
A hangover led to the discovery of ibuprofen - timthorn
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34798438
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recursive
Based on the other comments in this thread, it's becoming apparent that my
experience with ibuprofen and any other OTC pain drug is not typical. Every
time I've taken one for pain, the effect is minor. Like I'm not sure if it's
doing anything or not. Mostly, I only take them anymore if someone insists.

I wonder if I feel pain less than normal, or pain killers less than normal.

~~~
frozenport
I had similar experience, until I realized that my dosage was rather low. You
might need 3 pills by 200mg to feel the effects.

~~~
bryanlarsen
That's over the recommended dose. Make sure you're comfortable with the long
term side effects if you do that regularly.

~~~
frozenport
Hard to say:
[http://www.drugs.com/dosage/ibuprofen.html#Usual_Adult_Dose_...](http://www.drugs.com/dosage/ibuprofen.html#Usual_Adult_Dose_for_Headache)

`Usual Adult Dose for Headache Study (n=34) - Prevention of Electroconvulsive
therapy (ECT)-induced headache: 600 mg orally 90 minutes prior to the initial
ECT session`

~~~
DanBC
That's a medically supervised dose after a rare event. GP post spoke about
long term use.

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strictnein
It's foolish, but I still buy Advil instead of a generic brand because I like
the tasty coating. I can't be the only one, right?

~~~
robmcm
It would cost less to get the unbranded kind and a bag of skittles for the
sugar and a can of coke for the caffeine they often add (to make it 'fast
acting').

In the UK branded ones are often $5 where as unbranded could be as little as
$0.35.

~~~
strictnein
Are you talking a single dose? At stores like Target or Walmart in the US,
you're typically just paying a $2-$5 premium, and that's on 100-250 pills.

~~~
robmcm
There is a limit on selling more than ~30 to a person per day or something.
Most* packs are 16 or 32.

*Obviously you can get premium products where you get 6 or so because they are in a package with metallic pain and bright colors.

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manyxcxi
Being 33, it has essentially been OTC my whole life and I seriously took for
granted how awesome this drug was until I could not take it (or any other
NSAID) any longer. Now my choices seem to be generally in the camp of "this
hurts so bad I need a narcotic" or "this is inflamed to the point we need to
break out the prednisone" or both. It really, really sucks to be sore after
something and not be able to down a couple.

~~~
robzyb
> Being 33, it has essentially been OTC my whole life and I seriously took for
> granted how awesome this drug was until I could not take it (or any other
> NSAID) any longer.

Wait. Why could you not take any NSAID any longer?

I am someone who gets a lot of value from the occasional ibuprofen, and you
have me worried.

~~~
manyxcxi
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at age 22. It's generally accepted
that people suffering from Crohn's, colitis, IBD, etc should avoid NSAIDs and
COX-2 inhibitors as they can lead to flare ups of their disease. So, it's not
that I absolutely can't take them without dire consequences, I just can't take
them regularly, or for very long (like a day or two MAX). When my doctor told
me this, I shrugged it off and just avoided them until I sprained my ankle so
bad they were afraid I tore ligaments. I took Ibuprofin for 4 days when I was
trying to avoid narcotic use and get some work done and I wound up with the
closest thing to a flare up I've had since I went on Remicade years ago. So
yeah, I won't be doing that again, but I'd pop a couple once every so often if
my back was extremely sore or something like that.

The upshot is that I am really aware of how Ibuprofin affects me and I can
feel it kick in and relieve pain the same way someone who could take it
regularly might feel about an opioid.

~~~
junto
I also have UC and "abused" ibuprofen in my twenties. My body cannot tolerate
them at all anymore. I try not to take any pain relief, but when I'm forced
to, I've turned back to paracetamol.

What are you using for pain relief? BTW, out of interest, did your UC start
after a course of antibiotics?

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gloves
I wish my hangovers were this productive.

~~~
adrianN
You should try working really hard for a decade or so before getting your
hangover. You might just have some experimental drug at hand that you can try.

~~~
gloves
+1

