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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   2196 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 27, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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The physiology of pain is very complicated. Briefly - Ibuprofen is an NSAID, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug it basically works by turning off a part of the inflammatory response which is a large part of most types of pain. Bowel pain? Inflammation. Healing wound? Inflammation. Stub your toe? Inflammation.

If you have the right type of pain it can be immensely effective, even more effective than opioids in the sense that it can actually "heal" the pain instead of just doing other stuff (if swelling is pushing on a nerve for instance).

However it can be bad for you because you need inflammation......

For the wrong type of pain it's not going to do a lot.

A good rule of thumb is that if swelling is involved you'll want to use ibuprofen, if it's not Tylenol.

However how functional your liver kidneys, and gastric system etc. are matters a lot.

The specific example is interesting. I don't notice a damn thing from NSAIDs for pain that can reasonably be assumed to be inflammatory, and IIRC they're indistinguishable from placebo for osteoarthritis pain.

Like I said pain is complicated, likewise pharm is complicated - some people are fast metabolizers of certain medication and get no effect at all.

Personally I find NSAIDs to be even better for low dose opiates for pain associated with significant inflammation (for me).

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