supposedly- Acetaminophen and Motrin together work as well as opioids- (But i did NOT find that to be the case myself), though it did work better than one or the other alone-
Gababentin and lyrica etc can cause suicidal thoughts so be aware of that if folks are seeking those meds-
I think one factor that has to be taken into account is developing tolerance to the opioids. I agree (from my own experience) that an NSAID + acetaminophen combination works better than either alone but pale compared to the first dose of an opioid. So on the first dose the opioid is much superior. But tolerance develops so quickly to the opioid that the OTC combination is better after a few or a dozen doses, unless the opioid dose is rapidly increased, which we all know you don’t want to do.