I've gotten brain freeze plenty of times before. For me, the trigger is usually drinking an ice cold beverage too fast, especially through a straw.
But I wouldn't rate it nearly as high as you - perhaps a 7. I don't get major migraines, but I've had bad headaches before, and I'll take a fleeting brain freeze over a numb, prolonged headache any day.
On a tangential note, I had my first kidney stone experience last year, and THAT, by far, is the most excruciating pain I'd ever experienced. There was a moment where I genuinely thought I was dying. It's brutal.
Sorry, had to make the bad pun and get that out of the way.
I think the most intense pain I've ever felt is when my collarbone broke at age 11 or so. Snap! And, holy crap. I raised my arm up and felt the briefest twinge that made me WANT to die... but just for the briefest of seconds.
I think the ice cream headache thing is way higher than a 7 for me. 7 is like getting cut with a knife constantly, or dealing with a good punch to the stomach. It really sucks, but there are more intense pains, and this is one of those for me. However, I also would not trade 10-20 seconds of intense pain for a day of mild misery.
I've heard plenty of horror stories about kidney stones, and as best as I can tell, that is very much on the same plane as a broken collarbone with a pinched nerve or whatever I have.
Ouch, I once had a minor fracture on my right forearm and that wasn't fun. Can't imagine what a broken collarbone feels like, especially since it's such a sensitive area with lots of moving parts.
When I told people about the kidney stone, I was surprised to hear many of them compare it to contractions during childbirth. Having never given birth before, it's hard for me to judge, but it was an exhausting day with near-constant severe pain. 0/10. Would not recommend.
(I did discover the joys of morphine and diclofenac though, so I guess that's an upside?)
Broken bones are funny things. Sometimes they're super painful, but I've also discovered (many years later) that I have a fracture here or there. Most recently, I found out a couple of the bones in my foot had been broken.
The physician was like, "are you aware that you have several broken bones in your other foot, the one we're not looking at today?", to which I probably responded, "no, but I'm not surprised."
Your mention of childbirth, Daniel, reminds me of Franklyn Ajaye's ('70s stand-up comedian, who was in "Car Wash," and recorded albums, and appeared on talk shows) bit on pain: "Women always say childbirth is the worst pain you can feel! Try gettin' your d*ck caught in your zipper! Hoo-wee!"
Both my dad and brother had kidney stones, so I've been crossing my fingers I'm not a carrier! So far, so good!
I love your first paragraph, Andrew! So well thought-out and fun....I woulda settled for "hey, how 'bout that brain freeze, huh?" Of course, now I'm hungry for some frozen custard (at 9 in the morning)! Brain freeze be danged! I wonder if there's anyone walking around with the painful name, Brian Freeze (or, more likely, Friese)?
Ever done anything on the radical change in meaning of an entire phrase brought about by the change of just one letter? When sub-teaching at the turn of the century (this one), I passed by a kindergarten room with a large poster plastered on its door: "Enter this room to explore!" For some reason, I noticed how radically different the entire meaning of those 5 words become if you just replace the "r" in explore with a "d"!😱
I like this idea a lot! I think it lets us consider not just how on earth two words can be so similar and yet not mean anything similar at all, but also how our minds make those sorts of jumps. Let me jot this down and think about a good way to tackle it.
I have never gotten one (probably pure luck), and I am a fast eater and love cold stuff like ice cream, soda, etc. As the word fast is relative, maybe my fast is slower than how fast I need to eat to get a brain freeze.
IMO, chronic and intense are two very different aspects of pain! Would you say that you've had chronic pain that's worse than an ice cream headache, but all the time instead of just for a few seconds? I think that would be hell for a day.
I think every pain I'd register as around an 8, 9, or 10 (very, very few and far between for me, fortunately) has been very sharp and intense, but brief. I have felt really bad for a full day due to food poisoning, but I think most of the time I was able to get the discomfort down to like a 5 or 6. The puking itself was closer to a 9, though.... I guess that's what I'm after.
