What do you think a paracetamol dose is

[2021hwg]

So. Neither dh or I take many painkillers.

Tonight I had a bad headache so grabbed the box and took two! Dh was appalled and Said. What are you doing. It's one tablet not two.

We can't agree. I think on your normal box of paracetamol the dose is two.

I take 2 but there's quite a lot of me. Then I give it about an hour and if I'm still in pain I chuck 2 ibuprofen in as well (provided I'm able to keep food down).

You're both right. One of two - whichever
you prefer.

If I’ve got a migraine I actually find 600mg ibuprofen works better than paracetamol.

Always 1000mg - not worth it otherwise!

I was told from the Dr at the hospital when I had a severe migraine that I couldn't control and needed IV painkillers and fluids to bring it back under control, to take 2 x 500mg paracetamol and 1 x 200g ibuprofen 4 times a day. Sometimes I can manage with 1 paracetamol if it doesn't ease within half an hour to hour I'll take another one. Try to avoid ibuprofen now though as it can apparently mess with ovulation.

The standard adult dose is 1g (total 4G per day) You wouldn’t give your child half the dose so why give it to yourself?
Is this like the medical equivalent of the mumsnet chicken?

I always take 2, just to be sure. Tell your DH that it's nothing to do with him how many you take, providing it's not more than the recommended dose.

@Youngatheart00 Thank goodness, i was looking through the comments and hoping it wasnt just me. Bad headache or period pain means i always take 3 either paracetamol or ibroprufen so that they work and i never have to take a follow-up dose. always worked effectivlly for me with no side effects. I dont have a gall bladder though and i dont know if that makes a difference.

I was once chatting to a young woman at work when she remarked that she had a headache. Her male boss sitting next to us, who was a notorious but plausible bullshitter confidently told her that there was loads of caution in the dose on tablet boxes and she should feel free to take two paracetamol every two hours, that was what he always did and it would be absolutely fine. At no point did the fact that he was a 13 stone man and she was a slender 8 stone woman (and he was a notorious bullshitter and in no way medically qualified or even a science nerd like me) occur to either of them.

I expounded to her at some length on (admittedly rare) case histories of small women who had overdosed on paracetamol doses not that far over the box maximum. The error margin between effective dose and possible dangerous dose for paracetamol is unusually small if you’re a vulnerable patient, and you probably don’t know whether you’re a vulnerable patient until it’s too late.

But to return to the actual question - YANBU OP, if your head really hurts then 2 tablets is fine.

@BlueBlue22

I take 3 ibuprofen sometimes for a bad headache. No point suffering.

enjoy your stomach ulcer

^HospitalPharmacist

Yubaba
DD is 14 and 45kg, she was recently in hospital having surgery and she was given 1g of paracetamol at every dose.
I would always take 2 tablets and I would always take 400mg of ibuprofen too.
Yeah, there’s probably not a day goes by that I don’t advise a doctor to reduce someone’s dose of paracetamol if they are under 50kg.^

To be fair she was also on ketamine and oxycodone so I’m not sure the paracetamol did much tbh!

Given the quantity of illegal drugs I consumed in my “yoof”, I don’t think 2 paracetamol is much to get excited about.

I used to love painkillers too and always took much stronger stuff even for just a headache, but since I was limited in pregnancy and then BF I’ve been weaned off and plain paracetamol actually works now. But definitely need two, and with 2 ibuprofen chasers generally.

What I do miss though is Syndol. First headache when no longer BF and that will be my go-to. I still have a stash of the originals.

Adult dose is 1000 mg and a tablet is normally 500 mg so yeah, two. You might encounter different dose tablets but that's kind of rare.

How have both of you made it to adulthood without knowing this information? You must have lead very pain free lives or enjoy suffering 😂

[quote Tana433]@Youngatheart00 Thank goodness, i was looking through the comments and hoping it wasnt just me. Bad headache or period pain means i always take 3 either paracetamol or ibroprufen so that they work and i never have to take a follow-up dose. always worked effectivlly for me with no side effects. I dont have a gall bladder though and i dont know if that makes a difference.[/quote]
It's your liver you need to worry about. Liver failure is a nasty way to go.

It’s 2 tablets

@2021hwg

The box is just boots paracetamol and says take 1-2 tablets. He reads that's as one and two in extreme circumstances. I just think standard dose is two

What does he consider to be extreme circumstances?

Fgs read the box!
It's paracetamol not heroin

@Regularsizedrudy

How have both of you made it to adulthood without knowing this information? You must have lead very pain free lives or enjoy suffering 😂

That's the thing we both "know" I know it's generally two. He's knows it's always one

He considers extreme to mean in his case, when he has a badly sprained ankle or a headache that's lasted more than a day

Two.

1. 1 has never worked and then I end up taking more later. 2 ibuprofen as well. Interestingly my OH also takes 1 paracetamol, 1 ibuprofen, but takes them regularly instead of one hit and you’re done.

I take 2, although I rarely take paracetamol. I think you're supposed to take as little as possible to treat your pain though, so if you're small then 1 tablet may well be enough.

When kids at school need paracetamol the first aiders give 2 tablets every time, even to our smallest children (secondary, so the smallest kids are still 11).

I hardly ever need painkillers but if I do I’ll take two definitely.