4 ms·

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.)
protocolture 6mo ago
I took 2 full packs in a day once while trying to recover from severe pain. Didnt find out until later that it was supposedly a fatal dose.
- throwaway27448 6mo ago
  Mm. Apparently i don't understand pain and the medication it drives people towards.
  - simoncion 6mo ago
    > Apparently i don't understand pain... Speaking as someone who is not-infrequently in significant pain, I sincerely hope that you never have to.
  - user_7832 6mo ago
    Totally get it, I too only understood it "theoretically" till I had a (fairly minor!) dental operation. ... Suddenly I'm maintaining a continuous note of when I'm taking which medicine to avoid crossing safe limits (which I anyway was crossing most days). I was only told to take 2 paracetamols a day (bullshit dose, I'd be waking up from the pain even with more pain meds). "Diclofenac for rare use" - well, if nothing else is touching the pain, is it an emergency? Eventually after forever I was able to transition to Ibuprofen + paracetamol. And I already have a health condition which is heavy on my kidneys... pain management can be absolutely crazy.
    - deleted 6mo ago
      [deleted]
    - fc417fc802 6mo ago
      Pain management can be crazy but in your case it sounds like they simply didn't prescribe the appropriate medication presumably due to the anti opiate hysteria that has taken hold.
      - 6mo ago
adrianmonk 6mo ago
Apparently a common source of problems is taking two different medications without realizing they both contain acetaminophen. Suppose your arthritis is acting up, so you start taking Tylenol 8hr Arthritis Pain[1]. That's 2 tablets every 8 hours. They're extended-release with 650mg per tablet. A total of 3900 mg in 24 hours. A few days later you get the flu, so you decide to add what seems like a completely different medication: Theraflu Flu Relief Max Strength[2]. It has a cough suppressant and an antihistamine. But each caplet also contains 500 mg of acetaminophen. It says to take 2 caplets every 6 hours, so you take 8 of them in 24 hours[3]. That's another 4000 mg. Between the two, you're at 7900 mg. Then you wake up in the morning and take both medications, but 30 minutes later you've forgotten you took them. You're not thinking straight because you're sick. So you accidentally take a second dose. That additional 2300 mg brings your total to 10200 mg. --- [1] https://www.tylenol.com/products/arthritis/tylenol-8hr-arthritis-pain https://www.tylenol.com/products/arthritis/tylenol-8hr-arthr... [2] https://www.theraflu.com/products/day-night-flu-relief-max-strength-caplets-value-pack/ https://www.theraflu.com/products/day-night-flu-relief-max-s... [3] You weren't supposed to take 8 of them, though. If you'd read the label very carefully, you'd have seen it also says not to exceed 6 in a 24-hour period.
- psidebot 6mo ago
  My personal rule is to only purchase over-the-counter meds with a single active ingredient. I'd rather separately take an antihistamine, expectorant and painkiller than a concoction where I have to read the whole label and do math while sick to separate the doses and timings.
  - topham 6mo ago
    There are some that are very hard to find as a single ingredient. Recently I was purchasing a medication for back pain, I had a choice as to which other ingredient I wanted, but I didn't have the choice of none. I picked the combined ingredient I don't like to take, because I wouldn't be adding it on top. I did toss on the other option, stand alone, at one point so I could get some sleep. It left the medication I was more comfortable taking as an add-on option if things got bad enough. (This particular medication has much lower risk of overdose, so if I got stupid and took it again there would be no significant additional risk.) It's ironic, but taking the combined medication with a known higher risk of its own was better than taking the lower risk medication. One was controlled, higher risk, taken at specific times, while the other was taken in addition, on demand, as required.
kgwgk 6mo ago
Only if you take them all at once.
stubish 6mo ago
Also dementia

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.)

protocolture 6mo ago

I took 2 full packs in a day once while trying to recover from severe pain. Didnt find out until later that it was supposedly a fatal dose.

throwaway27448 6mo ago
Mm. Apparently i don't understand pain and the medication it drives people towards.
- simoncion 6mo ago
  > Apparently i don't understand pain... Speaking as someone who is not-infrequently in significant pain, I sincerely hope that you never have to.
- user_7832 6mo ago
  Totally get it, I too only understood it "theoretically" till I had a (fairly minor!) dental operation. ... Suddenly I'm maintaining a continuous note of when I'm taking which medicine to avoid crossing safe limits (which I anyway was crossing most days). I was only told to take 2 paracetamols a day (bullshit dose, I'd be waking up from the pain even with more pain meds). "Diclofenac for rare use" - well, if nothing else is touching the pain, is it an emergency? Eventually after forever I was able to transition to Ibuprofen + paracetamol. And I already have a health condition which is heavy on my kidneys... pain management can be absolutely crazy.
  - deleted 6mo ago
    [deleted]
  - fc417fc802 6mo ago
    Pain management can be crazy but in your case it sounds like they simply didn't prescribe the appropriate medication presumably due to the anti opiate hysteria that has taken hold.
    - 6mo ago

adrianmonk 6mo ago

Apparently a common source of problems is taking two different medications without realizing they both contain acetaminophen. Suppose your arthritis is acting up, so you start taking Tylenol 8hr Arthritis Pain[1]. That's 2 tablets every 8 hours. They're extended-release with 650mg per tablet. A total of 3900 mg in 24 hours. A few days later you get the flu, so you decide to add what seems like a completely different medication: Theraflu Flu Relief Max Strength[2]. It has a cough suppressant and an antihistamine. But each caplet also contains 500 mg of acetaminophen. It says to take 2 caplets every 6 hours, so you take 8 of them in 24 hours[3]. That's another 4000 mg. Between the two, you're at 7900 mg. Then you wake up in the morning and take both medications, but 30 minutes later you've forgotten you took them. You're not thinking straight because you're sick. So you accidentally take a second dose. That additional 2300 mg brings your total to 10200 mg. --- [1] https://www.tylenol.com/products/arthritis/tylenol-8hr-arthritis-pain https://www.tylenol.com/products/arthritis/tylenol-8hr-arthr... [2] https://www.theraflu.com/products/day-night-flu-relief-max-strength-caplets-value-pack/ https://www.theraflu.com/products/day-night-flu-relief-max-s... [3] You weren't supposed to take 8 of them, though. If you'd read the label very carefully, you'd have seen it also says not to exceed 6 in a 24-hour period.

psidebot 6mo ago
My personal rule is to only purchase over-the-counter meds with a single active ingredient. I'd rather separately take an antihistamine, expectorant and painkiller than a concoction where I have to read the whole label and do math while sick to separate the doses and timings.
- topham 6mo ago
  There are some that are very hard to find as a single ingredient. Recently I was purchasing a medication for back pain, I had a choice as to which other ingredient I wanted, but I didn't have the choice of none. I picked the combined ingredient I don't like to take, because I wouldn't be adding it on top. I did toss on the other option, stand alone, at one point so I could get some sleep. It left the medication I was more comfortable taking as an add-on option if things got bad enough. (This particular medication has much lower risk of overdose, so if I got stupid and took it again there would be no significant additional risk.) It's ironic, but taking the combined medication with a known higher risk of its own was better than taking the lower risk medication. One was controlled, higher risk, taken at specific times, while the other was taken in addition, on demand, as required.

kgwgk 6mo ago

Only if you take them all at once.

stubish 6mo ago

Also dementia