Does intense pain like that fade to the background? Does your body sort of mute it out so you can function, or can you just not really function? I know if I'm at an 8 or 9, I have a really hard time doing anything like getting myself to a hospital.
Maybe i also think of 8 or 9 differently. It's all so subjective, you know?
I didn't function well on those really bad pain days. I'd spend most of my time trying to do pain management. If I went to the ER it was because I had spent about 24 hours trying to manage it and failing. It was usually accompanied by nausea. Those really bad days only lasted 2-3 days then it dropped down to what I called manageable (I doubt others would agree) and I'd have to spend a few days recovering my strength. Over all, it'd knock me out for a week before I felt human again.
Thanks for sharing all this. I've felt nostalgia for 24+ hours straight at least once, and it was just awful. I might say that there were stretches of time where the pain or discomfort from nausea was like a 5 out of 10, and that was as good as it got. Being in a state of 5 or worse for a full 24 hours really puts you in a different state of mind, and it's even worse if (as I'm sure happens with you) little spikes make it even worse for various lengths of time.
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!
I’ll have to ask my other 3 kids! LOL I do know that two of them have sensory issues that cause a bit of disconnect with the way they feel things, so I’m interested to see whether they’ve experienced brain freeze or not.
Me too. There's something curious going on there, and although the traditional explanation of blood vessel/palate is satisfactory in theory, it really doesn't explain AT ALL why some folks experience it while others don't!
Interesting read. I've gotten brain freeze but it's rare for me and although I have to agree with you that it is painful. I don't think it's as painful as many other things. I've also had brain surgery in 2003 for Epilepsy though and have had some SERIOUS headaches. Some were I'm sad to say much much worse than brain freeze. Although, I do not drink that much anymore growing up I tested drinking and NEVER, NOT ONCE did I get a hangover. Although, that was a stupid move as I was also on VERY STRONG anticonvulsants at the time. 3, 3 times a day to be exact. Due to that, I tend to think that my body was used to that sort of thing. It's a very good thing that I'm not on THAT many today. Either way, I never experienced a hang over.. Brain freeze....yep! I've gotten that. Sadly, I have experienced much worse than even a hangover or brain freeze but that too always passed. I'd take brain freeze over excruciating headaches that make me physically ill anyday. I'm talking about pain that makes your body extremely hot and you feel as if you'll pass out. I've never had a child but I've thought of that pain as intense as childbirth pain. Only you don't have a cute little baby that looks like you at the end of it. You DO get to finally feel the relief that comes with feeling a normal day again though. It sounds odd but I miss the days when I thought brain freeze was that painful, as I thought the same as you growing up. I lived and learned though. I'm also proud to say that I'm actually alive.
It's been a long time since experienced brain freeze. Never thought too much about it since it goes away quickly (for me.) I think the worst pain for me spinal taps (lumbar punctures.) Having ALL my teeth pulled might be the winner. Days and days of pain.
I guess there's a dichotomy I could have pointed out better. There's the idea that we're in pain for all day, like with a migraine or toothache, and I would never want this for a day... but that pain is a LOT less intense than, say, stubbing your toe. For about 10 seconds, fire and rage fill my world whenever something like that happens.
So, like, something acute for 10 seconds can be awful, but I'd much prefer a 9 or 10 on that scale for a brief instant than, say, a 7 for 12 hours.
Chronic brain freeze sufferer here. Mostly because I can't seem to eat ice cream at a "normal" pace. I'm always worried "it will melt" and make a mess, but really I have little self control.
I kinda wonder if those 60% of folks who "never get brain freeze" just eat slower than us. I would not be surprised. I pretty much shovel things into my gullet.
I’d categorize brain freeze as more intense than a migraine but a migraine is unrelenting. I was actually underwhelmed when I started getting them and didn’t believe I could be experiencing one because it wasn’t that bad. But then they’d never stop so what started as “ok this annoying but I’ll manage” went to “please god just give me a break” and I got it. And then as you get them frequently, they bring a shell-shocked type reaction.
