After going nearly a year without taking painkillers of any kind (not an aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen dose), I took some Tylenol for a bad headache, and it worked far better than it had ever worked for me before.
Granted, I've had to learn to put up with a lot more constant low-level pain in my day-to-day life. But I think that's a reasonable trade off for choosing between cooking my kidneys (aspirin, ibuprofen) or blowing out my liver (acetaminophen).
I had a really weird 1-in-ten-million side-effect with Naproxen sodium. It caused hard insomnia (confirmed under a doctor's care, this was before it was OTC).
>After going nearly a year without taking painkillers
I find this pretty shocking. Is this how people normally take painkillers, would you say? Speaking for myself, I normally go for years without taking anything.
Throughout my life I've suffered from significant allergies, so I've taken antihistamines for many decades (by prescription in my youth to OTC now). The allergies frequently cause sinus infections, which can include anything from minor pain around the ears and jaw, to heavy duty headaches.
It used to be the doctors would have me bomb my system with antibiotics, decongestants, and, yes, painkillers. Forty years on, we know a bit more, or at least I do, and I avoid as many medications (and the side-effects which increase with aging) as I can. I also suffered from tendonitis in the knees, so all of this put together meant I was regularly taking Tylenol or Advil for one or the other.
Then I stopped. I stopped using Tylenol unless I had a fever, or a really bad headache. When I got a sinus headache the first thing I'd reach for was a netty pot or sinus rinse instead of decongestants and painkillers. Physical therapy helped rehabilitate the knees, and when it rains, I just suck it up and limp for a day or two.
Those things and a few other medical issues add up to a steady catalog of pain that I just ignore for most of the day. In some cases, I stretch or exercise. I consider myself doing OK if I'm taking Tylenol or Aspirin once a quarter.
I'm happy you need no painkillers whatsoever for years on end. I think that's how it's supposed to be. For some people, it doesn't work out that way.
Granted, I've had to learn to put up with a lot more constant low-level pain in my day-to-day life. But I think that's a reasonable trade off for choosing between cooking my kidneys (aspirin, ibuprofen) or blowing out my liver (acetaminophen).
I had a really weird 1-in-ten-million side-effect with Naproxen sodium. It caused hard insomnia (confirmed under a doctor's care, this was before it was OTC).