Dh moaning at me for taking paracetomal

[Cherrybomb101]

I suffer with bad headaches/possible migraines. To be very clear, I get regular eye tests, I’m not concerned. I’m not dehydrated. My headaches seem to be hormonal and always come around the time before my totm. I can’t just suffer the headaches because they get very bad and make me feel nauseous.

I might take probably 6-10 paracetamol spread over 2-3 days during a time when I’m having headache's which would be once a month or less.

Dh keeps saying that I’m adducted to painkillers, he’s worried how many tablets I’m taking, I shouldn’t be taking them, saying “oh my god “ comments if I buy a box of paracetamol in the supermarket shop, making stupid comments asking if I need tablets even when I haven’t said I’ve got a headache or anything.

Dh also refuses to take paracetamol himself even if he’s in pain or has a fever.

Aibu to think he is being ridiculous?

It's one of the safest drugs you can take as long as you take within the guidelines which op is.
Many things can have side effects which aren't drugs, I imagine too many carrots or tumeric could do you harm if you ate enough. What exactly is your concern about paracetamol?

For your own health, just get a prescription for triptans. Those work by relaxing the blood vessels in the head so it physically removes the headache instead of just covering it up like painkillers. They are better for your body that paracetamol or ibuprofen because they're not actually painkillers and don't have the associated risks. They also significantly reduce the need for taking repeat doses of paracetamol.

Only to the habit of taking them, not to the actual painkiller itself. You can get addicted (or habituated, rather) to absolutely anything; tea, toast, hot chocolate - it's not a chemical addiction (as happens with opiates) it's a habituation to the act of taking the substance. No fault of the substance. You won't get withdrawal from stopping taking them.

As someone who suffers with “complex, chronic headaches” (due to a variety of injuries and other medical conditions), I feel qualified to say that your DH is being utterly ridiculous and needs to pipe down. You’re not even taking a maximum dose of paracetamol (which is two tablets, four times a day). Hormonal migraines are absolutely a thing, too - you are probably oestrogen-sensitive, which causes the migraines.

Additionally, as this is something you’re struggling with long-term, I’d speak to your GP and ask for a referral to neurology. They did a bunch of tests on me, e.g. eye exams and brain scan MRI. They initially suggested some meds to help, but I react badly to a lot of meds and tbh none of them helped much anyway. I then had medical Botox for migraines (they inject all over your scalp every 3 months) and found it beneficial, but unfortunately it was wearing off too quickly, so they have switched me over to occipital nerve block injections (kind of like having an epidural in the back of your head/neck every 3 months). None of it has gotten rid of my headaches completely, but my ‘daily’ headaches are now manageable 95% of the time and I rarely get migraines any more. I’ve only had one cluster headache since starting the nerve block injections too, which has been a huge blessing. So you have lots of options for things you can try - and perhaps your DH would stop being such a tit if a neurologist was prescribing the treatment instead of you having to rely on OTC, non-addictive paracetamol which doesn’t really help much!

Quoting this because seeing the doctor for this kind of thing can sometimes get you a new way of dealing with things that you weren't previously aware of. Or something you heard about through Mumsnet - mefanemic acid for example is the bees' knees.

As a fellow headache/migraine sufferer it sounds fine to me. For me personally I have found nothing works better than Nurofen Meltlets (I drink water after as they can burn my mouth) but they’re by far the most effective for me.

Tell him to fuck off.

Indeed. Not sure about withdrawal symptoms, there might be psychosomatic ones.

I have a BF who is like your DH,...consider taking an aspirin or acetaminophen or something else (that's considered to be relatively harmless, over the counter and safe) and he acts like I've suggested that I go shoot up some heroin or something for my pain relief.
An utterly ridiculously overblown opinion / reaction to the need for pain relief.

Everybody's threshold is different. It's not a contest. Yes, perhaps in his own way he is concerned for your health, worried about your liver, worried about your system developing a tolerance to the drug and then you'll have to try something else that's stronger...

But to be honest, the moaning you describe about his constant complaints/refusal to support your decision/making you feel guilty for taking a simple pain reliever... That's certainly not making you feel any better is it?

