"Ibuprofen Advil. better that two paracetamols in providing pain relief."
"Advil. More powerful than Pain."

these taglines makes me remember Richard Gutierrez and his twin, Raymond and their mother, Annabelle Rama in a commercial in which the twins were hoggling over the last piece of Advil from a bottle full of paracetamols. When Annabelle was about to split the capsule in half, the twins began to stop fighting over the pill and tried to coax the other to take it. Then Annabelle ends the commercial by announcing that she herself aquired a headache from the twins' fickle behavior.

advil was sold commercially as a more effective substitute for Tylenol (in the states) and Paracetamols. it was said to have twice the pain reducing power of two paracetamols and one two dosages of Tylenol. Its effect lies within its ability to block Prostaglandins, the chemicals synthesized by the body which are responsible for causing pain, inflammation and fever. Advil's generic name, Ibuprofen, blocks the enzymes responsible for the synthesis of protaglandins which are called cyclooxygenase, thus lowering prostaglandin levels. this reduces the pain and inflammation. The FDA in the US approved the usage of ibuprofen in 1974, and ever since, lots of people experiencing pain treated the capsule a deity. a diety that you can burn with your stomach acids and deliver effective pain relief.

as effective as it may be, it has side effects, as with any other synthetic drug invented to soothe pains and discomfort.

The most common side effects from ibuprofen are rash, ringing in the ears, headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, constipation and heartburn. Ibuprofen may cause ulceration of the stomach or intestine, and the ulcers may bleed. Sometimes, ulceration and bleeding can occur without abdominal pain, and black tarry stools, weakness, and dizziness upon standing (orthostatic hypotension) may be the only signs of a problem. NSAIDs reduce the flow of blood to the kidneys and impair function of the kidneys. The impairment is most likely to occur in patients with preexisting impairment of kidney function or congestive heart failure, and use of NSAIDs in these patients should be done cautiously. People who are allergic to other NSAIDs, including aspirin, should not use ibuprofen. Individuals with asthma are more likely to experience allergic reactions to ibuprofen and other NSAIDs.- from http://www.medicinenet.com/ibuprofen/article.htm

while it is a drug of wonder, excessive doses can lead to demise.

so maybe i should not take advil or any other ibuprofen drug.

but you know what?
I don't really care.
these things doesn't deter me from taking it.

let me tell you why.

I love advil.
advil is a god.

I may have gone a little overboard and a little blasphemous, but when cranium-splitting migraines hit you, your senses black out and you start calling little pills gods.

I get migraines often---especially if i'm subjected to stress and emotional turmoil. it hits at its worst when I'm angry and when I'm trying to hold my tears back. because of migraine, my threshold for pain increased, and i learned to deal with the pain that it causes, just in case medication isn't available. but the discomfort it causes hampers productivity...and if there's something i hate, it's being unproductive.

my migraine fits all started when I was in grade four. When I was in class one day, a couple of my classmates tried to make me cry over some grade-schoolish thing that I can't really recall. Not wanting to feel weak, I tried to stop my emotions and contain the tears. I held them back for at least thirty minutes then bam. I felt painful throbbing coming from within my temples. Not being accustomed to this sensation, i tried to ignore it. then the pain went off again, this time at the base of my neck. I cradled my head in between my knees and closed my eyes. For a grade four student and being a virgin when it comes to adult pains and sickness, the pain was quite unbearable. So I caved in. I cried. Not because of the problem with my classmates, but because of the pain. Just when I was about to slam my head to my desk, the teacher arrived. I cried silently behind my desk, using the book as a shield to cover my face and my swollen eyes. my head continued to painfully throb for an hour before my teacher noticed that color has drained from my face. she sent me to the clinic immediately.

upon arriving in the clinic, the nurse instantly noticed my face's loss of color. she held my arm supportively and she asked me to sit down. i fought the urge to prop my knees up and cradle my head between my knees in fetal position but the pain was too great for me to handle. it all felt like jackhammer hitting my head. unfortunately, the grade one kids were being dismissed that time, and the sound of their strollers' wheels slamming against the stairs felt like acid burning through my ears. the noise and loud sounds worsened the pain. When the nurse asked how I felt, I tried my best to describe the sensation that was going through my head for at least two hours. but then I realized that even the pain blocked out the sound of my own voice. I can feel my vocal cords vibrate, but my voice sounded very hoarse and soft. I described the pain to her as "para pong may pumupukpok sa ulo ko..lalo na po dito *touches temple* at dito *touches base of neck*.". The nurse held out her hand and massaged my temple and said that I should lie down for a while. She led me to the beds and where I laid. The moment my head hit the pillow, the pain worsened and it cracked my skull for about 5 minutes before it subsided. then the throbbing would come back and stop. come back and stop. it went like this for fifteen minutes until I saw the hem of the nurse's uniform by my bed. she held a glass of water and a little red capsule.

the name on the pill was advil.
i took it, and lay on the bed some more. after 35 minutes, the pain and the throbbing was gone.
i tried to sit up, and the pain wasn't there. i tried to lie down again, and the throbbing wasn't there too.

it was the grade school nurse started my affair with the pill.
and i've been taking it ever since.

you may ask if I'm afraid of the side effect...if I'm afraid that it would lead to my early demise.it's true that most synthetic drugs, though effective give you more sicknesses other than what you had to begin with.
but we have to bear in mind that these side effects only come when you take the drug in excessive amounts...and when it is not needed.
as said in the statement quoted above, ibuprofen causes troubles to people with ulcers, heart diseases and kidney defects at the start.

i don't have ulcers. i do not have heart and kidney defects.
I do not take aspirin.
and for god's sake, i don't eat advil pills for lunch.
hindi ko ginagawang mani ung advil.
hindi ko naman inuulam sa kanin ung tabletas na yun.

and that's precisely why I'm not afraid of the side effects of ibuprofen.

as long as the migraines still come and split my head open, I'll still be taking it.
i can't afford to see my brain matter ooze out from my cranial box.


***
my advil supply just ran out two months ago.
and i have to replenish it.
stress and emotional turmoil is just around the corner..and i wouldn't want to get caught unprepared.

ang haba nung lab report sa botany..
aaaayyyyy grabeeehhh.