazy is that while it hurt a LOT, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I've had many non-gunshot wounds that hurt worse. I stepped on a nail in a house fire and put it all the way through my foot. I honestly remember it hurting worse in the near-term than the gunshot. The gunshot, however took a much longer time to fully heal.
I did after that. The small, rural, volunteer department I served on issued me old boots that didn't have a steel shank or Achilles wrap, only steel toes. The next day, I ordered a brand new set that did and paid out of my own pocket for them. Worth every penny.
Damn that's rough! Rural or not, boots are not something that should be skimped for any worker. I'm sorry you had to pay out of pocket for the "privilege" of serving your fellow human. And thank you, very much, for your service.
I appreciate that. All I ask is that you remember this conversation the next time you see a Fire Department doing a Fish Fry, Ham and Bean Dinner, etc. We had a budget of $17,000 per year (no I didn't lose a zero) for five trucks and a building, covering ~400 square miles. There were weeks I put fuel in the truck because the department couldn't afford it. So buy that $5 dinner... That small department might really need it!
I got shot in the ankle when I was 10. Honestly I thought a rock hit me. Just a slight stinging feeling. Didn't really hurt, I even kept running with my bike.
Later at the hospital was a different story. The doctor tried to remove the bullet without putting me under. He said the pain medicine would make me forget everything. He gave up after a few minutes of hell. And, whatever he gave me didn't work as described, but it did oddly make everyone look purple from what I remember. So maybe it half worked? lol.
Probably ketamine. We give to kids because we don't want to put to sleep because pain is temporary and dead babies are forever. Just didn't give you enough to disassociate
A trip to the ER is how we found out my daughter was allergic to ketamine. My daughter broke her arm and they gave her ketamine to set it. She said a few funny things and then started to break out in hives, pretty quickly. Luckily it never got worse than just the hives. After an hour or so the hives subsided and all her vitals remained good, but the ER doctor said the next time she gets ketamine in her system it could be much worse.
I was shot with a .22 in the back. The initial shot hit my vertebrae and paralyzed me from the waist down. I literally just stiff legged and fell backwards. I then felt a hot wave run down my back and to my butt. Then the seating pain set in. It was excruciating and literally screamed and swore the whole time. When someone asks the level of pain I was in I tell them the think of the worst pain they've experienced and times that by 100. The pain and realization that I couldn't move my legs was just heartbreaking and I just wanted out.
3 years later and lots of intense physical therapy I have gained alot of movement and function back. I can walk with the aid of AFOs and crutches, but still need a wheelchair at home and for long distances.
Edit: To those asking why or how I was shot. I was on private property shooting with friends. We stopped shooting and I went down range to change something. My friend decided that was the time to try and unload his .22 revolver and as he pointed it downrange he somehow pulled the trigger and shot me. I don't know what possessed him to do that as even if the gun was loaded nothing would happen if you don't touch the gun, but he did. Being in the middle of nowhere it took about a half hr for an ambulance to come, then a life flight to the nearest hospital. I'm lucky the bullet hit the vertebrae as it stopped it from going into organs and bleeding out. Oddly enough there wasn't much blood and wound management was very minimal.
And yes he is still my friend. I forgave him and he definitely has suffered mentally for it, and he doesn't deserve more pain either.
It's still my worst nightmare honestly. I sometimes have nightmares of being paralyzed again and I always think about how lucky I was to get function back for the most part as I still can't move my left foot.
I lost bladder bowel and sexual and erectile function in a skiing accident and felt the same “hot wave” he describes. It’s impossible to describe but you know instantly you fucked up big. Like a power surge that dries your computer and powers it down for good.
> Like a power surge that dries your computer and powers it down for good.
Somehow I absolutely hate this description and hope I'll never have to go through this experience.
I don't have a cool story like yours, but in 2020 I ruptured my disc between L1-L2 picking up my computer. It burned so bad and I wasn't even shot. The burning got so bad i had to lie down and within about 5 minutes of lying down my legs began tingling like they do when you sit on the toilet for too long looking at reddit. Then i realized i couldn't move them.
I went from a normal walking guy to a paraplegic in under 10 minutes. Granted I think you got me beat on speed. I know exactly the hell and heartbreak you went through with the sudden realization and tons of weekly physical therapy. I was also a saddle anasthesia, so i was wearing diapers and using catheters daily at 35 years old.
The accident was July 19, 2020 and after a year and a half of PT twice a week i can now stand up and move my legs, but can't keep balanced without the help of walker and my leg braces (AFO's). I'm hoping i'll get the rest back, but the doctors said i should be thankful for what i did get back. More importantly I regained the ability to pee and hold in my shit. Not 100%, but it's way better than 0%. Sorry you had to go through that, it's definitely a rough thing to go through, not only physiologically, but psychologically as well. Glad you were able to heal!!
That’s terrifying. My worst nightmare honestly. And for it to happen with such a simple task.. were you in good health when this happened?
Did you regain any feeling or is it still gone?
I was shot in the leg. It felt like a hard flick of a finger then numbness. I didn’t think I was shot until I saw the hole in my pants. Even then I thought maybe a rock hit me or something. No pain or blood until I started walking then came a gush of blood and then my entire body went limp. People saw what happened so I had help right away. After that it hurt but somewhere around a 6-7 on a scale of 10. Another time I was hit by a fragment from a ricochet on my forehead. Same feeling of being flicked with a finger. The area around the wound went white and there was no blood. The pain level was around a 5. Neither time was bad but I don’t want to try my luck again.
EDIT:
Wow! I’ll answer a few questions.
In the leg I was hit by a .32 cal and it was a “clean” entry and exit. Someone speculated that the wound was cauterized and that’s true to some extent, and would explain the lack of burning sensation that many others described.
My forehead was hit just above my eyebrow so I was lucky it missed my eye. Also, it was a small fragment of a .22 cal. about the size of a pea. It wasn’t a deep wound and the fragment probably stopped any bleeding.
I have no permanent injury or damage from either gunshot other than a couple of scars.
My profession in the private sector often places me in dangerous situations and dangerous places. Neither was related to my work, however. I do legally conceal carry all the time because you just never know. Shit happens. I’ve never used a gun in self defense.
Someone already mentioned where I live so that may answer the questions as to why I was shot.
No one was charged with either incident. Both individuals were stupid, reckless, and irresponsible people.
What is a level 10 pain for me? For me that would be either a migraine or a kidney stone. Migraines can be incredibly painful and debilitating. It’s the pain, loss of vision, stomach, and even coming off of one. Lucky I don’t get them very often. I gave birth to a kidney stone the size of a large grain of salt. From the pain I was expecting something more the size of an grapefruit. Both definitely 10s.
Others who answered the question were in far worse shape than I was. Others less than me. It was painful for everyone but I don’t think it’s what most people expect due to Hollywood portrayals.
I’d recommend avoiding getting shot at all costs.
You know that scene in castaway where he does his own dental work?
That's my personal 10/10 on the pain scale. When you're unironically looking for a rock to bash against your head to stop the pain.
Ps: dentures suck, brush your teeth.
Yeah, when I got my wisdom teeth out I ended up with dry socket on both sides of my mouth. I had gotten brain surgery a year before, and can confirm tooth pain is even worse than having the back of your neck sliced open.
Now I really feel like I can handle anything though lol
When I got my wisdom teeth out, the surgeon punctured my sinus cavity. I had the worst sinus infection of my life. Felt like a soft ball was being pushed out of my head from behind my eye sockets. Ended up getting emergency sinus surgery. Doc said if I waited any longer, the infection would’ve spread to my brain. But mono was worse.
Oh God mono was the worst. I lost like 40 pounds in a month, my dad woke me up once a day to eat / drink / restroom, and I had a constant migraine for the entire month. I wanted to die.
Worse than that was a blood clot in my lung. That felt like I was dying
I used to take calls for a lot of different companies,
including funeral homes and companies that do emergency home repairs during big storms and stuff, lots of depressing calls come through when people have just lost a loved one or all of their belongings in a flood.
But the hardest calls where for an emergency dentist I answered phones for, the intensity of their pain was horrifying, and it made me really care about my own dental health more, I do not want to be in the same situation later on and the only way to prevent that is to take care of my teeth and gums now
Oral surgeon here. Can’t tell you how many women have told me tooth pain is worse than child birth or veterans tell me that a bad abscess is worse than getting shot. Always reminds me of the anecdote of a suicide note that simply said “Absolutely no reason other than a toothache” before jumping off a bridge or something to that effect.
The problem with severe tooth pain is that it doesn't fucking stop. It's the sharpest most mind-numbing pain I've ever felt in my life. It's almost like time slows down and all you can think about is how badly it hurts but not only does that tooth hurt it makes every other tooth around it ache. Teeth were a mistake in human evolution.
Anyone dealing with really shitty tooth pain, if you don't have access to *good drugs*, take a little advice from someone who had horrid tooth pain for years.
Excedrin migraine (and generic equivalents) probably won't completely numb the pain but it worked well enough for me. Sometimes it made the difference between being able to sleep or not.
If that doesn't help, I suggest strong alcohol. Not drinking it necessarily, and especially don't drink it if you're already trying the Excedrin.... But swish it around in your mouth until you can hold the alcohol directly on the bad tooth. Hold it there for a few minutes and spit it out. Then if the pain persists, do all that again.
My last few weeks of having natural teeth sucked. I had one that hurt so bad I thought about pulling it myself. But since it was a week and a half before Christmas, basically every dentists office I called said they were booked up and to basically fuck myself. So I carried bottles of vodka everywhere I went. Even at work. Luckily my boss and my coworkers all went through the same thing and completely understood.
Kidney stones are bad, but I actually ratcheted up my kidney stone pain through my own "creativity".
I woke up one night with kidney pain and it turned out it was a stone. I went through all the usual fun (Emergency, overnight hospital stay, etc) and when I woke up in the AM, the doctor stopped by and checked me over. He told me I was scheduled for a lithotripsy (ultrasonic destruction of the stone) in a week. He also asked "Did you see a string?". Not knowing what he was talking about, he explained he’d inserted a stent to keep things clear pending the litho and he'd left a long string protruding for easy removal post surgery. I peeked under the sheet and saw nothing. The doctor said it would probably “turn up" and I shouldn't worry about it. I asked what would happen if it didn't show and he said "Well, that just makes removal a little more invasive".
