Many years ago I had 4 surgical procedures done around my nose/throat at the same time - straightening a deviated septum, turbinectomy, enlarging the openings into my sinuses and removing my tonsils. This meant I couldn't breath through my nose for about a month - and breathing through your mouth when you've just had tonsils removed is quite painful.

Soluble paracetamol literally turned the pain off like a switch - of course I was limited as to how much I could take, which I was careful to stick to but I was almost in tears waiting for the time to come where I could take more paracetamol.

So in some situations paracetamol can be an extremely effective painkiller.

Yes, I had a herniated disc and had severe nerve pain. While waiting for a time when I could get surgery to fix it acetaminophen reduced the pain even more than opioids! ibuprofen and an oral steroid like methylprednisolone did nothing...

Acetaminophen is like a wonder drug for me while ibuprofen doesn't seem to ever do anything for me.