But if you think either of those is bad, let me tell you about cancer. 🤣 no, I’ll save that for my substack. 🤣
Ha! Have you shared the most intense pain you've felt from cancer and/or treatment, and is that the worst pain you've felt? If that's morbid and you don't wanna share today we can talk about Nomeansno instead. I am rediscovering them after 30 years, and I can't believe I waited this long to reconnect. Simply incredible.
All in all, that is probably the most intense physical pain as brain stuff isn’t too bad in that regard. It has way more of the slow, unrelenting psychological pain like not being able to remember every day words type things. But I do remember Nomeansno. I had a big summer where I listened to them endlessly. Around 1992.
Yeah, it has been almost as long since I've heard these songs. For what it's worth, it seems like they made some great music after 92 as well. I was skeptical at first, but I am a true believer now.
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!
I've gotten brain freeze plenty of times before. For me, the trigger is usually drinking an ice cold beverage too fast, especially through a straw.
But I wouldn't rate it nearly as high as you - perhaps a 7. I don't get major migraines, but I've had bad headaches before, and I'll take a fleeting brain freeze over a numb, prolonged headache any day.
On a tangential note, I had my first kidney stone experience last year, and THAT, by far, is the most excruciating pain I'd ever experienced. There was a moment where I genuinely thought I was dying. It's brutal.
I knew it! Everyone gets these.
Breaking: Andrew's Scientific Study Of One Person Yields A 100% Success Rate!
Sorry, had to make the bad pun and get that out of the way.
I think the most intense pain I've ever felt is when my collarbone broke at age 11 or so. Snap! And, holy crap. I raised my arm up and felt the briefest twinge that made me WANT to die... but just for the briefest of seconds.
I think the ice cream headache thing is way higher than a 7 for me. 7 is like getting cut with a knife constantly, or dealing with a good punch to the stomach. It really sucks, but there are more intense pains, and this is one of those for me. However, I also would not trade 10-20 seconds of intense pain for a day of mild misery.
I've heard plenty of horror stories about kidney stones, and as best as I can tell, that is very much on the same plane as a broken collarbone with a pinched nerve or whatever I have.
Ouch, I once had a minor fracture on my right forearm and that wasn't fun. Can't imagine what a broken collarbone feels like, especially since it's such a sensitive area with lots of moving parts.
When I told people about the kidney stone, I was surprised to hear many of them compare it to contractions during childbirth. Having never given birth before, it's hard for me to judge, but it was an exhausting day with near-constant severe pain. 0/10. Would not recommend.
(I did discover the joys of morphine and diclofenac though, so I guess that's an upside?)
Broken bones are funny things. Sometimes they're super painful, but I've also discovered (many years later) that I have a fracture here or there. Most recently, I found out a couple of the bones in my foot had been broken.
The physician was like, "are you aware that you have several broken bones in your other foot, the one we're not looking at today?", to which I probably responded, "no, but I'm not surprised."
The human body is weird as hell. Having several broken bones in a foot? Never heard of it. Eating an ice cream a bit too fast? KILL ME PLEASE!
Your mention of childbirth, Daniel, reminds me of Franklyn Ajaye's ('70s stand-up comedian, who was in "Car Wash," and recorded albums, and appeared on talk shows) bit on pain: "Women always say childbirth is the worst pain you can feel! Try gettin' your d*ck caught in your zipper! Hoo-wee!"
Both my dad and brother had kidney stones, so I've been crossing my fingers I'm not a carrier! So far, so good!
Ouch!
Also, let's hope you dodge it. Kidney stones aren't dangerous but the pain isn't fun at all.
Same for me except I get like a level 4 pain
Jelly!
What's like a 5 for you, pain-wise? How about a 9?