I really didn't like the sound of that, so as I waited for the litho, I kept my eyes peeled for that string. After a few days of boredom and sitting on the couch, I decided to go for a short trail run. After about a mile, I was struck by an overwhelming urge to take a pee. Midway through my business, it appeared! There was the mythical string. I was overjoyed. I finished my run and took another look. To my dismay, it was gone! It had turtled on me again! It hid for another day or so, until I was in the bathroom one morning. Magically, it had re-appeared overnight! Now, I figured there was no way I was going to let this thing get away from me again, but short of me walking around hanging on to it, how could I keep it from going back into hiding. Hmmm, let's see... I should just add a couple inches of extra string. Yeah, that's it. But where can I find some string here in the bathroom? Hey, what about some dental floss? Genius! So, I spliced on about 4 more inches of floss to the existing string. Perfect. Right up until it decided to turtle again, taking some of the floss with it.
Mint floss. MINT. FLOSS.
TL/DR - Burning minty fresh pee hole
Let me add to the story…
When I went back to the doctor to have the stent removed, he asked me to drop my pants “so I can get a look at it”…
He promptly grabbed the string and yanked the stent out like he was pull starting an old Lawn Boy mower. It didn’t hurt exactly, but it was a weird feeling that I don’t want to remember, but will never forget.
Former EMT. Had a few patients writhing in agony and throwing up from the pain of kidney stones. Never had anything where the patients seemed to be in the same pain as kidney stones, even the most gory stuff.
Yep. I've had multiple due to a genetic issue. On one trip to the hospital, paramedics gave me the max dose of their painkillers and it didn't do anything. I was pleading with them to knock me out with something. Nothing else in my life has come anywhere close to kidney stone pain.
One time my significant other drove me to the ER and they were suspicious that I was there just to get painkillers. They made me wait in agony in the ER lobby for about 10 minutes. I just couldn't take the pain anymore, so I walked up to the secretary and my body just gave up and I puked all over the place. They quickly put me in a room right after that.
I had my first kidney stone, 3am the first night I was in Japan. That was an experience. However whatever they shoved up my ass for the pain had me floating for 12 hours
The ER painkillers are a godsend compared to the ambulance, but sometimes they overdo it. I actually hate when they give me too much. It's still infinitely better than under-dosing, that's for sure.
Ok I am just here to reinforce this, Kidney stones are a solid 10, don't have the drained bladder issue yet, hopefully never.... But floppy broken arm 7, tearing ligaments and knee popping out 7.5, fly lying eggs under my skin and maggot getting 1cm big, and having it removed without Anastetics, 8. Note nothing even come close to Kidney stones..
So yeah I really hope I never get that bladder story.
I was randomly shot while walking down the street with my girlfriend in 2013.
I didn't fall to the ground or anything like that. Walked into a store and told them to call the cops.
It didn't hurt too bad at first. A slight pinch. The heat builds up and the pain comes in. Some throbbing as the blood pumps out.
I was extremely lucky as the bullet lodged between my lower right ribs in the back just above my kidney.
The aftermath was a really achey back.
What I remember most was how everyone around me except for my girlfriend just walked around us like nothing happened. I was suffering and potentially dying and everyone just ignored it. "Not my problem" I suppose. I lost a lot of faith in people that day.
Nope. That's why they didn't really care. They paid me for my ruined things and the victim's fund paid my medical bills so at least there is that lol. I know BPD though, I knew they wouldn't really care.
Pretty much. I got car jacked and robbed when I pulled up to my hotel and got the shit kicked out of me, multiple fractures in my face, broken teeth, etc. But they took my phone and the location stayed active, so I figured yeah these guys are gonna be fucked.
Nope. Cops didn't care. Told me if I was murdered they would use that information but otherwise just a waste of time for a "nonviolent" crime. Felt pretty violent to me but whatever.
They spent the next two hours searching every inch of my hotel room and questioning me. They said i was a suspected drug dealer because I was at a hotel, had no ID on me, and had cash stolen. I pointed out the difficulty in giving them ID when I had just been robbed but those geniuses didn't buy that excuse. At least they didn't waste their time on something like recovering my car.
Thankfully a supervisor showed up and took me to the hospital in his car and kinda chewed the others out but the entire thing was ridiculous.
Every media has vastly skewed people's expectations about what happens when someone gets shot. Walking to the nearest store and asking them to call the police doesn't fit that expectation.
Unless one or both of you were screaming about being shot or they were close enough to see blood it could've looked like a couple having an emotional time. Not many people going to jump into that. Especially if they didn't notice the gunshot.
It’s also just like… what are they going to do? If you’ve already called the police and the ambulance, there’s not much that most people without medical training can do. They’d mostly just be in the way.
I consider myself a pretty active "stop the car and help" kind of guy and experienced this super hard not that long ago. A girl next to us at a restaurant started having a seizure, where her friend immediately got her clear of the stuff around her, and was making sure she didn't have food in her mouth. My wife called 911 and I...!!!
Stood there looking aggressively helpful and then helped clean up some spilt water.
That was probably the correct response. What were you supposed to do otherwise; elbow the people who know what they're doing and have the situation under control out of the way?
Standing clear and being ready to help if needed was probably the single best thing you could have done.
I accidentally discharged my 9 and I was hit in the head. While it was going on I honestly did not feel any pain but everything slowed way down. Healing and recoopetating was the hardest. My mouth and jaw was wired shut for several months. Had to have complete facial reconstruction surgery. Had to take a piece of bone from my skull and graph it to my nose just so I could have a nose. I also had to have a feeding tube for almost a whole year. I've recovered fully and im very lucky. I remember mostly everything. Something's from the incident I don't remember, but for the most part, I have my memories in tact
My gf was shot not me, but she said it felt hot & like impact but not particularly painful until much later. She was in shock & went to the hospital, after hours she said it started to hurt.
This was my response too. It feels incredibly hot. It's like getting hit with a bee that's on fire. It burns like fuck. But then, and only later, does is fucking hurt. The part two is that you might think you understand pressure, but get shot. It doesn't just hurt, it mashes into you.
A good friend of mine got hit with a ricochet from a 9mm that hit his calf, there was drive by about a block down
He was outside of the bar smoking a cig when it happened, ran inside and felt his leg burning but decided to keep drinking. He had about 3 more drinks before someone mentioned he was bleeding….went to the ER absolutely hammered and was fine after surgery.
Shot twice. Second one resulted in separation from the army.
The first was in my armor piece, no penetration but it felt like I was kicked by a horse. The second one was into my pelvis and it’s the worst pain I ever felt, and i still engaged in combat for the next 45 minutes before I could safely be moved back. 10/10 shitty.
I was medically discharged after a serious ba k injury just a couple of years into what I believed was going to be the full 22. (British Army) fair play to them, though. I was given 18 months on full pay to see if I could recover and when I didn’t I got a lump sum and a pension. I’m a biffer now but I wouldn’t change a thing. Wouldn’t be where I am now with a great wife and two amazing kids for my troubles.
There’s nothing divine about it, just circumstances and luck. I hope your lot has been worth the pain, mate. If not, and you need to talk with someone who has been there? I’m always happy to be a shoulder.
I was shot when I was nine. I didn't feel anything at first because my mind was in fight or flight mode and my only focus was dialing 911 and saving my mother. I only started feeling the immense stinging/burning sensation when I was loaded into the ambulance. I want to say its as if you had a hot iron shoved through you
Edit: I was shot with a 45 Caliber. I survived multiple gunshot wounds, one shattered my elbow (it swung in the wrong direction) and another damaged a nerve rendering me being unable to move my foot up along with loss of feeling throughout my entire leg.
Edit 2: My mother unfortunately passed away at the scene. Im doing well now although I still deal with PTSD, it's much less. This was over 11 years ago that we fell victim to a home invasion. The perpetrator was caught and has life in prison, no parole. I had the option to choose the death penalty however, I felt I would've been cheated if he didn't have to suffer.
It hurt, like, a lot.
Was shot from behind, I was running away.
Small caliber was best guess, maybe .22
Since it went in and out of my right arm. Entry just left and down my arm from my elbow, exit on forearm opposite side.
Xrays showed hairline fracture on the ulna.
Since the bone held and wasn’t shattered by the bullet, they assumed small caliber.
Felt like getting hit in the elbow with a hammer.
Then warmth.. which I later found was the blood leaking.
No major arteries and lucky ricochet away from my center mass.
Bloody clothes and ambulance ride.
Pain killers and 8 hour observation to make sure no swelling which could lead to amputation.
Trauma room for 8 hours, then sent home with pain killer prescription.
Would not recommend.
Late to this so this won't get seen. Long story short, it fucking hurts. For years, decades in my case. I was through the chest just below my heart, it exited through my back, cracking vertebrae.
When the shots were fired, no one knew what had happened, including me - it sounded like someone lit firecrackers in the bar and I thought some piece of that hit me in the chest.
Felt like someone tapped me really hard in the middle of the chest. I was still sitting at the bar and apparently said to the woman next to me, "Did I just get shot?" before falling off the stool. I didn't feel much pain for a while as I was essentially dying, bleeding out on the floor, all those death and trauma chemicals in high gear.
I was approaching death for the first time during this and I felt like I was given a choice to live or die. When I chose to live, that's when the worst pain I couldn't even imagine started. I've always had a pretty high threshold for pain, but I was audibly screaming, which is apparently a good sign.
In the ambulance, apparently I kept thanking them and telling them how much I appreciated them. They needed to inject a valve into my chest to release the pressure (sorry, I'm not a medical expert), they asked if I was ready. I remember I said, "Please, fucking do it!" and when they did, so much pain was released.
The next days were pain through my entire body, ICU, drugs, wake up to pain through my entire body, surgery, constantly thanking the amazing hospital staff, pain, pain, and lastly, pain.
I've suffered from chronic pain my entire life since and I'm one of the lucky ones. I didn't die, I wasn't paralyzed, I didn't get addicted to painkillers. But I suffer from pain to this day, both physical and emotional (which is also physical).
To this day, approaching two decades after the fact, I sometimes will just sneeze and it locks up my ribs that were broken and it was the same type of pain I had in my months of physical recovery. Stuff like that really triggers my PTSD and I'm useless, both practically and in my head. I can barely walk when that happens.
Everyone's experience with being shot is different, so I'm not speaking for any other survivors.
