Generic acetaminophen rarely works for my headaches but name brand tylenol always does. why is this? i thought it was the exact same thing?

Psychological: This is a psychologial effect. The two products indeed are chemically identical. Pain is very subjective. Even with fairly severe pain, and with Tylenol, generic acetaminophen, and many other pain meds (even opioids) much of the benefit in pain relief is placebo effect. And headache especially tends to have a strong psychological component. Discuss with your doctor if this remains a problem.

They should be: However the generic medicine manufactures are only held to a 70% purity when producing generic meds. Really with a generic med you are not getting the most pure form of the drug that is why it costs less aslo. Brand name tylenol is techiquely acetaminophen and it is 99% pure. In essence the brand tylenol will for the above reason will appear to be stronger. Hope that helps