Europeans: I’m taking a pill, if it keeps hurting I’m going to the doctor.
Americans: I’m keeping taking this until I pay the house. It is still hurting, I can refinance the house to see a doctor.
Really not much exaggeration here
Exaggerated, sure. The point still stands. Unfortunately.
The point might not stand, sure. But it’s not exaggerated. Boop.
Also at least in my country I can call in sick if I have a headache, will be paid for the day and there is no number of paid-time-off-days, which will be subtracted by one when I do so. The employer continues to pay up to 6 weeks of salary if you need to stay at home due to sickness, and for a period longer than 3 days you need a dr to confirm you’re sick. The number of sick days per year depend on you actually being sick - I was baffled when I learned this is a fixed number in the US (at least for some) . I guess the motivation to work sick when you have a limited number of paid sick days also contributes to the usage of pain killers.
“Lol Americans are so funny, they can’t go to a doctor without going homeless, look at these coping mechanisms they use, hilarious”
Yeah, it’s pretty funny considering how absurd it is.
It is funny since they keep voting in ways that make their healthcare worse instead of better so why should we feel pity?
It’s not all of us ☹️
Still better off than the people in the countries you coup to install dictators.
I coup?
And they got their propaganda machines to thank for it.
Namely fox news, Aon, shit like joe Rogan,etc…
Calm down liberals its something called “dork humor” 😎
Americans just tell you it’s a slight headache. In reality their back is so screwed up it’s going to require surgery but they can’t afford that and complaining about actual pain is strictly forbidden in American men.
So we take
2004008001600 Motrin, with some bourbon, and ignore it as best as we can.That’s really sad.
Yup, I know.
This is my mother for the last year or so because of rotoscoliosis, a bulging disc, and arthritis in her shoulders.
She can’t really get any form of treatment because the only insurance she can afford is a high-deductable plan, which means she would have to pretty much pay for the entire treatment out of pocket.
I’m so sorry. We really need universal healthcare.
I’m sure we’ll get there next election!
(Says half of America every 4 years)
Next election? What next election? Elections are so out of fashion now!
I think we’ll still have elections, just like how Russia still has elections.
SSELECT ONE:
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Donald J. Trump / James D. Vance
-
No suitable candidate (year in the gulag)
Not necessary with the candidates and policies the democrats are doomed to follow.
-
Would flying to Europe and getting healthcare there be cheaper? Look into it.
Maybe but still thousands that we don’t have
What about post-Soviet countries?
But they’ll only recommend the surgery after trying muscle relaxers ten times over the course of a year.
Is this a serious thing? It seems so normal here in the states.
Yes, it’s a thing. The idea behind it is that you don’t want to become dependent on the pills to the point that they have less effect or that you feel worse without them. Sincerely, a Dutch non-techno non-DJ.
Also it can cause or amplify a lot of stomach issues
Regular use also fucks up your organs. Paracetamol (Tylenol) kills your liver, and ibuprofen kills your kidneys.
What about acetaminophen?
acetaminophen = paracetamol = Tylenol
One compound*, different names.
…Pedantic edit ten days later that nobody will even read:
*plus fillers and binding agents which can vary substantially between manufacturers for many medications, but not the active ingredient(s)
Acetaminophen and paracetamol are the same thing.
Others have answered, but I’ll say it anyway.
The name paracetamol is used in most of the world, and by the WHO. Acetaminophen is the adopted name in the United States, Canada, and Japan. US pharmacies also use APAP. The most common trade names are Tylenol and Panadol. They all refer to the same stuff.
Thanks, I did not know that
I have never heard of this in the context of ibuprofen. I know it’s bad on the stomach which means you shouldn’t take it for long periods of time (unless prescribed by a doctor). However, when the source of the pain disappears it’s pretty easy to kick the habit. Very different from opioids that are addictive beyond their painkilling ability.
Also between European countries the price of otc painkillers differs tremendously, and my impression is that European pharmacies generally only sell small packages in an effort to maximise profits.
The size has more to do with limiting use.
How exactly do small packages limit use? There is no limit to the amount of packages you can buy. However, those small packages are severely overpriced. I think it’s safe to say that profit considerations played a role in their design.
