When you're not feeling good do you take OTC medications?

[Nik]

Nope. I don't like pharmaceuticals at all.

 

[HAL9000]

nm

 

[nageov3t]

I can't take NSAID's due to a stomach thing, which means no aspirin or ibuprofen, but I'll take tylenol if I have a headache that lasts more than a few hours and is distracting me from being productive.

I've also taken benadryl a few times to combat insomnia (when I don't have to work the next morning... that shit knocks me on my ass).

I don't reach for pharmaceuticals right away, though. typically something has to be bothering me a lot and for an extended period before I start popping pills.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Allegra when allergies hit hard. Prevacid when the stomach hits hard.

 

[bobdole369]

Only 5 drugs are really worth it:

Pseudoephedrine. Thanks to the meth-folk you must now get this by agreeing not to make meth with it. Its good for nasal congestion. And staying awake but being a totally ragged out fake speed-bitch.

Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide - This is good for productive coughs, it sort of makes you cough some up at the beginning then keeps your lungs open, not so much for tail-end of cold postnasal bullshit though.

Diphenhydramine - great for basic allergic skin stuff and simple sneezing fit allergies. Also makes sleep come.

Guafensin (Mucinex) - great to go along with a very deep cough and DXM as above. Will get that crap out fairly quick.

Acetaminiphen/Ibuprofen/naproxen. Various pain relief. ibuprofen more for body and skelatel, acetaminiphen for fever reducing and headaches, and naproxen for a second hit at something the other 2 didn't get.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I took some occasional OTC pain meds when I had severe back pain a few years back (after a doctor recommended that), but other than that, no.

 

[DaTT]

I am a pussy.

I currently take:
Percocet for chronic arm pain
Tylenol 3 for Migraine
Lots of Neo Citron for head cold sometime coupled with a tylen cold & flu night time (extra Strength)
Fisherman's Friend (I think I am addicted to them...cherry flavour )

 

[Cerb]

Depends on why I'm not feeling good, and how bad it is.

If allergies, and it's not bad, Xysal (samples FTW). If allergies, and bad, Benadryl (brand name only--I've tried most generics, they all suck in comparison, and one box lasts a long time).

I'll take ibuprofen (generic only), if I really need to calm down inflammation, and nothing else has worked. Most of the time, though, 70%+ chocolate works better than meds for pain and headache. I also can't use the few that do work for very long. I get immune to neproxin sodium (sp) by the 2nd dose, FI (one reason I don't bother taking it, anymore), and get a tolerance to regular old ibuprofen if I take a few days in a row (luckily, I've only needed to do that twice in my life). Aspirin does nothing for me.

If my sinuses are really bad (IE, completely blocked), I might take pseudoephedrine (the new fake stuff gives me the same side effects, but no benefits). I can't handle more than about 20mg/day, though, without getting all jittery and string-out, and never take it more than two days in a row.

Guafensin I will take with abandon, if the need arises. That stuff is awesome.

 

[TwiceOver]

Ibuprophen for pains/headaches. Nyquil when I feel like shit and need to sleep. I don't think I've taken anything else OTC in several years.

 

[ShawnD1]

Only 5 drugs are really worth it:

Pseudoephedrine. Thanks to the meth-folk you must now get this by agreeing not to make meth with it. Its good for nasal congestion. And staying awake but being a totally ragged out fake speed-bitch.

Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide - This is good for productive coughs, it sort of makes you cough some up at the beginning then keeps your lungs open, not so much for tail-end of cold postnasal bullshit though.

Diphenhydramine - great for basic allergic skin stuff and simple sneezing fit allergies. Also makes sleep come.

Guafensin (Mucinex) - great to go along with a very deep cough and DXM as above. Will get that crap out fairly quick.

Acetaminiphen/Ibuprofen/naproxen. Various pain relief. ibuprofen more for body and skelatel, acetaminiphen for fever reducing and headaches, and naproxen for a second hit at something the other 2 didn't get.

