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New insights into why aspirin works so well

eurekalert.org

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Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#211

Post by Arn_Thor »

cortesoft wrote: post #15
astrange wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are very safe when taken as prescribed but quite dangerous when you don't read the directions. Although IIRC taking fever reducers when sick significantly increases how long it takes to recover. Those fevers are there for a reason.

The problem with acetaminophen is that the dangerous dose is not much higher than the recommended dose for a subset of the population. There are people who can die if they only take a few extra... and since it has a reputation as a safe drug, people don't think twice about taking extra.

This is so strange to me. I would never in a million years go beyond the recommended dosage without consulting a doctor. But I now realize that's just me, and if we can offer safer drugs that won't be as harmful if people exceed the dosage, so much the better.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#212

Post by eternityforest »

thenerdhead wrote: post #171

Aspirin has been a life changer for long Covid. The other painkillers make symptoms 10x worse. Many people wonder if aspirin anti platelet/blood thinning capabilities is helping breakup microclots which brings relief. There’s also a thing called nattokinase that apparently has similar properties to aspirin and is being studied for heart disease. It has been shown to break down blood clots and even degrade the spike p…

Aspirin+Claritin was what I used when I had a few weeks of extended COVID effects past the actual infection. It really does seem to work!

Or at least I think I had it... I never actually tested, I just assumed I should probably isolate regardless of whether it was COVID or the flu.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#213

Post by taf2 »

INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

Sorry gotta share but when we had my first daughter 13 years ago we got to take a tour of the doctors office . He walked us over to an antique cabinet that was full old dusty worn looking bottles… the doctor as I recall said: “these are all medicines from around 100 years ago they are all pretty much alcohol based and would reduce your pain - medicine really hasn’t improved much since… we can help you with pain but otherwise it’s pretty much up to you”. He went on to point out this is why he avoids keeping patients in the waiting room as he pointed to kids finger prints on the glass wall. So take this as you will his name was Dr. Jones so that was even cooler IMO but he did pass away sadly shortly after we started there… maybe his insight still applies today…

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#214

Post by nicoburns »

seattle_spring wrote: post #55
jamal-kumar wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's something like a downward spiral into hell that is opiates which starts with low doses like what you're on and escalates into worse and worse bullshit because you're not even trying to treat the underlying inflammation before masking the pain with opiates, and then the movement the pain is trying to prevent you from doing happens anyways and you just end up with more damage. I'm telling you these alternatives…

"just try weed bro" is the absolute worst most condescending advice you can give to someone suffering from chronic pain who didn't ask for advice. Do you really, really think someone just "went to opiates" before trying absolutely everything to identify and treat the underlying cause?

> Do you really, really think someone just "went to opiates" before trying absolutely everything to identify and treat the underlying cause?

Given that doctors regularly prescribe opiates and pretty much never prescribe cannabis that would seem highly plausible.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#215

Post by graypegg »

INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

If I had to guess that’s probably a result of the incentives at play here: extending life and lowering suffering.

Like everyone else has said, it’s normally easier to find out « if » something works before the « why » and only one of those questions needs a « yes » to stop someone suffering.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#216

Post by mistrial9 »

atombender wrote: post #168
INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

This might surprise you, but we don't actually fully understand how most drugs work. Not just common OTC drugs, either, but also complex synthetic drugs used for things like autoimmune disorders, preventing organ rejection, and so on. Not just drugs that have been in use since the inception of modern medicine, but also about brand new drugs. Often we have some idea how they work and what the internal end result appea…

> Modern medicine is optimized for end results

except thousands of common herbal remedies are replaced by patent medicine with legal controls, because $MONEY

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#217

Post by mistrial9 »

naijaboiler wrote: post #144
INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

As a doctor, i can confidently tell you as much as we know, we know so damn little. I get headaches everytime a patent asks me to explain why. The truth is for most diseases at best we have some plausible mechanism that's sorta supported up with some biology, and some treatment that works and we think we have some idea why. The real answer is we don't know, we have some reasonable theories that may or may not be true

>a patent asks me to explain why

Freudian slip of the week !!

ex-computational pharmacology here .. EX- !

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#218

Post by zabzonk »

GordonS wrote: post #167
zabzonk wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

unhappily, i was diagnosed with arthritis at quite an old age (60+) after happily eating tomatoes and tatties for all my life. i won't say what i think about advice like this.

> tatties for all my life. Hey, a fellow Scot? ;) Assuming so, something that might be worth considering is medical cannabis, which has been legal in the UK since 2018 - I mention it, as very few people are aware of this. Both THC oil and dried cannabis flower for vaping are available. I use it for chronic neuropathic and muscular pain, and it works amazingly well. Alternatively, as some others have mentioned, your b…

not a scot (actually i'm english - shock, horror) but i was married to a scottish girl and lived in edinburgh off and on for about 10 years, and some things have stuck.

i think that i am processing codeine ok, as when i took some of my late mum's pure codeine tablets (she got them for awful menstrual/menopause problems) it sent me off into a warm nice place. but try getting them from your gp these days, if you are a man.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#219

Post by ape4 »

carlmr wrote: post #175
naijaboiler wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a doctor, i can confidently tell you as much as we know, we know so damn little. I get headaches everytime a patent asks me to explain why. The truth is for most diseases at best we have some plausible mechanism that's sorta supported up with some biology, and some treatment that works and we think we have some idea why. The real answer is we don't know, we have some reasonable theories that may or may not be true

>I get headaches everytime a patent asks me to explain why. Maybe pop an aspirin!

I'm sure a doctor can make up jargon to assure the patient that its understood

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#220

Post by MisterBastahrd »

I rarely take any sort of medication other than my daily allergy tablet and usually a Mucinex during the allergy seasons. My exception is either BC Powder or Goody's for tension headaches and migraines. I'll have em once or twice a month, almost always after sleeping at a crooked angle due to my adjustable bed, and my solution is two packets of powder that usually eradicate the pain within 20 minutes.
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