Nobody buys 3 packages at once. If someone does that it raises some alarms. And they come in blisters, not as candy, so your first way of taking them is one by one.
I do! I usually buy an annual supply in the Netherlands because it is much cheaper than in other European countries. No alarms were ever raised (obviously since otc pharmacies are entirely anonymous). Again, the price difference between countries gives a strong indication of the profit motive involved.
The argument about blisters sounds ridiculous. Do you really believe you will stop an addict from his addiction because he has to push a bit harder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medication_overuse_headache?wprov=sfla1
You can absolutely become addicted to all kinds of painkillers. Thats part of the reason why i write down every dose of painkillers i take. Not just the triptanes for my migraine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medication_overuse_headache?wprov=sfla1
You can absolutely become addicted to all kinds of painkillers. Thats part of the reason why i write down every dose of painkillers i take. Not just the triptanes for my migraine.
You can’t become dependent on ibuprofen, it’s not addictive. You shouldn’t be popping it like candy, but taking it when you are in pain is perfectly fine.
You can reduce their effectiveness though.
Do you have a source for that?
Still, the vast majority of people taking NSAIDs in the recommended doses who have appropriate monitoring (such as the occasional blood test) have no major problems with them.
My doctor, but there’s a bunch of studies where they injected rats too.
I don’t think that actually happens.
Do people develop a dependency on ibuprofen? I didn’t know that was possible.
Then again, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.
Yeah, in the UK they reduced the amount you can buy at once too, so drugs like paracetamol and ibuprofen only come in 16 tablet packs and you can only buy 2 packs at a shop., It’s helped lower suicides quite well.
People here have a real aversion to taking tablets a lot of the time. I have to convince people to take regular paracetamol (which is non addictive and doesn’t have side effects so long as you don’t take more than the recommended amount) after they have had surgery semi-regularly.
Suicide by by paracetamol is such a fucking horrible way to go, mostly since it doesn’t kill you, it just completely destroys your liver.
Just enough time to regret it, before you die slowly and in great pain
Much faster drinking distilled water.
That’s… Ugh. That’s the worst way to go. You have an entire week of pain to regret your decision while doctors can do nothing to help you.
I just don’t think it’s a good idea to take pills without asking a doctor, I’m not a medical professional
In the UK you’re limited to 32 pills of paracetamol(acetaminophen in NA) per purchase. Less if they’re high dose.
Fun fact for Europeans: we call paracetamol acetaminophen
…but it is amid, not amin, no? Why do americans call it acetaminophen instead of acetamidophen?
Nope it’s amin according to Google.
I actually thought I spelled it wrong at first. Weird.
Nope it’s amin according to Google.
That’s why I ask. Americans call it “acetaminophen”, but compound doesn’t have amino-group and instead had amido-group.
IUPAC calls it as what it is: N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)acetamide
EDIT: my guess is that america uses another nomenclature for organic chemistry. As usual. Do they have compound called “freedom eagle guns”? I’m so used to amine meaning specifically R-NH2 and nothing else.
Idk I’m not a chemist. I thought the whole point of scientific standards was that everyone used the same name/units but we don’t even spell meter right in the states.
Don’t know about Ibuprofen, but Paracetamol overdose is horrible, agonizing death.
Overdosing on Ibuprofen is harder and less deadly iirc but it can really mess up your stomach and/or damage your kidneys.
Americans be like
The pills will ease the Payne.
If those bottles are sold as a pair and each has 500 pills, 1000 pills is more than a hospital grade package in my country.
Is it common for ibuprofen to not really help? With physical pain it does nothing for me. It kind of helps with head aches sometimes. I use it maybe a couple times a year, so it’s not tolerance.
Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID). It will reduce inflammation and the associated pain. If your pain is not caused by inflammation then you should talk to a pharmacist about what the best analgesic is for you.
There are several families of painmeds some more harmless than others. Anecdotally I know people that only seem to get relief from ibuprofen, and others that swear only paracetamol (Tylenol) helps, while again others sweat to asperin. Like the other person said… talk to a pharmacist about options, and see if others work for you.
