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I grew up with the understanding that acetaminophen was the safe choice for fever or aches, and ibuprofen what the more potent compound for inflammation and sev
by seemaze 6mo ago
I grew up with the understanding that acetaminophen was the safe choice for fever or aches, and ibuprofen what the more potent compound for inflammation and severe pain. I recall casual anecdotes that "my doctor said 1.5x or 2x ibuprofen dose is ok when warranted" to address major incursions.
I've never once thought about taking more than the recommended dosage of acetaminophen, largely because I had no expectation that it would provide additional benefit..
In reality, I try to consume 1/2 doses of anything or nothing at all, unless it's a serious medical treatment being administered by a professional.
- petesergeant 6mo agoI think most overdoses happen as a result of someone trying to hurt themselves, but I’ve also previously been in sufficient pain (always dental) that I’m counting the minutes down to when I can take more painkillers, so it’s easy to see how you could take double the expected dosage.
- kgwgk 6mo agoIt’s also easy to imagine that you may be in a state of confusion and lose track of time and/or the count of doses.
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- ghosty141 6mo ago> largely because I had no expectation that it would provide additional benefit.. An interesting thing with ibuprofen is that at the regular dose of 400mg it inhibits pain but if you take 1600mg it doesn't inhibit much more pain than the 400mg dose, but the inflammatory effect does increase significantly. A lot of people don't know that and take too much thinking it scales linearly.
- mordae 6mo agoSome know that you can combine ibuprofen with paracetamol to get extra pain suppression. And when you want to be gentle, you alternate between them.
- 7bit 6mo agoIf your doctor recommends to take a specific dose, take the specific dose. Don't half it. Taking half of stuff can also cause further damage. Like with antibiotics, where it can lead to bacteria becoming resistant. So don't be the "smarter" person. Do as your doctor says and if you have doubts, consult another doctor before just doing what you think is safe, but actually isn't.
- mordae 6mo agoThis. But also don't trust doctors and always remember Richard Feynman's Wife. Science is hard.
- nerptastic 6mo agoIs this not the case for OTC drugs? Specifically, the two mentioned in the article. I rarely take either of them, but if my doctor tells me to take 1 ibuprofen every 6 hours or so, if I halve that am I actually doing more damage?
- gucci-on-fleek 6mo ago> Is this not the case for OTC drugs? In general, taking a lower dose than recommended can cause problems, but aside from antibiotics, the problems are probably going to be from insufficiently treating the underlying condition, rather than the medication itself. Most OTC drugs give a single recommended dosage for all adults, so some people will necessarily get a lower "effective" dose than others (eg. a 200 lb man compared to a 90 lb woman). > Specifically, the two mentioned in the article. [...] but if my doctor tells me to take 1 ibuprofen every 6 hours or so, if I halve that am I actually doing more damage? With the caveat that I'm not a doctor, you should be fine: the only effect of acetaminophen is pain suppression, so if the pain is tolerable, then you should be fine. Ibuprofen has some anti-inflammatory effects that could be important here, but realistically, if the anti-inflammatory effects are the primary reason for the prescription, then your doctor is more likely to prescribe naproxen or celecoxib. But if this ever comes up for you again, probably the best solution would be to tell your doctor/pharmacist "I have a high pain tolerance, would it be okay if I take less?", since in my experience, medical practitioners are generally pretty happy to hear when you want to take less drugs.