My story: In 2001 I broke my back. I was started on vicodin and eventually Norco to minimize the Tylenol intake, at one point prescribed up to 8 Norco a day (I never took that many). This continued for 15 years, with my pain getting worse, until my doctor retired. My new doctor would not prescribe opioids at all, and put me on naproxen, which I was certain wouldn't cut it. To my surprise, it did, and soon my pain levels were incredibly lower with no medication (except marijuana) than they had been on up to 4 Norco a day. I still have pain, but averaging 2-3/10 instead of 4-8/10 (where 0 is no pain and 10 is passing out).

I now think I had opioid induced hypersensitivity, and that my meds caused most of my pain. I have to wonder how many others are still in that boat, playing addiction roulette and causing themselves pain.

People buying name brand over the counter medication opposed to the generic has always been a huge pet peeve of mine (especially pain relief meds). I always think they are either ignorant of the facts or just easily duped (suckers).

As an example all these 'Excedrins' have exact ingredients in the exact amounts (250mg acetaminophen 250mg aspirin 65mg caffeine) and same number of pills(200)
@Wallmart
Excedrin Extra Strength $23.95
Excedrin Migraine $15.54
Equate(generic excedrin) $4.00
http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=excedrin

Blows my mind people buy Excedrin or Advil or Tylenol,etc.. and not the generics. Stop being suckers.

end of pet peeve rant

What in the world are you on about? The private sector gets just as many chances as "the government" to f-up and keep moving forward.

Take a look here for some consumer product recalls:
http://www.esopro.com/erp-blog/industry-musings/the-10-most-disastrous-product-recalls-of-all-time

On that list are corporations like Firestone, Tylenol, Graco, Hasbro, Ford and Toyota. Despite their negligence leading to deaths, they seem to be doing just fine. And those corporations killed way more people than NASA ever has.

Is accountability important? Sure, absolutely. In the case of the Apollo mission, the Program Director was fired. I would the same is true for a lot of those product recalls: the highest up person with direct supervision of the project should be fired.

In summary, I don't really see where "the government" gets off easy while the "private sector" is unfairly punished.

Funny.

My doctors had the same answer (minus the finger part) even with insurance.
I find it painful to even go to them. So tired of being 'passed along' soon as I get in there.

"Ah, you have symptoms. Well, they don't sound like the usual stuff, so we don't know. Get rest, take some Tylenol, hope you feel better. NEXT."

-scheherazade

What i find a shame is that they can legally charge me $20,000 for 3 hrs in the hospital because i fell off my bike (which ill be in debt for forever probably), or 750 dollars a month they want to charge me at costco for one of the antidepressants I was taking (paid about 100 a month from Canada for the generic which they cant sell in the US). Also there is the $8500 my dentist wants to replace two of my front teeth which ill need in the next year or two. Personally ill take my chances with socialized medicine as I dont have the kind of money it takes to get better when i get sick or hurt. None of us should have to choose between medical attention/medication and the ability to eat or pay the bills. Thats just the way I see it. Thanks for letting me vent.

edit
Charging a patient $15 for a Tylenol is an absolute legal healthcare fraud(imo), but thats just good American business. http://www.rd.com/slideshows/wildly-overinflated-hospital-costs/#slideshow=slide1

and my apologies for going off topic @MrFisk

I got a long list of needs gotta satisfy 'em all
And the first on the list is a bag of Tylenol
Cause I'm stressed out thinking I don't have the time at all
To get my shopping done, let me start here, on the top at one

First, I need to check my e-mail
Oh shit, yahoo front page news, another celebrity female
That had a wedding recently, the marriage epicly failed
I need to click the link because I need to get the details

Soon as I click it I'm hit with a little ad
That reminds me of a need that I already had
It's an absolute must have need it really bad
Before I read the story I be rushing out of my pad

Now I'm in my car speeding cause I'm itching to find
A Mickey D's drive through so I can sit in the line
Gotta get in it in time, can't waste a minute of time
The McRib's only there for a limited time

And then I'm hit with a sign, that makes a switch in my mind
Reminding me of a need of a different kind
A brightly colored advertisement on a bus bench
Makes me head to Target to pick up tents

Cause tomorrow they're coming out with Call of Duty 84
And it's a necessity I camp out at the store
You never know they might never fucking make any more
I'm gonna rush to the front when they open the door
And trample over any people that fall down on the floor
This ain't a game, this is war
If you produce it I'll consume it if you shove it down my freaking throat
Everybody else got it, I don't wanna miss the boat

[Hook x2]
It's a lot of shit I really really need
And I need to get all of it at a really fast speed
I'm aware I'm a puppet of another man's greed
I don't care, I'm in love with all this shit I really need

[Verse 2]

My duffle bag is packed
With my phone, and my pod, my shuffle, pad, and mac
Got all of my i's dotted, if they made it I got it
And I'mma open my wallet for the next iProduct

Gotta try to give them all that I can bruh
Cause every phone that I own needs to have multiple cameras
And my last one only had one
How can I be seen from boths sides of the screen, I mean

If I don't desperately plead and request for my upgrade
I'll definitely bleed to death or die of AIDS
I need better resolution, more gigs!
Angry birds is old, I need war pigs!