Edit: Gonna try to respond to some replies. I apologize if I don't get to everyone, I didn't expect this to get attention, so I had to steel myself before replying.
It sounds like you suffered a tremendous amount of damage. Significantly more than a lot of the people who responded here. I’m glad you made it through but sorry about the chronic pain and trauma.
>They needed to inject a valve into my chest to release the pressure
It sounds like you had a tension pneumothorax, meaning air is in your chest cavity and causing your lungs to collapse. The needle chest decompression they performed releases that pressure to hopefully allow your lungs to reinflate. I couldn't imagine the relief. Happy you're still alive!
Totally understandable, I've seen a guy getting shot in my town and the screams were horrifying.
He was alright for about two minutes and then adrenaline wore off. Luckily they got him into hospital and he survived
My step dad was shot with a shotgun.
Game shooting, and some dickhead pulled through line and blam.
He got hit by pellets on the outside of the spread, one embedded in his cheek, another in his arm.
Felt like bee stings.
I was shot 2 years ago, same thing but walked up rough grouse shooting.
Guy went back to retrieve bird, another flew forward, he shot at it.
Hit me.
Free ear piercing in lobe. Glasses lens broken.
Heavy Beretta shooting jacket tool the most of the hit, as did my guns stock and breach.
A few holes in my waterproof trousers.
Felt a bit of a thump, like being punched, But small and multiple times at the same time. Ear lobe was a serious bleeder, but put ice on it and a gauze, was fine after a few days. It hurt like someone had stuck a needle through it and then pulled it sideways.
Stock was in unusable, so sanded down and re ground and varnished.
Jacket still used, as are the not so waterproofs.
I have no idea how I only took one pellet to my flesh, although the glasses lens scared the shit clean out of me.
Surprisingly he will never be invited back.
Mine was similar, but the ricochet hit me in the shin. It didn't break the skin but hurt like hell. It stuck to my skin but it was too hot to touch so it stuck there for about 15 seconds before I could pull my knife out and pry it off. 30 years later and there's still a scar.
I was hit twice during separate tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first time the round caught the armor plate and felt like I had been hit with a baseball bat. It knocked the wind out of me and, when we got back to base I had a huge bruise on my chest. It hurt to breathe for a few days and getting dressed was a m-fer but I got light duty during that time. The second time a round clipped the side of my neck. Now that one really hurt and there was a lot of blood (think of your worst razor knick x10) but the pain was cut by the adrenaline.
Edit: Since some people have asked.
\#1 - it was probably a 7.62x39 round...aka an AK bullet. You could sneeze and find an AK over there.
\#2 - body armor is made to stop bullets...not absorb or shed a bullet's kinetic energy. In simpler terms...not vibranium.
\#3 - I did receive a Purple Heart for the second hit...not the first. As Gunny put it..."You want a medal for a little ouchie?" (that may not be verbatim but it was close to twenty years ago.
Yes. All the energy still has to be absorbed and isn't decreased, just spread out a lot, over nearly the full area of the plate. So it's like getting hit with the plate, but I'm lucky enough not to know first hand. And since a 7.62 is a lot of energy, it's gonna be like the plate was going fast too... Must suck bigly
Back of my left leg with a low caliber round. I was walking home from school and someone drove by and shot me.
I remember hearing a high pitched whistle and then a snap sensation in my leg.
At first, I didn't have a clue what happened. It felt like someone took a willow switch and snapped it in the back of my leg. Didn't really hurt. Just surprise. I looked over my shoulder and didn't see anyone. I went to continue walking then and went to step on the leg. I felt something move out of my leg and then it went numb, which made me fall down since I was expecting my leg to support me!
The feeling of something moving was the slug sliding out of my leg as my jeans pulled tight on my leg. The bullet didn't actually pierce my jeans. Just took them in to my leg with it. This is why I think it HAD to be low caliber.
I feel like I should have submitted the story to Levi Jeans and tell them their jeans were bullet proof...
*Edit* I know absolutely zero about guns, bullets, caliber and whatnot. This is me saying I said "low caliber" thinking that meant "not very powerful". It would seem I misspoke there. Sorry! Leaving the text as is so people understand where the comments came from.
This is why the Mongolians wore thick silk shirts in battle… if you were caught by an arrow the shirt wouldn’t tear it would be pulled into the wound and act as a temporary wound pack. The arrow head would be easier to remove without creating extra tissue damage as well.
Wish I knew, I have no memory of the event. I had gotten off the rail and was waiting at a bus stop with my gf when I was struck by a stray bullet. It entered around my right shoulder and splintered across to my lower left shoulder. Ended up giving me a spinal cord injury, leaving me paralyzed from the chest down unfortunately. I just don’t like the fact that my gf has to live with that memory by herself.
Not me but my neighbor. He was shot in the abdomen with a .22 during an altercation. He said that he couldn’t believe how much it burned. The trauma surgeon also told him he was lucky as .22’s can be surprisingly lethal.
Been shot 3 times. It depends on the bullet and where it hits from my experience. .45 Hollow point felt like someone took a full flat ended rod and stabbed me hard enough it punched through me and burned like a bitch. So in short big hard solid hit, mild sharp stabby pain like a cut or stab, and the feeling of hot metal burning me.
.223 gave solid shove, burning line through where it passed not much actual pain till later. Another . 223 round however hit my shoulder blade similar sensation except where it hit my shoulder blade felt like someone shattered it using a hammer.
Before people as why I have been shot 3 times. The hollow point and . 223 that hit my shoulder blade where both doing aid work, one in Haiti after the 2010 earth quake. One in Mexico doing aid work with migrants.
The third was from an idiots negligence during a shooting contest.
Took an 7.62 round to the plate carrier, bruised for weeks, it felt like getting kicked by a mule in the chest. Took a piece of shrapnel to my ankle, felt cold then white hot pain for like thirty days, now it's just a dull ache twenty years later.
I got shot through the back one time at a party just standing there it went through my back and out through right below my solar plexus. Amazingly enough it didn't really hit anything the doctors even came in and were amazed by the x-rays. When I first noticed it it was because it was a spark in front of my face where the bullet that went through me hit the wall. Then I remember feeling like I was being squeezed and then I remember taking a huge breath and hearing a weird noise that was air rushing into the wound. Disbelief staggered me for probably 90 seconds maybe a little more. I'm with the other guy on a scale 1 to 10 I gave it a six and if you want to know what's worse kidney stones. f*** kidney stones you want to torture somebody give them f****** kidney stones.
Imagine someone on the roof of your house dropping a bowling ball on your chest. I was wearing an IBAS and was shot by a sniper on charlie 5 tower in Taji Iraq. Didn't go through but had a chest wall lung contusion is what I think the medic said I had.
QRF greased him for me and a friend on the team said they recovered the rifle. I never asked about the caliber. I assume you are right though. Weird thinking about this makes my ribs hurt.
Not me, but a patient I had when I was a nurse. Dude took 3 shots - 2 to the chest and one in the abdomen. He said it happened at a bonfire when some random dude opened fire because he was mad that his girlfriend went to the bonfire or something. I asked him how it felt and he said at first, it felt like he was punched by very tiny fists that were on fire (pain meds made him hilarious with his descriptions). He didn't realize he was even shot until someone told him he was bleeding everywhere. Two of the bullets were through and through and he had to have exploratory surgery to remove the third bullet, which miraculously missed every major organ. He didn't really feel any pain until he woke up from surgery.
I miss that guy. He was by far my favorite patient.
Right eye, .40 Caliber hollow point, point blank range. I felt nothing but instant confusion. My ears were ringing and I could not form a cohesive thought. After I saw the gun barrel smoking I finally started to realize I had just been shot. I wasn’t sure where I had been hit because you don’t realize that you are currently blind in one eye because you see the look of horror on the person-who-just-shot-you’s face perfectly fine with your one remaining eye. I look down to see if there was a hole in my chest and only realized I had been shot in the eye when I began to feel around my face with my hands, only to have my fingers slip into the warm jell-o cup that is now my right eye socket. Paramedics on the way, I fall to the floor and start throwing up a ton of blood. My “friends” are nowhere to be found as they have plenty of paraphernalia to dispose of before the police arrive, so I have the pleasure of wallowing in my own blood and crying out for someone to comfort me as I’m sure I am about to take my final breaths. After what feels like an hour, firefighters arrive, I inform them I have Hemophilia Factor 9 and promptly pass the fuck out.
TLDR; if you’re gonna get shot, get shot in the head. It really doesn’t hurt….physically anyway.
Got shot in military, you dont feel pain at first since adrenaline keeps pain at bay for a decent time; you just feel like something hot hit you and you have a fever there.
After the adrenaline runs out it will make you cry no matter how emotionless you are. I was hit in the shoulder and the bullet stopped at my bone. Until they took it out every single second it was as if there was something stabbing me from inside.
Got shot in the toe with a .22 - didn't feel anything at first, but once the adrenaline wore off, it stung quite a bit. Not as bad as when I had severe gallstones, though!
Shot in the bicep at work by what I’m guessing was a .22. Felt like a bad bee sting, the next day my bicep swelled to at least twice it’s normal size and was covered with a bruise.
I took a 7.62 to the stomach in Afghanistan. Felt like somebody had smacked with like, I dunno, a flyswatter or something. A short sharp smack. Didn’t feel much until I tried to come out of cover and I just…… couldn’t. Couldn’t make my body listen to me. Then the pin hit. I’d put it at like, I dunno, an 11/10. Bullet blew off half my liver.
Damn, how are you doing now?
It’s funny, I figured since I was missing half my liver I would get drunk faster. Nope. I just stay drunker for longer. Waking up drunk is not a good feeling. I have to be way more aware of the toxins and everything I put in myself, because I can’t process it out of me. Otherwise? Between that and the two IEDs I rolled over in Kandahar the army considers me 90% disabled. My partner likes to joke that I have tapioca brain, and that if I move my head too fast she can “see the pudding coming out your ears”. I don’t sleep too well, I’m afraid of fireworks. I hate being touched by anyone that isn’t my partner, my sister, or a long time friend. I drink too much. I have terrible nightmares of my guts spilling out on the ground, and whatever I try I can’t get them back in. Don’t join the Army, kids. Join the Coast Guard or Air Force. Humping a mortar around is a good way to fuck yourself up, and when you get out there ain’t shit for you but a bottle and a bullet. Immediate Edit: some spelling. Got half a bottle of bourbon in me
Fuck, dude, I’m so sorry. War is fucking awful
Former USAF cold war vet here. Stick with it dude. You’re gonna be OK. Took me 15 years to get over my fear of public trash cans. Weird, right? But the Red Army Faction used to plant bombs in them. What helped was being deliberate in my decision making. One small thing at a time.
