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A woman who doesn't feel pain
- genema 8y agoNo pain during child birth. Can you imagine the look on those doctors' faces.
- olivermarks 8y ago'One last push'....'would you mind passing me another magazine please doctor?'
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoThey probably figured that she got a little too much painkiller. When something unexpected happens the human mind usually tries to attribute it to something that is already known.
- Aromasin 8y agoAccording to the article, her medical records said never been given painkillers (although it could well be she's never asked for painkillers, which I suppose is a different thing all together.) In the UK at least, most women only use Entonox (a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide) for pain relief, and painkillers are only administered during lengthy pregnancy's. I wouldn't be surprised if the doctors/midwives were a little baffled, but just figured she was a hard nut.
- hackinthebochs 8y agoThis turns out to be very dangerous for the mother. I saw a documentary about a group of women with a similar condition and one almost died because her pelvis broke during delivery but she didn't realize there was a problem until weeks later.
- xutopia 8y agoI'm surprised she didn't lose more limbs!
- crimsonalucard 8y agoEven more interesting there is also a a women who exists who literally cannot feel any fear. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M._(patient) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M._(patient) There is a radiolab podcast where they actually interview her.
- olalonde 8y agoLook up Gabby Gingras if you're not convinced how dangerous that condition is. She became legally blind from scratching her own eyes as a child (among other things).
- watoc 8y agoThere was a documentary called a life without pain a few years ago about her and a boy from Norway with the same condition. Kids with this condition usually die at a very young age due to injuries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Life_Without_Pain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Life_Without_Pain
- chrisdone 8y agoI read in New Scientist that they've discovered a way in mice to turn off the connection between pain receptors and the emotional response to pain in the brain. So the mouse feels the pain in the sense of recognising it, but doesn't have a negative feeling associated with it. That's like a half-way point; you wouldn't injure yourself accidentally (as the woman), but you also wouldn't suffer if enduring chronic pain. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132143-900-silencing-brain-cells-in-mice-can-make-them-no-longer-care-about-pain/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132143-900-silencin...
- maxxxxx 8y agoExperienced meditators are supposed to achieve this. I have read that they can have surgery without anesthetics (Gandhi supposedly did it too). They feel the pain but they do not suffer from it.
- brm 8y agosource please.
- ggggtez 8y agoPerforming a double blind test on whether meditation can help you avoid pain would probably be unethical. Most of the claims about meditation are not verified. You could certainly expect to avoid some pain by meditating. Maybe you picked up a coffee cup that is a little too warm, and you just "mind-over-matter" through it. Sure. But if you got shot? Well, I can't imagine a scientist is going to feel comfortable actually testing anyone claiming they could meditate their way through that.
- zeroxfe 8y ago> Performing a double blind test on whether meditation can help you avoid pain would probably be unethical Um... how does one even perform such a test? It's not like you don't know you're meditating.
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- ryanmarsh 8y agoYou don't understand how important a feedback signal pain is until it's gone. I dated a girl who had a brain tumor removed as a child. As a result of this she had an incredibly high tolerance for pain. I don't mean stub-your-toe tolerance. I mean beat-me-with-a-belt-so-I-can-feel-something tolerance. Obviously it made for some interesting fun. Eventually I had to stop dating her out of fear I was going to permanently injure her in her search for pain sensations. She literally scared me.
- domnonymous 8y agoI'm really curious... (I'm a sadist, but only with consent and permanent injury is a hard nope) did you try electricity? I've played with several folks with high pain tolerance, and electroplay really seems to "cut through" everybody's defenses. But it's not obvious how that would go, if the neurological signals are getting blocked...
- lohszvu 8y agoWhy do you get off on hurting people?
- orthecreedence 8y agoI'm guessing the same reason people get off on, say, looking at big asses (or feet). Why does anybody get off on anything besides regular, biological, strictly-procreational sex?
- domnonymous 8y agoHonestly? The thing I like the most about sex is the noises my partner makes. And what's the best sound somebody can make during sex? Screaming, of course. Turns out, making people scream (when they want to be screaming) is all that really does it for me: sex is wet and sticky and gross and I kinda hate it. On either end of the paddle, though; I think it's all about the endorphins?
- DoofusOfDeath 8y agoSlightly OT, but since it's rare to talk with a self-identified sadist: Do you think you'd experience the same thrill torturing(?) a masochist as you would a non-masochist?
- bumbledraven 8y agoThis seems to be the paper referred to in the article: Srivastava & Cox, "Microdeletion in a FAAH pseudogene identified in a patient with high anandamide concentrations and pain insensitivity" (22 Feb 2019) https://bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(19)30138-2/fulltext https://bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(19)30138-2/full...
- inspector-g 8y agoFor anyone curious about why pain is an incredible predictor of/protector from danger, and why lack of pain experiences often leads to massive injury and early death, please watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCF1_Fs00nM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCF1_Fs00nM The lecture is given by a respected pain research scientist, and it also covers much of modern pain science (including why the biomedical model of pain is outdated and how the biopsychosocial model of pain is more representative of observations of human pain experiences).