I need to tell the landlord as far as what is concerned
I gave Apple every cent that I earned
So I'mma be late, now I need a Tecate
To deflate this stress caused by not letting my needs wait

[Hook]

"God damn man I just need to relax, watch some late night TV
Aw infomercials... Aw fuck I need all this shit too!"

[Verse 3]

I got a lot of insecurities, use 'em to attack me
I'm going bald, getting fat, plus I got acne
I'm looking like a combination of all the before pics
Please pretty please let me make you more rich

Cause I need to get over whatever it is that I'm sick from
List some symptoms, I bet I could pick one
Yeah I got the fifth one, out of 45
Stomach aches, surely I need that particular drug to take

The terrorists got me scared as shit
Time to buy a terror kit, with a mask for air in it
God bless my soul, I need to invest in gold
The economy as we know it is about to fucking fold

And we're all gonna die if I don't fucking buy
All the oil's running dry, asteroids from the sky
Who am I, where am I, what am I, I just need to fucking find
The nearest Wal-Mart that's got a gun to buy

>> ^RFlagg:

I am confused by the people blaming the woman for getting pregnant and saying she chose to have sex... so did the guy, who also chose to have sex without adequate measures to prevent the pregnancy. Why is the guy always absolved of guilt when a woman gets pregnant? "Oh she got pregnant just to trap him." Really? He chose to have sex too, he chose to have sex without wearing protection and pulling out and insuring she was up to date on her birth control. Is abortion the best outcome? No, but it has to remain a valid choice, especially in cases of incest and rape... and any ass who would deny it when the mother's life is in danger should just be denied any sort of medical care (even Tylenol) for the rest of their lives. The best way to counter abortion is to do the things Republicans hate, increase education (and I'm not just talking sex education here, though that should be included, but education as a whole) and increase access to affordable health care, including contraception for both parties.
A few points to clarify my position.


- I don't think this is about choosing to have unprotected sex. It's about choosing to have sex. Few methods of birth control are infallible. Condoms break, people forget to take a pill. The choice to engage in sexual intercourse is a choice which carries consequences. Contraceptives decrease the risk of pregnancy, dramatically, but the risk still exists.
- I don't consider this an issue of blame or guilt. It's about responsibility. It's not a woman's "fault" she got pregnant. Pregnancy is a potential consequence of her choice, which, again, it is her right to make.
- The male in this picture is also free to choose whether to have sex. Is it fair that he can up and split, because he is not physically carrying a developing human being? No, it's not fair, but it's the reality of the situation. Even so, the courts acknowledge that he must take responsibility as well. Jerry Springer made a sideshow out of paternity testing.

- Which raises a counterpoint I'd never considered before - should a man be allowed to compel a woman to have an abortion, because he does not feel capable of supporting the child? If the woman carries and delivers the child and he abandons them, the courts will hold him responsible for child support, even if he strongly advocated the pregnancy be terminated.

I am confused by the people blaming the woman for getting pregnant and saying she chose to have sex... so did the guy, who also chose to have sex without adequate measures to prevent the pregnancy. Why is the guy always absolved of guilt when a woman gets pregnant? "Oh she got pregnant just to trap him." Really? He chose to have sex too, he chose to have sex without wearing protection and pulling out and insuring she was up to date on her birth control. Is abortion the best outcome? No, but it has to remain a valid choice, especially in cases of incest and rape... and any ass who would deny it when the mother's life is in danger should just be denied any sort of medical care (even Tylenol) for the rest of their lives. The best way to counter abortion is to do the things Republicans hate, increase education (and I'm not just talking sex education here, though that should be included, but education as a whole) and increase access to affordable health care, including contraception for both parties.

See bamdrew's explanation on paracetamol; it's just the trade name of acetaminophen in certain parts of the world, as tylenol is the tradename in the US. naproxen is another NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like ibruprofen, and so has a very similar mechanism of action to it. It too is a cox-1 and cox-2 inhibitor, and other drugs exist which are more selective to one or the other, but most have been associated with severe although rare side effects (vioxx was a cox-2 selective inhibitor)

>> ^lucky760:

Fascinating and something I've always wanted to know.
Now how do acetaminophen and naproxen sodium work?