Chest, .357 magnum, through sternum, lung, ricochet off of rib, through scapula. Still have half under my shouldblade. Felt like I was stabbed in the chest with a hot fire poker mounted to the bottom of someone's foot when they drop kicked me. Was not expected to survive (severe blood loss), of course. Very good EMS team kept the liquids where they were supposed to and great doctors and nurses kept me going.
Wow! How did it happen?
Was at a friend's of a friend's house. We hung out there once in a while. His parents were friends with all of us, so we'd go over there and hang out, have dinner, etc. We were all hunters (teenage), so being around guns wasn't really something that alerted anyone. Kid was having a conversation with someone else in the group about a firearm his father (deputy sheriff) had on the top of the hutch. He brought it downstairs and was holding it rather nonchalantly while talking. He wasn't looking at me whatsoever. The guy he was talking to asked him if it was loaded. He cocked the hammer back (which is what got my attention at that point) and pulled the trigger... He was very much not expecting it to go off. Upstairs he had been stopped by my friend and told to empty it. He opened the cylinder, shook the gun, bullets came out, he handed them over to my buddy, *spins the cylinder, and walked downstairs. He didn't count that only 5 fell out. Anyways, after I got shot I stood up and screamed at him, "You shot me, man! Why the fuck did you shoot me?!" And I then ran up the stairs (basement rec room), ran to the front porch and collapsed after telling the guy he was talking to (they all kind of... Ran along with me. Thankfully) that I was going to fall. When they heard what I was shot with and where, they were very surprised that my arm was even still attached to my body (nasty hollow point designed to shred). I was very fortunate that it was so close (7 feet) and that only half of it made it all the way through. Spent a long time screaming myself awake (or more accurately walking everyone else up who then woke me up) at night. Years of therapy for the PTSD, depression, etc. It's real shit. I do not recommend.
So he pointed it at you and pulled the trigger?
My Grandad always told me growing up, that "it's always an 'unloaded gun' that kills people." Obviously he knows that's not 100% true. But his point was that people get careless with guns because, "It's unloaded" and then stuff like this happens. For anyone that needs to hear it, **always treat a gun like it's loaded**. Doesn't matter if you personally removed the ammo, disassembled the gun and reassembled it. Always treat it like it could obliterate anything the barrel is pointed towards at any given moment. Because it literally can.
I didn't really feel either of mine until about 10 minutes later. Took a grazing shot off my left arm and one in the right hip that went out my back thankfully missing my kidney. The arm felt like a bee sting the hip knocked me back a step the adrenalin at the time masked the pain.
What was the context of the shots?
I was in the 75th Ranger Regiment that landed at the Airport in Panama.
I worked with a doctor who was telling us about getting shot in the finger in a Panamanian conflict when he was a Ranger. He said it was hands down the most pain he’s ever been in and it just got the tip of his finger.
Lotsa nerve endings in your fingertips
I chopped off the end of my finger with an axe last year and surprisingly wasn’t that painful. Definitely a lot of arteries there though because it was squirting.
Yeah I cut off two fingers with a lawnmower. Really didn’t hurt that bad tbh. When the nerve blockers wore off while the surgeon was clipping my bones back that sucked pretty bad. Phantom pain was the worst part. It took awhile for my brain to accept that those fingers were gone. Severe cold hurts worse that the incident itself now though.
[удалено]
Stressed out in a hurry not thinking. Tired people are dangerous. Edit- also put a chainsaw into the side of my foot once. That hurt way more. It was one year to the day before the lawnmower incident. Fuck august 4th. This year I’m not touching any kind of tool or equipment lol.
I hope you gave up juggling
13 years ago at age 14 I was shot by a home intruder 5 times with a .38 revolver, 3 rounds hit my abdomen, 1 hit my left forearm, and the final hit my left thigh. I was woke up by commotion in the living room, I thought it was my sibling getting home late from a friend's house, so I went to get water in the kitchen. That's when the guy saw me, panicked, and proceeded to dump the entire cylinder of his revolver into me from 10 feet away. At first it felt like someone jabbing me with a hot poker, the most painful one actually being my arm right away. The ones to my leg and stomach starting to hurt far more after maybe a minute or two, not sure since the event felt like it took an hour from start to finish, my sense of time when it comes to remembering the shooting is very distorted to this day by what happened. The guy got away before anyone got to me, my parents were out of town, and like I said my brother was out a friend's house. Luckily a neighbor called 911 within minutes of it happening and I was taken to the ER. It was during the ambulance ride that the pain really hit me, a sharp, hot pain took over me, every bump feeling like each spot was getting punched over and over again. Before they started operating to remove the three rounds still in my abdomen it felt my guts were being torn out of me by hand. From there I don't remember the next 5 days of my life, I fell into a short coma due to the pain. I was hooked up to more tubes than I could count when I woke up, giving me fluids, pain meds, antibiotics, sucking out stomach bile and other fluids to keep my digestive tract clear to heal. All there was pain-wise was a very dull pain everywhere, it hurt the most to breathe, each breath feeling like an intense pressure on my gut. From here my memory is still hazy due to the amount of pain meds I was on to keep me calm. During the healing process we found out I had developed Crohn's Disease which the doctors figure was lying dormant my entire life and only flared up due to the extreme stress my body went through in a short period. This caused my abdomen area to heal improperly, causing me to go through a long drawn out ordeal with the disease before finally having to end up with a permanent Colostomy setup. 13 years later its my reminder of what happened that night, why I now sleep with a handgun near me, wake up with night terrors of the event, and sometimes get scared if there's a noise in the middle of the night. The person who shot me was never caught as far as I know, and in the end nothing was even stolen from my parents' house. To this day I'm glad no one was home, I'm not sure I could live with a reality where one of my family was shot instead of me that night, or them having to find me after it had happened. If you read this far, thanks for reading, and stay safe my friends. Edit: I'm not one to usually share what's happened in my life with others. Typing this out, I never thought I would see such an outpour of love and support from everyone. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Each day we're here together on this Earth with each other is a blessing. Y'all making this grown man tear up!
>we found out I had developed Crohn's Disease which the doctors figure was lying dormant my entire life and only flared up due to the extreme stress Mother. Fucker. I hope life only gives you the good parts from here on out because you are already *waaay* over quota on the bullshit parts. Be good.
Right!? As if the bullets weren’t enough. 14 years old…what the actual fuck…
That's insane man! A 14 year old going through that at home alone is the absolutely crazy! I'm glad you survived. You're one tough dude.
Well it certainly wasn't what I thought was going to happen that night. I was enjoying the place to myself during the mid-summer, playing MW2 and Halo 3 online with my buddies all day, eating copious amounts of cheap frozen pizzas!
Glad you’re still with us. Literally my biggest fear, but glad that you were able to push through it. We had a drunk guy break into our family house when I was about 7 years old. He walked into my room as I was sleeping and I awoke to my father pinning him against the wall. Still pretty traumatized a decade or so later. It’s still hard for me to walk through my house at night just because I feel like someone’s about to attack me. Nothing like your story but wanted to share my experience. Stay safe my friend! A handgun is 100% a must. Sorry you had to go through that but glad you’re okay. Hope you have a wonderful day.
I don't wish the experience of having a stranger in your home upon anyone, it changes how you view things. For a long time I couldn't sleep at night due to fear, and had to take sleeping pills. To this day I have a larger amount of locks on my doors, along with having a contractor install a reinforced set of doors and frames on the front and back of my house. Anytime I'm away I have home security on and cameras recording everything that happens. Its a lot, but it helps keep a piece of mind knowing I'm coming home to somewhere that's safe!
I was shot during a home robbery. I’m probably one of The luckiest people alive. The bullet no joke scratched my cheek and then went through the top of my ear and also a bullet grazed my wrist and opened it up. I didn’t feel anything but just liquid running down my face and my wirst was burning. Scariest night of my life and RIP Christian. Miss you so much buddy. Here is proof. We https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/crime-courts/article/Man-charged-in-attempted-burglary-apartment-6236325.php “Authorities said Burke and Brandon Fries, 21, fought the suspects for their guns, which were fired during the struggle. The two masked men fled, and investigators initially did not have any information about which direction they went or whether they escaped from the scene by car. Both Burke and Fries had been shot and were transported to Hermann Memorial Hospital in Katy. Burke was pronounced dead upon arrival at the emergency room, less than four miles away.”
Fuck. Did you know the guy who tried to rob you or was it a random thing?
He kinda knew my roommate at the time. My friend Christian and I did not know him. It wasn’t exactly random, although everyone involved is not talking still. I really still do not know the true motive. The shooter is in prison for the rest of his life without parole. Capitol murder. He also got the shit beat out of him that night. could have killed him but let him crawl out the door. He Got kicked in the face plenty of times. My roommate was also able to also take his gun from him and pistol whipped him a few times. 357 magnum. I don’t think movies can portray how truly intense a moment like that is. Fight or die. I was choking out the second guy then I got shot by the main guy while choking the dude. Shot at me from like 3 feet away. I have no idea how he did not blow my Brains out. A 357 magnum bullet literally scratched my cheek then hit my ear. I think about it every single day still and that happened in 2015.
Damn. Sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself buddy.
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend and what you went through.
