The most "European mind cannot comprehend this" thing around

Do Americans need these giant packs to deal with daily life in America?

That and to deal with the symptoms of their illnesses that have gone untreated because a) too expensive and/or b) doctors here gaslight you that it's just anxiety.
- My wife just paid $150 to go to a walk-in to check what is clearly a swollen blocked gland or something under her ear. It’s killing her. She was there for an hour. The doctor was in and out in under 2 minutes. He told her to take Tylenol and come back when it gets worse.
  
  So yeah, it’s cheaper and you waste less time buying OTC pain killers in bulk I guess.
This is way cheaper than health insurance.
No. This was purchased because someone thought it was a "great deal". They will use about a quarter of the bottle before it expires and then just throw the rest out.
- Not everyone is a lonely neck beard. Some folks live with families, and some of those family members might just have to take a daily pill or two daily.
- Everyone I know who buys these will definitely use them before they expire. Most common reasons seem to be back pain and headaches.
- Feel bad for the sucker who sees this and only buys one.
  
  alt-text: screenshot of bottle of 1000 CVS ibuprofen, “Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off; $29.79; 3.0¢/ea.”
- They won't be thrown out, who are you kidding?
Some people also have families.
- Not for long, if they're taking that amount of drugs regularly.

Can confirm, I'm European and my mind cannot comprehend this.

1000 pills? I've never seen so many pills all at once. Do you use them to flavor your dishes or something?

Pill are cheaper than surgery.

Signed: an American.
- You guys pay for surgeries??
  
  Signed: a European
- So how many do you take a day, for this to make sense? A dead liver is also a big medical bill, I assume, but maybe that's a future you problem.
You can get a 2x1000 pack at Costco
- This is what I do. They last for years and years.
We need them because it's cheaper than going to the doctor. Headache? Ibuprofen. Cold or flu? Ibuprofen. Shattered femur? Ibuprofen.
Well, they are 200mg pills so you will need to take 4 at once for them to make a difference, multiple times per day
- Isn’t 400mg the normal adult dose and 600 the bigger?

For when you really refuse to deal with the underlying issues causing pain, i guess.

Someone obviously doesn't have rheumatoid arthritis, or any other one of a plethora of painful diseases. Even with my biologics, flare ups happen, and ibuprofen takes the edge off.

On the other hand, maybe Europe has cured RA, and just hasn't shared it with the rest of the world?
- Sure, NSAIDS are great, but 99.9% of RA patients still shouldn't need 1000 tablets of half strength Ibuprofen if they are actually seeing their rheumatologist. We usually use coxibs for prolonged therapy supplementing with paracetamole or paracetamole codeine as needed. Most of the time pain control is achieved quickly via steroids and we generally recommend patients to try and avoid NSAIDS once they are started on steroids.
This is cheaper.
- By a lot
It's the American way.

You can't buy more than 10 at a time here unless you have a prescription.. On the plus side, you can almost get them for free if you do have a prescription

Why?

I hope nobody over there has regular headaches, or works construction.
- You can get them if you have a prescription so if the doctor seems a good reason, there is no problem. Note that its free to visit the doctor and free to get a prescription. Also prescribed medication is cheaper than over the counter medication even if it is the same medication. The state helps cover the cost of prescribed medications.
  
  That said, it's better to fight the cause of the pain instead of the pain, You can also get physiotherapy prescribed or other treatment that will help against whatever is hurting.
  
  Also construction work is often very safe and protected both by education and insurance due to unions. Although its hard work it is often strongly regulated and controlled to follow rules that will protect workers from getting hurt or worn out
In the UK you get them in boxes of 16 and you can buy 2 boxes at a time.

I assume the amount required to overdose and die is quite a bit higher than that.
- Please do not overdose on Ibuprofen. It’ll take a week and it’s going to hurt 9/10 the whole time.
- I don't think the concern is due to the risk of death but to prevent addiction and overuse.
  
  Ibuprofen is not good for kidneys and can also affect bone growth and regeneration (if remember right)
@cosmicrookie I know. I live in Europe too 🙂

My liver hurts from just looking at that bottle

Well actually... Ibuprofen hurts your stomach. Acetaminophen hurts your liver.

