Is 3.6 grams of Aspirin actually a lot?

[Somewhatfoolish]

Been told elsewhere online that 3.6 grams of Aspirin is a lot of the stuff to be taking every day. On the other hand my reading of the pack instructions seems to suggest it's fine. Supposing you've no problems with your kidneys and no problems with stomach ulcers, is that really likely to be an issue?

I know the usual advice is to take it to your doctor but I don't want paracetamol and I don't want more opiates for various reasons so I can't imagine they can do anything anyway.

[JumboBeef]

Well, considering a normal daily dose is 75mg and if you are having a heart attack you take 300mg, then yes, 3,600mg is a huge amount.

internet said:

The acutely toxic dose of aspirin is generally considered greater n 150 mg per kg of body mass. Moderate toxicity occurs at doses up to 300 mg/kg, severe toxicity occurs between 300 to 500 mg/kg, and a potentially lethal daose is greater than 500 mg/kg. Chronic toxicity may occur following doses of 100 mg/kg per day for

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin_poisoning#section_2

Why are you taking so much?

[Somewhatfoolish]

A normal daily dose cannot possibly be 75mg! That would make no sense whatever given the pills come in 300mg and tell you to take 1-3 every 4 hours.

I am taking it for pain.

[968]

Somewhatfoolish said:

A normal daily dose cannot possibly be 75mg! That would make no sense whatever given the pills come in 300mg and tell you to take 1-3 every 4 hours.

I am taking it for pain.

75mg is given as prophylaxis for clots.

[K77 CTR]

Maximum daily dose is 4grams but not advisable to take such large doses without some form of stomach protection ie omeprazole/lansoprazole

[jackh707]

Should be alright. BNF says max 4g daily for analgesia.
How long have you been taking it for?
What for ?
Why you taking that much?

If it's for pain relief you should try ibuprofen or paracetamol, neither of
which are addictive.

[jackh707]

K77 CTR said:

Maximum daily dose is 4grams but not advisable to take such large doses without some form of stomach protection ie omeprazole/lansoprazole

This is correct too

[968]

Somewhatfoolish said:

A normal daily dose cannot possibly be 75mg! That would make no sense whatever given the pills come in 300mg and tell you to take 1-3 every 4 hours.

I am taking it for pain.

75mg is given as prophylaxis for clots.

[trando]

My brother had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago and he is on 75mg a day... Seems to be a standard dose...

[SunDiver]

For how long have you been taking this dose, and do you intend it to be long term?

[Farmerpalmer]

While 3.6gram May be within the dosage guidelines, it is not recommended in medium/ long term due to side effects. There are other better tolerated drugs e.g ibuprofen, which may be better. Suggest you speak to your friendly pharmacist.

[Flibble]

They usually say if symptoms persist then see your doctor/pharmacist for a reason you know. I wouldn't take the max daily dosage for more than a few days.

[Silver993tt]

Why are you taking aspirin at all? Do you have a medical condition? If not, why take aspirin? If you don't have a medical condition or have not been advised by your doctor you will be damaging your body by doing so.

[Somewhatfoolish]

Thanks all, have a doctor's appointment next week.

Have not answered questions above because, ya'know, it's health

Only point I would make is paracetamol never does anything for me, ibuprofen does but only very weakly. I am confused when it comes to ibuprofen why this should be because my understanding is ibuprofen and aspirin theoretically work on the same pathway... this leads me to suspect that aspirin has an additional mode of action, at least in some people. Just throwing that out there...

[jackh707]

Somewhatfoolish said:

I am confused when it comes to ibuprofen why this should be because my understanding is ibuprofen and aspirin theoretically work on the same pathway... this leads me to suspect that aspirin has an additional mode of action, at least in some people. Just throwing that out there...

Stop being such a cox

[Flibble]

Somewhatfoolish said:

Only point I would make is paracetamol never does anything for me, ibuprofen does but only very weakly. I am confused when it comes to ibuprofen why this should be because my understanding is ibuprofen and aspirin theoretically work on the same pathway... this leads me to suspect that aspirin has an additional mode of action, at least in some people. Just throwing that out there...

They work by a similar mechanism (inhibition of cyclooxygenase), but they're not identical; it's quite possible aspirin works better for you. In particular aspirin is an irreversible inhibitor, whereas ibuprofen is not, so it's possible that your body can reverse the effects of ibuprofen relatively quickly so you experience much reduced effects.

Also as with any orally administered drug a large amount of the dosage is metabolised in the liver before it reaches the bloodstream so your liver might just be much better at metabolising ibuprofen and paracetamol than aspirin.