Would you get rid of pain in your body?

mr_fegelien

I don't know if any of you've seen this but there's a woman in Scotland who only discovered in her 60s that she can't feel pain like others. She feels heat, cold, etc... but it doesn't become "distressing" pain because her bodies pain receptors are closed. It's extremely rare and it's believed only a handful of people around the world have this.

The abundance of a chemical in her body also makes her not feel anxiety or depression and she scored zero on a test.

If you could switch place with her would you? The only bad thing is she gets burned really easily but that heals quick. And for all of you saying isn't pain necessary, well she's an elderly woman and hasn't been paralysed/severly injured without pain. Just looks like a normal woman. I'd give anything to be like her!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Not a chance. There have been many reported cases and all those with congenital analgesia have had major medical problems as a result. Biting through their tongues, scratching their eyes until damaged beyond repair etc,

We feel pain as a survival mechanism. It's how our bodies know something is wrong or that we need to stop what we're doing. Pain is one of the most important achievements of evolution.

emeldc

What happens if your appendix bursts after you’ve fallen asleep. If you can’t feel anything and don’t know there is something wrong, you might be dead by morning. Nah, not for me.

Trigger Happy

Would prefer to feel no shame than pain,

Simms

Wouldn't mind not feeling the pain in my arse I have from painting the house all weekend

biko

mr_fegelien wrote: »

If you could switch place with her would you?

And become a 71yo Scottish woman? No thanks.

HorrorScope

It’s a medical anomaly and not a very desirable one / why wouldn’t you want your body to warn you when a touch/feel sensation warrants a flight response? I’ve heard friends before say “aww that would be daycent man, I’d fight fellas after nightclubs till I felt like sleeping” - no you wouldn’t because even though pain receptors are blanked out, your internal organs are still getting hit where they shouldn’t

Quantum Erasure

oh **** yes

Quantum Erasure

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Would prefer to feel no shame than pain,

I don't know no shame, I feel no pain, I can't see the flame
But I do know Man-din-ka

Wayne Jarvis

Simms wrote: »

Wouldn't mind not feeling the pain in my arse I have from painting the house all weekend

You’re not supposed to put the paintbrush up your ass.

Guy Person

Guy Person wrote: »

You’re not supposed to put the paintbrush up your ass.

Maybe he like to read a book while he's painting.

ArchXStanton

Probably if I was on me last legs... I'll be telling the doctors to load me up.. I won't be walking out of here an addict

suicide_circus

No pain, no gain

2Mad2BeMad

If I could swap I would of died when I was 18. My appendix burst and I was in the worst pain I ever felt in my life. Without the pain I wouldn't of known something was very wrong

Quantum Erasure

suicide_circus wrote: »

No pain, no gain

No fish, no fowl. No socks, no shoes. No hair, no haircut....

Stark

Complete absence of pain would be very undesirable. People without pain generally have very short life expectancies (many don't even reach adulthood).

Sounds like what this lady has though is a very high pain tolerance/pain threshold. Which is most likely linked to her being incapable of anxiety or depression. People with depression typically feel pain more acutely than those without. Bit like being on morphine, you're aware of the pain but not bothered by it.

Mad_maxx

mr_fegelien wrote: »

I don't know if any of you've seen this but there's a woman in Scotland who only discovered in her 60s that she can't feel pain like others. She feels heat, cold, etc... but it doesn't become "distressing" pain because her bodies pain receptors are closed. It's extremely rare and it's believed only a handful of people around the world have this.

The abundance of a chemical in her body also makes her not feel anxiety or depression and she scored zero on a test.

If you could switch place with her would you? The only bad thing is she gets burned really easily but that heals quick. And for all of you saying isn't pain necessary, well she's an elderly woman and hasn't been paralysed/severly injured without pain. Just looks like a normal woman. I'd give anything to be like her!

She's like my exact opposite

I broke a rib in 2007, the fracture healed normally but the pain hung around for five and a half years.

A block fell on my foot in June 2018, pain every bit as bad today as sixteen months ago

You never get used to pain

I envy her

Strumms

biko wrote: »

And become a 71yo Scottish woman? No thanks.

You could call yourself okib a woman

TheFortField

I’m blessed with a very high pain threshold but let’s face it, no one ever wants to be in discomfort.
However pain serves a very useful purpose, it acts as an indicator that there is something wrong with a part of our body.

Enough is Enough!

Why does pain have to be consant? If burn myself badly I know I need treatment, I don't need constant agony to remind me.

wakka12

That sounds dangerous, what if she has a major heart attack for instance? Doesnt even know, then just dies?

I feel pain so rarely that I hardly care really

endacl

Enough is Enough! wrote: »

Why does pain have to be consant? If burn myself badly I know I need treatment, I don't need constant agony to remind me.

Yes you do.

“Ow! I appear to have burned myself badly. Better get treatment. Oh, no.... wait. Pain’s gone. No treatment necessary.”

Enough is Enough!

endacl wrote: »

Yes you do.

“Ow! I appear to have burned myself badly. Better get treatment. Oh, no.... wait. Pain’s gone. No treatment necessary.”

