"I took two ibuprofens that first day. In hindsight, I didn’t need them, but I felt like I should take something" I have noticed the need to "take something" with a lot of American friends when they have problem. It's almost like a reflex.
I assure you there are just as many of us with a complete aversion to taking anything at all.
Last Monday evening, I had an accident with an angle grinder in my garage. The cutoff disc went through my leather glove and bit deep into the middle finger of my left hand. After deciding against gluing the cut back together, I drove myself to urgent care and received five stitches.
Did I need any painkillers, the doctor asked? I declined; my finger was pumped full of lidocaine at the time.
In the middle of the night, the lidocaine wore off, and while the finger hadn't hurt in the immediate aftermath of the injury, it certainly hurt then. After tossing and turning for about an hour, I decided to get up and try to find something to take.
The only analgesic I had in the house was an expired tiny bottle of ibuprofen. I needed about five minutes of digging before I found even that.
I simply don't use painkillers very often. I might take ibuprofen once or twice a year. I can't remember the last time I took anything other than ibuprofen, not even acetaminophen, not even when I twisted my knee.
I'm not sure if I have a higher tolerance of pain than other people or if other people like to self-medicate when the least bit of pain rears its head. Or, perhaps, I've simply been lucky enough not to have much pain.