here's your side effect list:

now tell me what level you think those side effects might be compounded?

almost all of that stuff ain't good for your liver... so you taking the old stuff for the once in a while migraine, is fine. I'm guessin' once in a while based on not having run out in such a long time.

You get a cluster of migraines everyday for a month? You prolly would really do a number on your liver taking that much naproxen...

thankfully I haven't had a bad cluster in years, but yeah... I've been so miserable that I thought about ending it.

Coupled with the prescription stuff imitrix making me hemorrhage, can't take it.

so... where we at? There ARE reasons for them to tell you NOT to take a lot of the stuff. Acetaminophen, same way. You can hose your liver taking too much, ESP. if you drink a lot of alcohol... so the alky old man with arthritis could really hurt himself taking too much.

This isn't about getting high, but throwing up blood, and finding your liver isn't working.

hugh, you software wont lest me post the link to the side effects, but do google it, cuz some of them are quite nasty...

but prolly not for your low dose...

Swiss, I get one migraine every so often. Maybe once every month and a half or two months -- related to persistent noise or a lot of stress.

Adam, my assistant who just left, transformed my deadline days to be much less stressful, and I get them far less often now.

I'm aware that all drugs have side-effects, but I'm not popping these like Pez. I think 500 mg of Naproxen every couple of months will not be a tax on my liver.

You're good. Higher risk is that it's hard on the stomach. I got a Rx bottle of the 375 mg naproxen and a few of the 500 mg. Next time you go in for a cold or whatever, get the doc to give you a script for it. With the stomach in mind, I would say just avoid BC Powders for that reason. Good stuff, but very very hard on the tummy.

People are in general not smart enough to manage their own OTC meds so they have to be low dose. People are always going to take 2, and some idiots are going to take 4. And when they don't feel better in an hour they are going to take 2 (or 4) more. They think that because it's not a prescription med that it can't be bad for you . . . because if it was a REAL medication you'd need a prescription for it. So, really the government should be regulating this stuff more closely! Because sheeple need protection!!!!

I don't buy the argument chickia. Someone may be dumb enough to hurt themselves so everyone must be stopped from hurting themselves. And where does this end? We already have issues with kids hurting themselves because the playground at school is so nerfed up they don't get injured there. Instead they do the exact same thing elsewhere that they did at school and get severely injured.

As you said, we cut the dosage in half and people take two. Cut it in quarters and people take four. No real progress.

"What's with restrictions on adults trying to buy their way out of a migraine with a drug that will not cause anyone to start seeing giant purple bunnies flying and trying to eat jetliners?"

Yes, if taking the drug doesn't cause you in interact with others in a dangerous manner there really shouldn't be such strong restrictions.

I have asthma. For years every doctor has told me that he (or she) wants to get me on a daily regime of Advair (or something like it). However, I feel that my asthma can be controlled better through diet. That works for me, with only the occasional "treatment" for asthma attacks.

There used to be herbal teas readily available that contain ephedra. Just a few sips of the freshly brewed stuff and my lungs would clear up better than any pharma-supplied inhaler.

This way I was able to fully control my asthma without the long-term side effects of pharma-supplied drugs. Enlargement of the heart and overworked kidneys and liver are among those parma-drugs side effects. I would much rather do without those side effects, thank you very much!

However, ephedra was also used in some other dietary supplements. Some idiots would take the stuff (it does cause an increased heart rate, and this I know to be true because I could feel it when I took the stuff) and then try to do strenuous exercise thinking they will lose more weight.

Bingo they keeled over from a heart attack. No surprise really. But, because of these idiots I can no longer buy tea with ephedra. Ephedra is now a banned substance.

While I still do not need big pharma for my asthma as I have found an okay (although not as good) substitute with peppermint tea or a spray of eucalyptus oil, I do wish that I could still get my ephedra tea. Nothing worked as well as it did.

So, thanks to idiots and the nanny state my life is just that much harder. Okay, I know, just a first-world complaint; but still!

I don't think this is as minor as you leave it Charles. You can't have the product you prefer. But the person who made that product can no longer produce it and must find another job. True only a few people are harmed. But even fewer are helped. And multiply these rules a million times over. Each little rule acting like a little anchor dragging on our society. Each little rule chaining us down till you can't do anything.

It is kinda like going Galt. There isn't that one guy who makes society work. And he doesn't just quit in a big flashy moment. Instead people go a little bit Galt all the time. And as people go a little bit Galt today and a little bit more Galt tomorrow society slows and separates. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer and the economy grinds to halt. Before you know it you are living in Greece, though possibly with worse weather.

Anyone else notice the incongruity of all theses rules?

That on the one hand the government can not be expected to protect you from the criminal acts of other citizens . . .

But on the other in order to stop people from "harming" themselves the government can protect you from yourself, to the point of jailing you?