- baud147258 8y agoI remember reading about this condition in a natural science schoolbook, along with an explanation that it's dangerous for the affected person, since they are lacking the signals warning them their body has a problem.
- ChrisSD 8y agoWhat's also interesting is the other consequences of her condition. She doesn't get fear or adrenaline response and might be able to heal faster than most people.
- mirimir 8y agoRight, I noticed that too. Also the "happy gene" thing. I recall from Hofstadter the idea that feedback loops in consciousness rely on some of the same components that mediate the senses. So anger and fear are rather like mental pain.
- kowdermeister 8y agoI knew a girl who couldn't get drunk (bottle of vodka and no effect), she had to fake it sometimes not to look alcoholic. She said she wasn't the only one in the family.
- sigi45 8y agoCalling bullshit. Probably a alcoholic or something.
- skrebbel 8y agoA quick Google search yields people like these: https://www.quora.com/Is-there-anyone-that-cannot-get-drunk https://www.quora.com/Is-there-anyone-that-cannot-get-drunk
- system2 8y agoI am not clicking a quora link.
- scarcely 8y agoA quick Google search of "quora" can also yield numerous sources stating it is full of bullshit. Of course, a quick Google search of any of those further sources will probably lead to the same thing...
- Chris_Chambers 8y agoPlease don’t link to quora.
- kowdermeister 8y agoI was at first too, but it's an odd story to brag about and it actually was a complaint :)
- make3 8y agoThe less negative "drunk" effects you have, the more likely you are to become an alcoholic, research suggests, because you still get addicted, and it's less quickly obvious that you need to moderate yourself https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/3683577/Scientists-identify-alcohol-tolerance-gene.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/3683577/Scientists-...
- fb03 8y agoHaving no pain, okay. But having no anxiety? wow, that sounds like true heaven to anxious me.
- ZeroFries 8y agoYou would think the same about pain if you were in chronic, debilitating pain.
- dredmorbius 8y agoHaving appropriate responses to stimuli is vastly more useful.
- projektir 8y agoOften increasing anxiety is very much the appropriate response to one's experiences, but still not a useful one.
- dredmorbius 8y agoSomewhat tautological, but I equate "useful" and "appropriate". Anxiety can be useful (if it's not crippling), and is certainly understandable. But if it is debilitating, it's not particularly useful, and hence, is inappropriate.
- MagicPropmaker 8y agoShe has to feel some pain, otherwise she would have severely damaged her fingers, toes over the years like people with diabetic neuropathy or leprosy do.
- system2 8y agoMaybe she can sense or feel? This article didn't explain it in detail, what is the tolerance of pain, is it just skin or muscle. How does it even affect the sleep cycle since muscles don't feel fatigue? She could've broken many Guinness records but she didn't.
- fbnlsr 8y agoNot feeling pain can have some really disabiliting effect on one's life. A rather famous player in the Counter-Strike community suffers from a rare genetic disease that make him feel much less pain than normal. He started to scratch his nose out of habit when he was a kid, and eventually it came off over the course of years of scratching. His name is lo0p__ : https://www.twitch.tv/lo0p__ https://www.twitch.tv/lo0p__ Edit: You can see him explain the effects of not feeling pain in this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XalQkahQbpE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XalQkahQbpE
- patates 8y agoI mean pain is, well, pain to deal with but we (and many other animals) evolved it for a reason.
- elbrian 8y agoHere's an AMA he did, if anyone is interested in reading more about him specifically: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4xmbu9/iama_16_year_old_who_doesnt_feel_pain_ama/ https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4xmbu9/iama_16_year_o...
- hanniabu 8y agoWhoa, that's gnarly. I'm curious how someone like this would be able to perform in physically demanding activities such as weight lifting or something like track. I wonder if they'd be able to push their bodies past normal limits because of (possibly) not feeling muscle fatigue.
- zerop 8y agoSimilar: Indian chef dips his BARE HANDS in searing 200C cooking oil to fry street food... and doesn't suffer any burns... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3317037/Indian-chef-dips-BARE-HANDS-searing-200C-cooking-oil-fry-street-food-doesn-t-suffer-burns.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3317037/Indian-chef...
- googley 8y agoCan someone please flag this? This person is saying that magic is real
- GalacticDomin8r 8y agoThis has to be complete BS or he doesn't have an organic hand. Protein WILL NOT stand up to that heat.
- iforgotpassword 8y agoI'm baffled by the fact she only realized it when she was 65. I understand that when you were born like that it might just be normal, and maybe you don't put too much thought into it, but it's just... Didn't she ever wonder why other people scream like crazy when they touch a hot pan, hit their head, and she doesn't? Didn't other people realize in those 65 years that she doesn't have any reaction when it happens to her? Did she maybe just "learn" to say ouch when she hits her toe against the door frame, because that's what others do? Also how did she not die as a child? When you never get the negative feedback of touching something got, cutting yourself, breaking a rib falling off a tree... This is just crazy to me, more than the fact that this condition actually exists.