If I see my skin melting off I know I need help. 'Ok brain you can switch off the horrible agony now, I get the message'.

quokula

I'm pretty sure medical treatment hasn't existed long enough for us to have evolved anything to encourage us to take it. Isn't the pain more of a "remove my hand from burny place" signal?


In answer to the original question, I'd take the risk over chronic pain any day.

igCorcaigh

Simms wrote: »

Wouldn't mind not feeling the pain in my arse I have from painting the house all weekend

"painting the house"
I'll try to remember that one.

But OP, it's a tough question.

Pros: dying in fire is not so bad
Cons: blind from scratching

By chance, no.
I just hope not to die in fire.

Surely there's a nice in between?

Anyway, has anyone ever considered that an evolutionary driver for consciousness to exist is that if you could actually feel pain and pleasure, rather than a reflexive reaction. Or is there really any difference between the two?

Simms

Guy Person wrote: »

You’re not supposed to put the paintbrush up your ass.

My wrist got tired

Simms

Deleted User wrote: »

Maybe he like to read a book while he's painting.

Are you Chinese?

Graces7

It would be interesting if posters could outline the degree of pain they are in in their daily life when they post?

Any one of us who suffer intractable severe chronic pain 24/7 that is only slightly alleviated by damaging medication will probably reply differently from someone with occasional pain. When even breathing can hurt. And sleep eludes

I would certainly welcome a respite from severe 24/7 pain. At almost any cost.

High falutin academic theories are one thing; the reality of pain and its effects on daily life are another .

Hobosan

Simms wrote: »

My wrist got tired

Leaving aside the morality of your painting technique, just be very careful when you do the ceiling.

Your Face

No I need to feel my gainz brah.

Mad_maxx

Enough is Enough! wrote: »

Why does pain have to be consant? If burn myself badly I know I need treatment, I don't need constant agony to remind me.

Chronic pain is irrational, the nerve signals get fcuked up and continue sending the message of pain long after the damaged area has healed

Utter Consternation

What would sadomasochists do then? It would be no craic attaching electrodes to your balls and having someone pull the fcuking nipples off you with clamps???

JohnnyFlash

Utter Consternation wrote: »

What would sadomasochists do then? It would be no craic attaching electrodes to your balls and having someone pull the fcuking nipples off you with clamps???

Hmmm, interesting perspective. Is it also just physical pain, or does it apply to emotional pain as well? I know a dishcloth of a lad down in Galway who claims he actually likes his complete weapon of a wife nagging and complaining at him continuously - ‘do you not know how to use a coaster’, ‘you never listen’, ‘you’re putting on weight’, ‘wash the windows’ etc.

BuboBubo

wakka12 wrote: »

That sounds dangerous, what if she has a major heart attack for instance? Doesnt even know, then just dies?

I feel pain so rarely that I hardly care really

What a way to go, just die - no lingering on for years in pain. Just one painless heart attack... that would do me.

daveorourke77

Most people don't like being in pain.

However, pain is your the bodys way of telling you that something is wrong and affords you the opportunity to correct it.

In the same way that tiredness tells you that you need sleep and hunger tells you that you need food, pain is a natural response to an unwanted outside influence.

While it may seem good on the surface, it may be more detrimental in the longer term to avoid pain.

Stevieluvsye

daveorourke77 wrote: »

Most people don't like being in pain.

However, pain is your the bodys way of telling you that something is wrong and affords you the opportunity to correct it.

In the same way that tiredness tells you that you need sleep and hunger tells you that you need food, pain is a natural response to an unwanted outside influence.

While it may seem good on the surface, it may be more detrimental in the longer term to avoid pain.

That's all good and well but why not a little nudge, or a minute of pain. I had an abcess on my tooth last year where i seriously considered ending it. Non stop excruciating pain for hours on end

daveorourke77

Stevieluvsye wrote: »

That's all good and well but why not a little nudge, or a minute of pain. I had an abcess on my tooth last year where i seriously considered ending it. Non stop excruciating pain for hours on end

Naturally a paper cut will be less painful then someone sawing your leg off while in your senses. All commensurate with the injury or illness sustained of course.

seamus

Stevieluvsye wrote: »

That's all good and well but why not a little nudge, or a minute of pain. I had an abcess on my tooth last year where i seriously considered ending it. Non stop excruciating pain for hours on end

It's believed that constant pain serves the purpose of forcing the organism to protect the injury while it heals and restricts the amount of movement it can do.

Animals aren't aware that healthcare exists, so a little nudge or a minute of pain is no good. The pain needs to remain long enough for the injury to heal.

Even with healthcare, pain is important. If you've ever broken a rib, the discomfort is ridiculous. But if you didn't feel thet constant ache, you'd go about your day as normal and potentially make it much much worse.

It's not a "smart" mechanism though. It doesn't "know" what injuries have to be protected and which ones don't. There's fnck all you can do for an abcess, but it's the same nervous system, so it responds in the same way as being stabbed in the foot.

Stevieluvsye

seamus wrote: »

It's believed that constant pain serves the purpose of forcing the organism to protect the injury while it heals and restricts the amount of movement it can do.

