Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

ronmfnjeremy t1_jci1vjk wrote

Reply to comment by Thick-Molasses-8960 in Does regularly taking aspirin reduce its effectiveness to reduce pain? by tiltedpyramid

> 2) you use it often enough you are no longer "impressed" by the same level of pain relief

uhhh.. aka tolerance?

14

Derragon t1_jciuky3 wrote

A tolerance in this case would suggest that the body is no longer responding to the medicine and pain relief no longer being provided by it. In regards to impressed it's more that it worked the same amount and you just don't go "Wow!" anymore - it worked as you already knew it would.

27

[deleted] t1_jci6msl wrote

[removed]

7

52ndstreet t1_jciff48 wrote

> it’s just that you’ve now become accustomed to that level of pain relief

So… tolerance?

−7

Dave30954 t1_jcifykd wrote

Physical tolerance is different from mental tolerance, genius.

Physical tolerance is like if you get drunk enough, it takes more to get you drunk. Like the same level of drunkness literally gets physically harder because your body gets better at breaking down the poison.

Mental tolerance is like you get the same level of drunk but get bored of it. Like the pain relief is the same amount, you just want more now. Like you want total pain relief, which simply isn't possible unless you're completely healthy to begin with.

13

Rosevkiet t1_jcivkmq wrote

I listened to a really interesting Ezra Klein podcast about chronic pain treatment and the importance of taking a whole body approach. The guest’s main point is that pain originates with an injury or illness, but the patient’s experience of it can be influenced by their day to day life, mental health, supportive care, and levels of stress. I wish I could express it better, because when I write this out it sounds like I’m saying “it’s all in your head!”, but that is definitely not what she was saying. But it would explain someone having reduced relief from pain medication when they don’t have a biochemical reason to do so.

TLDR Pain is a complex sensation and what people experience is hard to understand.

6

LightlyButteredCats t1_jcjr4xc wrote

Makes sense. I usually get hungry about 5 hours after breakfast, but if I’m busy at work and moving around a lot it doesn’t really bother me much. But if I’m just sitting alone in front of a computer hunger is the only thing I’m thinking about.

3

iplayrusttoomuch t1_jckps2w wrote

No because it has the same effect on your body but you expect it to be more

2