Abnormally high pain tolerance?

Hello. I have lived a pretty normal life. I haven't disfigured myself, haven't attempted suicide, haven't changed my body, nothing like that. My body is as it has always been. My head too, I'm not mentally insane.

But, recently I've noticed pain doesn't hurt me quite as much as it used to.

For example, last week I was playing paintball without armor and I was shot in the back of the neck. I have a huge welt there. But just yesterday I got shot several (1-3) inches away from that spot and I barely felt it.

Last week, I tested myself and I placed my hand in boiling water. Obviously, I felt pain. After several seconds, it subsided and after I took my hand out, I had minor burns.

Today, I accidentally dropped a cinderblock on my foot as I was trying to carry it. I heard something snap but I assumed it was the block. Only then I realized that I could barely walk. My foot was not in pain, but it was obviously broken. I mean, I didn't feel it break at all.

Voting Results
24% Normal
Based on 274 votes (67 yes)
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Comments ( 17 )
  • IveGotBallsOfSteal

    Dude you probably got some nerve damage from that point ball schwack in the neck! get that ish checked yo.

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  • piercebrosnan

    It's not normal at all, you need to see a neurologist. Pain is a warning sign that you've been injured, if you don't have the warning sign something could be seriously wrong with you and you wont know until it's too late. Go to a doctor asap.

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  • one_green

    Not normal. Get help. Pronto!

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  • housecat

    Yeah, get that checked out, dude..

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  • biblebashingtreehugger

    It does not sound like tolerence to pain if your foot was not in pain after droppong a cinderblock on your it.
    I reccomend that you go to a docter about this.

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  • arrowhead

    you probably got some neuron damaged, so the pain from the injured site doesn't travel well to the brain. that's what happened in diabetes patients. they step on something, doesn't feel it until the infection spreads through out their body. next thing you know, your legs are gone due to amputation. actually, in diabetes case, it's the circulation. go see a doctor. you need pain to alarm you from further danger.

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  • Could be somthing wrong with your nervous system extreme spine damage maybe

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  • Andramelach

    Cases differ on various levels of "tolerance" and or complete lack of physical pain. If your interested it might help to look up some key terms since your case may just be a mental issue or medical issue. Congenital analgesia is a condition prevalent in a small percentage of people that completely hinders the bodies ability to feel pain. You may also want to search diabetic insensitivity.

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  • alextsang08

    You grew some balls.

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  • jimhurt

    Your gonna want to be tested for HSAN more specifically HSAN5, if everyting you are saying is true. HSAN5 is extremely rare 1 in 325,000,000 people suffer from it. I just so happen to be one of those people, to bad I haven't been so lucky in the lottery. I am now 49 and always new I couldn't feel pain like others. For as long as I can remember anyways. At age 6 I dove through a newly installed plate glass window over 400 stitches, NO PAIN, age 11 broke ankle in game 2 of season and didnt say anything because I wanted to keep playing and finished the season, age 12 football again, I broke my thumb Funny thing is I showed my father and our coach the obvious injury he straightened it out by hand taped it to keep it straight and sent me back into the game, played the rest of my football career all through high school in the same manner. Everyone used to say Man your a tuff guy etc etc etc my Dad used to tell me other parents were jealous of the fact I used to hit with reckless abandon in games and practice because it never hurt me. Problem is alot of times it hurt my teamates and friends and shouldn't have been allowed to continue. At age 17 I was involved in a 90 MPH Motorcycle accident I hit a pickup truck and was thrown from my bike, I broke both wrists jaw and nose, concussion as well from flying through a split rail fence, which did send me for testing and the discovery of the wrist and jaw fractures which were repaired. I entered the Marine Corps a few weeks after healing from these injuries. After bootcamp I enered Force Recon and jump school training where during a training incident I tore my ACL, MCL and LCL in my right knee and felt no pain just instability in the joint, 3 hours later my knee was so swollen the medics had to cut my pants off about 1/8 of an inch at a time because they couldn't get the scissors in any further LOL. Age 20 trapped in a collapsed building overseas for over 20 hours multiple breaks fractures etc. probably survived due to lack of pain thus no SHOCK! I was medically discharged from the USMC and few years later fell from over 20 feet from a crane and destroyed my left and right knees, after replacement I was placed on full disability and full VA disability. If you truly can not feel pain and you only feel mild to moderate discomfort from severe injuries you need to be tested HSAN 1-4 are usually fatal most people only live to around age 28 HSAN5 is survivable to a full lifetime. Today I am extremely careful ( Although I still ride my Harley ) and I live a pretty normal life, Married kids etc. my youngest age 15 incredible athlete high tolerance for pain too but not the same as mine, I can't tell you how happy I am that it's not the same. All my joints make noise and my flexibility is now horrible. I constantly drop thing from my hands due to dislocations etc. sometimes my grip is great and sometimes non existent depending on angles etc. I walk like I am in pain but not from pain just bad flexibility and stability. So if you don't want to end up like me get yourself tested it's really not that cool to be pain free, it's physically painless but not emotionally painless in the long run. GET TESTED!!!

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  • XOXO...

    i wish i had this my pain tolerance to tooth & ear pain is a 2 on ascale of 10 major wounds like break im ok with the dont bother me much but my teeth head or ears im a total wimp

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  • pambambam

    Check could be dangerous

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  • armael

    pain is the body's signal something's not right. soo.. its not normal but sometimes its a good thing and sometimes not.

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  • black127

    I have high pain tolerance too I broke my wrist and dislocated my thumb one time it hurt a lil but I didn't go to doctor for 2 days cause I thought it was just beat up a bit.

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  • sonono2413

    yeah i know exactly what you mean, I'm not big or strong and i definitely don't go out of way to hurt myself, but i find that i can tolerate pain a lot more than other people i know, like i wore a costume once that cut up my arms and feet but i barely noticed it. and then there was another time in where i dropped a pick for a fireplace right on my foot and it was nearly broken but i barely noticed that either.

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  • whatever95

    i think its cool and you should definetly look into boxing, UFC, or any other fighting and physical contact sports.

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  • Artanis22

    I'm the same way, stuff just doesn't really hurt me too much. I think pain is something the brain can easily override especially once you've put yourself in that mind set.

    I think a lot of pain is due to fear as well, like when you stuck your hand in the hot water. you knew what it was going to feel like and you were ready for it, also you where probably in a different mind set than if you were walking down the street and someone tossed boiling water on you. It would hurt much more.

    Anyways... Pain is supposed to be quick, the body sends pain signals to tell you to get away or stop doing that, so you don't die...

    Girls are supposed to have way more pain tolerance the Boys. (you know babies and what not...) but they cry about everything and say it hurts.

    Soo I'm pretty much rambling now I'll wrap it up... Pain is an opinion, if you want it to hurt it will. If you don't then it won't (well too much)

    So be happy your not a pussy, and try not to experiment with it to much or you'll end up doing something really stupid, like shooting yourself in the liver (4/10 on the pain scale, level 5 liver injury (6 is instant death) I didn't not faint after shot, no drugs or alcohol were used.)

    Yes I put parentheses in parentheses...

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