Awesome; I'm so sure I made the exact same conclusion on this forum before. Ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, dextromethorphan, guafensin, diphenhydramine, and NSAID pain killers will cover 99.99999% of illness problems. Coughing, headaches, sore throats, stuffed nose, can't sleep, can't stay awake, dick won't stay hard, etc.

 

[Saint Nick]

I try to avoid OTC meds...I like my body to get over stuff naturally. So, when I do use OTC drugs...they work amazing.

 

[dullard]

I rarely take OTC medicine. Only if I'm truely miserable and only then do I take a very limited list of drugs. Note: studies are showing that OTC pain drugs often are the cause of pain. This leads to problems like what Alone described: needing more and more of the drug to have an effect (of course, he seems to have other problems more serious problems). That is why I try not to take OTC drugs unless I'm really going to be miserable without them. Plus, most OTC drugs have very little effectiveness, near lethal doses (especially acetaminophen), or terrible side effects.

Only 5 drugs are really worth it:

You are pretty much correct.

Pseudoephedrine. Yep. Just about the only over the counter drug that works really, really well. Skip all immitators, they don't do crap.

Diphenhydramine. You nailed it. Great for allergies and the occasional sleep aid.

Acetaminophen/Ibuprofen/naproxen/aspirin. I generally agree. With the note that acetaminophen has little effect for pain relief on women and the effective dose is nearly the lethal dose. Don't take it unless you are certain that you aren't overdoing it and that no other medications you take include it. You should add aspirin to your list. If you can take it, aspirin is the best of all.

Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide - Some people swear by it, but I think it is generally of little effectiveness. If it works for you, great. But many people (like children) get little if any benefit and the side effects aren't pleasant at all. I'd personally rather be sick than have the side effects of this drug (the nautious, dizzy, medicine head, drowsy effect). What is worse is when they combine it with guafensin. One drug to stop your coughing with another to make your coughs better. Choose one, not both since they are trying to do opposite things.

Guafensin - If it works for you, great. Use it then. Just don't combine it with dextromethorphan since they basically counteract each other. For me, it has never done anything.

 

[Scotteq]

I ruptured discs while dirt~biking, and even after surgery never really recovered to full. So I take a generous helping of Ibuprofen when my back bothers me, since it's also an anti~inflammatory.


Besides that, I have to be forced at gunpoint to see a Dr.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

tums for heartburn, advil for muscle/back pain, and bad headaches. claritin for allergies

 

[MetalMat]

Pop a few tramadols, take a couple motrins & advils. Wrap it up with a few bong rips and your flying high with Ozzy.

 

[ShawnD1]

Besides that, I have to be forced at gunpoint to see a Dr.

That and doctors are god damn retards. My friend had a BROKE HIS HAND while playing football and the doctor wouldn't give him Tylenol 3 to deal with the pain.

Hippocratic Oath: fight through the pain!

 

[Kadarin]

headaches: ibuprofen
colds/allergies: Actifed (tripolidine HCl + pseudophedrine)
heartburn: tums
insomnia: diphenhydramine

That's essentially it. I take blood pressure meds and an anti cholesterol drug, but those are prescription.

 

[ShawnD1]

headaches: ibuprofen
colds/allergies: Actifed (tripolidine HCl + pseudophedrine)
heartburn: tums
insomnia: diphenhydramine

That's essentially it. I take blood pressure meds and an anti cholesterol drug, but those are prescription.

I don't think you're supposed to mix these. Pseudoephedrine is an amphetamine; it makes your blood pressure go waaaaay up.


I'm also curious what the blood pressure medicine actually does. Stuff that jacks you up increases blood pressure partly because the heart is beating a lot faster and harder in order to increase blood circulation. Does your blood pressure medicine do the opposite? Slow your heart down so your hands and feet are cold all the time due to shitty blood circulation?

