7 ms·

Newbie here. Not sure If I understand correctly. So, there is a reason to not take painkillers at work?

brimstedt 11y ago
Ia there a reason TO take painkillers (at work or not)? If you are not seriously ill, like having cancer or a broken bone, why do you take painkillers? Imo, by taking pain killers you shut of the bodys built in protection thats telling you either to eat, drink or rest. Few people should require to do this. If you require painkillers to get through the day (or year) you should consider your position and how youre treating your self and your body.
- noir_lord 11y ago
  > If you are not seriously ill, like having cancer or a broken bone, why do you take painkillers? Define seriously ill, I have a spinal condition, it's not going to kill me in the next ten minutes but it causes constant pain some days meaning I'm more functional with painkillers than without. The sooner we figure out how to turn off pain the better, I know my spine is knackered I've seen the MRI's, I don't need a constant grinding reminder. > If you require painkillers to get through the day (or year) you should consider your position and how youre treating your self and your body. ..or you have a debilitating condition that medicine can do nothing about and you need them to stay functional, I think unless you've experience chronic pain (or someone close to you has) you are not really aware of how insidious it is, unmanaged it will eat away at you. EDIT: For the record I'll wager I'm considerably physically fitter than the average for my age, I cycle and swim a lot and workout every day, I also eat very cleanly but I can do those things because of the painkillers without them I'd be stuffed in terms of exercising.
  - brimstedt 11y ago
    Perhaps "seriously " was a bad choice of words here. What im talking about is the increasing number of people who get a headache at work solves it with pain killers. If you have a real medical condition its different of course.
    - noir_lord 11y ago
      Perhaps, the problem with conditions primarily resulting in pain is that everyone has different tolerances for it. I take about half the painkillers that are the average for someone with my condition but I'm also on the good end of the scale in terms of symptoms (partially because I lost a lot of weight, force myself to exercise and took up pilates) and partially because I have a highish tolerance for pain (I broke my elbow in three places and went to work the next day since I didn't realise I had) but I don't make comments on what other people need to do to get through the day. The principle drug I take does have a marked effect on my cognitive performance so I have to walk the line between enough to be functional all the time.
  - cpncrunch 11y ago
    Have you read John Sarno's books? If not, I would highly recommend them.
    - noir_lord 11y ago
      I'm aware of him but what I have isn't well known or something that is amenable to normal physiotherapy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringomyelia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringomyelia basically a cavity in the spine that presses on the nerves causing pain and eventually permanent spinal damage, prognosis ranges from painful for rest of life through to you die depending on size, location and progression.
      - cpncrunch 11y ago
        Syringomyelia often doesn't cause any pain and isn't progressive. Just because it shows up on the MRI doesn't mean it is the reason for the pain, or that it is progressive. I certainly think it's worth exploring other possible causes for the pain. >I'm aware of him but what I have isn't well known or something that is amenable to normal physiotherapy. He doesn't practice or recommend physiotherapy.
        noir_lord 11y ago
        > Syringomyelia often doesn't cause any pain and isn't progressive. Just because it shows up on the MRI doesn't mean it is the reason for the pain, True however my neurologist disagrees and since she's a consultant with decades of experience I'll go with her view ;)
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
- facetube 11y ago
  Yes. Outside of some city/state/local laws, Americans as a whole do not have mandatory paid (or even, in some cases, even unpaid) sick leave protections. Every day, some Americans are being forced to decide between going to work sick and being fired into poverty.
- aninhumer 11y ago
  The problem is, even once you take action to correct the cause of a headache (assuming you can tell what that is) the headache often sticks around for the next few hours regardless.
- jakobegger 11y ago
  I've suffered from semi-regular headaches -- sometimes every week, currently about once a month. I don't know what's causing them; the neurologist said it's migraine, another doctor said it might be allergies, other people told me that they are probably related to tension in my spine and another well-meaning friend told me I should just drink more water. Ibuprofen lets me get rid of my headache 90% of the time. Sure, frequent painkiller use has side effects (stomach troubles for me), but the alternative is spending two days in pain unable to concentrate. I know a few people who have been suffering from headaches all their life, and there just isn't a simple lifestyle change that will get rid of it.
  - Flow 11y ago
    I have a very similar story. Have you tried any medicines against anxiety? It could be something as simple as magnesium and water. Or Atarax or Buspirone. I've discovered these reduce the chance of a headache breaking out by quite a bit. But if there's a real tension/migraine headache, ibuprofen is the only medicine that I've tried that helps. But these days I'm very careful about taking ibuprofen, it hurts my stomach and I've already suffered vitamin B9/12 deficiency once. Not fun at all.
    - beefield 11y ago
      Have you tried something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omeprazole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omeprazole when eating ibuprofen? I am not a doctor, but I have understood that it is recommended if you have issues with ibuprofen and stomach.
      - Flow 11y ago
        Yes I have. It works ok most of the time.
    - nibs 11y ago
      FYI you may want to take a genetic test. I found that my migranes came from HLA-DQ2.5 gene (Celiac) and that my stomach pain from Ibuprofin came from a gene that I have that causes inflammation when taking ibuprofin. And both gave me B12 deficiency (among other things) before I stopped eating wheat and taking Advil to cure the problems it created. Lots of this stuff is driven by genetics most people are not (but could be) aware of.
- jamesrcole 11y ago
  If you require painkillers to get through the day (or year) you should consider your position and how youre treating your self and your body. You think it's just a matter of choice or effort for all people? Life's not so simple, and you should learn a bit more about some of the things people face.
  - brimstedt 11y ago
    Of course, we're all individuals with our own set of bodies and problems. But still, if some developer at my office is getting neck problems, HR starts looking into her officespace, what chair is in use, can it be tuned, etc. People expect there to be an external cause for the problem. Same person get headaches? Painkillers.
    - jamesrcole 11y ago
      My point is that there are some problems that there's no ergonomics, no lifestyle changes, no amounts of exercises or stretches, and so on, that are effective for. I'm not saying these problems are fundamentally impossible to address, but there are currently problems that our present level of understanding is not very good at dealing with. As a side note, I believe that ergonomics is currently a pseudo science that is only effective if you've got a common sort of problem. All the ergonomics advice I've ever been given for my problems has been terrible.
    - wallflower 11y ago
      That is a very good point you made about ergonomics as the solution for poor typing practices. As someone who suffers from decades prior of poor typing, I think there is a cultural propensity to associate RSI/CTS with external solutions. Especially people talking about having surgery for RSI/CTS symptoms as a "cure" of sorts. The way I try to describe it to the younger generation is like this. When you are young, you can put your body through a malicious amount of abuse through typing. As you get older, you may start experiencing pain of sorts directly related to binges of typing. However, they usually go away after rest. What happens is that eventually the rest does not fully subside the pain/strain/soreness, it is always there. That is RSI/CTS/whatever you choose to call it. You broke the camel's back.
- raverbashing 11y ago
  Says the person who has never had a headache/migrane, pulled a muscle or had some condition treatable with painkillers/NSAIDs and had to go to work.
- kyriakos 11y ago
  I suffer from migraines. Paracetamol helps me most of the times when taken early allowing me to function for the rest of the day. Otherwise I'm a zombie hiding in the dark for many hours waiting for the pain to go away. It's not life threatening but it still feels necessary to me.
DanBC 11y ago
They tested this in people who have no pain. We don't know yet whether someone in pain is going to make more errors than that person with their pain controlled by acetaminophen / paracetamol.
- prodmerc 11y ago
  Hmm, head-splitting pain or paracetamol? The choice is getting tougher by the day /s
GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
Please talk to a doctor instead and don't take medical advice from the Hacker News commentariat.
- unclebucknasty 11y ago
  Why? I was just about to post a pic of my rash to imgur and ask HN to give me their thoughts.

