Inflammatory arthritis..
Agreed, dental abscess is miserable and distractingly painful. Just sheer hell.
I thought such an abscess was the worst pain I could imagine, then at 30yrs developed acute inflammatory arthritis following an ankle injury. This felt similar to the intense, deep, pulsing burning pain from an abscess, yet located in the joints, symmetrically, with the added effect of feeling like someone had yesterday taken a ball-hammer to said joints, and today (every day) is the day the initial shock wears off and you feel the pain. Yet it stays. For weeks on end, sometimes months.
One morning about 3am I was insensible following weeks of this ‘flare-up’, so major sleep-deprivation, total madness. Was emitting uncontrollable animal noises. Dragged self of sofa-bed (sleeping alone featured heavily at this time) on belly into the downstairs bathroom (farthest room) so as not to wake the household.
Grabbed (unfitted/still boxed) metal shower rail from floor and (still lying down) beat self repeatedly with rail about the ankles just to try and change the pain to a different ‘frequency’ or else kill it. Made sense to my diseased mind. Senseless nonsense yet if someone had offered amputation there and then I would have gladly taken it. GF found me and managed to stop the worst of it, for which am eternally grateful. Long-term pain like that messes with your mind, I eventually went to live alone in virtual isolation as relating was impossible back then.