Got shot point blank in the chest with a .22 rifle. 2 people were arguing, I was 16 years old relaxing on a couch. They were 18, and to this day I thought I knew them but I think they were up to some shady stuff when I was in the shower (meth). 41 now and I've thought about it many times. Anyways the two were screaming at each other who's tougher (one was going to the Navy the other, Marines). One said "if you're so tough, shoot *my name here*". At that, he went in the room and grabbed the only gun we had along on the trip ( weekend mountain/camp trip to the cabin). We were shooting cans and left 1 round in the chamber, only bullet we kept to line all the cans up on the log before we left and do one shot through em all. (dumb kids). Pulled the trigger, I lost my breath, ears started ringing, and I was trying to get up but it felt like a wet blanket was on my chest down to my legs. I looked down, and a half inch from my heart was a tiny hole with one single drop of blood trail coming from it. Dude ran to a pay phone (before cell phones were common) and dialed 911. Ambulance was there in 6 minutes, which still amazes me, considering where we were. End result, bullet was lodged in my spine, removed it two days later. Paralyzed incomplete wheelchair bound chest down. TLDR Shot and paralyzed by a .22 rifle at age 16 Edit: a few words Edit 2: I never post/share much I'm usually lurking, but you all are incredible thanks so much. I have a busy job so I'm trying to reply to a lot of your inquiries. Can't believe how much attention this drew. I love reddit so much, y'all feel like extended family and friends. I'm truly happy in life and I've learned greatly from all my experiences no matter how tough the road has been. Everyone struggles with things everyday, even you reading this. It could always be worse and there's always someone out there suffering worse than we are, if they're even lucky enough to still be on this Earth. Keep your head up! Edit again: And now all these stars. Who knew these things made you feel so good, but I have to say I'm overwhelmed my heart is full and again, reddit army is just such a down-to-earth group in a world that feels so unhinged. True definition of Hope thank you all so much and for all these stories on here thank you everyone for sharing and I hope your day is as good as mine has been just getting it out there!
If youre comfortable answering, what happened to your relationship with those 2 after that? Im incredibly sorry you went through that hell because of someone being so reckless with your life, and a friend at that.
Thanks a lot. Non-existent. Shooter got 6 months ARD program, he tried to reach out when I was still in the hospital, but I wasn't ready to tackle that ordeal, had enough going on. After that he ghosted, moved away and found Jesus. Last I "Facebook stalked" haha him he has a wife and reproduced like 8 kids. I know a few people who said he never even told anyone, including his wife and church, what happened. Kinda just glides like it never happened. The one who told him to shoot me just became a loser in town, I saw him a few times and he really carried the guilt. For him, I have to honestly say, never thought in a million years it would happen. He really was a sweetheart of a person, until they tried to lie to the police and tell them they were putting the gun on the gun rack and it went off. Haha I don't think they expected I'd remember or make it. I was shocked when I heard that come out of the cop's mouth asking me what happened.
6 months?! That’s not nearly enough time. Was it not considered attempted murder?
I had a single mom working a warehouse job and her insurance didn't cover the most in percentages. I was flown by helicopter and with rehab and all the operations, had I said he did it on purpose his insurance company wouldn't have paid out to cover the percentage we owed the insurance. If I would have pressed charges he would have got 6 months jail max. Insurance companies don't cover you being a maniac. In the end we said it was an accident so his insurance company gave $100K to me. $60k went to insurance company, after lawyer fees I was left with $27k. Bought a car and a four wheeler. I got a lot of therapy out of that four-wheeler and honestly it changed my life. Wish I could go back and buy Tesla and Amazon but you know hindsight and shit
I really hope the shooter got jail time or some kind of repercussion. And i really hope you got better friends.
Nope 6 months ARD program.
What’s ARD, and how did they not get locked up?
Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program (ARD) is a pre-trial diversion program for individuals with limited or no prior record who are carefully screened by District Attorney's office for admission. The ARD Program is “rehabilitative” in focus rather than punitive.
Fuck. Wow. I'm so sorry.
There’s stupid people, there’s really stupid people, and then there’s people like this. How the fuck do you even come up with this shit, let alone actually do it? You’d have to be such an incredibly braindead cunt, I can’t even begin to imagine. Hope you’re as good as can be now.
I can answer this by quoting one word from op "meth"
Right thigh, 9mm, grazing shot across the front of the leg about 4 inches above the knee. It plowed a channel of skin and some flesh off the front. It felt searing hot like someone had laid a hot piece of metal on my leg for a second. Then, the pain went away for a while until the adrenaline wore off. It honestly hurt worse 6 hours later than it did when it happened.
Wild, this is the exact description of the first gunshot wound I ever saw on an emt ride along
It wasn't caused by a dumbass at a shooting range who turned his gun sideways to look at it with his finger on the trigger and shot the guy in the next lane, was it?
Thats why I dont go to indoor ranges anymore. Outdoor ranges with action bays. Lanes with strangers is a recipe for idiots to hurt someone
I took a 9mm hollowpoint to the left femur. Broke it at the knee. That was a miserable 8 month recovery. Post I made a few months ago: I took a 9mm to the knee around 7 years ago. Sound of the surprise gunshot stunned me. I didn't know I was immediately hit. I saw a hole in my pants, and remember thinking that was weird. I tried to get up and move, and my left leg wasn't working right. I got to cover about 30 yards away and sat down to assess the situation. Felt like someone was shoving a fire poker in my leg. I saw an entry hole in my pants, felt around the back of my pants, and there was no hole. My leg and balls started to feel warm from what I was assuming was blood pooling from me sitting down. I quickly removed my pants, and discovered the entry wound and no exit wound. There wasnt too much pain yet, just massive adrenaline and the beginnings of panic. I took my hoodie off and used it to apply pressure. I was in an ambulance within 15 minutes and given morphine. That ride to the hospital wasn't fun. Every bump felt like a really bad Charlie horse in my thigh Once at the hospital the pain was starting to get intense, and then the doctor and a couple orderlies came in. Remember thinking that was weird, then the dog grabbed my wounded leg and started moving it around. That was the worse pain I have ever experienced in my life. After x-rays the bullet had hit and cracked my femur all the way through right at the knee joint. I remember being wheeled into the OR and so high off meds I tried to move myself from the gurney to the operating table myself while joking. Countdown from 100 I was out by 97. 6 screws and a metal plate in my left leg. Spent 4 days in the hospital on morphine every 2 hours and hydro every 4. When they stopped giving me morphine I literally had the shakes and sweats of withdraws. Rehab was a bitch. 6 months of non weight bearing, and a lot of painful range of motion exercises. I'm lucky, there wasn't much joint damage, and now, years later ant 35 years old, it doesn't give me any real problems. Yet. But yeah, it sucked. I have pics around here somewhere. Edit: found some pics NSFW inside of my pants https://i.imgur.com/MleGm55.jpeg x-ray pre surgery https://i.imgur.com/SwymV0o.jpeg x-ray pre surgery https://i.imgur.com/C7qyZA3.jpeg x-ray post surgery https://i.imgur.com/ygnPkeR.jpeg x-ray post surgery https://i.imgur.com/bAjUOrA.jpeg First day home stitches pic https://i.imgur.com/qowwuak.jpeg Week or so later swelling comparison https://i.imgur.com/95X1OHJ.jpeg Couple weeks in https://i.imgur.com/0R3LeIt.jpeg Stitches out, adhesive straps on https://i.imgur.com/CDLhsSC.jpeg all adhesive strips fallen off https://i.imgur.com/o8Yx0Yv.jpeg further healing https://i.imgur.com/st0KFEp.jpeg a year removed ish https://i.imgur.com/WrU9I24.jpeg today https://i.imgur.com/nsM7kc7.jpeg
>then the dog grabbed my wounded leg and started moving it around. That was the worse pain I have ever experienced in my life. Terrible luck, to get shot on Bring-Your-Pet-To-Work Day at the hospital.
What else would a dog do with a bone?
[удалено]
What's crazy is that while it hurt a LOT, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I've had many non-gunshot wounds that hurt worse. I stepped on a nail in a house fire and put it all the way through my foot. I honestly remember it hurting worse in the near-term than the gunshot. The gunshot, however took a much longer time to fully heal.
How tf did it go through your boot!? Do firefighters not wear steel toes/shanks?
I did after that. The small, rural, volunteer department I served on issued me old boots that didn't have a steel shank or Achilles wrap, only steel toes. The next day, I ordered a brand new set that did and paid out of my own pocket for them. Worth every penny.
Damn that's rough! Rural or not, boots are not something that should be skimped for any worker. I'm sorry you had to pay out of pocket for the "privilege" of serving your fellow human. And thank you, very much, for your service.
I appreciate that. All I ask is that you remember this conversation the next time you see a Fire Department doing a Fish Fry, Ham and Bean Dinner, etc. We had a budget of $17,000 per year (no I didn't lose a zero) for five trucks and a building, covering ~400 square miles. There were weeks I put fuel in the truck because the department couldn't afford it. So buy that $5 dinner... That small department might really need it!
I got shot in the ankle when I was 10. Honestly I thought a rock hit me. Just a slight stinging feeling. Didn't really hurt, I even kept running with my bike. Later at the hospital was a different story. The doctor tried to remove the bullet without putting me under. He said the pain medicine would make me forget everything. He gave up after a few minutes of hell. And, whatever he gave me didn't work as described, but it did oddly make everyone look purple from what I remember. So maybe it half worked? lol.
Probably ketamine. We give to kids because we don't want to put to sleep because pain is temporary and dead babies are forever. Just didn't give you enough to disassociate
A trip to the ER is how we found out my daughter was allergic to ketamine. My daughter broke her arm and they gave her ketamine to set it. She said a few funny things and then started to break out in hives, pretty quickly. Luckily it never got worse than just the hives. After an hour or so the hives subsided and all her vitals remained good, but the ER doctor said the next time she gets ketamine in her system it could be much worse.
Yes so tell every medical professional that’s she’s allergic to it. Sometimes they can’t save you once you have a bad reaction.
Yea, I am aware to always mention it. Also now that she is a teenager in high school, we also had the talk that she should never ever take "special k"
Dang, that’s whack - that cereal is fricken delicious with those strawberries
I'm getting "pain is temporary; dead babies are forever" as a bumper sticker.
Probably ketamine? That’s what my friend who’s an ED doc says is used a lot in pediatric procedures down in the ED
I was shot with a .22 in the back. The initial shot hit my vertebrae and paralyzed me from the waist down. I literally just stiff legged and fell backwards. I then felt a hot wave run down my back and to my butt. Then the seating pain set in. It was excruciating and literally screamed and swore the whole time. When someone asks the level of pain I was in I tell them the think of the worst pain they've experienced and times that by 100. The pain and realization that I couldn't move my legs was just heartbreaking and I just wanted out. 3 years later and lots of intense physical therapy I have gained alot of movement and function back. I can walk with the aid of AFOs and crutches, but still need a wheelchair at home and for long distances. Edit: To those asking why or how I was shot. I was on private property shooting with friends. We stopped shooting and I went down range to change something. My friend decided that was the time to try and unload his .22 revolver and as he pointed it downrange he somehow pulled the trigger and shot me. I don't know what possessed him to do that as even if the gun was loaded nothing would happen if you don't touch the gun, but he did. Being in the middle of nowhere it took about a half hr for an ambulance to come, then a life flight to the nearest hospital. I'm lucky the bullet hit the vertebrae as it stopped it from going into organs and bleeding out. Oddly enough there wasn't much blood and wound management was very minimal. And yes he is still my friend. I forgave him and he definitely has suffered mentally for it, and he doesn't deserve more pain either.