I love your first paragraph, Andrew! So well thought-out and fun....I woulda settled for "hey, how 'bout that brain freeze, huh?" Of course, now I'm hungry for some frozen custard (at 9 in the morning)! Brain freeze be danged! I wonder if there's anyone walking around with the painful name, Brian Freeze (or, more likely, Friese)?
Ever done anything on the radical change in meaning of an entire phrase brought about by the change of just one letter? When sub-teaching at the turn of the century (this one), I passed by a kindergarten room with a large poster plastered on its door: "Enter this room to explore!" For some reason, I noticed how radically different the entire meaning of those 5 words become if you just replace the "r" in explore with a "d"!😱
I like this idea a lot! I think it lets us consider not just how on earth two words can be so similar and yet not mean anything similar at all, but also how our minds make those sorts of jumps. Let me jot this down and think about a good way to tackle it.
Woo-hoo! Like the block of cheese awaiting the shredder: That would be grate!
I can't help myself!!
It takes a lifetime to make people cringe with dad jokes!
This made me laugh. My brain works like that sometimes too.
Thanks so much, Jenny! It's nice to know that, unlike the money for which I so frequently apply, I'm not a loan.
I have never gotten one (probably pure luck), and I am a fast eater and love cold stuff like ice cream, soda, etc. As the word fast is relative, maybe my fast is slower than how fast I need to eat to get a brain freeze.
Maybe you're immune!
That is definitely a possibility.
Never had one, and I’m 70 this year so I’ve had plenty of ice cold drinks and ice creams!
Dang! I guess data really is more accurate than my intuition.
Mine always happens at the back of my nose. I wouldn't call it the worse pain I've ever had, but that's just because I've dealt with chronic pain.
IMO, chronic and intense are two very different aspects of pain! Would you say that you've had chronic pain that's worse than an ice cream headache, but all the time instead of just for a few seconds? I think that would be hell for a day.
I used to deal with chronic pain that sent me to the ER and made me want to die. I don't recommend it for a good time.
Doesn't sound amazing at all. No ma'am.
I think every pain I'd register as around an 8, 9, or 10 (very, very few and far between for me, fortunately) has been very sharp and intense, but brief. I have felt really bad for a full day due to food poisoning, but I think most of the time I was able to get the discomfort down to like a 5 or 6. The puking itself was closer to a 9, though.... I guess that's what I'm after.
Does intense pain like that fade to the background? Does your body sort of mute it out so you can function, or can you just not really function? I know if I'm at an 8 or 9, I have a really hard time doing anything like getting myself to a hospital.
Maybe i also think of 8 or 9 differently. It's all so subjective, you know?
I didn't function well on those really bad pain days. I'd spend most of my time trying to do pain management. If I went to the ER it was because I had spent about 24 hours trying to manage it and failing. It was usually accompanied by nausea. Those really bad days only lasted 2-3 days then it dropped down to what I called manageable (I doubt others would agree) and I'd have to spend a few days recovering my strength. Over all, it'd knock me out for a week before I felt human again.
Thanks for sharing all this. I've felt nostalgia for 24+ hours straight at least once, and it was just awful. I might say that there were stretches of time where the pain or discomfort from nausea was like a 5 out of 10, and that was as good as it got. Being in a state of 5 or worse for a full 24 hours really puts you in a different state of mind, and it's even worse if (as I'm sure happens with you) little spikes make it even worse for various lengths of time.
Did you mean nausea and not nostalgia?
I just grin and bear it, or rather grimace. Secure in the knowledge that this too will pass, and that it will happen again, many times.
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!
Wonder if it's genetic!
I’ll have to ask my other 3 kids! LOL I do know that two of them have sensory issues that cause a bit of disconnect with the way they feel things, so I’m interested to see whether they’ve experienced brain freeze or not.
Me too. There's something curious going on there, and although the traditional explanation of blood vessel/palate is satisfactory in theory, it really doesn't explain AT ALL why some folks experience it while others don't!
