Acetaminophen Vs Ibuprofen for headaches

[Cheechy]

so i've been working at this camp lately, and i get a ridiculous amount of headaches. i don't know what's causing them, but my guess is it's a mixture of exhaustion + dehydration + stress.

i'm loading up for next session and wondering whether acetaminophen or ibuprofen would be more beneficial to this type of headache?

 

[phatass]

you can allways take a small dose of each, since they relieve pain in different ways, they should go nicely together

 

[Cheechy]

you can allways take a small dose of each, since they relieve pain in different ways, they should go nicely together

if you were broke and had to go with one or the other which would it be?

 

[fryingsquirrel]

Like phatass said the two together are better than either alone, but for headaches acetaminophen is better, while ibuprofen s better for body pain.

 

[dokomo]

In my personal experience, acetaminophen alone is like taking a sugar pill. I would always prefer ibuprofen.

If you can, I'd split the difference and get excedrin migraine. It has acetaminophen, caffeine, and aspirin and is really good at getting rid of headaches.

 

[dokomo]

I always took ibuprofen for granted, but now I can't take NSAIDS at all, so acetaminophen is my only option. Even so, I never take it because it doesn't help and I dislike the potential hepatoxicity.

 

[Violenza666]

I like excedrine migraine!! It has APAP, Caffeine, and Aspirin... works great... like the best of both worlds... but only for regular headaches...

For more serious headaches I take 400-800mg Ibuprofen...

Oddly enough my opiates dont do shit for my headaches.

 

[fryingsquirrel]

I find opiates seem to actually caused headaches for me. Not that it stops me.

 

[bronson]

My favorite for headaches would have to be naproxen sodium.

 

[volp]

Ibuprofren.

But I think I'm biased against acetaminophen because of all the vicodin/percs I've taken for pain over the years. I don't ever take acetaminophen on top of my regular pain medications. So at this point, it's just a natural inclination towards ibuprofen. Ibuprofen has also always done a decent job against headaches and minor aches.

 

[n3ophy7e]

I find opiates seem to actually caused headaches for me. Not that it stops me.

I find the same thing as well.

so i've been working at this camp lately, and i get a ridiculous amount of headaches. i don't know what's causing them, but my guess is it's a mixture of exhaustion + dehydration + stress.

Cheechy, you really need to try and avoid getting the headaches in the first place. If it's dehydration, make sure you keep your fluids up!! Seriously, this is a much better solution than taking pain pills. Your body has a headache because it needs water, it's trying to tell you something!
Secondly, make sure you're eating enough, and that it's not highly-processed or high in sugar. Low blood sugar can cause headaches so just be wary of that too.
Lastly, make sure you're getting enough sleep.

In terms of your actual question though, I personally prefer ibuprofen or aspirin for headaches. I only take apap for a headache if my stomach is hurting (it's very gentle on the stomach lining as opposed to ibuprofen) or if I've been taking a lot of ibuprofen recently (i.e. higher tolerance to it).
And as phatass said, apap and ibuprofen actually potentiate each other so for a really bad headache you can actually take a small dose of each (e.g. 500mg-1000mg apap + 200mg-400mg ibuprofen) and you should get good results.

 

[Elilrac]

Excedrine.. Did it tonight.
Opiates never help alone.. They make it seem not as bad tho.