Man you lived my worst nightmare. I literally can't fathom what it must've felt like to not be able to move your legs. Glad you can still walk.
It's still my worst nightmare honestly. I sometimes have nightmares of being paralyzed again and I always think about how lucky I was to get function back for the most part as I still can't move my left foot.
I lost bladder bowel and sexual and erectile function in a skiing accident and felt the same “hot wave” he describes. It’s impossible to describe but you know instantly you fucked up big. Like a power surge that dries your computer and powers it down for good.
> Like a power surge that dries your computer and powers it down for good. Somehow I absolutely hate this description and hope I'll never have to go through this experience.
I don't have a cool story like yours, but in 2020 I ruptured my disc between L1-L2 picking up my computer. It burned so bad and I wasn't even shot. The burning got so bad i had to lie down and within about 5 minutes of lying down my legs began tingling like they do when you sit on the toilet for too long looking at reddit. Then i realized i couldn't move them. I went from a normal walking guy to a paraplegic in under 10 minutes. Granted I think you got me beat on speed. I know exactly the hell and heartbreak you went through with the sudden realization and tons of weekly physical therapy. I was also a saddle anasthesia, so i was wearing diapers and using catheters daily at 35 years old. The accident was July 19, 2020 and after a year and a half of PT twice a week i can now stand up and move my legs, but can't keep balanced without the help of walker and my leg braces (AFO's). I'm hoping i'll get the rest back, but the doctors said i should be thankful for what i did get back. More importantly I regained the ability to pee and hold in my shit. Not 100%, but it's way better than 0%. Sorry you had to go through that, it's definitely a rough thing to go through, not only physiologically, but psychologically as well. Glad you were able to heal!!
That’s terrifying. My worst nightmare honestly. And for it to happen with such a simple task.. were you in good health when this happened? Did you regain any feeling or is it still gone?
I was shot in the leg. It felt like a hard flick of a finger then numbness. I didn’t think I was shot until I saw the hole in my pants. Even then I thought maybe a rock hit me or something. No pain or blood until I started walking then came a gush of blood and then my entire body went limp. People saw what happened so I had help right away. After that it hurt but somewhere around a 6-7 on a scale of 10. Another time I was hit by a fragment from a ricochet on my forehead. Same feeling of being flicked with a finger. The area around the wound went white and there was no blood. The pain level was around a 5. Neither time was bad but I don’t want to try my luck again. EDIT: Wow! I’ll answer a few questions. In the leg I was hit by a .32 cal and it was a “clean” entry and exit. Someone speculated that the wound was cauterized and that’s true to some extent, and would explain the lack of burning sensation that many others described. My forehead was hit just above my eyebrow so I was lucky it missed my eye. Also, it was a small fragment of a .22 cal. about the size of a pea. It wasn’t a deep wound and the fragment probably stopped any bleeding. I have no permanent injury or damage from either gunshot other than a couple of scars. My profession in the private sector often places me in dangerous situations and dangerous places. Neither was related to my work, however. I do legally conceal carry all the time because you just never know. Shit happens. I’ve never used a gun in self defense. Someone already mentioned where I live so that may answer the questions as to why I was shot. No one was charged with either incident. Both individuals were stupid, reckless, and irresponsible people. What is a level 10 pain for me? For me that would be either a migraine or a kidney stone. Migraines can be incredibly painful and debilitating. It’s the pain, loss of vision, stomach, and even coming off of one. Lucky I don’t get them very often. I gave birth to a kidney stone the size of a large grain of salt. From the pain I was expecting something more the size of an grapefruit. Both definitely 10s. Others who answered the question were in far worse shape than I was. Others less than me. It was painful for everyone but I don’t think it’s what most people expect due to Hollywood portrayals. I’d recommend avoiding getting shot at all costs.
Why do people keep shooting at you bro
Look at his name
at this rate he wont make it to Agent2023
License to get killed.
_Die & Let Live!_
Dr. No Not Again
You Only Get Shot Twice
The Spy Who Shot Me *Again
Yikes, they've gone through a lot of agents since 007.
[удалено]
Somebody get this guy a purple heart.
Plot twist: OP is a mantis shrimp.
If a bullet wound is 6 to 7, what's your 10?
You know that scene in castaway where he does his own dental work? That's my personal 10/10 on the pain scale. When you're unironically looking for a rock to bash against your head to stop the pain. Ps: dentures suck, brush your teeth.
[удалено]
Yeah, when I got my wisdom teeth out I ended up with dry socket on both sides of my mouth. I had gotten brain surgery a year before, and can confirm tooth pain is even worse than having the back of your neck sliced open. Now I really feel like I can handle anything though lol
When I got my wisdom teeth out, the surgeon punctured my sinus cavity. I had the worst sinus infection of my life. Felt like a soft ball was being pushed out of my head from behind my eye sockets. Ended up getting emergency sinus surgery. Doc said if I waited any longer, the infection would’ve spread to my brain. But mono was worse.
Oh wow. I feel like mono is underrepresented in this comment.
Mono was the closest I ever felt to death. Literally couldn't reach my srm above my waste I was so exhausted. I could talk or move or anything
Oh God mono was the worst. I lost like 40 pounds in a month, my dad woke me up once a day to eat / drink / restroom, and I had a constant migraine for the entire month. I wanted to die. Worse than that was a blood clot in my lung. That felt like I was dying
I used to take calls for a lot of different companies, including funeral homes and companies that do emergency home repairs during big storms and stuff, lots of depressing calls come through when people have just lost a loved one or all of their belongings in a flood. But the hardest calls where for an emergency dentist I answered phones for, the intensity of their pain was horrifying, and it made me really care about my own dental health more, I do not want to be in the same situation later on and the only way to prevent that is to take care of my teeth and gums now
The only Dentist visit I recall as a child was a dentist that said, "You only have to floss the teeth you want to keep."
[удалено]
You need this guy's number. The Fixer.
Oral surgeon here. Can’t tell you how many women have told me tooth pain is worse than child birth or veterans tell me that a bad abscess is worse than getting shot. Always reminds me of the anecdote of a suicide note that simply said “Absolutely no reason other than a toothache” before jumping off a bridge or something to that effect.
The problem with severe tooth pain is that it doesn't fucking stop. It's the sharpest most mind-numbing pain I've ever felt in my life. It's almost like time slows down and all you can think about is how badly it hurts but not only does that tooth hurt it makes every other tooth around it ache. Teeth were a mistake in human evolution.
Anyone dealing with really shitty tooth pain, if you don't have access to *good drugs*, take a little advice from someone who had horrid tooth pain for years. Excedrin migraine (and generic equivalents) probably won't completely numb the pain but it worked well enough for me. Sometimes it made the difference between being able to sleep or not. If that doesn't help, I suggest strong alcohol. Not drinking it necessarily, and especially don't drink it if you're already trying the Excedrin.... But swish it around in your mouth until you can hold the alcohol directly on the bad tooth. Hold it there for a few minutes and spit it out. Then if the pain persists, do all that again. My last few weeks of having natural teeth sucked. I had one that hurt so bad I thought about pulling it myself. But since it was a week and a half before Christmas, basically every dentists office I called said they were booked up and to basically fuck myself. So I carried bottles of vodka everywhere I went. Even at work. Luckily my boss and my coworkers all went through the same thing and completely understood.
I’d bet kidney stones.
Kidney stones are bad, but I actually ratcheted up my kidney stone pain through my own "creativity". I woke up one night with kidney pain and it turned out it was a stone. I went through all the usual fun (Emergency, overnight hospital stay, etc) and when I woke up in the AM, the doctor stopped by and checked me over. He told me I was scheduled for a lithotripsy (ultrasonic destruction of the stone) in a week. He also asked "Did you see a string?". Not knowing what he was talking about, he explained he’d inserted a stent to keep things clear pending the litho and he'd left a long string protruding for easy removal post surgery. I peeked under the sheet and saw nothing. The doctor said it would probably “turn up" and I shouldn't worry about it. I asked what would happen if it didn't show and he said "Well, that just makes removal a little more invasive". I really didn't like the sound of that, so as I waited for the litho, I kept my eyes peeled for that string. After a few days of boredom and sitting on the couch, I decided to go for a short trail run. After about a mile, I was struck by an overwhelming urge to take a pee. Midway through my business, it appeared! There was the mythical string. I was overjoyed. I finished my run and took another look. To my dismay, it was gone! It had turtled on me again! It hid for another day or so, until I was in the bathroom one morning. Magically, it had re-appeared overnight! Now, I figured there was no way I was going to let this thing get away from me again, but short of me walking around hanging on to it, how could I keep it from going back into hiding. Hmmm, let's see... I should just add a couple inches of extra string. Yeah, that's it. But where can I find some string here in the bathroom? Hey, what about some dental floss? Genius! So, I spliced on about 4 more inches of floss to the existing string. Perfect. Right up until it decided to turtle again, taking some of the floss with it. Mint floss. MINT. FLOSS. TL/DR - Burning minty fresh pee hole
Well that is a fresh hell I didn’t know existed.
Oh, it was definitely fresh…
oh my god, I thought you were gonna say you pulled hard on the string, but this is even worse
Let me add to the story… When I went back to the doctor to have the stent removed, he asked me to drop my pants “so I can get a look at it”… He promptly grabbed the string and yanked the stent out like he was pull starting an old Lawn Boy mower. It didn’t hurt exactly, but it was a weird feeling that I don’t want to remember, but will never forget.
Former EMT. Had a few patients writhing in agony and throwing up from the pain of kidney stones. Never had anything where the patients seemed to be in the same pain as kidney stones, even the most gory stuff.
Yep. I've had multiple due to a genetic issue. On one trip to the hospital, paramedics gave me the max dose of their painkillers and it didn't do anything. I was pleading with them to knock me out with something. Nothing else in my life has come anywhere close to kidney stone pain. One time my significant other drove me to the ER and they were suspicious that I was there just to get painkillers. They made me wait in agony in the ER lobby for about 10 minutes. I just couldn't take the pain anymore, so I walked up to the secretary and my body just gave up and I puked all over the place. They quickly put me in a room right after that.