(Oh what a rush, hope I'm right. Do I go check the facts or keep rolling in my smugness a little longer?)
- Kidneys I believe
- Bold. I like it.
  
  !You chose wisely!<
Don't take that many.

Take even more so you can check out or be the next Chuuby Emu video.

Your options.
- music plays
  
  "A man takes 50 value pack ibuprofen a day, this is what happens to his stomach."
You’re thinking of tylenol
But it's your stomach that will get the burn.
Why is your post blue

I’m not sure what part I shouldn’t be able to comprehend

The part where you need 1000 tablets, that’s more than a lifetime supply. If you need that many you’re better off visiting the doctor and fix whatever the issue is.
- Tell me you don't have chronic headaches without telling me you don't have chronic headaches
- Go to the doctor? What do you think I am? Made of money?
- Some have frequent need for them. It’s not a specifically American thing to have chronic pain…
- A very sizeable percentage of Americans can't even afford rent on a one-bedroom apartment working two jobs, and they don't have health insurance. There is no "going to the doctor" when paying out of pocket at even just the clinic costs more than a week's wages. Between chronic discomfort and homelessness, they choose discomfort.
- This is what they have instead of healthcare
- ......fixing general muscle pain? What do you expect a doctor to resolve there? This is fucking Ibuprofen. Advil. Am I taking crazy pills or is this thread actually happening in real life?
- Are we sure this was bought for just a single person’s use?

Am American. This many pills would expire long before the bottle was even close to being empty. I maybe take ibuprofen maybe once or twice a year.

Damn look at no-pain McGee over here. I rarely go a week without a headache necessitating a few ibuprofen
- ibuprofen is addictive, in my country they are a prescription only medication because of this. Paracetamol on the other hand, is available off the counter
  
  too much ibuprofen or paracetamol is bad for you. Youre poisoning yourself
  
  never, ever, take that much pain killers unless you have a known condition and the doctor agrees. You could be hiding something else by using the painkillers
  
  i feel bad for you. Is the headache that bad? I usually ignore those but i have a high pain tollerence :)
- I used to have to use them about 3 to 5 days a week. It had been going on for years.
  
  Turns out my blood pressure was too high. Took some blood pressure medication and now I haven’t had a headache that bad in close to 6 months. I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t experienced it but you may want to get that looked at.
- have you tried making more money?
  
  /s
- I fortunately do not get headaches often. I usually get them when I stop drinking caffeine for a day or so. When I do get headaches, I take acetaminophen.

This bottle has more active component than I would expect any pharmacy to have in stock, considering all dosages and formats.

Unless you live in the jungle and only go to the city once every two years, this doesn’t seem reasonable

200mg is pretty low, though

You can only absorb 400mg in one dose, so 200 is a great idea (you get to choose taking one or two). Any excess you take will not have an effect on your pain.
- Wtf are you talking about? Ibuprofen is often prescribed in 600-1000mg. Maybe keep the medical advice to yourself.
- Well, sorry, but that is complete bullshit. You can go up to 1g/4h with effect, and if you take more you can overdose and fuck up your liver pretty badly.
- For real? I had a doctor recommend taking four for really bad headaches.

Imagine being an American with pain or explosive diarrhea while in Europe or wanting to get a coffee before 10am.

Can someone explain this comment to me? It makes too little sense to be GPT.
- Many common over the counter drugs in America are banned or require prescriptions in Europe. Ibuprofen and pesto/imodium require prescriptions, and they’re not too fond of giving you them. Fun things you learn while traveling Europe with migraines and shiting thunder. Remember to pack enough while traveling.
Have a medical problem in Europe at an inconvenient time? See an emergency doctor, get a prescription, visit an emergency pharmacy, pay a deductible amount, get your medication.

For the coffee before 10am thing: Bakers and shops open at around 6 to 7am and there is a thing called 24-hour petrol station.

Must not be many motherfuckers with arthritis over there if they’ve never seen bulk NSAIDs.

