An anti-inflammatory dose of ibuprofen (Advil, etc) is 800mg, 3 times daily. That's 2400mg per day! Compare this to naproxen (Alleve, etc), a similarly effective anti-inflammatory drug taken in 440mg doses, twice daily, for a total of 880mg per day. Almost 1/3 the weight of vitamin I.
No wonder people lugging around a bottle of Anvil Advil get sore backs!
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It's easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain. -- Larry Darrell
Which gets me to thinking: thread is also pretty heavy. When you consider how much thread is needed to put all those seams together, maybe we should rip them out - a few staples should hold everything together well.
I think you just invented double-secret-hyper-ultralight hiking.
Okay guys, on a serious note...I think that Advil would be a more multi-purpose pain reliever than Alieve would be. Alieve seems to work well on muscle and joint pain but Advil can help with other pains too such as a "flaming headache". We all know that Jimshaw would much rather have a multi-purpose piece of gear than not, so I vote for the Advil...sabre11004...
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Great weight comparison Zalman. But, some people are allergic to alleve (my father). Of course, some people are allergic to advil. Choose your poison wisely I guess.
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On a serious note, I'm seeing quite a few warnings lately about ibuprofen. One, that it can actually retard healing of stress injuries per this NY TImes article. . Another potential problem is that ibuprofen can interact with some blood pressure meds, causing dangerous side effects including kidney failure. It behooves all of us to keep track of what we are taking, research possible interactions--I know from experience that doctors don't always tell us!
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What's the matter with just plain old aspirin? Granted you can have a bad reaction to it, just like any substance, but isn't it a rather broad spectrum med?
Heck, why bring any of those. Just pack in the leftover vicodin from your last surgery. It will work much better than any of the previously mentioned drugs.
Vicodin has Tylenol in it, so make sure you don't take anything else with Tylenol!
My ex took a couple of doses of Dilauded (hydromorphone - powerful drug) after knee surgery then sat in front of the Travel Channel. A few months later he saw some of the same programs that he'd watched "under the influence" and started remarking about how odd it was that there was a TV show that mirrored one of our trips. I mentioned that our "trip" had been in his head because he'd seen the same show during his recovery but he didn't believe me. It took a while but I finally convinced him that there was no way we could possibly have done the trip in question. So, ever since then I've told people who are on morphine or dilaudid to be careful what they watch on TV while on the drug lest they have vivid memories of experiencing something they didn't really experience! Brought a new meaning to the word "trip"... LOLOL.
If you have an injury, anti-inflamatories are very important. The chemicals that produce inflammation can cause systemic problems and create a pain cycle that can be hard to break. It is a difficult thing to navigate - anti-inflammatories, if used too long, can cause pain upon withdrawel. Many people who take ibuprofen for chronic headaches find that they get rebound headaches when they go off the med. Same with caffeine.
It is true that ibuprofen causes bleeding as it is a blood thinner, just like aspirin. If you konk yourself on the head bad enough to knock yourself out, it is REALLY REALLY important to NOT take aspirin or ibuprofen for the next several days (72 hours at least). If there is any blood vessel damage in the brain from the injury, taking these meds could cause a brain bleed. Tylenol is ok though, and you WILL have a headache.
MNS
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YMMV. Viewer discretion is advised.
I was just making a joke about the vicodin. My dad had surgery a while back and was sent home with some vicodin. He doesnt remember a whole lot about the days after the surgery. Its crazy stuff and definitely not a good thing to bring on a trip LOL.
Midnight Interesting story. I was reading some material about the chemistry of false memory and about women in particular who start to have memories about being abused as a child ans they swear it was true. There have been court cases like a woman suddenly remembering (although she will swear she always remembered) that her father murdered someone, and finally it was proven that he didn't, yet she "knows it did happen". Jim And I do carry vicodin.
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
Actually, Vicodin is a great thing to carry on a trip, but you have to make sure only YOU use it. People can have allergies to it, not to mention it is illegal to give it to anyone else.
MNS
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YMMV. Viewer discretion is advised.
Midnight When a buddy was severly injured climbing I felt obligated to inform him that there might just be vicodin in my first aid kit. Whether he "stole" any I'm not sure as I don't count the tabs... Jim
Edited by Jimshaw (12/01/0911:20 PM)
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
Midnight When a buddy was severly injured climbing I felt obligated to inform him that there might just be vicodin in my first aid kit. Whether he "stole" any I'm not sure as I don't count the tabs... Jim
You sure that's all you've got in there, Jim?
BF
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