I often take painkillers (acetaminophen aka paracetamol), but I’ve noticed that it’s much more effective if I take them TOGETHER with my ADHD medication (ritalin aka methylphenidate) + my morning coffee. If I don’t take them AT the same time, the painkiller is far less effective.
I do not exceed the maximum dosage of painkiller (1gram per intake, mornings), but alone this would barely suffice to kill my morning headache.
My hypothesis is that since the LIVER has to convert all three, I am effectively overdosing on either substance (painkiller or ADHD meds), and damaging my liver in the process.
They are not great for your liver. Especially long-term consistent use. You should be taking periodic liver function tests.
That’s not a bad idea… :(
Probably only need a liver panel once every two years if you’re not symptomatic though. But you can also lower your daily dose to 750mg daily by doing three doses of 250mg.
The best solution of course is figuring out the cause of the headache
N-acetyl-L-cysteine, commonly sold under the name NAC, is an amazing over the counter liver aid you should think about adding to your med list. It’s one of the most energy intensive detox molecules made by your liver. Taking it orally provides your liver a helping hand and allows it to focus more on detoxification rather than producing the required tools for detox. But definitely talk to your doc about it all, yet it’s something you can do to help out without much worry as its basically a fancy amino acid.
I see! I thought about this as well. I was indeed also worrying whether this itself had any (unforeseeable) side-effects. Hmm, just a fancy amino acid? I hope this is indeed as innocent as it sounds.
I’ve taken it for years, only thing to be sure of is to cycle it. I go for a month on month off, but definitely see what your doc’s rec is there over mine 100%.
Just for clarity, according to mountsinai.org “Cysteine is an amino acid, a building block of proteins that are used throughout the body. When taken as a supplement, it is usually in the form of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). The body makes this into cysteine and then into glutathione, a powerful antioxidant.”