Interesting read. I've gotten brain freeze but it's rare for me and although I have to agree with you that it is painful. I don't think it's as painful as many other things. I've also had brain surgery in 2003 for Epilepsy though and have had some SERIOUS headaches. Some were I'm sad to say much much worse than brain freeze. Although, I do not drink that much anymore growing up I tested drinking and NEVER, NOT ONCE did I get a hangover. Although, that was a stupid move as I was also on VERY STRONG anticonvulsants at the time. 3, 3 times a day to be exact. Due to that, I tend to think that my body was used to that sort of thing. It's a very good thing that I'm not on THAT many today. Either way, I never experienced a hang over.. Brain freeze....yep! I've gotten that. Sadly, I have experienced much worse than even a hangover or brain freeze but that too always passed. I'd take brain freeze over excruciating headaches that make me physically ill anyday. I'm talking about pain that makes your body extremely hot and you feel as if you'll pass out. I've never had a child but I've thought of that pain as intense as childbirth pain. Only you don't have a cute little baby that looks like you at the end of it. You DO get to finally feel the relief that comes with feeling a normal day again though. It sounds odd but I miss the days when I thought brain freeze was that painful, as I thought the same as you growing up. I lived and learned though. I'm also proud to say that I'm actually alive.
It's been a long time since experienced brain freeze. Never thought too much about it since it goes away quickly (for me.) I think the worst pain for me spinal taps (lumbar punctures.) Having ALL my teeth pulled might be the winner. Days and days of pain.
Oof. Which was worse in terms of little spikes of pain, like the little jumps up to 9 or 10 that I felt for an instant on my collarbone?
I have MS so it is difficult to ascertain just where the pain originates. Those little spikes are disconcerting since the pain might not be localized.
I guess there's a dichotomy I could have pointed out better. There's the idea that we're in pain for all day, like with a migraine or toothache, and I would never want this for a day... but that pain is a LOT less intense than, say, stubbing your toe. For about 10 seconds, fire and rage fill my world whenever something like that happens.
So, like, something acute for 10 seconds can be awful, but I'd much prefer a 9 or 10 on that scale for a brief instant than, say, a 7 for 12 hours.
Chronic brain freeze sufferer here. Mostly because I can't seem to eat ice cream at a "normal" pace. I'm always worried "it will melt" and make a mess, but really I have little self control.
I kinda wonder if those 60% of folks who "never get brain freeze" just eat slower than us. I would not be surprised. I pretty much shovel things into my gullet.
Here's an idea for an experiment:
Grab 10 people, give them 8 oz of ice cream and tell them to have a spoonful a minute until the ice cream is gone.
Immediately after give them another 8 oz portion and instruct them to eat as fast as possible.
Can I volunteer?
I’d categorize brain freeze as more intense than a migraine but a migraine is unrelenting. I was actually underwhelmed when I started getting them and didn’t believe I could be experiencing one because it wasn’t that bad. But then they’d never stop so what started as “ok this annoying but I’ll manage” went to “please god just give me a break” and I got it. And then as you get them frequently, they bring a shell-shocked type reaction.
But if you think either of those is bad, let me tell you about cancer. 🤣 no, I’ll save that for my substack. 🤣
Ha! Have you shared the most intense pain you've felt from cancer and/or treatment, and is that the worst pain you've felt? If that's morbid and you don't wanna share today we can talk about Nomeansno instead. I am rediscovering them after 30 years, and I can't believe I waited this long to reconnect. Simply incredible.
All in all, that is probably the most intense physical pain as brain stuff isn’t too bad in that regard. It has way more of the slow, unrelenting psychological pain like not being able to remember every day words type things. But I do remember Nomeansno. I had a big summer where I listened to them endlessly. Around 1992.
Yeah, it has been almost as long since I've heard these songs. For what it's worth, it seems like they made some great music after 92 as well. I was skeptical at first, but I am a true believer now.
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!
I get brain freeze! I just saw a post in my Facebook memories yesterday that was photos of my youngest experiencing brain freeze! So, at least one of my kids gets it too!