It is generally understood that acetaminophen/paracetemol binds and reduces oxidized, 'highly active' COX-2 enzymes... this chills out the COX-2 activity until it is oxidized again and cranks back up. So imagine in this animation acetaminophen kind-of causing that active COX binding site to close up a little for a while, and preventing it from working in that way.

Acetaminophen also doesn't appear to have a lot of anti-inflammatory action near the actual site of inflammation, but rather more globally throughout the body; folks hypothesize a lot about the reason for this, but I like the simple answer that acetaminophen itself can't reduce oxidized COX enzymes in an injured area surrounded by high levels of oxidative species.

(nerd fist-bump)

>> ^MilkmanDan:

>> ^spoco2:
But what about paracetamol? That's different, because you can take the allowed dosage of that and the allowed dosage of ibuprofen at the same time without interaction... but how does it work?

Paracetemol is the major painkiller here in Thailand, which annoys me because I believe that I am essentially immune to it. I took paracetemol (tylenol) often when I was in my pre and early teens for migraines. At some point, I found that it just wouldn't do anything for me anymore. Ibuprofen and Aspirin both work great, so I always use those when I have a choice -- but the default is always Paracetemol here.

>> ^spoco2:

But what about paracetamol? That's different, because you can take the allowed dosage of that and the allowed dosage of ibuprofen at the same time without interaction... but how does it work?


Paracetemol is the major painkiller here in Thailand, which annoys me because I believe that I am essentially immune to it. I took paracetemol (tylenol) often when I was in my pre and early teens for migraines. At some point, I found that it just wouldn't do anything for me anymore. Ibuprofen and Aspirin both work great, so I always use those when I have a choice -- but the default is always Paracetemol here.

>> ^westy:

don't really think its "techno" still lol


It's actually an alternative version of a Japanese piece called "Rainbow Tylenol", so technically, you're right. Thanks for the vote dude :-)

as far glass ceilings and sexism being a nonissue in western society, @blankfist ...... and others for that matter.

i lived in so cal for a while, but i never worked there... so maybe you do live in a mecca of enlightment or some bullshit... but...

have you ever been threatened and written up for telling your boss you weren't going to press charges, but you also weren't going to work 12 hour long graveyard shifts alone with the dude who pins you to the wall and tells how he likes to be touched and constantly tries to fuck you in between patients?? have you ever found out that your male coworkers were given raises because they "had families to support" ??? have you ever been written up for not attending a meeting due to child care issues and then found out 2 of your male coworkers were exempt from attending any meetings ever because they watch their kids during daytime hours??? ever been patted on the head like a dog when you figured out how to fix a technical malfunction that your opposite gendered coworkers couldnt?? ever been treated like some kind of freakish savant when the dudes you work with figured out you were really intelligent??? ever find out that all of your female friends have been victims of rape, molestation or incest??? ever had a "friend" give you some "tylenol" at a concert and wake up 3 days later?? ever see television reports about the outrageous number of teen fathers, or are they all about teenage mothers?? ever hear derogatory remarks about "welfare fathers", or is it all about "welfare moms"?? ever have people assume that you must be a poor, slutty, uneducated, night shift denny's waitress because you're divorced???

sexism is alive and well, it might look differently than you imagine it, it may not effect your bubble of existance, and it's probably more likely the result of 6000 years of systematic female subordination and oppression than advertising executives with boners for hot skinny models. but it's real and pervasive and it exists.

Tylenol? Anyone?

Actually, looking back, my whole ordeal with getting my wisdom teeth out sucked, I really WISH I was like this guy.

After I woke up, my mom drove me to a grocery store/pharmacy so we could pick my drugs up (tylenol 3) and she could get groceries while we wait because it usually takes twenty mins to get the stuff ready.

I was fully aware of everything that was going on, the only difference between me then and me now was my bottom lip was frozen and highly swollen, and my freezing was wearing off.

This wouldn't have been as much of an issue if this grocery store wasn't somewhere I worked prior, and had friends constantly coming up to me to chat. I looked like a retard with my bottom lip swollen and sticking out like an inch because I couldn't close it properly, I had to tuck it under my top lip to make it look alright.

Then for a week, I had to sleep on a couch because sleeping on my bed made me roll, and rolling with swollen cheeks = bad. After 3 days of constant intense pain, we went back to the dentist who told us to get Perkisets instead because all the tylenol 3 did was knock me out, not kill any pain. 3 days after that, it turns out I had an infection in two of the holes (both on the same side of the mouth) which I got to "Squeeze" out daily and spit it into a sink. My entire healing process took roughly 2.5 weeks before I could open my mouth wider then an inch.

So, I leave with this warning.. if you don't need them removed, but they want to do it anyway.. punch them in the goddamn face.