Some like paracetamol can me taken over the course of a day for multiple days for example post operation… and they build a level that causes them to work even stronger. But paracetamol can cause lover damage if taken too much.
Like with all drugs, read the darn pamphlet. Opiates are not your friend and should only be taken very sparingly under proper supervision, if at all… sure they dull pain but are highly addictive.
Source, not a medical professional, so take what I wrote with a grain of salt and consult a professional.
Main benefit for acetaminophen(the American name for paracetamol) is that you can use it on top of an NSAID. That’s something you can’t do with aspirin. It’s good to stagger the dosage for something like a toothache or take both at once for a headache (this is what most OTC migraine medications are, an NSAID[usually aspirin], acetaminophen, and caffeine in one pill).
Noones talking about opiates though?
Can you post a source about acetaminophen building up over time the way you describe? It seems unlikely with such a short half life but I could be wrong.
Tbh I usually take 600 mg instead of the 400mg. That usually gets it going for me
Try taking it with a dose of acetaminophen. Those two have a synergistic effect that is better than either alone and is often used post surgery for that reason.
It helps marginally better than placebo for me. Hence why Americans use it for fairly trivial aches and pains.
I can’t imagine it would do anything for pain I’d consider ‘serious’.
Depends, I guess. It does nothing for period pains with me, but when I burst my ear drum last month, it took the pain from excruciating to manageable.
I’m kinda in this meme. I went through one of those big bottles roughly every 1-2 months for 20 years. Sometimes 12 pills in one day, with 4-8 acetaminophen on top (they do giant double packs of those too). Chronic migraines, but every doctor I asked for help just told me to lose weight so it went untreated and got worse and worse. Our health care suuuucks.
I did lose the weight. It didn’t magically fix my migraines, or affect them at all. Insurance dicked me around for another year and a half while my neurologist tried to help every way she could, but we finally got it down to only one migraine a week. I’m truly glad for that, but I still think about the years of unnecessary suffering, and how much better it might be now if I’d been treated sooner.
Holy shit, how did you not die from stomach ulcers?
Hi. American here with atypical trigeminal neuralgia.
I don’t even bother with analgesics for anything at this point. You hit 10 on the pain scale enough times and anything below 6 you mostly shrug off.
Unless I stub my toe. That shit hurts like a motherfucker.
Two 500mg tablets of acetaminophen please, thank you
-A Certified American
200 mg? I know people over here that will pop a pair of 800 mg tablets.
Isn’t 800mg Rx-only? If they’re doing it under their doctor’s supervision, then that’s their business.
Or… And doctors hate this one trick…
8 200mg pills
Technically it’s prescription only. In reality if you ask a random group of men there’s always someone with a bottle. Around military bases it’s even worse because the military just throws the 800mg pills at everything.
I don’t know what military life is like, but that hasn’t been my experience as a civie. Most men I know wouldn’t go to the doctor for something mild enough that it could be treated with ibuprofen.
Maybe there’s just a huge black market Ibprofen ring. But more likely someone is prescribing them at low cost clinics and that’s keeping the civilian supply going. Because it’s absolutely the case where I am.
Here 600 is under prescription for sure, I think 400 too.
I honestly don’t understand the Dutch techno reference.
It’s about the perceived drug use (namely ecstasy) within the electronic music scene. Amsterdam, because of its ports and proximity to western Europe, became a hub for typically higher quality drugs.
Oh, that. I was wondering why would djs pop ibuprofen lol.
Honestly I think the Americans have it right, here.
You end up taking fewer painkillers of you start taking them early and get ahead of the pain. If you wait until the pain is already severe, you end up taking more.
Idk why this happens, it’s info I got from a nurse, and intuitively it feels right.
But also, we have small bottles, too. Kirkland is the Costco brand, the place where you buy shit in bulk.
It’s like showing some natural peanut butter from the grocery store vs. a tub of jif from Sam’s club.
Yeah, the double pack of Kirkland ibuprofen will typically last an entire family a year or more
I think you replied to the wrong comment
That’s true, but you can also get these big bottles pretty much anywhere.
