Pain medication desensitization is a thing. Start popping IBU for every minor ache and youll be in trouble when you actually need it.
this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2025
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Uhh. This is a statement that should not be a top comment without context.
For those not in the know, desensitization (tachyphylaxis) not the same as tolerance, and is not something you really have with acetaminophen or NSAIDs like IBU.
Desensitization is typically purposeful, it is using small, slow amounts of a drug at first to reduce hypersensitivity. Think about it like exposing yourself to tiny fractions of peanuts to build up tolerance to a peanut allergy.
As for tolerance, you're unlikely to feel diminishing effects of acetaminophen or NSAIDs before you run into side effects (especially with NSAIDs) related to your gut/stomach/liver/kidneys. These side effects are what you should be concerned about, but having a headache once in a while is highly unlikely to trigger them.
Please don't stop taking something that helps without consulting a physician.
Yeah the little scientist sadly sometimes just focuses on immediate benefits and doesnt think about long term effects. Its not really his fault people abuse painkillers though.
Regular or long-term use of over-the-counter painkillers will fuck up your liver and kidneys. Acetaminophen/paracetamol harms the liver, and ibuprofen and aspirin harm the kidneys.
(edit) What I mean to say is, if you need pain medication several times a week to get through the day, talk to a real physician because there are likely more serious underlying issues, and destroying your body for temporary relief will not solve them. Don't just pop the pill because an internet stranger says it's okay.
But occasional use for moderate pain is quite reasonable and people should not be afraid to take medications at the doses and frequency listed in the instructions. For those with liver or kidney problems, listen to your doctor about what medications to avoid and what to use in their place, but don't suffer unnecessarily.
Taking these meds once in a while is perfectly safe if you don't have preexisting organ damage or dysfunction.
They're not that harmful though. Unless you live with chronic pain or need very high doses, this is unlikely to be a large concern. The moderate amounts a typical person with the occasional pain will use is well within safety limits
It's as much to do with the starting state of your liver, if you drink heavily or are very fat the liver has less slack to deal with it.
moderate amounts
dont the kidneys heal themselves over time? wouldn't that make ibuprofen the hypothetical best option long term?
I don't think it is noble, but dealing with minor aches and pains definitely makes major pains more tolerable. Accepting my ankle will be stiff for a few days after i roll it means I'm not out o commission when i wipe out on my bike and actually need Tylenol to go about my daily routines.
Injury, sure. The pain is there to help you so you don't make things worse. Pain in my extremities doesn't bother me enough to take anything. Headache I find disabling, though. Headache can fuck off, the pain is not helping anything. I was so very relieved when I found the injectable sumatriptan, no dopy feeling no up no down just takes away the migraine after a very unpleasant rush.
Acetaminophen/Paracetamol/Tylenol is the 2nd most common cause of liver failure in the US.
If you're looking for some magical drug that can make you feel better without having some adverse affect, good luck. The second a pharmaceutical company finds one (or one that where the adverse affects are hidden enough hey think they can get away with it) they will corner the market and exploit the hell out of it for as long as their patent lets them.
Pain killing, like pretty much all medicines and drugs, is a trade-off. People should make informed decisions about their use and not just treat them as magical. I still use acetaminophen occasionally, but with caution. Ibuprofen too - it damages the kidneys. When I had surgery a while back the doctor recommended alternating between the two to avoid taking too much of either too quickly.
It's very high usage that's a problem, if you stick to the recommended dosage it's perfectly safe.
It's wild to me that this is even an issue, but then I know a whole family who joke about taking more than the recommended amounts on the container..
Ibuprofen too
the primary concern i'm familiar with is gastrointestinal lining: NSAIDs cause it to thin, which with excessive or chronic use turn into ulcers.
You wouldn't want to disappoint Robert Lincoln McNeil Jr. would you?
Don't disappoint Bob
McNeil recognized that high production costs would mean that the product would have to sell at a higher price than the commonly available aspirin, but that it would have the benefit of not causing stomach irritation.
Has anyone gotten stomach aches from aspirin? I haven't heard that complaint before.
Fun fact:
Acetaminophen would never be approved with today's drug standards because it's soooo easy to overdose with it.
Also it doesn't perform measurably better than placebo!
This but it's Purdue and opiates 🥰
Fun Fact: benadryl is a 1st attempt at an anti allergies drug and goes past the "blood brain barrier" which is why it makes you groggy and sleepy, but there's a 2nd attempt drug (Allegra) that doesn't pass the blood brain barrier which DOESNT make you sleepy
idk why that's so interesting to me, ig I never considered that different drugs are attempts to solve a problem instead of just the solution
Idk, if it gets too bad you should take something. But suppressing a flu will not help you in any way, it is your body's defence mechanism. You'll only be prolonging the suffering just to have some temporary relief. Instead of popping pills and keeping going, we should be listening to our bodies and taking some rest. That being said, using pain killers etc to get good sleep is a good use, because getting proper rest is the only way to heal quickly of illness.
Do otc painkillers actually work for most people? I can get ibuprofen to work if I go over the recommended dose but tylenol/asprin/excedrin never see to do anything
I genuinely can't tell, its like asking a lactose intolerant person if milk looks like its gone bad, there's just no frame of reference.
There's the lot of redheads in my family so that might affect things? I had to get ingrown toenails removed once and the doc seemed surprised by how many times he had to come back and apply more anesthetic before i couldn't feel my big toes
This happens to me at the dentist. They use those big ol lidocaine needles, and last time they had to do it like 4 or 6 times before I actually went numb.
Different people, different biology, different reactions.
Tylenol only barely works for me but it’s better than nothing. I can’t do NSAIDs without getting an asthma attack so it’s that or suck it up.
Depends on what's hurting. If it needs actual antiinflammatory qualities, ibuprofen or similar is probably the way to go.
I know I've had aspirin work for some pains, though I don't remember what they were. Ages upon ages ago.
Yes, I take ibu for headaches. 200mg usually does the trick, very rare that I have to pop a second one ours later. And I'm a pretty big guy.
Yes. For swelling or fever, it's so helpful I didn't realize how slowly you heal without them
They don't help with everything, but they're definitely helpful
Single point of data here, and I don't think I've ever really felt that any of them did much.
Problem is that they supposedly take over an hour to do anything, by which time I don't know whether I'd have felt better regardless.
what if i cant imagine 💀
gods i love this brain
That and the Sackler family
So it cures the pain inside the head, too?
No but my suffering is funny. Also I have weird reactions to drugs sometimes, sure the caffeine reacts fine but the anesthesia will work itself out of my system within 10 minutes for some reason.