My poor european mind cannot understand the industrial bottle of 1000 ibuprofen tablets for a household.
Here they sell you packs of 20 tablets or something like that.
Well but you do get health care with that, so instead of treating symptoms with ever larger doses of increasingly potent painkillers you have hopes of a more structural solution.
Would you rather buy 15 pills for $15 or 500 pills for the same price? That's why we buy the mega bottles.
Well I can buy a pack of 16 in Tesco for £0.39
So we're actually paying pretty close to the same amount per pill, just in smaller packs.
More packaging waste though
Technically... But there's also a lot of waste from the 500 pack that people throw out half of. It likely evens out.
I don't think there are many people just chucking pills out. 1000 isn't much if it's your go-to pain relief.
Ibuprofen solid tablets take about 5 years to expire (they are also pretty safe to eat expired as well, just might be less effective). So you have to have about 4 a week on average, which is well wihin safe limits even for a single person (and these are more for families).
As an example usecase If you have 3 menstrators in your household that take 4 a day 3 days a month (daily safe max is meant to be 6x200mg tablets) then that's ~450 a year and you'll be using them up more than quick enough to not throw any out, and that's just dealing with cramps alone. Throw in someone with back pain, the occasional headache and sprained ankle, etc, and you can see how quickly a big family could go through them.
Personally I don't quite go through them that quick (I use roughly 100 a year) but if my household was 1 bigger it would make sense for me too.
Reading this thread, I kinda feel weird.
When I was a child, I use to take tablets for headache (no idea which ones. I was a child.) and almost every time, the headache came back more intense than before, when the effect wore off.
Later, I started understanding that headaches (and other pains) happen for a reason and it is better to find out the reason and fix it, than just turn off the alarm.
So now, even if I get hurt due to something, I say no to pain relievers. This has even saved me from re-injuring a previous injury a few times.
Sprained ankle / back pain : exercise and yoga.
Cramps from exercise: next time do proper stretching after exercise.
menstruation: I have no idea. never had that. sorry. But I can say for sure, people around me don't tend to resort to taking pills all the time. Even those that have it hard.
broke a ligament: definitely don't take a pill, or you won't realise if you are about to break it again.
Over here, pain management pills seems more like a last resort and not to be used for something that happens regularly. So, reading about it being treated like cereal, feels pretty weird.
I have a bit of an alternative, I used to get headaches a lot as a child, the meds absolutely helped as usually I'd take them so I could sleep it off, which almost always did clear it up.
I'm not sure why I was so frequently having headaches, but it definitely dropped off a lot once I moved out and started my own life, now it's only maybe once or twice a month.
I believe individually packaged tablets actually do help reduce overdoses because you can't just chug the whole bottle in one go. Yes it's more wasteful but it does save lives.
They go bad, though? At least my nice white aspirin pills start crumbling and visibly yellowing after a few months. There's no way me or even an entire family could swallow 500 until then.
The shocking part is, the whole bottle is like $2.
When you buy a bottle of 1000 for around 15 bucks, and it lasts you a decade.... Amazing!
Ibuprofen probably isn’t stable for a decade. Then again, apparently no one knows for sure! Studies pick an arbitrary amount of time to test and then call that the shelf life if it remains usable. So far it doesn’t seem anyone has had the patience to test the absolute shelf life of ibuprofen
My laymen understanding is they slowly break down and become less effective but not dangerous or negative.
Advil is the main brand name for this. I always buy a bottle and other pills when I'm in the US. It is way more than I need but what I like is all the US pills look different. I always have a little mixed bottle of Advil, Pepto Bismol (fixes everything stomach related), anti-histamine pills... with me for when I need them. You can mix them all together and still tell the difference between them. That's what I don't like about the European blister packs of unidentifable white pills. That and I hate blister packs. It is also cheaper to buy a bottle. But to be clear, I get like a bottle of 50 or 100. Advil is also enteric coated so it is better for your stomach and tastes better (it's slightly sweet).
That sounds horrible, haha
If it works for you, great, but I'd be super sceptical of the Skittles jar of mixed pills. At least with blister packs you get the drug and dosage printed on the back
Came here to say the same thing, like WTF, why would you need a jar of 500
Because some of us have had a headache since 1986.
But the blister packs we get can’t be tampered with 🤷♂️
The bottles in the US also have safety seals for the same reason
There's a tamper-proof seal on the bottle
Here in the UK you can't buy more than two packs at a given time...
You also have to have a license for tv…
For live TV, perhaps they should change its name to subscription because that's basically what it is at the end of the day.
They probably sell them in centimeters or some shit.
