I’m a basically healthy 42YO male. I get a headache once in a while, and I pop an Advil to deal with it. Over time I’ve come to realize that 30-40 minutes later, after the headache is gone, I feel really good. It’s unclear to me whether this is just because my head doesn’t hurt anymore, or or because the ibuprofen really does address some sort of previously unnoticed background discomfort/inflammation throughout my whole body. I just feel…relaxed, stress-free, untroubled…difficult to describe in words. Like waking up from a really good night’s sleep, that kind of “oh yeah, that’s what I needed” feeling.
Is that just me? Or have you noticed the same thing when you take ibuprofen?
Nope, never noticed that, and I got prescribed like a million MGs of it once for back pain. Weird thing was it’s so chalky white, but it tasted like black licorice.
I don’t notice a difference if I’m awake and doing stuff, but at night if I can’t sleep I’ll take some ibuprofen and it makes me de-stress and able to fall asleep. Like you I think it just tamps down background aches and stiffness which makes me much more relaxed.
Nope. I just notice after a while that whatever pain I took it for is gone/reduced. I can’t say that it induces any general feeling of well-being.
In your case, I suppose it could just be the contrast–if you’ve been hurting for a while, just not hurting can feel pretty damn good. Or maybe it’s an interval when the pain has faded, but you’ve got some endorphins lingering. It could even be just what you said, that you have some low-grade baseline discomfort that you’re not consciously aware of, and it eases that along with your headache.
Your description of the sensation is not unlike something I’ve experienced from a slight oxygen jag. Do you have sinus or respiratory issues? Maybe if you have some chronic inflammation there, ibuprofen improves your breathing.
Occassionally when I take Iboprofen, especially the liquid-gel, I notice about a half hour later I feel like I popped a hydrocodone. It is not as intense and only lasts an hour or so, but I certainly feel it. I also am sure it’s not a contrast effect because I was taking them for tooth aches and the relief is different there.
Yeah, I get that. I’m a tense person so I guess I have a lot of chronic background discomfort. I can tell when Advil starts working because I get warm shivers up the back of my neck. It’s so marked that I can take Advil as a sleeping pill and it usually works.
Nope, I wish. I’m very prone to headaches, muscle tension and aches, and menstrual cramps, so I eat more Ibuprofen than I do candy. While it does wonders to ease my physical pain/discomfort, I’ve never noticed any other positive effects.
No, but because the brain areas for emotional pain piggybacked on the brain areas for physical pain it was found that tylenol helps numb you to emotional pain as well as physical pain.
I don’t know if that is what you are experiencing, but it is possible that plays a role.
Nope, mostly I get to the point where my lower back is just angry with the rest of the body rather than trying to get a violent divorce from it.
Being able to breathe again after an attack of non-allergies does feel real good, but only in the “man, you don’t realize how important it is to breathe until you stop being able to do it effortlessly” kind of way.
I’m surprised people are talking about a ‘buzz’ from ibuprofen. However, I have to agree with you in that in my experience; taking an ibuprofen has more benefits than just as an anti-inflammatory. I have a friend who is a talker. He’s not capable of telling you he crossed the street. He first has to tell you where he grew up, resulting in his choice of clothes to get the interview for the job that led him to go to lunch and had to cross a street to get there. Sometimes I just can’t listen to it. It drives me crazy. A colleague mine suggested taking a couple of Advil. Lo and Behold… it has worked more than once to take the edge of things that irritate me. As far as I’m concerned it’s a miracle drug. But I’ve never felt a noticeable buzz from it.
I don’t want to advocate taking unnecessary medication, but have any of you who experience this buzz taken ibuprofen without having any prior symptoms? That might help isolate the effect.
And to add to it, maybe buy some homeopathic medicine (i.e., sugar pills) and have your S.O. or someone give you a random pill (advil vs. sugar pill) but not tell you which one you are taking.
ETA: perhaps trying to match capsule shape as much as possible in the selection of brands…
