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Comment by recursive | Hacker News Reader

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.

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It works very well on me. Since I have rarely headaches, and if yes, there is always a good reason for them. Usually either big hangover, or exhaustion from long and intense effort in mountains, ie climbing Matterhorn 6 hours straight no stops, or similar effort on Mont Blanc that took 11 hours, both coupled with drinking too little/sweating too much -> dehydratation. Just drinking plenty afterwards doesn't remove headache, just makes it a bit less intense. I pop the pill, and in 20 mins it's over.

Maybe if causes for your headache are different, the effect might not be so quick & effective.

Me too, and this applies to almost anything I put into my body like caffeine or sugar. When I hear people talk about what it does to them I really wonder if I just have a lowered sense of my own body or if I just react less than most.

I'm like you, I've always been suspicious if it's an actual painkiller or a placebo. I've never noticed it doing anything for me.

Me too. I've never gotten any noticeable pain relief from any pain killers. Not even with opioid drugs.

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

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

Hard to say: http://www.drugs.com/dosage/ibuprofen.html#Usual_Adult_Dose_...

`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`

Those sorts of megadoses are used for migraines as well. I've also taken 800 mg for very severe pain on the advice of a doctor. At higher doses on an empty stomach is can give you a buzz of a sort.

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

I take both ibuprofen and acetaminophen(generic tylenol) and it seems to be more effectiveness than either alone

Considering the topic, it should be noted that acetaminophen really should not be taken for a hangover or mixed with alcohol[1]. Acetaminophen is the most common cause for acute liver failure in both the US and the UK, and when combined with alcohol is linked to dramatic increases in the rate of kidney disease.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol_toxicity

There's also dangers when mixing alcohol with ibuprofen or other NSAIDS such as Voltaren (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diclofenac)

It can lead to high blood pressure.

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