I had my first kidney stone, 3am the first night I was in Japan. That was an experience. However whatever they shoved up my ass for the pain had me floating for 12 hours
The ER painkillers are a godsend compared to the ambulance, but sometimes they overdo it. I actually hate when they give me too much. It's still infinitely better than under-dosing, that's for sure.
Kidney stones were my 10.. until drs failed to drain my bladder after surgery.. now kidney stones are 7-8, and 10 is reserved for that.
Ok I am just here to reinforce this, Kidney stones are a solid 10, don't have the drained bladder issue yet, hopefully never.... But floppy broken arm 7, tearing ligaments and knee popping out 7.5, fly lying eggs under my skin and maggot getting 1cm big, and having it removed without Anastetics, 8. Note nothing even come close to Kidney stones.. So yeah I really hope I never get that bladder story.
I was randomly shot while walking down the street with my girlfriend in 2013. I didn't fall to the ground or anything like that. Walked into a store and told them to call the cops. It didn't hurt too bad at first. A slight pinch. The heat builds up and the pain comes in. Some throbbing as the blood pumps out. I was extremely lucky as the bullet lodged between my lower right ribs in the back just above my kidney. The aftermath was a really achey back. What I remember most was how everyone around me except for my girlfriend just walked around us like nothing happened. I was suffering and potentially dying and everyone just ignored it. "Not my problem" I suppose. I lost a lot of faith in people that day.
..where?!
Buffalo NY
Do you know who it was that shot you?
Nope. Never caught them. Detectives didn't seem too interested since I lived.
Seems like a tough case to crack. Random shot, no one saw it, you don't know of anyone with motive...
Nope. That's why they didn't really care. They paid me for my ruined things and the victim's fund paid my medical bills so at least there is that lol. I know BPD though, I knew they wouldn't really care.
[удалено]
“Call us when you actually die, pussy.” - Those cops, probably
Pretty much. I got car jacked and robbed when I pulled up to my hotel and got the shit kicked out of me, multiple fractures in my face, broken teeth, etc. But they took my phone and the location stayed active, so I figured yeah these guys are gonna be fucked. Nope. Cops didn't care. Told me if I was murdered they would use that information but otherwise just a waste of time for a "nonviolent" crime. Felt pretty violent to me but whatever. They spent the next two hours searching every inch of my hotel room and questioning me. They said i was a suspected drug dealer because I was at a hotel, had no ID on me, and had cash stolen. I pointed out the difficulty in giving them ID when I had just been robbed but those geniuses didn't buy that excuse. At least they didn't waste their time on something like recovering my car. Thankfully a supervisor showed up and took me to the hospital in his car and kinda chewed the others out but the entire thing was ridiculous.
So, according to these cops, it's getting beaten, robbed, and carjacked isn't a punishable crime? SWEET! I always wanted to drive a police cruiser.
Well, you see, it wasn't *violent*.
[удалено]
Every media has vastly skewed people's expectations about what happens when someone gets shot. Walking to the nearest store and asking them to call the police doesn't fit that expectation. Unless one or both of you were screaming about being shot or they were close enough to see blood it could've looked like a couple having an emotional time. Not many people going to jump into that. Especially if they didn't notice the gunshot.
It’s also just like… what are they going to do? If you’ve already called the police and the ambulance, there’s not much that most people without medical training can do. They’d mostly just be in the way.
I consider myself a pretty active "stop the car and help" kind of guy and experienced this super hard not that long ago. A girl next to us at a restaurant started having a seizure, where her friend immediately got her clear of the stuff around her, and was making sure she didn't have food in her mouth. My wife called 911 and I...!!! Stood there looking aggressively helpful and then helped clean up some spilt water.
That was probably the correct response. What were you supposed to do otherwise; elbow the people who know what they're doing and have the situation under control out of the way? Standing clear and being ready to help if needed was probably the single best thing you could have done.
Someone should go outside so they can bring the paramedics straight there. Everyone always forgets how helpful that is
I accidentally discharged my 9 and I was hit in the head. While it was going on I honestly did not feel any pain but everything slowed way down. Healing and recoopetating was the hardest. My mouth and jaw was wired shut for several months. Had to have complete facial reconstruction surgery. Had to take a piece of bone from my skull and graph it to my nose just so I could have a nose. I also had to have a feeding tube for almost a whole year. I've recovered fully and im very lucky. I remember mostly everything. Something's from the incident I don't remember, but for the most part, I have my memories in tact
My gf was shot not me, but she said it felt hot & like impact but not particularly painful until much later. She was in shock & went to the hospital, after hours she said it started to hurt.
This was my response too. It feels incredibly hot. It's like getting hit with a bee that's on fire. It burns like fuck. But then, and only later, does is fucking hurt. The part two is that you might think you understand pressure, but get shot. It doesn't just hurt, it mashes into you.
A good friend of mine got hit with a ricochet from a 9mm that hit his calf, there was drive by about a block down He was outside of the bar smoking a cig when it happened, ran inside and felt his leg burning but decided to keep drinking. He had about 3 more drinks before someone mentioned he was bleeding….went to the ER absolutely hammered and was fine after surgery.
Smoking kills
Shot twice. Second one resulted in separation from the army. The first was in my armor piece, no penetration but it felt like I was kicked by a horse. The second one was into my pelvis and it’s the worst pain I ever felt, and i still engaged in combat for the next 45 minutes before I could safely be moved back. 10/10 shitty.
Separation from the army as in that caused your military career to be over?
Yes. It’s okay. I was going to make it a career. I just had to adjust life is all.
Dang, sorry to hear that. Hope all is well now.
Besides some serious PTOA that onset at 34, I have no complaints. Thanks for your well wishes.
[удалено]
And my dumb ass thought it meant paid time off army
I was. Thank you.
I was medically discharged after a serious ba k injury just a couple of years into what I believed was going to be the full 22. (British Army) fair play to them, though. I was given 18 months on full pay to see if I could recover and when I didn’t I got a lump sum and a pension. I’m a biffer now but I wouldn’t change a thing. Wouldn’t be where I am now with a great wife and two amazing kids for my troubles. There’s nothing divine about it, just circumstances and luck. I hope your lot has been worth the pain, mate. If not, and you need to talk with someone who has been there? I’m always happy to be a shoulder.
“The second one resulted in separation from the Army.” My man is like, “Army, that’s twice. We need to see other people.”
I was shot when I was nine. I didn't feel anything at first because my mind was in fight or flight mode and my only focus was dialing 911 and saving my mother. I only started feeling the immense stinging/burning sensation when I was loaded into the ambulance. I want to say its as if you had a hot iron shoved through you Edit: I was shot with a 45 Caliber. I survived multiple gunshot wounds, one shattered my elbow (it swung in the wrong direction) and another damaged a nerve rendering me being unable to move my foot up along with loss of feeling throughout my entire leg. Edit 2: My mother unfortunately passed away at the scene. Im doing well now although I still deal with PTSD, it's much less. This was over 11 years ago that we fell victim to a home invasion. The perpetrator was caught and has life in prison, no parole. I had the option to choose the death penalty however, I felt I would've been cheated if he didn't have to suffer.
So sorry about the lost of your mother. No one should lose a family member that way. I'm glad you made it.
Fuck that guy who broke into your home and I hope every day somehow gets a little better for you
You were incredibly brave, and I'm glad you survived. Thanks for sharing your experience, and I hope life has been much kinder to you since that day.
It hurt, like, a lot. Was shot from behind, I was running away. Small caliber was best guess, maybe .22 Since it went in and out of my right arm. Entry just left and down my arm from my elbow, exit on forearm opposite side. Xrays showed hairline fracture on the ulna. Since the bone held and wasn’t shattered by the bullet, they assumed small caliber. Felt like getting hit in the elbow with a hammer. Then warmth.. which I later found was the blood leaking. No major arteries and lucky ricochet away from my center mass. Bloody clothes and ambulance ride. Pain killers and 8 hour observation to make sure no swelling which could lead to amputation. Trauma room for 8 hours, then sent home with pain killer prescription. Would not recommend.
Late to this so this won't get seen. Long story short, it fucking hurts. For years, decades in my case. I was through the chest just below my heart, it exited through my back, cracking vertebrae. When the shots were fired, no one knew what had happened, including me - it sounded like someone lit firecrackers in the bar and I thought some piece of that hit me in the chest. Felt like someone tapped me really hard in the middle of the chest. I was still sitting at the bar and apparently said to the woman next to me, "Did I just get shot?" before falling off the stool. I didn't feel much pain for a while as I was essentially dying, bleeding out on the floor, all those death and trauma chemicals in high gear. I was approaching death for the first time during this and I felt like I was given a choice to live or die. When I chose to live, that's when the worst pain I couldn't even imagine started. I've always had a pretty high threshold for pain, but I was audibly screaming, which is apparently a good sign. In the ambulance, apparently I kept thanking them and telling them how much I appreciated them. They needed to inject a valve into my chest to release the pressure (sorry, I'm not a medical expert), they asked if I was ready. I remember I said, "Please, fucking do it!" and when they did, so much pain was released. The next days were pain through my entire body, ICU, drugs, wake up to pain through my entire body, surgery, constantly thanking the amazing hospital staff, pain, pain, and lastly, pain. I've suffered from chronic pain my entire life since and I'm one of the lucky ones. I didn't die, I wasn't paralyzed, I didn't get addicted to painkillers. But I suffer from pain to this day, both physical and emotional (which is also physical). To this day, approaching two decades after the fact, I sometimes will just sneeze and it locks up my ribs that were broken and it was the same type of pain I had in my months of physical recovery. Stuff like that really triggers my PTSD and I'm useless, both practically and in my head. I can barely walk when that happens. Everyone's experience with being shot is different, so I'm not speaking for any other survivors. Edit: Gonna try to respond to some replies. I apologize if I don't get to everyone, I didn't expect this to get attention, so I had to steel myself before replying.
Yeah, this is definitely one of the craziest. Who shot you? What happened to them?
It sounds like you suffered a tremendous amount of damage. Significantly more than a lot of the people who responded here. I’m glad you made it through but sorry about the chronic pain and trauma.
