• Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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    1 day ago

    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.

    • oldfart@lemm.ee
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      22 hours ago

      Yes, 100 mg being the standard, 200 mg “strong” ones and 400 mg “we have a good price on these, look how strong they are” said by a visibly excited pharmacy lady. Just behind your eastern border.

  • TheBluePillock@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    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.

      • TheBluePillock@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Yup, it was the first thing we checked when I actually got treatment. I’m sure that didn’t help, but compared to the pain of the migraines it was negligible. Having to refrain from pain meds for a while to make sure was a hell of a ride though. I lasted about three months. The doctor was satisfied with 1-2 but I wanted to be damn sure.

        I give people the same warning nowadays. Don’t take that stuff more than once a week.

    • uis@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      …but it is amid, not amin, no? Why do americans call it acetaminophen instead of acetamidophen?

        • uis@lemm.ee
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          2 days ago

          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

          Source

          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.

          • JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            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.

  • blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works
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    3 days ago

    “Lol Americans are so funny, they can’t go to a doctor without going homeless, look at these coping mechanisms they use, hilarious”

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    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 200 400 800 1600 Motrin, with some bourbon, and ignore it as best as we can.

    • JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      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.

      • uis@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        Would flying to Europe and getting healthcare there be cheaper? Look into it.

      • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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        2 days ago

        The good thing about the HDHPs is the availability to have an HSA.

        HSA money is collected pre-tax. Balances over a certain amount can be invested. But the good thing about it is that it’s yours to keep. Not like an FSA that disappears at the end of a year.

        So she could save up for the deductible for her surgery for her debilitating chronic pain over the course of several years. After she pays thousands in premiums and her employer pays thousands more. Like a good American.

    • Zess@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      But they’ll only recommend the surgery after trying muscle relaxers ten times over the course of a year.

  • driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br
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    3 days ago

    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.

    • mouserat@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 days ago

      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.

  • MacN'Cheezus@lemmy.today
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    3 days ago

    Europeans be like: “I’m just gonna take a half tablet, don’t want to get dependent on this stuff”

    Meanwhile, Americans:

  • qyron@sopuli.xyz
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    2 days ago

    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.

  • exu@feditown.com
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    3 days ago

    It’s always amusing how you can read Dutch with some difficulty by combining German and English.

  • Hannes@feddit.org
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    3 days ago

    My girlfriend always makes fun that in Germany chamomile tea is the go to painkiller and only if that doesn’t help the pills come out. It was one of her strongest culture-shocks she didn’t anticipate before coming to Europe

  • untorquer@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    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.

    • jagungal@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      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.

    • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      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.

      • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        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).

      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        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.

    • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      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.

    • TheEmpireStrikesDak@thelemmy.club
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      2 days ago

      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.

    • doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 days ago

      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’.