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.
Het Pijnstillersparadijs: Europese Zelfbeheersing vs. Amerikaanse Pillenfeest
Submitted 5 weeks ago by merari42@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/2ea2e205-d54f-41b6-ac8c-4846c4f95163.jpeg
Comments
driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 5 weeks ago
bdonvr@thelemmy.club 5 weeks ago
Really not much exaggeration here
GiddyGap@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
Exaggerated, sure. The point still stands. Unfortunately.
mouserat@discuss.tchncs.de 5 weeks 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.
blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
“Lol Americans are so funny, they can’t go to a doctor without going homeless, look at these coping mechanisms they use, hilarious”
lud@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
Yeah, it’s pretty funny considering how absurd it is.
Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
It is funny since they keep voting in ways that make their healthcare worse instead of better so why should we feel pity?
MirthfulAlembic@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
It’s not all of us ☹️
ReplicantBatty@lemmy.one 5 weeks ago
I’ve consistently voted towards better healthcare options, for all the good it’s ever done (read: not even a little bit.)
There are dozens of us, dozens!
Klear@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Calm down liberals its something called “dork humor” 😎
lulztard@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
Still better off than the people in the countries you coup to install dictators.
blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
I coup?
phoenixz@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
And they got their propaganda machines to thank for it.
Namely fox news, Aon, shit like joe Rogan,etc…
Maggoty@lemmy.world 5 weeks 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
2004008001600 Motrin, with some bourbon, and ignore it as best as we can.uranibaba@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
That’s really sad.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Yup, I know.
JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
This is my mother for the last year or so because of rotoscoliosis and a bulging disc.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I’m so sorry. We really need universal healthcare.
uis@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
Would flying to Europe and getting healthcare there be cheaper? Look into it.
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 5 weeks 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 5 weeks ago
But they’ll only recommend the surgery after trying muscle relaxers ten times over the course of a year.
Eric_Pollock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
Is this a serious thing? It seems so normal here in the states.
kayaven@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Yes, it’s a thing. The idea behind it is that you don’t want to become dependent on the pills to the point that they have less effect or that you feel worse without them. Sincerely, a Dutch non-techno non-DJ.
tja@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
Also it can cause or amplify a lot of stomach issues
hannesh93@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
Also often the pain is telling you that something is wrong - you wouldn’t treat a broken ankle with strong painkillers and continue walking as if nothing was wrong just because it doesn’t hurt anymore - would you?
Painkillers should make the pain bearable so you can still listen to your body and not take away the pain completely
Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I have never heard of this in the context of ibuprofen. I know it’s bad on the stomach which means you shouldn’t take it for long periods of time (unless prescribed by a doctor). However, when the source of the pain disappears it’s pretty easy to kick the habit. Very different from opioids that are addictive beyond their painkilling ability.
Also between European countries the price of otc painkillers differs tremendously, and my impression is that European pharmacies generally only sell small packages in an effort to maximise profits.
ickplant@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
You can’t become dependent on ibuprofen, it’s not addictive. You shouldn’t be popping it like candy, but taking it when you are in pain is perfectly fine.
mst@discuss.tchncs.de 5 weeks ago
en.wikipedia.org/…/Medication_overuse_headache?wp…
You can absolutely become addicted to all kinds of painkillers. Thats part of the reason why i write down every dose of painkillers i take. Not just the triptanes for my migraine.
PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
I don’t think that actually happens.
JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Do people develop a dependency on ibuprofen? I didn’t know that was possible.
Then again, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.
bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 5 weeks ago
To be fair we also have it much easier with our healthcare that doesn’t know the concept of sick-days. When you’re sick you just don’t go to work and your healthcare pays half your salary while your employer continues paying the other half.
So we can actually afford to stay home in bed and let our bodies do the work while we rest.
GiddyGap@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
Screw your sick days! I’m gonna work myself into oblivion to be able to buy my big-ass coal-roller truck on credit and fill up my garage to the brim with crap that I’ll let someone else move when I die from a cheese and Ibuprofen overdose. 'Murica!!!
gerryflap@feddit.nl 5 weeks ago
I’m Dutch and I only take paracetamol when I cannot sleep or function due to pain/illness. I’ve never taken something stronger like Ibuprofen in my life. When I’m ill I usually just lie in bed and wait for it to blow over
ccunning@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Is acetaminophen really considered to be stronger than ibuprofen? I’d always considered them to be equal with ibuprofen being safer.
PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
You’re the second person I’ve seen saying that ibuprofen is stronger than paracetamol. Where does that come from?
It is slightly stronger, but the dose is smaller. A single dose of router either is roughy the same pain reduction, and similar damage for long-term use.
FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
Ibuprofen is pretty fucking strong. I stick with CBD and paracetamol and I’m bedridden with a painful disease.
Donkter@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Yeah I just stick to hot railing fentanyl if I have a headache or something. Much less addictive.
PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
Ibuprofen and paracetamol are roughly the same in theme of pain relief and harm in long-term use.
MacNCheezus@lemmy.today 5 weeks ago
The European mind cannot comprehend this.
teije9@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
yes. Pain killers (if you take way too many) can be incredibly bad for your liver, and (while almost impossible with paracetamol and ibuprofen) you can become ‘immune’ to them, making them work less/not at all.
Berttheduck@lemmy.ml 5 weeks ago
Yeah, in the UK they reduced the amount you can buy at once too, so drugs like paracetamol and ibuprofen only come in 16 tablet packs and you can only buy 2 packs at a shop., It’s helped lower suicides quite well.