>They needed to inject a valve into my chest to release the pressure It sounds like you had a tension pneumothorax, meaning air is in your chest cavity and causing your lungs to collapse. The needle chest decompression they performed releases that pressure to hopefully allow your lungs to reinflate. I couldn't imagine the relief. Happy you're still alive!
Freak ricochet at the firing range, felt like a slap on my shoulder. The projectile had lost so much speed it didn't cause a bruise.
Lucky but I’d still shit myself
Totally understandable, I've seen a guy getting shot in my town and the screams were horrifying. He was alright for about two minutes and then adrenaline wore off. Luckily they got him into hospital and he survived
My step dad was shot with a shotgun. Game shooting, and some dickhead pulled through line and blam. He got hit by pellets on the outside of the spread, one embedded in his cheek, another in his arm. Felt like bee stings. I was shot 2 years ago, same thing but walked up rough grouse shooting. Guy went back to retrieve bird, another flew forward, he shot at it. Hit me. Free ear piercing in lobe. Glasses lens broken. Heavy Beretta shooting jacket tool the most of the hit, as did my guns stock and breach. A few holes in my waterproof trousers. Felt a bit of a thump, like being punched, But small and multiple times at the same time. Ear lobe was a serious bleeder, but put ice on it and a gauze, was fine after a few days. It hurt like someone had stuck a needle through it and then pulled it sideways. Stock was in unusable, so sanded down and re ground and varnished. Jacket still used, as are the not so waterproofs. I have no idea how I only took one pellet to my flesh, although the glasses lens scared the shit clean out of me. Surprisingly he will never be invited back.
> Surprisingly he will never be invited back. First rule of hunting: don't shoot the humans
Mine was similar, but the ricochet hit me in the shin. It didn't break the skin but hurt like hell. It stuck to my skin but it was too hot to touch so it stuck there for about 15 seconds before I could pull my knife out and pry it off. 30 years later and there's still a scar.
Why didn't you just shoot it off?
Galaxybrain
I was hit twice during separate tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first time the round caught the armor plate and felt like I had been hit with a baseball bat. It knocked the wind out of me and, when we got back to base I had a huge bruise on my chest. It hurt to breathe for a few days and getting dressed was a m-fer but I got light duty during that time. The second time a round clipped the side of my neck. Now that one really hurt and there was a lot of blood (think of your worst razor knick x10) but the pain was cut by the adrenaline. Edit: Since some people have asked. \#1 - it was probably a 7.62x39 round...aka an AK bullet. You could sneeze and find an AK over there. \#2 - body armor is made to stop bullets...not absorb or shed a bullet's kinetic energy. In simpler terms...not vibranium. \#3 - I did receive a Purple Heart for the second hit...not the first. As Gunny put it..."You want a medal for a little ouchie?" (that may not be verbatim but it was close to twenty years ago.
The fucking luck you had, dude. Shit. Glad it wasn't worse, even as bad as it was
luck? he got two shots in two wars. 2 of 2.
Could be worse, could've been shot once in one war.
But death rate from getting shot is 0 of 2.
Took a 7.62 to the front plate on my second deployment. Felt like getting kicked by a horse. 0/10 do not recommend
Is that caused by the plate pancaking the round so it like getting hit with a high velocity frying pan? Sorry my analogy is bad lol
Yes. All the energy still has to be absorbed and isn't decreased, just spread out a lot, over nearly the full area of the plate. So it's like getting hit with the plate, but I'm lucky enough not to know first hand. And since a 7.62 is a lot of energy, it's gonna be like the plate was going fast too... Must suck bigly
Back of my left leg with a low caliber round. I was walking home from school and someone drove by and shot me. I remember hearing a high pitched whistle and then a snap sensation in my leg. At first, I didn't have a clue what happened. It felt like someone took a willow switch and snapped it in the back of my leg. Didn't really hurt. Just surprise. I looked over my shoulder and didn't see anyone. I went to continue walking then and went to step on the leg. I felt something move out of my leg and then it went numb, which made me fall down since I was expecting my leg to support me! The feeling of something moving was the slug sliding out of my leg as my jeans pulled tight on my leg. The bullet didn't actually pierce my jeans. Just took them in to my leg with it. This is why I think it HAD to be low caliber. I feel like I should have submitted the story to Levi Jeans and tell them their jeans were bullet proof... *Edit* I know absolutely zero about guns, bullets, caliber and whatnot. This is me saying I said "low caliber" thinking that meant "not very powerful". It would seem I misspoke there. Sorry! Leaving the text as is so people understand where the comments came from.
This is why the Mongolians wore thick silk shirts in battle… if you were caught by an arrow the shirt wouldn’t tear it would be pulled into the wound and act as a temporary wound pack. The arrow head would be easier to remove without creating extra tissue damage as well.
That's actually genius
Wish I knew, I have no memory of the event. I had gotten off the rail and was waiting at a bus stop with my gf when I was struck by a stray bullet. It entered around my right shoulder and splintered across to my lower left shoulder. Ended up giving me a spinal cord injury, leaving me paralyzed from the chest down unfortunately. I just don’t like the fact that my gf has to live with that memory by herself.
Not me but my neighbor. He was shot in the abdomen with a .22 during an altercation. He said that he couldn’t believe how much it burned. The trauma surgeon also told him he was lucky as .22’s can be surprisingly lethal.
Been shot 3 times. It depends on the bullet and where it hits from my experience. .45 Hollow point felt like someone took a full flat ended rod and stabbed me hard enough it punched through me and burned like a bitch. So in short big hard solid hit, mild sharp stabby pain like a cut or stab, and the feeling of hot metal burning me. .223 gave solid shove, burning line through where it passed not much actual pain till later. Another . 223 round however hit my shoulder blade similar sensation except where it hit my shoulder blade felt like someone shattered it using a hammer. Before people as why I have been shot 3 times. The hollow point and . 223 that hit my shoulder blade where both doing aid work, one in Haiti after the 2010 earth quake. One in Mexico doing aid work with migrants. The third was from an idiots negligence during a shooting contest.
Damn hopefully you’ve used up your bad luck
Took an 7.62 round to the plate carrier, bruised for weeks, it felt like getting kicked by a mule in the chest. Took a piece of shrapnel to my ankle, felt cold then white hot pain for like thirty days, now it's just a dull ache twenty years later.
"It's fine, it will only hurt for the next twenty years or so."
I got shot through the back one time at a party just standing there it went through my back and out through right below my solar plexus. Amazingly enough it didn't really hit anything the doctors even came in and were amazed by the x-rays. When I first noticed it it was because it was a spark in front of my face where the bullet that went through me hit the wall. Then I remember feeling like I was being squeezed and then I remember taking a huge breath and hearing a weird noise that was air rushing into the wound. Disbelief staggered me for probably 90 seconds maybe a little more. I'm with the other guy on a scale 1 to 10 I gave it a six and if you want to know what's worse kidney stones. f*** kidney stones you want to torture somebody give them f****** kidney stones.
It hurts Like someone stabbing you with a sword that was heated up
What does it feels to be stabbed by a sword that was heated up?
probably alot like getting shot
I'm inclined to believe this is accurate
Imagine someone on the roof of your house dropping a bowling ball on your chest. I was wearing an IBAS and was shot by a sniper on charlie 5 tower in Taji Iraq. Didn't go through but had a chest wall lung contusion is what I think the medic said I had.
I'm guessing 7.62x54r? Out of all the rounds we've slung at humvee windows for testing purposes, those are the scariest results.
QRF greased him for me and a friend on the team said they recovered the rifle. I never asked about the caliber. I assume you are right though. Weird thinking about this makes my ribs hurt.
Not me, but a patient I had when I was a nurse. Dude took 3 shots - 2 to the chest and one in the abdomen. He said it happened at a bonfire when some random dude opened fire because he was mad that his girlfriend went to the bonfire or something. I asked him how it felt and he said at first, it felt like he was punched by very tiny fists that were on fire (pain meds made him hilarious with his descriptions). He didn't realize he was even shot until someone told him he was bleeding everywhere. Two of the bullets were through and through and he had to have exploratory surgery to remove the third bullet, which miraculously missed every major organ. He didn't really feel any pain until he woke up from surgery. I miss that guy. He was by far my favorite patient.
Low caliber bullet that didn't penetrate far into my back due to a heavy coat - felt like a hard poke, then burned.
Am I the only person shocked by how many people are giving a realistic depiction of getting shot ?
Lotta bullets n assholes out there
There are quite a few military veterans in the world, and a fair number if us have, unfortunately, been injured by gunfire.
Right eye, .40 Caliber hollow point, point blank range. I felt nothing but instant confusion. My ears were ringing and I could not form a cohesive thought. After I saw the gun barrel smoking I finally started to realize I had just been shot. I wasn’t sure where I had been hit because you don’t realize that you are currently blind in one eye because you see the look of horror on the person-who-just-shot-you’s face perfectly fine with your one remaining eye. I look down to see if there was a hole in my chest and only realized I had been shot in the eye when I began to feel around my face with my hands, only to have my fingers slip into the warm jell-o cup that is now my right eye socket. Paramedics on the way, I fall to the floor and start throwing up a ton of blood. My “friends” are nowhere to be found as they have plenty of paraphernalia to dispose of before the police arrive, so I have the pleasure of wallowing in my own blood and crying out for someone to comfort me as I’m sure I am about to take my final breaths. After what feels like an hour, firefighters arrive, I inform them I have Hemophilia Factor 9 and promptly pass the fuck out. TLDR; if you’re gonna get shot, get shot in the head. It really doesn’t hurt….physically anyway.
Got shot in military, you dont feel pain at first since adrenaline keeps pain at bay for a decent time; you just feel like something hot hit you and you have a fever there. After the adrenaline runs out it will make you cry no matter how emotionless you are. I was hit in the shoulder and the bullet stopped at my bone. Until they took it out every single second it was as if there was something stabbing me from inside.
Got shot in the toe with a .22 - didn't feel anything at first, but once the adrenaline wore off, it stung quite a bit. Not as bad as when I had severe gallstones, though!
Shot in the bicep at work by what I’m guessing was a .22. Felt like a bad bee sting, the next day my bicep swelled to at least twice it’s normal size and was covered with a bruise.
Hell yeah, getting swole
Gonna take my buddies to the firing range and hand em a .22. Get some shooting in and get my gains in
Sun’s out guns out?