Overdose of painkillers?

How can somebody die from taking a painkiller overdose? Like, what actual happens inside their body? How many pills would you have to take for it to be lethal, and how long does it take? Is it painful? Dont worry, im not suicidal! I was just wandering.
Answer:
The death depends on the painkiller. If you're talking about prescription painkillers, most of them are opioid agonists. Even at therapeutic doses, opioids tend to cause sedation via inhibition of neural signals. In the case of overdose, there would be several effects on the body, but the lethal effect would probably be oversedation: loss of consciousness followed by cessation of breathing, leading to suffocation.

Over-the-counter painkillers can be deadly in overdose as well, but the lethal effect is not neurological, so that's not really my area. My guess for acetaminophen would be liver failure, and for ibuprofen would be an intestinal bleed.

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I know some one who has done this. He took all the pills he could find in his home. After awhile he was acting somewhat strange. Like very tired and sleepy. It seems he got scared and told someone what he did. Was taken to the hospital and they pumped his stomach. Made him puke everything out. Also I have seen in real hospital shows how they give the person some sort of black think liquid to drink. From what I have observed it's no fun. Some take the pills and go lie down, because sooner or later if standing you drop.

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