People here have a real aversion to taking tablets a lot of the time. I have to convince people to take regular paracetamol (which is non addictive and doesn’t have side effects so long as you don’t take more than the recommended amount) after they have had surgery semi-regularly.
pseudo@jlai.lu 5 weeks ago
Ibuprofen is famous for making men less fertil and it can cause sterility to the unborn baby when took by pregnant women. Paracetamol on the other hand is very bad for the liver. Better took these two very carefully.
elidoz@lemmy.ml 5 weeks ago
I just don’t think it’s agood idea to take pills without asking a doctor, I’m not a medical professional
SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml 5 weeks ago
In the UK you’re limited to 32 pills of paracetamol(acetaminophen in NA) per purchase. Less if they’re high dose.
hannesh93@feddit.org 5 weeks 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
SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org 5 weeks ago
The pain of drinking chamomile tea does have a masking effect.
lepinkainen@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Germans are weird like that
The rest of us are normal and will take a painkiller
pseudo@jlai.lu 5 weeks ago
French here and I’m team Germany on that one. The right herbal tea will ease most of the pain. Camomille is perfect for inflammation, verbena for digestation and so one.
freebee@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
They’ll only have the “medicinal” tea if even more Lüften didn’t do the trick
And009@reddthat.com 5 weeks ago
I don’t know what’s Europe anymore… Isn’t germany in it?
exu@feditown.com 5 weeks ago
It’s always amusing how you can read Dutch with some difficulty by combining German and English.
blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
You can read German with little difficulty by combining actual English with phonetic English.
abbadon420@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
You can read Bayerish by combining German with a pitcher of lager.
synapse1278@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Don’t know about Ibuprofen, but Paracetamol overdose is horrible, agonizing death.
JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Overdosing on Ibuprofen is harder and less deadly iirc but it can really mess up your stomach and/or damage your kidneys.
stoy@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
I had a tooth surgically removed a few years back, took 90 min, and I got strong paracetamol and even a small pack of morphine.
I never used the morphine, I keep it sealed at home if I need it.
themoonisacheese@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
It’s probably expired.
stoy@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
Oh absolutely, that doesn’t mean it won’t work though, probably less effective though…
JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Fun fact for Europeans: we call paracetamol acetaminophen
uis@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
…but it is amid, not amin, no? Why do you call it acetaminophen instead of acetamidophen?
JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Yes it’s a mid that’s my bad
bruhduh@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Sculptor9157@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
The pills will ease the Payne.
TheBluePillock@lemmy.world 5 weeks 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.
Mrs_deWinter@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
You know what sucks as well? Taking too many painkillers against headaches actually causes headaches. Horrible ones at that. Glad to read that you’re feeling better, but that’s a real trap many people out there are stuck in.
TheBluePillock@lemmy.world 5 weeks 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.
qyron@sopuli.xyz 5 weeks 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.
untorquer@lemmy.world 5 weeks 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.
PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
Honestly I think the Americans have it right, here.
You end up taking fewer painkillers of you start taking them early and get ahead of the pain. If you wait until the pain is already severe, you end up taking more.
Idk why this happens, it’s info I got from a nurse, and intuitively it feels right.
doingthestuff@lemy.lol 5 weeks ago
I guess I’m Americaning wrong. As far as painkillers go, 've only taken one ibuprofen in the last year. I even had a severe gut pain event where they prescribed me some oxy but I never took anything.
serenissi@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I honestly don’t understand the Dutch techno reference.
AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 5 weeks ago
Also Australians (where the most economical package of paracetamol/acetaminophen is 200 pills for A$4).
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 weeks 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.
PugJesus@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Two 500mg tablets of acetaminophen please, thank you
-A Certified American
ramble81@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
200 mg? I know people over here that will pop a pair of 800 mg tablets.
whome@discuss.tchncs.de 5 weeks ago
I agree with the sentiment but are 200mg common where you live? Here in Germany I always get 400mg packs.
PlaidBaron@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Ibuprofen is for my migraines only. Nothing else touches those damn things.
iii@mander.xyz 5 weeks ago
2 for 1
hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
People actually do that? I only take a few painkillers when I’m on my period.
Mwallerby@startrek.website 5 weeks ago
In the UK you can’t even buy that many at once 😆 without a prescription at least - paracetamol and ibuprofen are usually 16 per pack and they don’t let you buy more than one of each
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
i had to take 3.2g of ibuprofen for years before i got my gout under control. then like magic, naproxen actually starting working for me. now its just 600mg of that for the same effect
MacNCheezus@lemmy.today 5 weeks ago
Europeans be like: “I’m just gonna take a half tablet, don’t want to get dependent on this stuff”
Meanwhile Americans: “inject it right into my bloodstream”
Vinny_93@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Ngl I ibuprofen does kinda taste good
BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
Don’t be fooled, they put a sugar coating around the OTC stuff
remer@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
The coating on advil is sweetened. The actual medicine tastes horrible.
0ops@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
Tastes like old rubber band to me
AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
I dunno. When i take the pill ibruprofen its the most sour thing ever. You can literally see the face muscles of someone taking it contracting.
SARGE@startrek.website 5 weeks ago
I wonder if this is also one of those genetic things like cilantro, because ibuprofen tastes nasty as fuck to me. Like “bitter and my tongue wants to cut itself off to stop the taste even after a drink” nasty.