OTC pain relievers affect your mood and ’tude!

When Grace Slick sang White Rabbit’s opening lines, “One pill makes your larger, and one pill makes you small. And the ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all,” she couldn’t have known that acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) that mother gave you for a headache or sore muscles actually did affect your mood and outlook.

That’s the new findings from a review published in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Researchers found that ibuprofen made women experience LESS hurt feelings when being excluded or recalling a painful memory. Men had the opposite reaction and felt more hurt after taking the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

Acetaminophen, a pain reliever that’s not an anti-inflammatory, also triggered dulled emotional responses: Study participants who took the drug reported feeling less emotional upset when reading about someone experiencing physical or emotional pain, while positively evocative images triggered less happiness.

According to researchers, “In many ways, the reviewed findings are alarming. Consumers assume that when they take an overthe-counter pain medication, it will relieve their physical symptoms, but they do not anticipate broader psychological effects.”

We say, pay attention to how you feel after taking them, and remember that these drugs are not intended for long-term use. If your doc says it’s OK: Limit acetaminophen to no more than 3,000 mg daily for 10 days for pain; for NSAIDs, find out if their possible gastrointestinal, kidney and cardiac side effects make them risky for you. And always take these meds with lots of warm water.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic.