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So I thought it was unsafe to take for hangovers due to the risk of stomach bleeding… or is it just a matter of waiting long enough after you’ve stopped drinkin

So I thought it was unsafe to take for hangovers due to the risk of stomach bleeding… or is it just a matter of waiting long enough after you’ve stopped drinking?

rr888 4y ago
Its amazing how many people eat Ibuprofen like candy. My friend ended up with holes in her stomach, despite the warnings she thought there was little risk (even took Ibuprofen for stomach pain).
- jmann99999 4y ago
  It also increases the risk of stroke and heart attack[0]. After finding that out, I don't take it quite as liberally. [0]https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthens-warning-that-nsaids-increase-heart-attack-and-stroke-risk-201507138138 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthens-warning-...
  - Aeolun 4y ago
    They really need to quantify this risk. Simply saying it 'increases the risk' is just scaremongering.
    - samtho 4y ago
      Yep, I think most would agree that traveling by car significantly increases the risk of being in a fatal car accident, yet this does not deter people on a daily basis. A lot of these “X increases the risk of Y” might be true on the whole, but there are so many variables that are not captured and can very drastically affect individual outcomes.
- worker_person 4y ago
  She probably has an underlying condition that's not being addressed. Autoimmune is quite common, but could be lots of things. Diet changes are sometimes enough. Sometimes a massage gun and Bob and Brad youtube channel will fix muscle knots that are the real issues.
- dbrgn 4y ago
  It's not a surprise if you look at the Ibuprofen packaging used in US supermarkets... There's a picture in the article of such a supermarket aisle. You can buy a 750- or even 1000-pack for a few dollars. WTF, how is it a good idea to sell painkillers in such quantities in supermarkets? If you sell drugs like candy people will eat it like candy.
  - mrguyorama 4y ago
    Or, hear me out, they are less than pennies to produce and don't expire, and I can buy that one bottle for basically many years, for multiple people
    - Spivak 4y ago
      Yep. My grandchildren will inherit my Costco bottles of meds.
  - valarauko 4y ago
    > If you sell drugs like candy people will eat it like candy. Even candy shouldn't be eaten like, well, candy.
  - freeflight 4y ago
    As a German it's super surreal to me. Ibuprofen are only sold in dedicated pharmacies here, behind the counter, the higher dosages ones even require a prescription from a doctor. I don't even understand why/how somebody can take/need so many of them in such high dosages. Usually half a 400 mg pill will deal with any headache I occasionally have. Took higher doses regularly due to problems with my teeth, which had a noticeable bad effect on my stomach. Do people just medicate that away too?
tullatulla 4y ago
Definitely a better choice than paracetamol, which is metabolized by the liver...
- dbrgn 4y ago
  Yeah, don't take paracetamol if your liver is already busy getting rid of the alcohol. However, both alcohol and ibuprofen increase the risk of stomach bleeding, so don't overdo it with ibuprofen either. I'm sometimes shocked how nonchalantly people mix residual alcohol with drugs without checking side effects. PS: Paracetamol is a drug with pretty low side effects, but the dosage is really important. Even just doubling or tripling the dose can cause acute liver failure.
  - Flashtoo 4y ago
    Paracetamol and alcohol is actually not a dangerous combination at all as far as the liver is concerned. That is why there is no warning against combining the two in the information leaflet that comes with it. Paracetamol is not toxic, but its intermediate metabolite NAPQI is. The enzyme that converts paracetamol into NAPQI is the same that breaks down alcohol, and it has a higher affinity for alcohol meaning that it will be too busy working on the alcohol to turn the paracetamol into toxic NAPQI. Long-term alcohol abusers will develop more of this enzyme, so they are more likely to get liver damage from paracetamol though.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
humantorso 4y ago
It's not just ulcers, you can get serious liver damage from combining alcohol and ibuprofen: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7921853/#:~:text=Since%20ibuprofen%20is%20frequently%20used,and%20ibuprofen%20increases%20liver%20toxicity https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7921853/#:~:tex....
banannaise 4y ago
It is wildly superior to the other option (acetaminophen) which is both ineffective on hangovers and damaging to your liver which is already dealing with the alcohol. Alcoholics may have issues with the stomach lining that can be exacerbated by ibuprofen, but people who are just drinking don't typically have that problem.
Mikeb85 4y ago
It's more a matter of not abusing it. Because it's relatively safe, many people take much, much more than the recommended dose.
criddell 4y ago
How could the inventor of the drug have known at the time? That seems like something that would be discovered later.
- frakkingcylons 4y ago
  That’s true, I was more surprised that the article didn’t have even a passing mention of “hey don’t do this”.
freeflight 4y ago
The major part of hangovers is dehydration, try hydrating up, with electrolytes, before going to bed, maybe pop an aspirin if you already feeling the headache come on.

So I thought it was unsafe to take for hangovers due to the risk of stomach bleeding… or is it just a matter of waiting long enough after you’ve stopped drinking?

rr888 4y ago

Its amazing how many people eat Ibuprofen like candy. My friend ended up with holes in her stomach, despite the warnings she thought there was little risk (even took Ibuprofen for stomach pain).

jmann99999 4y ago
It also increases the risk of stroke and heart attack[0]. After finding that out, I don't take it quite as liberally. [0]https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthens-warning-that-nsaids-increase-heart-attack-and-stroke-risk-201507138138 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthens-warning-...
- Aeolun 4y ago
  They really need to quantify this risk. Simply saying it 'increases the risk' is just scaremongering.
  - samtho 4y ago
    Yep, I think most would agree that traveling by car significantly increases the risk of being in a fatal car accident, yet this does not deter people on a daily basis. A lot of these “X increases the risk of Y” might be true on the whole, but there are so many variables that are not captured and can very drastically affect individual outcomes.
worker_person 4y ago
She probably has an underlying condition that's not being addressed. Autoimmune is quite common, but could be lots of things. Diet changes are sometimes enough. Sometimes a massage gun and Bob and Brad youtube channel will fix muscle knots that are the real issues.
dbrgn 4y ago
It's not a surprise if you look at the Ibuprofen packaging used in US supermarkets... There's a picture in the article of such a supermarket aisle. You can buy a 750- or even 1000-pack for a few dollars. WTF, how is it a good idea to sell painkillers in such quantities in supermarkets? If you sell drugs like candy people will eat it like candy.
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  Or, hear me out, they are less than pennies to produce and don't expire, and I can buy that one bottle for basically many years, for multiple people
  - Spivak 4y ago
    Yep. My grandchildren will inherit my Costco bottles of meds.
- valarauko 4y ago
  > If you sell drugs like candy people will eat it like candy. Even candy shouldn't be eaten like, well, candy.
- freeflight 4y ago
  As a German it's super surreal to me. Ibuprofen are only sold in dedicated pharmacies here, behind the counter, the higher dosages ones even require a prescription from a doctor. I don't even understand why/how somebody can take/need so many of them in such high dosages. Usually half a 400 mg pill will deal with any headache I occasionally have. Took higher doses regularly due to problems with my teeth, which had a noticeable bad effect on my stomach. Do people just medicate that away too?

tullatulla 4y ago

Definitely a better choice than paracetamol, which is metabolized by the liver...

dbrgn 4y ago
Yeah, don't take paracetamol if your liver is already busy getting rid of the alcohol. However, both alcohol and ibuprofen increase the risk of stomach bleeding, so don't overdo it with ibuprofen either. I'm sometimes shocked how nonchalantly people mix residual alcohol with drugs without checking side effects. PS: Paracetamol is a drug with pretty low side effects, but the dosage is really important. Even just doubling or tripling the dose can cause acute liver failure.
- Flashtoo 4y ago
  Paracetamol and alcohol is actually not a dangerous combination at all as far as the liver is concerned. That is why there is no warning against combining the two in the information leaflet that comes with it. Paracetamol is not toxic, but its intermediate metabolite NAPQI is. The enzyme that converts paracetamol into NAPQI is the same that breaks down alcohol, and it has a higher affinity for alcohol meaning that it will be too busy working on the alcohol to turn the paracetamol into toxic NAPQI. Long-term alcohol abusers will develop more of this enzyme, so they are more likely to get liver damage from paracetamol though.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

humantorso 4y ago

It's not just ulcers, you can get serious liver damage from combining alcohol and ibuprofen: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7921853/#:~:text=Since%20ibuprofen%20is%20frequently%20used,and%20ibuprofen%20increases%20liver%20toxicity https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7921853/#:~:tex....

banannaise 4y ago

It is wildly superior to the other option (acetaminophen) which is both ineffective on hangovers and damaging to your liver which is already dealing with the alcohol. Alcoholics may have issues with the stomach lining that can be exacerbated by ibuprofen, but people who are just drinking don't typically have that problem.

Mikeb85 4y ago

It's more a matter of not abusing it. Because it's relatively safe, many people take much, much more than the recommended dose.

criddell 4y ago

How could the inventor of the drug have known at the time? That seems like something that would be discovered later.

frakkingcylons 4y ago
That’s true, I was more surprised that the article didn’t have even a passing mention of “hey don’t do this”.

freeflight 4y ago

The major part of hangovers is dehydration, try hydrating up, with electrolytes, before going to bed, maybe pop an aspirin if you already feeling the headache come on.