Burger: No wrong way to swallow, feels more legit on the 'ol tongue, twice the quantity of "value size"
ITT everyone talking about liver damage? It’s tylenol that is harder on the liver. Ibuprofen is harder on the kidneys. Yeah, you can mess with your liver if you take too much ibuprofen, too.
Also stomach; NSAIDs like ibuprofen and aspirin can cause stomach ulcers, especially if taken on an empty stomach or with alcohol
Just earlier I was reading about NSAIDs and saw this: "There's no evidence that taking ibuprofen with food prevents gastric irritation"
I'm sure I can find the article with citation in my history if you care.
Yeah, what I remember is ibuprofen harms the digestive track.
3.2 grams/24hrs max
Some individuals don't tolerate it at all and get ulcers or bleeding with one dose. I know this because I'm related to one of these people
Is that technically an allergic reaction?
We don't know but it's in two people on that side of the family. One is currently in the hospital while they are looking for the bleed
You'd have to take 16 in a day. Standard pill is 200mg. I can't imagine taking that many. Most I've ever taken is 2.
i took 20 per day for years til aleve started working on me. those i max out at 3/24hrs
Oh great news, I take both, well kinda. The ones I take are a combo of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen.
I like the kind that comes in a liquid gel cap so it works faster.
Agreed, though the weird alchemy of it makes me less sweaty (but why?)
A known side effect of Ibuprofen (and most NSAIDs) is sweating, so the faster release tabs that aren't in your system as long and thus clear out faster, dont have that aide effect... maybe
Then you might be interested in suppositories.
So: blue pill?
Blue pilled liquidmaxxer
I agree, I like the liquid ones better, but I also have the dual ones (ibuprofen and acetaminophen) which I use instead when the pain is too much for ibuprofen alone. I haven't found gel versions of the dual ones but if I did I would get those instead of the white ones.
Be careful taking ibuprofen often it’ll cause issues with your intestines like diverticulitis which landed me in the hospital and has greatly restricted my diet and ability to drink alcohol
Also damage your stomach and your kidneys if you abuse them daily long enough time.
People pop those like M&Ms and not realize that prescription free drugs are still drugs with all their side effect.
So ibuprofen and acetaminophen are weak ass pain killers that do all the damage of alcohol with none of the fun.
As far as my ancestors were concerned I'm supposed to be drunk, chewing willow and maybe having a bit of opium for nap time.
Acetaminophen is quite easier on the kidneys and liver compared to ibuprofen
Hot dog goes down easier. I find it easier to swallow a weenie shape than a ball shape.
The trick is to alternate between the weenie and the balls
Man you have some massive painkiller bottles. Biggest I've seen in a drug store had like 30 tablets
It's for the arthritis I get from constantly fucking posting memes. At this point I'm wondering if I have a life; I can't imagine what you guys think
We are very proud of you. You are doing valuable work
They also use it as full treatment instead of going to the doctors.
I buy mine from the bulk store bc it's like the same price for 500 pills vs 30 from a normal drug store. I never finish them before the expiration, but whatever
I don't even finish a 30 pack before expiration
It's so we can fully utilize all our Freedom!
Buy it at the big box store
Medicine generally comes in blister packs here to avoid accidental injury/death. Big bottles of medicines are just simply not a thing here, regardless of vendor.
We don't sell ibuprofen outside drugstores
I like mine jello shot style. (2-4 every night, chronic pain management and healthcare sucks in America.)
Rip your kidneys and liver.
Yup, but the alternative is drinking myself to death or getting hooked on fentanyl/heroin.
I try to work hard enough every day that 2-4 ibuprofen put me to sleep for 6 hours.
Ulcer moment
It is a balancing act. Uclers vs acceptable level of sleep deprivation.
Do a sleep study, also, get long action type. When I was injured, I could feel the spikes and they didn't last long
My insurance is so shitty right now I'm not paying for a sleep study. I know why I sleep shitty. It's cause I have a big old herina that fucking hurts and kinks my body up due to compensation. Wish I could take Aleve, but it gives me heartburn for days.
Also, can't take most long acting meds since I don't have a colon.
Americans may be seeing serious savings in that picture.
I am seeing serious evolutionary pressure on liver genetics.
Nah, Americans are seeing a slight dulling of the pain to get through the day.
Got bills to pay and mouths to feed, there ain't no safety net to catch ya when your name whatever hurts and needed surgery a decade ago.
Take your pain killers and caffeine and get to work you lazy scum.
Got bills to pay and mouths to feed, there ain't no
thin in this world for free. No I can’t slow down, I can’t hold back, though you know I wish I could. There ain’t no rest for the wicked… til we close our eyes for good.