- fma 8y agoI read the same story from NY Times, which had a more detailed write up. She likely inherited the genes from her dad. "Likely" because they can't test her dad's genes since he's deceased. Her dad didn't really feel pain either, so growing up it was not that abnormal. Her son has a similar mutation but daughter doesn't. NY Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/health/woman-pain-anxiety.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/health/woman-pain-anxiety...
- iforgotpassword 8y agoThanks, that clears it up some more. It also reads like at least her husband must have noticed, but apparently since reddit etc. wasn't a thing when they were younger they never felt the urge to make posts about it all over the internet and getting everyone's attention. ;)
- mirimir 8y agoRight. You're normal, and everyone else are just whingers. Reminds me of Ferro, in Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. She felt no pain. But she was not at all happy. More like always angry.
- gotocake 8y ago
- drexlspivey 8y agoI can't find the condition name in the article but I remember a House MD episode (3x14) that the patient had this condition and it was called CIPA (Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_insensitivity_to_pain_with_anhidrosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_insensitivity_to_pa...
- coldtea 8y agoI feel her pain.
- hi41 8y agoI don’t think that this is a good thing to have. Leprosy patients lose their fingers because of lack of pain.
- PhasmaFelis 8y agoI know that's part of it, but there's got to be something more going on with leprosy patients. Random bruises and scratches do not normally fester until things start falling off, even if you ignore them.
- jfk13 8y agoPaul Brand's book Pain: the Gift Nobody Wants (also published as The Gift of Pain), which I mentioned in another comment, deals with this at some length -- he worked in India and was a pioneer in leprosy understanding and treatment.
- crooked-v 8y ago> even if you ignore them But you don't ignore them. If you have a bruise on your shin, you may not think much about it, but it's pretty unlikely that you'll bump your leg just as hard again on the coffee table on the same spot.
- edoo 8y agoThis confuses me a little. I remember when I was a kid watching a documentary about this condition. It is generally a severe danger to the person as they do not naturally learn the penalties for a broken bone or severe burn. Pain is a very important signal. The media articles on this at the moment are making it sound never heard of before and possibly something we want.
- jfk13 8y agoFor some insight into the value of pain, and the hazards of being without it, Pain: the Gift Nobody Wants (also published as The Gift of Pain) by Paul Brand & Philip Yancey is a fascinating read. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pain-Nobody-Wants-Paul-Brand/dp/0060170204 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pain-Nobody-Wants-Paul-Brand/dp/006... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gift-Pain-Hurt-What-About/dp/0310221447 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gift-Pain-Hurt-What-About/dp/031022...
- cpncrunch 8y agoFor people suffering from chronic pain, the benefits of turning off pain completely would far outweigh the risks.
- robocat 8y agoHouse MD had an episode about this condition in 2007: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0917153/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0917153/ You would think a friend might mention it - I would think a close friend must notice a complete lack of pain response.
- popotamonga 8y agoCan some one like this pickup a sport like running and run to death?
- scarcely 8y agoYou can probably get paralyzed just by sitting since you are no longer shifting your legs around in response to mild discomfort
- maaaats 8y agoWondering as well. Could they be incredible in some cardio sport because they could push themselves. Or would they push too hard? Or is the type of pain different so they feel discomfort same as we do? What about holding your breath? The pain is from co2 in your lungs, not a lack of o2, so it is mostly your brain/will stopping you from holding it longer.
- HillaryBriss 8y agoPain free I believe, but I call bullshit on this part of the story: "When he found I hadn't had any, he checked my medical history and found I had never asked for painkillers." Ha!! Like you can just "check someone's medical history." Yeah right! As if that history were in a single, easily queried database or something! Everyone knows real human medical histories are spread out over thousands of dog-eared pages hanging out of faded, worn-out folders located in dozens of doctors offices and hospitals across this great country of ours! What planet does that woman live on?!!
- acct1771 8y agoThe East or West coast of US?
- jccalhoun 8y ago"Jo Cameron only realises her skin is burning when she smells singed flesh. She often burns her arms on the oven, but feels no pain to warn her." Maybe stop cooking?
- bashwizard 8y agoWe have a small village in Sweden that is known for roughly 40 cases of the same thing. They're basically made fun of because a lot of the village population are related so it could be a case of inbreeding among relatives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_insensitivity_to_pain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_insensitivity_to_pa...
- ivanhoe 8y agoSounds horrible actually, just imagine living with all those little risks of hurting yourself everyday. I remember I was amazed when ophthalmologist warned me not to touch my eyes 30 mins after the eye examination because anesthetics numb the sensation enough that you can accidentally cause the cornea abrasion without noticing it. This is like it, but applied to your whole body for whole life.