4 ms·

> What does ingesting 10g of acetaminophen even look like? 20 not-especially-large tablets

vasco 6mo ago
Or 10 slightly larger ones edit: https://www.24pharma.nl/paracetamol-eg-1000mg-120-tabletten https://www.24pharma.nl/paracetamol-eg-1000mg-120-tabletten
- petesergeant 6mo ago
  I’ve pretty much only ever seen them sold at 500mg; are you regularly seeing them where you are sold in 1g form?
  - nbernard 6mo ago
    They are common in France, but not in such packages: There are restrictions that prevent you from buying more than than 8g/day (theoretically at least, I don't believe they are strictly applied in practice).
  - Dries007 6mo ago
    The linked size is also quite common in Belgium.
  - oblio 6mo ago
    In Europe for sure they're also sold in 1g dosing. I think the packages don't contain lots of pills, though. Definitely not US style buckets of pills.
  - SpaceNugget 6mo ago
    The .nl indicates the netherlands. Many people in the netherlands vent/joke about how the doctors here only ever tell you to take paracetamol and come back in two weeks if it's still a problem (recursive solution). However the last time I went to my GP she scoffed at me taking the maximum and suggested I take literally double the maximum recommended dose 4-5 times a day which totaled I think 2.5x the daily maximum on the package. I am very much a "believer" in science and reasonable medical authority but this experience sowed the seeds of doubt, because from what I have always heard, that can actually kill you or cause permanent liver issues. I was also taking diclofenac simultaenously, and when I told her how many mg, she asked "where can you even buy such small doses, that's what I would give a small child" =/
    - toast0 6mo ago
      My understanding is double the max dose of paracetamol is the LD50. Seems crazy for your GP to advocate for that. Published recommended dose is assuming average weight, so maybe if you're a very large person, the advice makes some sense, but wow.
  - sumea 6mo ago
    They are widely sold at 1000 mg (1g) tablets in Europe, but in many countries they require doctor's prescription. There are also purchase limits to the number of pills you can buy at once.
throwaway27448 6mo ago
Is this not suicidal behavior?
- applfanboysbgon 6mo ago
  This can easily happen over the course of 24 hours if you're in "fuck me I'll do anything to make it stop" levels of pain. I've taken more than 20 ibuprofens in a day a few times in my life, which, while not medically advised, did not kill me. I actually had no idea acetaminophen was so dangerous.
  - sozforex 6mo ago
    Just in case, ibuprophen does not work well for pain relief [at lest for some kind of pain]. Paracetamol [acetaminophen] usually is much better against pain. And paracetamol + ibuprophen can help with strong pain for which neither paracetamol or ibuprophen work at normal doses.
    - topham 6mo ago
      Not really. Both address different sources of pain, and do so using different processes. Ibuprofen is a Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID) that reduces pain and inflammation, while acetaminophen does not. (Acetaminophen is believed to act mainly in the brain rather than at the site of injury). Ibuprofen- Fundamentally, if the pain is caused by inflammation, reducing the immune systems response to it can reduce pain, but if the pain is more acute it won't make a dent. With acetaminophen, taking more isn't a solution in most cases, you need another method to reduce the pain further if it doesn't achieve its goal. (That's why it's combined with things like codeine, which affects the brain in a different way for an additive effect)
      - kgwgk 6mo ago
        > you need another method to reduce the pain further I don’t know about “most cases” but often you don’t want to reduce the pain _further_, you want to reduce the pain _again_. (Having an alternative definitely helps in the meantime.)
fc417fc802 6mo ago
As an American this is such a weird question to me. I purchase my ibuprofen and benadryl in bottles of anywhere from 400 to 1000 pills every few years.

vasco 6mo ago

Or 10 slightly larger ones edit: https://www.24pharma.nl/paracetamol-eg-1000mg-120-tabletten https://www.24pharma.nl/paracetamol-eg-1000mg-120-tabletten

petesergeant 6mo ago
I’ve pretty much only ever seen them sold at 500mg; are you regularly seeing them where you are sold in 1g form?
- nbernard 6mo ago
  They are common in France, but not in such packages: There are restrictions that prevent you from buying more than than 8g/day (theoretically at least, I don't believe they are strictly applied in practice).
- Dries007 6mo ago
  The linked size is also quite common in Belgium.
- oblio 6mo ago
  In Europe for sure they're also sold in 1g dosing. I think the packages don't contain lots of pills, though. Definitely not US style buckets of pills.
- SpaceNugget 6mo ago
  The .nl indicates the netherlands. Many people in the netherlands vent/joke about how the doctors here only ever tell you to take paracetamol and come back in two weeks if it's still a problem (recursive solution). However the last time I went to my GP she scoffed at me taking the maximum and suggested I take literally double the maximum recommended dose 4-5 times a day which totaled I think 2.5x the daily maximum on the package. I am very much a "believer" in science and reasonable medical authority but this experience sowed the seeds of doubt, because from what I have always heard, that can actually kill you or cause permanent liver issues. I was also taking diclofenac simultaenously, and when I told her how many mg, she asked "where can you even buy such small doses, that's what I would give a small child" =/
  - toast0 6mo ago
    My understanding is double the max dose of paracetamol is the LD50. Seems crazy for your GP to advocate for that. Published recommended dose is assuming average weight, so maybe if you're a very large person, the advice makes some sense, but wow.
- sumea 6mo ago
  They are widely sold at 1000 mg (1g) tablets in Europe, but in many countries they require doctor's prescription. There are also purchase limits to the number of pills you can buy at once.

throwaway27448 6mo ago

Is this not suicidal behavior?

applfanboysbgon 6mo ago
This can easily happen over the course of 24 hours if you're in "fuck me I'll do anything to make it stop" levels of pain. I've taken more than 20 ibuprofens in a day a few times in my life, which, while not medically advised, did not kill me. I actually had no idea acetaminophen was so dangerous.
- sozforex 6mo ago
  Just in case, ibuprophen does not work well for pain relief [at lest for some kind of pain]. Paracetamol [acetaminophen] usually is much better against pain. And paracetamol + ibuprophen can help with strong pain for which neither paracetamol or ibuprophen work at normal doses.
  - topham 6mo ago
    Not really. Both address different sources of pain, and do so using different processes. Ibuprofen is a Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID) that reduces pain and inflammation, while acetaminophen does not. (Acetaminophen is believed to act mainly in the brain rather than at the site of injury). Ibuprofen- Fundamentally, if the pain is caused by inflammation, reducing the immune systems response to it can reduce pain, but if the pain is more acute it won't make a dent. With acetaminophen, taking more isn't a solution in most cases, you need another method to reduce the pain further if it doesn't achieve its goal. (That's why it's combined with things like codeine, which affects the brain in a different way for an additive effect)
    - kgwgk 6mo ago
      > you need another method to reduce the pain further I don’t know about “most cases” but often you don’t want to reduce the pain _further_, you want to reduce the pain _again_. (Having an alternative definitely helps in the meantime.)

fc417fc802 6mo ago

As an American this is such a weird question to me. I purchase my ibuprofen and benadryl in bottles of anywhere from 400 to 1000 pills every few years.