Ibuprofen or acetaminophen??

[beavereater]

Sorry to post again so soon...to my question....

A while back I was talking about Ibuprofen and taking a double amount to get the same effect as xtra strength. NOW although some of you gave some good ideas for curing a headache, I have to remind you that I live in Japan, and that what they use for maximum strength PRESCRIBED painkillers is the equivalent of a a regular strength generic painkiller back home. SO...I brought my own stuff...Ibuprofen and acetaminophen. What I wonder...is when to use which one??

Another question would be the packaging. Since I bought different kinds, to see what works best (Not knowing if there was any real difference) I got confused when different brands were recommending more and less as a maximum dosage for the same amount. WFT

Any ideas...any suggestions...I still get some pretty severe headaches because of the hot humid weather, and the relentless air-conditioning in subways, trains and buildings.

[vioxx]

Try Vioxx. It works fast and gentle with the gut.

Only problem is: you need a script unless you are a doctor.





Sorry, no more joking.


They all work the same.

Ibuprofen works up to 8 hrs and acetaminophen usual only last for 4 hrs.

So, you can have Ibuprofen 3 times per day and acetaminophen up to 6 times per day.

[Capmaster]

Ibuprofen is good, but it's never lasted 8 hours for me. It's still what I prefer over other NSAIDs.

The nice thing about ibuprofen is the safety margin between the OTC dose and the harmful level. Take 4 aspirin and your ears ring. Take 4 acetominophen and your liver falls out. Take 4 ibuprofen and you're still under the prescription dose limit

[rhegedus]

Forget different brands - the only difference is the price.

If you are going to be taking stuff regularly, I'd take the acetamenophen - provided you stick within the dose limits (max 4g a day) you should have no side effects thing to worry about.

If you are have any musculoskelatal pain or your headache is worse than usual, add 400g ibuprofen (with food) three to four times a day into the mix.

I'd be weary of using analgesics long-term though, because you can get rebound headaches if you stop taking them after a while. Only take them when you have to - don't use them preventatively.

I'd also be weary of using stronger than necessary analgesics. It's unlikely they work any better than the basic ones for mild to moderate pain.

[teegee420]

Ibuprofen has always worked better for me than Acetaminophen. All that shit does is piss me off. :P

[beavereater]

Thanks...I only take it when I REALLY cant work...when I get home I use my bed to relax and a little music.

[Greg12]

I like Asprin to. I always take products containing asprin for my headaches.

[Guest]

Acetminophen has an easier time damaging your liver than IP will at your kidneys. I like IP better. It works better with musculoskeletal pains as well. The only time ican tolereate the former is when it comes in Vicodin,even then I prefer vicoprofen.

[rhegedus]

I think the lowest dose of acetamenophen that has been attributed as a cause of fulminant hepatic failure in an adult is about 12g - 4x the maximum daily dose. Usually more is needed.

I'd bet that 4x the max daily dose of Ibuprofen could f*ck up your kindeys just as well - more so if you're elderly or have renal problems to begin with.

Plus, you'd bleed like Dolly on a Saturday night

[Guest]

I think the lowest dose of acetamenophen that has been attributed as a cause of fulminant hepatic failure in an adult is about 12g - 4x the maximum daily dose. Usually more is needed.

I'd bet that 4x the max daily dose of Ibuprofen could f*ck up your kindeys just as well - more so if you're elderly or have renal problems to begin with.

Plus, you'd bleed like Dolly on a Saturday night

I'm not so sure about the the value u are stating in the first part. Seems high.
IP harm to the kidneys is chronic process. This manifests as microinfarctions. U are more like to experience acute effects with an acet. od.

[stiltman]

naproxin (aka aleve)

[rhegedus]

I think the lowest dose of acetamenophen that has been attributed as a cause of fulminant hepatic failure in an adult is about 12g - 4x the maximum daily dose. Usually more is needed.

I'd bet that 4x the max daily dose of Ibuprofen could f*ck up your kindeys just as well - more so if you're elderly or have renal problems to begin with.

Plus, you'd bleed like Dolly on a Saturday night

I'm not so sure about the the value u are stating in the first part. Seems high.
IP harm to the kidneys is chronic process. This manifests as microinfarctions. U are more like to experience acute effects with an acet. od.

Got the data for acetamenophen from the British National Formulary.

I alse read that short course of Ibuprofen could precipitate acute tubular necrosis - don't know if there were added risk factors.

[Capmaster]

Is that, like, when your pee-pee falls off?

[rhegedus]

Exactly like that!

[indolikaa]

Have you ever seen a doctor for your headaches?

[jakol]

i agree with indolikaa, if u have on- off headaches for quite sometime its better to see a doctor it might be caused by an underlying problem one possibly beaver poisoning(eating contaminated beaver) . acetamenophen or ibuprofen its the same, it all depends on a person taking it and what type of pain u have, ibuprofen has anti inflamatory action thats why it works better with muscular pain .The trick is take the lowest dose possible that works for you (Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen) and Ibuprofen needs to be taken with food.