You're thinking acetaminophen
They're probably thinking paracetamol
Paracetamol and acetaminophen are two names for the same thing
That hurts the kidneys, ibuprofen hurts the liver. You are correct.
Shitty American LPT: switch it up between Tylenol and ibuprofen to spread out the damage to your body.
Lmao yeah maybe if everyone takes it for 100,000 years or so 🙄
Hamburger style.
with mustard
Why would ever need that many??
Inflammation pain that doctors won't fucking help with. Buy in bulk and then you won't run out for a year or so.
Relief is temporary. Pain is forever.
To give to trick or treaters.
Liver damage
They last forever. Bottle like that lasts us a couple years
I've only ever bought one like once. It's just wholesale basically
Do you run a hospital or something with this volume?
This is just for the weekend
Hamburger style. I'm not picky tho.
Never understood all the hate. Sometimes I actually crave that weird-ass flavor.
That's the origin of the hate: addiction to meds.
It works amazing if your throat or sinuses are infected. I have taken 800mg of pills and barely take the edge off. 100-200mg of children's liquid ibuprofen is complete relief and it tastes good. Once in a while I will get a bad sinus infection that ends up in the back of my throat and the pain is so bad I can't swallow water. I got the trifecta once that included my ears and I had to get some drops from the doctor.
For people looking for a reason for large bottles other than less frequent purchases. Large bottles with many pills produces less waste than the same number of pills in multiple containers.
FFS people go read one article each on ibuprofen and acetaminophen and you'll see most of you are wrong
Hamburger
my personal experience hotdogs are not as effective. could be their overall size difference makes them dissolve slower. and a smidge more filler maybe
And the buns still don’t match in number!
M&Ms
That's the reason I took the hotdog ones while my kids were little, just didn't want them picking up and eating a dropped "M&M" Advil by mistake
I take expired hotdogs, maggots, and clown tranquilizers.
I have to use hotdog. I have EOE and got a round one stuck in my esophagus for hours once. The hotdog ones break easy. I basically bite it into thirds and can safely take them that way. I could never break the round ones.
Hot dog. I've always found swallowing pills difficult. The hot dog shape is weaker in the middle and breaks in half more easily.
I prefer the mini-gummies style.
Neither. I either take the gel ones which are green and squishy, or these white ones which are a combination of both ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
My poor european mind cannot understand the industrial bottle of 1000 ibuprofen tablets for a household.
Here they sell you packs of 20 tablets or something like that.
Well but you do get health care with that, so instead of treating symptoms with ever larger doses of increasingly potent painkillers you have hopes of a more structural solution.
Would you rather buy 15 pills for $15 or 500 pills for the same price? That's why we buy the mega bottles.
Well I can buy a pack of 16 in Tesco for £0.39
So we're actually paying pretty close to the same amount per pill, just in smaller packs.
More packaging waste though
Technically... But there's also a lot of waste from the 500 pack that people throw out half of. It likely evens out.
I don't think there are many people just chucking pills out. 1000 isn't much if it's your go-to pain relief.
Ibuprofen solid tablets take about 5 years to expire (they are also pretty safe to eat expired as well, just might be less effective). So you have to have about 4 a week on average, which is well wihin safe limits even for a single person (and these are more for families).
As an example usecase If you have 3 menstrators in your household that take 4 a day 3 days a month (daily safe max is meant to be 6x200mg tablets) then that's ~450 a year and you'll be using them up more than quick enough to not throw any out, and that's just dealing with cramps alone. Throw in someone with back pain, the occasional headache and sprained ankle, etc, and you can see how quickly a big family could go through them.
Personally I don't quite go through them that quick (I use roughly 100 a year) but if my household was 1 bigger it would make sense for me too.
Reading this thread, I kinda feel weird.
When I was a child, I use to take tablets for headache (no idea which ones. I was a child.) and almost every time, the headache came back more intense than before, when the effect wore off.
Later, I started understanding that headaches (and other pains) happen for a reason and it is better to find out the reason and fix it, than just turn off the alarm.
So now, even if I get hurt due to something, I say no to pain relievers. This has even saved me from re-injuring a previous injury a few times.
Over here, pain management pills seems more like a last resort and not to be used for something that happens regularly. So, reading about it being treated like cereal, feels pretty weird.
I have a bit of an alternative, I used to get headaches a lot as a child, the meds absolutely helped as usually I'd take them so I could sleep it off, which almost always did clear it up.