Ia there a reason TO take painkillers (at work or not)? If you are not seriously ill, like having cancer or a broken bone, why do you take painkillers? Imo, by taking pain killers you shut of the bodys built in protection thats telling you either to eat, drink or rest. Few people should require to do this. If you require painkillers to get through the day (or year) you should consider your position and how youre treating your self and your body.

noir_lord 11y ago
> If you are not seriously ill, like having cancer or a broken bone, why do you take painkillers? Define seriously ill, I have a spinal condition, it's not going to kill me in the next ten minutes but it causes constant pain some days meaning I'm more functional with painkillers than without. The sooner we figure out how to turn off pain the better, I know my spine is knackered I've seen the MRI's, I don't need a constant grinding reminder. > If you require painkillers to get through the day (or year) you should consider your position and how youre treating your self and your body. ..or you have a debilitating condition that medicine can do nothing about and you need them to stay functional, I think unless you've experience chronic pain (or someone close to you has) you are not really aware of how insidious it is, unmanaged it will eat away at you. EDIT: For the record I'll wager I'm considerably physically fitter than the average for my age, I cycle and swim a lot and workout every day, I also eat very cleanly but I can do those things because of the painkillers without them I'd be stuffed in terms of exercising.
- brimstedt 11y ago
  Perhaps "seriously " was a bad choice of words here. What im talking about is the increasing number of people who get a headache at work solves it with pain killers. If you have a real medical condition its different of course.
  - noir_lord 11y ago
    Perhaps, the problem with conditions primarily resulting in pain is that everyone has different tolerances for it. I take about half the painkillers that are the average for someone with my condition but I'm also on the good end of the scale in terms of symptoms (partially because I lost a lot of weight, force myself to exercise and took up pilates) and partially because I have a highish tolerance for pain (I broke my elbow in three places and went to work the next day since I didn't realise I had) but I don't make comments on what other people need to do to get through the day. The principle drug I take does have a marked effect on my cognitive performance so I have to walk the line between enough to be functional all the time.
- cpncrunch 11y ago
  Have you read John Sarno's books? If not, I would highly recommend them.
  - noir_lord 11y ago
    I'm aware of him but what I have isn't well known or something that is amenable to normal physiotherapy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringomyelia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringomyelia basically a cavity in the spine that presses on the nerves causing pain and eventually permanent spinal damage, prognosis ranges from painful for rest of life through to you die depending on size, location and progression.
    - cpncrunch 11y ago
      Syringomyelia often doesn't cause any pain and isn't progressive. Just because it shows up on the MRI doesn't mean it is the reason for the pain, or that it is progressive. I certainly think it's worth exploring other possible causes for the pain. >I'm aware of him but what I have isn't well known or something that is amenable to normal physiotherapy. He doesn't practice or recommend physiotherapy.
      - noir_lord 11y ago
        > Syringomyelia often doesn't cause any pain and isn't progressive. Just because it shows up on the MRI doesn't mean it is the reason for the pain, True however my neurologist disagrees and since she's a consultant with decades of experience I'll go with her view ;)
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
facetube 11y ago
Yes. Outside of some city/state/local laws, Americans as a whole do not have mandatory paid (or even, in some cases, even unpaid) sick leave protections. Every day, some Americans are being forced to decide between going to work sick and being fired into poverty.
aninhumer 11y ago
The problem is, even once you take action to correct the cause of a headache (assuming you can tell what that is) the headache often sticks around for the next few hours regardless.
jakobegger 11y ago
I've suffered from semi-regular headaches -- sometimes every week, currently about once a month. I don't know what's causing them; the neurologist said it's migraine, another doctor said it might be allergies, other people told me that they are probably related to tension in my spine and another well-meaning friend told me I should just drink more water. Ibuprofen lets me get rid of my headache 90% of the time. Sure, frequent painkiller use has side effects (stomach troubles for me), but the alternative is spending two days in pain unable to concentrate. I know a few people who have been suffering from headaches all their life, and there just isn't a simple lifestyle change that will get rid of it.
