Fulgurating

"Its fulgurating pain comes out in shrieks of unlikely laughter."

I ran across this sentence (and the word "fulgurating") while reading a New York Times article.  It's unusual for me to run across a word that is totally new to me, so I looked it up.

fulgurating = (of pains) sharp and piercing; lightninglike, especially of sudden shooting pain (medical dictionary)

The question now, of course, is whether I'll remember this word when I need it.  Probably not, since I am not prone to sudden, sharp, piercing pain that hits me like lightning.