If you can at all help it, please do NOT take more than the recommended dose of over-the-counter ((OTC)) painkillers. I know that OTC painkillers are not particularly harmful nor addictive, though the a persistent and high dose can be harmful in the long run. Your stomach, liver, and kidneys can be seriously damaged by long-term use of painkillers, even at the recommended dose if it’s too often that you take it. Also, while I said that OTC painkillers aren’t addictive ((which is technically true)), they can create a dependency that will lead to much more severe pain unless the recipient keeps taking more frequent and stronger doses.

It’s a catch-22, really, and sometimes there is no other feasible option. I want to warn you all, though, in case you haven’t gotten to this point yet. I’ve been taking OTC painkillers daily for years now, and it’s at the point where I can’t go to class or leave the house without taking it. The dependency my body has developed causes me to have headaches even worse than the migraines I take painkillers to control in the first place. It’s a shitty position to be in, because I need to keep taking them to be able to function, but the more I take them, the less healthy it is to take them, and so on in the cycle.

TL;DR Please take OTC painkillers seriously. They are not a highly-controlled substance or prescription drug, but like all chemicals and drugs they do come with their effects that you should be aware of.