# One 800mg vs four 200mg Ibuprofen **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-800mg-vs-four-200mg-ibuprofen/778711 "2017-01-31T23:05:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-800mg-vs-four-200mg-ibuprofen/778711/21 "2017-02-01T04:15:03Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I think it would be the same, however it is common to buy 400mg of Ibuprofen in a single tablet in Spain, even 600mg I’ve heard, but only saw the 400. My g/f felt a pleasant ‘high’ from that which was absent from the US version. The default is actually the 600; a few times I’ve been asked “6 or 4?” and just gave the pharmacist an “are you kidding” look. But it’s supposed to be 1 tablet every 24h; if you find yourself needing more you’re supposed to see a doctor. When my team arrived to Glasgow, we all got rentals and went to do some of our earliest shopping together. We had to explain to the supermarket’s manager that the reason for the 4 boxes of ibuprofen and 4 boxes of paracetamol was “three different households plus the first aid kit at the office”. We split it into two different purchases so it wouldn’t ping any automatic alarms (two boxes per purchase was ok). Those ibuprofens were 200mg and the paracetamols were 250mg (vs 500 or 1000mg in Spain). As one of my coworkers put it “so that’s why people in the movies always take fistfuls of pills, they’re minipills!” ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-800mg-vs-four-200mg-ibuprofen/778711/22 "2017-02-01T04:15:48Z")
@Filmore Not true. My dr has told me to just take 600mg or more rarely 800mg at a time on occasion. I believe that the class of drug (NSAIDs) can upset the stomach, so users may be told to take with food. Not the same thing as something which purposefully upsets the stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-800mg-vs-four-200mg-ibuprofen/778711/23 "2017-02-01T04:26:52Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Seconded. I just checked, and I have a container of 225 acetaminophens @ 500 mg each. I’ve seen it sold in 500 tab bottles, and maybe even a thousand. > > (OTOH, the warning notices got a bit scarier about a year ago, warning people that other meds can contain acetaminophen too, so read the bottles carefully to make sure you don’t take too much too fast.) > > Yow. Only 32 tabs at a time in the UK? How much in each tab? (In the US, over-the-counter unrestricted acetaminophen is available in 325 mg and 500 mg strengths.) On the other hand, a pack of 16 costs about 20p ( 25c ) in the cheaper outlets, and you can buy 2 packs, go across the road and buy 2 more, and so to each shop, then go back to the first shop and find a different assistant ( not even that with an automatic customer self-serve machine ) until you have enough paracetamol to destroy your liver or whatever else is your goal. I mean, it is really, _really_ cheap. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-800mg-vs-four-200mg-ibuprofen/778711/24 "2017-02-01T04:27:48Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > I told my friend that my doc gave me a script for 800mg Ibuprofen. I said that I can go get OTC 200mg Ibuprofen and take 4 to get 800mg. > > He said it doesn’t work that way and I disagreed. Once dissolved in the body they’re both 800mg dosage going in. He said the 200mg will go in as 200 mg at a time. > > I think he’s nuts. Right? Ibuprofen is RX-only in doses over 200mg/tablet primarily for insurance purposes. Also, if you have pain and/or inflammation severe enough that an 600- or 800mg dose in warranted, you probably need to be seen by a doctor anyway. The maximum recommended dose for ibuprofen is 3200mg a day. Heavy long-term use can cause GI irritation and kidney damage. It won’t be absorbed 200mg at a time unless you take the tablets at intervals. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-800mg-vs-four-200mg-ibuprofen/778711/25 "2017-02-01T04:52:11Z")
Since this involves medical advice, let’s move it to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-800mg-vs-four-200mg-ibuprofen/778711.md?page=1)