I'm not sure why I was so frequently having headaches, but it definitely dropped off a lot once I moved out and started my own life, now it's only maybe once or twice a month.
I believe individually packaged tablets actually do help reduce overdoses because you can't just chug the whole bottle in one go. Yes it's more wasteful but it does save lives.
Is... Is that a thing that actually happens?
Yeah, afraid so
They go bad, though? At least my nice white aspirin pills start crumbling and visibly yellowing after a few months. There's no way me or even an entire family could swallow 500 until then.
The shocking part is, the whole bottle is like $2.
When you buy a bottle of 1000 for around 15 bucks, and it lasts you a decade.... Amazing!
Ibuprofen probably isn’t stable for a decade. Then again, apparently no one knows for sure! Studies pick an arbitrary amount of time to test and then call that the shelf life if it remains usable. So far it doesn’t seem anyone has had the patience to test the absolute shelf life of ibuprofen
My laymen understanding is they slowly break down and become less effective but not dangerous or negative.
Advil is the main brand name for this. I always buy a bottle and other pills when I'm in the US. It is way more than I need but what I like is all the US pills look different. I always have a little mixed bottle of Advil, Pepto Bismol (fixes everything stomach related), anti-histamine pills... with me for when I need them. You can mix them all together and still tell the difference between them. That's what I don't like about the European blister packs of unidentifable white pills. That and I hate blister packs. It is also cheaper to buy a bottle. But to be clear, I get like a bottle of 50 or 100. Advil is also enteric coated so it is better for your stomach and tastes better (it's slightly sweet).
That sounds horrible, haha
If it works for you, great, but I'd be super sceptical of the Skittles jar of mixed pills. At least with blister packs you get the drug and dosage printed on the back
Came here to say the same thing, like WTF, why would you need a jar of 500
Because some of us have had a headache since 1986.
But the blister packs we get can’t be tampered with 🤷♂️
The bottles in the US also have safety seals for the same reason
There's a tamper-proof seal on the bottle
Here in the UK you can't buy more than two packs at a given time...
You also have to have a license for tv…
For live TV, perhaps they should change its name to subscription because that's basically what it is at the end of the day.
They probably sell them in centimeters or some shit.
Burger: No wrong way to swallow, feels more legit on the 'ol tongue, twice the quantity of "value size"
ITT everyone talking about liver damage? It’s tylenol that is harder on the liver. Ibuprofen is harder on the kidneys. Yeah, you can mess with your liver if you take too much ibuprofen, too.
Also stomach; NSAIDs like ibuprofen and aspirin can cause stomach ulcers, especially if taken on an empty stomach or with alcohol
Just earlier I was reading about NSAIDs and saw this: "There's no evidence that taking ibuprofen with food prevents gastric irritation"
I'm sure I can find the article with citation in my history if you care.
Yeah, what I remember is ibuprofen harms the digestive track.
3.2 grams/24hrs max
Some individuals don't tolerate it at all and get ulcers or bleeding with one dose. I know this because I'm related to one of these people
Is that technically an allergic reaction?
We don't know but it's in two people on that side of the family. One is currently in the hospital while they are looking for the bleed
You'd have to take 16 in a day. Standard pill is 200mg. I can't imagine taking that many. Most I've ever taken is 2.
i took 20 per day for years til aleve started working on me. those i max out at 3/24hrs
Oh great news, I take both, well kinda. The ones I take are a combo of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen.
I like the kind that comes in a liquid gel cap so it works faster.
Agreed, though the weird alchemy of it makes me less sweaty (but why?)
A known side effect of Ibuprofen (and most NSAIDs) is sweating, so the faster release tabs that aren't in your system as long and thus clear out faster, dont have that aide effect... maybe
Then you might be interested in suppositories.
So: blue pill?
Blue pilled liquidmaxxer
I agree, I like the liquid ones better, but I also have the dual ones (ibuprofen and acetaminophen) which I use instead when the pain is too much for ibuprofen alone. I haven't found gel versions of the dual ones but if I did I would get those instead of the white ones.
Be careful taking ibuprofen often it’ll cause issues with your intestines like diverticulitis which landed me in the hospital and has greatly restricted my diet and ability to drink alcohol
Also damage your stomach and your kidneys if you abuse them daily long enough time.
People pop those like M&Ms and not realize that prescription free drugs are still drugs with all their side effect.
So ibuprofen and acetaminophen are weak ass pain killers that do all the damage of alcohol with none of the fun.
As far as my ancestors were concerned I'm supposed to be drunk, chewing willow and maybe having a bit of opium for nap time.
