Induction pains

So I went to get my teeth cleaned and my hygienist is a friend who was 4 weeks behind me. I had to be induced because of my blood pressure and she needed to be induced because she was over. We both had the same vaginal pills for the induction but she said hers was pain free. For me the cramping the pills caused was excruciating. I have a pretty decent pain tolerance and the cramps were like nothing I ever felt before. It was 12 hours of painful unbearable cramps until they decided to finally give me an epidural (failed) after only dilating 2 centimeters in the 12/13 hours. I dont know any other moms who had to get induced. Are these both normal responses? Just depending on how your body takes it and if you were dilating naturally or not?