Animals aren't aware that healthcare exists, so a little nudge or a minute of pain is no good. The pain needs to remain long enough for the injury to heal.

Even with healthcare, pain is important. If you've ever broken a rib, the discomfort is ridiculous. But if you didn't feel thet constant ache, you'd go about your day as normal and potentially make it much much worse.

It's not a "smart" mechanism though. It doesn't "know" what injuries have to be protected and which ones don't. There's fnck all you can do for an abcess, but it's the same nervous system, so it responds in the same way as being stabbed in the foot.

Two in the same accident...............While i had a cold!!! Everytime i sneezed or coughed it was fcuking horrendous. Also trying to get out of bed was practically impossible

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

daveorourke77 wrote: »

Most people don't like being in pain.

However, pain is your the bodys way of telling you that something is wrong and affords you the opportunity to correct it.

In the same way that tiredness tells you that you need sleep and hunger tells you that you need food, pain is a natural response to an unwanted outside influence.

While it may seem good on the surface, it may be more detrimental in the longer term to avoid pain.

Correct and some people are confusing pain relief to alleviate a particular pain with the OP which is a total inability to feel any pain. The sensation of pain is critical to our survival and, in everyday situations, to avoid more serious injury.

mr_fegelien

Stevieluvsye wrote: »

That's all good and well but why not a little nudge, or a minute of pain. I had an abcess on my tooth last year where i seriously considered ending it. Non stop excruciating pain for hours on end

Why not just get heroin from a junkie or Oramorph? Or get stuffed on codeine (though I have to admit you'd need to take 400+mg to feel euphoric effects along with phenergan to stop feeling nauseous.)

bitofabind

If it was a "no emotional pain" kinda gig I'd be well up for that. Would be deadly.

bitofabind

bitofabind wrote: »

If it was a "no emotional pain" kinda gig I'd be well up for that. Would be deadly.

No you wouldn't want that. From the small bit of insight I have of you thanks to your posts bb, I really don't think you would. If you didn't feel emotional pain then who would you be? Stuff would still happen to you but you'd just shrug your shoulders and sleepwalk through the rest of your life without any personal growth.
A life of emotional numbness is not for you.

no i don't want to be a leper thank you
my leg would fall off before i'd notice

Capt'n Midnight

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

Visual Surveillance of Extremities, also known as VSE, is Thomas Covenant's practice of periodically examining his body for injury. The practice was taught to him by the doctors at the Leprasorium, as a way to compensate for the loss of sensation resulting from by the nerve damage caused by his leprosy. Because Covenant can't feel the pain from small injuries, he runs the risk of not noticing them and allowing them to fester and aggravate his disease.

bitofabind

Deleted User wrote: »

No you wouldn't want that. From the small bit of insight I have of you thanks to your posts bb, I really don't think you would. If you didn't feel emotional pain then who would you be? Stuff would still happen to you but you'd just shrug your shoulders and sleepwalk through the rest of your life without any personal growth.
A life of emotional numbness is not for you.

Ah you’re right Perse. I’d be a lot more boring anyway! I think I’m quite emotionally driven and feel things far more deeply than I’d like sometimes, I kinda like the idea of having zero feelings for a day or two, even if it means I’d be some sort of sociopath.

The One Doctor

Silly to wish for no pain. Take gallstones. Intensely painful, but will kill you if you ignore it for a long time. Pain is unpleasant but very necessary.

byte

Mad_maxx wrote: »

Chronic pain is irrational, the nerve signals get fcuked up and continue sending the message of pain long after the damaged area has healed

I don't think so.

I'm in chronic pain (Ankylosing Spondylitis) to varying degrees of ability to function and I'm giving up hope that it will ever stop at this stage after years of it and various failed intravenous drugs.

I certainly wouldn't mind having her genes right now, instead of the fcuked up genes I have atm that have my spine fusing and feeling like a crock of shyte.

utyh2ikcq9z76b

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Would prefer to feel no shame than pain,

Just give up the beer

Stark

byte wrote: »

I don't think so.

I'm in chronic pain (Ankylosing Spondylitis) to varying degrees of ability to function and I'm giving up hope that it will ever stop at this stage after years of it and various failed intravenous drugs.

I certainly wouldn't mind having her genes right now, instead of the fcuked up genes I have atm that have my spine fusing and feeling like a crock of shyte.

That's different to the type of chronic pain Mad Maxx is referring to. In your case, there is an underlying physical issue. Quite common in the general population for someone to pick up a relatively minor injury, have the injury physically heal (most minor trauma injuries heal in 6 - 8 weeks) but be in pain for months or years afterwards because the brain doesn't realise that the injury has healed. Not necessarily nerves being ****ed either. Often it's the subconscious fear of re-injury that keeps the warning system switched on.

Widdershins

It's tempting. I'm bent at the waist leaning over my kitchen table because it's the only position that diminishes back/tummy/sides pain. The above comments really show how dangerous it would be, though. She hasn't had major problems *yet* ...because she was just lucky...so far.