[Shocker Milwaukee]

Powdered Aspirin (BC) for headaches & Ibuprofen (min. 800mg) for body pains.

Moderate drinkers should avoid acetaminophen as it exascerbates alcohol's negative effect on the liver.

[Guest]

Powdered Aspirin (BC) for headaches & Ibuprofen (min. 800mg) for body pains.

Moderate drinkers should avoid acetaminophen as it exascerbates alcohol's negative effect on the liver.

Word

[devinemi83]

I like IB. I use it sometimes when I work outside all day in the sun and my head hurts afterwards. Even tylenol doesnt work, I pop one little IB and alls good. You can get the generic version VERY cheap in walmarts so thats another plus

[beavereater]

Have you ever seen a doctor for your headaches?

Ya...but the docs here are kinda screwed sometimes. Had one doc tell me to start smoking to releave stress...another told me to stop drinking diet cola...anyway, I went in for a CAT scan and a head x-ray and they found nothing...out of the ordinary anyway I was told once that it could be from pressures in the atmosphere...not sure if thats true or not.

[indolikaa]

I've heard of diet sodas causing severe headaches.


Dr. Gee or vitualis could probably tell you if this is horseshit or not, but I was told that diet sodas with aspartame in them can cause a chemical reaction in the brain that constricts the blood vessels, in much the same way a migraine supposedly does.

I wonder if an Imitrex trial might be worth a try?

[galactica]

Have you ever seen a doctor for your headaches?

Take this for what its worth [maybe Dr. Gee can back me up on this]

Often people who have chronic headaches have subtle changes in thier cranial sutures - such that the bones of the head are not sitting level with the other

kind of like this

_______ -------------- where one is higher or lower than the other.

You can "feel this" yourself if you find a bumpy ridge that runs cross ways or long ways on your head. Push into it a little bit and if you reproduce the pain you feel with a headache this is sometimes the cause.

Speaking from experience here...... i had chronic migranes and would take everything i possibly could - nothign helped. Went to a chiropractor and he found that i had this suture problem with my "coronal suture" [google it if you have no idea what that is]

i had lots of fibrosis [adhesions] in that area and after several adjustmetns the sutures began to line up more liek this -------------- -------------------- and my migranes were practically gone!

just tossing out something to get looked at if the meds aint solving your problem. Id suggest going to a DC or a DO and have them look into this for you if this is a chronic problem. Cranial suture adjusting is somethign they do quite well and you will be amazed at the results you can get!

[galactica]

I've heard of diet sodas causing severe headaches.

Diet soda contains Nutrasweet. It is debatable as to weather nutrasweet is a trigger of headahce. However, there have been some inconclusive studies that suggest it may rarely be a trigger in a few migraine headaches in some people.

More often than not, soda headaches are because of caffine withdrawl.
Crazy huh!

[indolikaa]

I've heard of diet sodas causing severe headaches.

Diet soda contains Nutrasweet. It is debatable as to weather nutrasweet is a trigger of headahce. However, there have been some inconclusive studies that suggest it may rarely be a trigger in a few migraine headaches in some people.

More often than not, soda headaches are because of caffine withdrawl.
Crazy huh!

Not crazy! I can testify to this!

My doctor told me my fatigue problem could be caffeine-related. I was hitting a brick wall at 1PM in the afternoon and needing a long-ass nap just to get through the rest of the day. He took me off caffeine and I had some headaches for awhile, but after a couple of weeks I was feeling much better.

I'm sure drinking 64-oz of water has helped, too. But I feel competely different after getting the caffeine out of my system.

I was pleasantly surprised.

[galactica]

3 days is the average time required to get off a caffine lul.

If you are interested in the biochem of what happens, there is an enzyme [blanking on its name] that is blocked by caffiene. The enzymes job is to degrade cAMP [cyclicm adenosine monophosphate]. cAMP is a major regulator of yoru metabolic activity.

With the enzyme blocked you are basically on a "rush" thus the caffiene feeling/ buzz

problem is your body realizes there is too much cAMP so it makes more of the enzyme that is supposed to degrade it. But you have enough caffiene to block whats being made so you just keep making more until you exceed the caffiene levels as they taper off until yoru next drink etc.

Now however you have say 100x the enzyme for breaking down cAMP so off these go to really lower your cAMP levels and now you are running on a low. so you drink/get more caffiene to block the enzyme to increase cAMP levels and the cycle contines.

[indolikaa]

Three days? Wow, I felt like crap for a lot longer than 3 days.


I was warned that cutting back from 12 cans of soda to zero might result in a feeling of 'blah' for a few days. More like a feeling of having been run over by a truck while offline smacked the back of your head with a cricket bat.