Acetaminophen is quite easier on the kidneys and liver compared to ibuprofen
Hot dog goes down easier. I find it easier to swallow a weenie shape than a ball shape.
The trick is to alternate between the weenie and the balls
Man you have some massive painkiller bottles. Biggest I've seen in a drug store had like 30 tablets
It's for the arthritis I get from constantly fucking posting memes. At this point I'm wondering if I have a life; I can't imagine what you guys think
We are very proud of you. You are doing valuable work
They also use it as full treatment instead of going to the doctors.
I buy mine from the bulk store bc it's like the same price for 500 pills vs 30 from a normal drug store. I never finish them before the expiration, but whatever
I don't even finish a 30 pack before expiration
It's so we can fully utilize all our Freedom!
Buy it at the big box store
Medicine generally comes in blister packs here to avoid accidental injury/death. Big bottles of medicines are just simply not a thing here, regardless of vendor.
We don't sell ibuprofen outside drugstores
I like mine jello shot style. (2-4 every night, chronic pain management and healthcare sucks in America.)
Rip your kidneys and liver.
Yup, but the alternative is drinking myself to death or getting hooked on fentanyl/heroin.
I try to work hard enough every day that 2-4 ibuprofen put me to sleep for 6 hours.
Ulcer moment
It is a balancing act. Uclers vs acceptable level of sleep deprivation.
Do a sleep study, also, get long action type. When I was injured, I could feel the spikes and they didn't last long
My insurance is so shitty right now I'm not paying for a sleep study. I know why I sleep shitty. It's cause I have a big old herina that fucking hurts and kinks my body up due to compensation. Wish I could take Aleve, but it gives me heartburn for days.
Also, can't take most long acting meds since I don't have a colon.
Americans may be seeing serious savings in that picture.
I am seeing serious evolutionary pressure on liver genetics.
Nah, Americans are seeing a slight dulling of the pain to get through the day.
Got bills to pay and mouths to feed, there ain't no safety net to catch ya when your name whatever hurts and needed surgery a decade ago.
Take your pain killers and caffeine and get to work you lazy scum.
thin in this world for free. No I can’t slow down, I can’t hold back, though you know I wish I could. There ain’t no rest for the wicked… til we close our eyes for good.
You're thinking acetaminophen
They're probably thinking paracetamol
Paracetamol and acetaminophen are two names for the same thing
That hurts the kidneys, ibuprofen hurts the liver. You are correct.
https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/ibuprofen-bad-kidneys-liver-3574924/
It can but rarely; mostly it's a kidney thing.
Shitty American LPT: switch it up between Tylenol and ibuprofen to spread out the damage to your body.
Lmao yeah maybe if everyone takes it for 100,000 years or so 🙄
Hamburger style.
with mustard
Why would ever need that many??
Inflammation pain that doctors won't fucking help with. Buy in bulk and then you won't run out for a year or so.
Relief is temporary. Pain is forever.
To give to trick or treaters.
Liver damage
They last forever. Bottle like that lasts us a couple years
I've only ever bought one like once. It's just wholesale basically
Do you run a hospital or something with this volume?
This is just for the weekend
Hamburger style. I'm not picky tho.
Never understood all the hate. Sometimes I actually crave that weird-ass flavor.
That's the origin of the hate: addiction to meds.
It works amazing if your throat or sinuses are infected. I have taken 800mg of pills and barely take the edge off. 100-200mg of children's liquid ibuprofen is complete relief and it tastes good. Once in a while I will get a bad sinus infection that ends up in the back of my throat and the pain is so bad I can't swallow water. I got the trifecta once that included my ears and I had to get some drops from the doctor.
For people looking for a reason for large bottles other than less frequent purchases. Large bottles with many pills produces less waste than the same number of pills in multiple containers.
FFS people go read one article each on ibuprofen and acetaminophen and you'll see most of you are wrong
Hamburger
my personal experience hotdogs are not as effective. could be their overall size difference makes them dissolve slower. and a smidge more filler maybe
And the buns still don’t match in number!
M&Ms
That's the reason I took the hotdog ones while my kids were little, just didn't want them picking up and eating a dropped "M&M" Advil by mistake
I take expired hotdogs, maggots, and clown tranquilizers.
I have to use hotdog. I have EOE and got a round one stuck in my esophagus for hours once. The hotdog ones break easy. I basically bite it into thirds and can safely take them that way. I could never break the round ones.
Hot dog. I've always found swallowing pills difficult. The hot dog shape is weaker in the middle and breaks in half more easily.
I prefer the mini-gummies style.
Neither. I either take the gel ones which are green and squishy, or these white ones which are a combination of both ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
Hamburger