- Flow 11y ago
  I have a very similar story. Have you tried any medicines against anxiety? It could be something as simple as magnesium and water. Or Atarax or Buspirone. I've discovered these reduce the chance of a headache breaking out by quite a bit. But if there's a real tension/migraine headache, ibuprofen is the only medicine that I've tried that helps. But these days I'm very careful about taking ibuprofen, it hurts my stomach and I've already suffered vitamin B9/12 deficiency once. Not fun at all.
  - beefield 11y ago
    Have you tried something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omeprazole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omeprazole when eating ibuprofen? I am not a doctor, but I have understood that it is recommended if you have issues with ibuprofen and stomach.
    - Flow 11y ago
      Yes I have. It works ok most of the time.
  - nibs 11y ago
    FYI you may want to take a genetic test. I found that my migranes came from HLA-DQ2.5 gene (Celiac) and that my stomach pain from Ibuprofin came from a gene that I have that causes inflammation when taking ibuprofin. And both gave me B12 deficiency (among other things) before I stopped eating wheat and taking Advil to cure the problems it created. Lots of this stuff is driven by genetics most people are not (but could be) aware of.
jamesrcole 11y ago
If you require painkillers to get through the day (or year) you should consider your position and how youre treating your self and your body. You think it's just a matter of choice or effort for all people? Life's not so simple, and you should learn a bit more about some of the things people face.
- brimstedt 11y ago
  Of course, we're all individuals with our own set of bodies and problems. But still, if some developer at my office is getting neck problems, HR starts looking into her officespace, what chair is in use, can it be tuned, etc. People expect there to be an external cause for the problem. Same person get headaches? Painkillers.
  - jamesrcole 11y ago
    My point is that there are some problems that there's no ergonomics, no lifestyle changes, no amounts of exercises or stretches, and so on, that are effective for. I'm not saying these problems are fundamentally impossible to address, but there are currently problems that our present level of understanding is not very good at dealing with. As a side note, I believe that ergonomics is currently a pseudo science that is only effective if you've got a common sort of problem. All the ergonomics advice I've ever been given for my problems has been terrible.
  - wallflower 11y ago
    That is a very good point you made about ergonomics as the solution for poor typing practices. As someone who suffers from decades prior of poor typing, I think there is a cultural propensity to associate RSI/CTS with external solutions. Especially people talking about having surgery for RSI/CTS symptoms as a "cure" of sorts. The way I try to describe it to the younger generation is like this. When you are young, you can put your body through a malicious amount of abuse through typing. As you get older, you may start experiencing pain of sorts directly related to binges of typing. However, they usually go away after rest. What happens is that eventually the rest does not fully subside the pain/strain/soreness, it is always there. That is RSI/CTS/whatever you choose to call it. You broke the camel's back.
raverbashing 11y ago
Says the person who has never had a headache/migrane, pulled a muscle or had some condition treatable with painkillers/NSAIDs and had to go to work.
kyriakos 11y ago
I suffer from migraines. Paracetamol helps me most of the times when taken early allowing me to function for the rest of the day. Otherwise I'm a zombie hiding in the dark for many hours waiting for the pain to go away. It's not life threatening but it still feels necessary to me.

DanBC 11y ago

They tested this in people who have no pain. We don't know yet whether someone in pain is going to make more errors than that person with their pain controlled by acetaminophen / paracetamol.

prodmerc 11y ago
Hmm, head-splitting pain or paracetamol? The choice is getting tougher by the day /s

GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago

Please talk to a doctor instead and don't take medical advice from the Hacker News commentariat.

unclebucknasty 11y ago
Why? I was just about to post a pic of my rash to imgur and ask HN to give me their thoughts.