I might have missed this in one of your posts but, when you're feeling unwell, does he go out of his way to try to help you? Realizing that you're under the weather, does he say he'll take care of dinner, take care of the household, take care of the chores. Does he endeavor to create a quiet healing environment for you (for instance a bedroom with dim lighting, maybe your favorite aromatherapy, soft music that you enjoy, a hot water bottle for your feet, cold towel for your head, rub your shoulders, whatever makes you feel better?) Cuz my suspicion is probably not.
(Mine certainly doesn't)

All very well and good when you're working away, doing everything, getting stuff done, but then, when something hits you, (whether it be migraines or a bad period or some other issue that's beyond your control no matter how much you try...) and they know that you're down for the count when this hits you, and they don't do anything that they can to make your life a little easier, to help you feel better quicker?
It's a dick move.
(I'm not putting your husband down specifically, I'm speaking about anyone who does this)

Maybe I care too much, but when I'm with a partner or a family member and they're suffering from something, i may not be able to make them better, but if i can make them feel a little better, i try.
Because knowing that nobody cares about you, nobody's going to help you, and that DP's fed up with "oh, that problem again? You always complain about that..." and off he goes in a huff to go sulk somewhere because you're not feeling well...
Man that sucks.

Hoping that you're feeling better.

I didn't know this (never been to the dr for my headaches). Useful info to have.

Is he mixing up paracetamol and cocodamol?

The latter has codeine in it and can be addictive.

Perfectly reasonable amount to have - I probably have similar amount each month, possibly more for my pain issues. Your DH is lucky he doesn't have any conditions that give him pain!

My DH is also very reluctant to ever take any tablets even when he had flu recently, I had to literally force him to take paracetamol as he had a fever. Maybe it's a man thing and not wanting to admit to being ill or being worried that he might be ill. Perhaps he is worried about you?

any chance that he's worried the painkillers might be causing the problem? (paracetamol is one of the many drugs that can cause headaches when it's used over a long period of time) Or perhaps if you're particularly petite, then the 'normal adult' dose might be causing harm?... just a couple of thought processes that may be underlying his concern before following pp's advice to telling him where to go!

He sounds like a pain in the arse.
Does he criticise other completely normal things you do?

Perfectly normal.
Unless ‘paracetamol’ or ‘headache pills’ is your household slang for street opiates, the husband is talking crap.
My wife is worse - she often has headaches, appears to live on ibuprofen, buys big packs, then when I occasionally want one, there are none left .🙄😀

Paracetamol is probably good for that too. 😃

I voted yabu because paracetamol is a terrible choice for hormone caused migraines. They will gradually be less and less effective while they damage your kidneys and liver more and more.

You KNOW exactly when you get these migraines, they are entirely predictable. There are so many BETTER medications out there, why aren’t you going to your GP and asking for them? For your type of migraine, for example, there are medications which have no nasty side effects like paracetamol that can nip a migraine in the bud just when you get the warning signs,

wouldn’t you like to not have these migraines every month? Go and get medical help. Don’t suffer on with medication that isn’t even for migraines.

Considering the maximum dosage for paracetamol is two tablets every four hours up to four times a day, ie eight tablets a day, I'd say your DH is a bit paranoid. It's a very light drug and it goes very easy on your liver. 'tis why the NHS often prescribes it for the most excruciating of pains because it's easy on organs.

It's utterly preposterous to say you're 'addicted to paracetamol'. That's not even medically possible.

What an idiot. He'd probably fall down and have a seizure with shock if he found out you can buy codeine tablets from a pharmacy. 🙄

Just ignore him and maybe don't bother telling him what meds you take. It's not really any of his business.

@Cherrybomb101 , could the migraines be linked to your method of contraception, if you are using one?
A friend had awful migraines that magically disappeared when TTC.

** non-awful migraines are 'man migraines' i.e. regular headaches.

Do you think 6-10 paracetamol each month is really enough to cause an otherwise healthy person kidney and liver damage? She's not taking them every single day, I imagine the alternative medication can also cause side effects. Op is not doing anything deemed dangerous

Really? Talk about drama over nothing. Tell him to mind his business or don’t tell him when you’re needing to take one

He’d be under the patio if that was my DH!

I was prescribed sumatriptan ages ago and later switched to eletriptan because it seemed work better. Due to the cost and low number of tablets in one package, I always assumed triptans were incredibly strong medication and only saved them up when other painkillers failed. To my surprise, I recently found a neurologist who said triptans are actually the best and safest option of all. They cost a lot because of the drug companies but it doesn't mean they are harsher on the body.

She said many of her patients have good results with 1/2 a tablet as well so that makes one prescription stretch further. On days where I know I'm prone to headaches (based on hormone cycle) I take 1/2 triptan at the first twinge and that effectively gets rid of the pain for the entire day. If I feel it coming back, I take the other 1/2 later on. Previously, I would constantly be dosing up on paracetamol and ibuprofen every 4 hours before eventually giving up and taking a triptan at the end of the day.

Such drama “dangerous” 😆

No, it’s more along the lines of why take a shitty old drug that is for general pain every month when you can get the modern better drug that stops migraines in their tracks.

Most of the migraine specific drugs have fewer side effects and lower risks for better migraine relief than paracetamol.