Shit, that’s barely a month’s supply for a good month for me.

The absolute maximum amount anyone should be taking in a single day would be 16 of these, and that’s spread throughout an entire 24 hours, and not on a consistent basis.

Finishing this bottle in a month would require taking 33 of these pills a day, everyday. How are you alive?
- I may be miscounting.
  
  Let’s see, three at a time most days, with 4 on bad days.
  
  That’s every five hours, unless I have shit to do.
  
  So that’s 3×4 minimum a day. On average it’s higher, what with bad days and having a teenager which means having to do shit I can’t just avoid. So 12 a day times 30 days is 360 minimum.
  
  February, I got a new bottle on the second or third, and I have about 200 left, unless I miscounted. February was bad though.
  
  But that does mean I was wrong in my guesstimate. I just end up buying a bottle every month, which isn’t really the same thing as taking the entire bottle.
  
  As to the consequences of the over use, it takes a lot of pepcid and other options to keep things under control. But the doc refuses to prescribe other NSAIDs because of the supposed heart risk, and aleve fucks me up even worse. Seriously, the amount of blood coming out of places it shouldn’t on aleve was ridiculous.
  
  But what else can I do? Fucking hands don’t work without something to reduce the inflammation. You can’t stay on steroids long term at all, and it isn’t the pain that’s what keeps them from working, it’s the stiffness, so opiates are useless.
  
  3 at a time is just enough to function most days. And there’s days where it’s every 4 hours instead of 5, but I do keep an eye on things. So far, no ulcers, no bleeding, just a lot of heartburn and some cramping. I think it helps that I always take them with food of some kind. Kidneys are doing fine as of October. No liver issues either, though that’s not a high risk.
  
  Plus, I do take breaks from it when I know I won’t need the movement range as much. Every few months, even if I have to tell people to bugger off lol.
  
  Damn though, there was a time when I had decided that I’d rather die from the medications than live with what they treat. The arthritis is mostly in my hands, but I have other musculoskeletal issues, and was essentially unable to walk without extra support for a year or two back in 08. So I was throwing down two Tylenol, 4 ibuprofen, and whatever herbal shit I could find at every dose, every four hours. If that didn’t kill me, I reckon I’m going to survive as it is for a while longer.
Holy shit dude, how's your stomach?
- Pretty fucking rough some days. But it's the only real option.
  
  The other two typically useful drugs for arthritis, naproxen and meloxicam are a no-go because of other issues.
What the fuck. Your stomachs dead
- Pretty much :)
This drugs can be prescribed in bulk, they just can't be bought without prescription in bulk over the counter.

This is part of laws to prevent suicide. Paracetamol is easier to suicide with and limited; Ibuprofen is not easy to take a fatal dose on but can cause serious side effect, and people are often ignorant about how deadly a drug is.

So to stop people taking ibuprofen instead of paracetamol, they're all limited to a certain amount per transaction.

And for someone with an arthritis they'd probably be getting the meds on prescription and for free rather than expected to go to a pharmacy and buy 1000 off the shelf.
- Ah, gotcha! That males sense.
  
  Alas, it's hard to find a doctor that will prescribe the higher amounts long term here, because of the cardiac risks for my age group.
My stepdad has arthritis, he gets prescribed packs of 600mg ibu, with like 5x20 blister packs in a pack or something around that number. It's mainly that at least in germany pill bottles don't exist, and probably some other EU countries too. Might be illegal for safety reasons or something, all I ever see in bottles are supplements and such. Medication is always in blister packs. I kind of dislike how wasteful that seems.

I have also never seen 200mg ibu though, only 400 and 600.
- Yeah, blister packs seem like such a bad idea compared to a bottle, environmentally. I can see the safety issue for sure though.

Except with Europe pricing it’d be like $6 for that whole thing

There are some really stupid “America bad” takes in this thread.

Fine, have your orange president in peace, then.
- Yeah a bottle of 1000 ibuprofen is somehow related to trump

Now do Costco Q-tip packages.

Can confirm, I just bought one of these. I was just trying to be economical.

At least these are not sweetened gummies lol