To offer the other perspective (though I guess you get that from your EU friends) - as one of those 'pain is a signal' people; I tend to avoid painkillers because when pain is tolerable, I'd rather use it as a guide for what is helping and what is delaying the recovery. Say you have a muscle spasm or something; isn't it better to feel exactly at which point it activates, so you can slowly stretch it out? A headache - well I behave differently when it is alleviated by reading a book, then when talking a walk outside makes it better, than when actually I'm just hungry and after eating a meal it goes away.

I don't know how I'd identify and distinguish those scenarios if I took painkillers every time.