 

[JulesMaximus]

I rarely take any medication. If I get a cold and I'm feeling achy and have other symptoms I'll take something to ease the symptoms so I can sleep but that's pretty much the only time I take them.

 

[vi edit]

I don't think you're supposed to mix these. Pseudoephedrine is an amphetamine; it makes your blood pressure go waaaaay up.


I'm also curious what the blood pressure medicine actually does. Stuff that jacks you up increases blood pressure partly because the heart is beating a lot faster and harder in order to increase blood circulation. Does your blood pressure medicine do the opposite? Slow your heart down so your hands and feet are cold all the time due to shitty blood circulation?

There's two primary methods to lowering blood pressure. Beta blockers do as you said...decrease the number & strength of your heart beat.

There are others like vasodilators that relax blood vessels and lower it through less constriction of vessel walls.

 

[destrekor]

I used to take 800mg-1600mg ibuprofen or 400mg-800mg naproxen daily for body aches, and eventually I think my body just settled into a feedback loop. The medication basically wasn't doing much anymore, but my body loathed me whenever I didn't take any more medication. So it became a point where I swear my body invented pains just to get more of that sweet stuff, and even then it became far less effective at treating/masking the symptoms.

So now I've drastically cut back on medications. Also used to take a ton of caffeine and ephedrine pills during school, still taking them, but trying to bring myself slowly back into a comfortable baseline so that I can maybe even go a couple days without taking the pills. That's the goal.

Right now, I'm just happy I've cut back on OTC pain meds. I have body aches daily, they haven't gone away, but I think my brain is trying to either ignore the dull aches or my body is trying to recover from whatever problems I've developed. I don't know what... but I do know that I've gotten to the point that medication is the exception, not the norm. I'll probably take pain meds now twice a week, and just one dose a day on days I do, and they are a bit more effective.
A bad headache I can still get cleared up real quick with excedrin or aspirin itself. But my body seems to rarely get headaches anymore (of which I used to get quite often), but it's replaced those with neck and back aches. And these are far harder to treat, because I've never gotten rid of them.
It's always a dull ache that I try to relieve with better posture and an excessive amount of stretching/joint popping (not sure if that's helping or hurting, feels go though). On days I'm either less able to ignore that dull ache, or that dull ache rises in intensity, I'll take 400mg ibuprofen or 400mg naproxen (aleve), and usually that's good enough to bring my neck and back to a point that the dull ache is something I can push my focus beyond. I wish I could just get it to even feeling a dull ache is a rare event, but I have a feeling that's not in my cards. My body is fail at the skeletal level, strong bones but terrible everything else I think. I want to replace every single bone and joint with titanium alloys or something similar. Fuck nature's rules.

 

[Perknose]

Just because I'm "not feeling good?" Never.

I realize this stance of mine can be considered extreme, but it's my approach. To me, a store full of CVS is a store full of craptastic fail.

I'm not proselytizing my approach or even gently recommending it to you, Mr. Sniffles, but the question was asked and I have now answered it.

To clarify, I have used jock-itch-be-gone stuff when needed and I have and will use aloe, isopropyl alcohol, and the cheap red stuff for use for topical burns and boo-boos, but the entire pharmaceutical pantheon of cold symptom crap and "pain which is there to alert you to something, Leroy" discomfort easement could more or less disappear tomorrow, and I wouldn't notice.

 

[ShawnD1]

There are others like vasodilators that relax blood vessels and lower it through less constriction of vessel walls.

That sounds really nice. Isn't this what viagra does?

 

[Zen0]

I am anti-meds in general.

I agree with effective medication that can help you improve your life but only if there is no way to address the cause... aka an allergy medication is OK because you can not rid the world of pollen.

I am not an advocate of medication for things you can control or at least try, like staying healthier, depression etc

 

[Numenorean]

I take as little amount of drugs as possible. If I don't really need it, I don't take it. I MAYBE take 2 ibuprofen in a month, if that. A tums or two once in a great while. Other than that, nothing.