overdose on advil?

fastnoc

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Can you O/D on this stuff? I've got huge bottles of Bayer Aspirin, Advil, and Ibuprofen.

Lately I've had a HORRIBLE tooth ache. It's to the point that the entire right lower jaw is swollen so bad it looks like I've got a golf ball in my mouth.

I also can't close it or the pain is excruciating. I haven't slept for 3 days because the pain only subsides for a couple hours. So i get a few minutes of sleep and that's it.

I've been pacing almost constantly because the movement takes my mind off the pain. I cleaned my place top to bottom at 3 am and then at about 10am I took all 3 litter boxes, dumped them, scrubbed them with comet, dried them and refilled them. lol.

The point is, can I OD on OTC pain reliever? I can't get to the dentist until thursday, she's booked, and she told me that what's probably going to happen is she'll give me antibiotics and send me home until the swelling subsides because until that point she really can't deaden the nerve to work on it. I'm sure I'll get good strong pain killers but that's 3 days away.

I've been taking like 6 advil liqui gels, every 3 to 4 hours. Sometimes supplementing them with 4 aspirin or ibuprofen.

is that going to kill me?
 

yosemite

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I don't know about the overdose issue, but my doctor told me the Advil gel-caps were hard on your stomach and suggested I alternate them with Tylenol.

Perhaps you could try some Anbesol (not sure of the spelling) - numbs the pain of a toothache to keep it manageable until we can get to the dentist. Our daughter got some teeth whitening stuff some years ago and after putting it on she was in extreme distress. Her teeth were hurting terribly. We got her some of the Anbesol and it helped immensely.
 

calico2222

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You CAN overdose on OTC medicine. I almost did that with asprin one time when I was a teenager. It can cause heart palpitations, affect your blood pressure to the point you pass out, not to mention damage to your liver and kidneys.

But, I'm more worried about the infection right now. If your mouth is swollen that much get to the ER NOW! An infection like that can get into your blood stream very easily and cause you to go septic and cause all kinds of problems, even death. I had an infected tooth a few years ago that sounds like yours. The infection was so bad that it forced the tooth out, roots and all! The pain was incredible, and the ER had to put me on the highest dosage of antibiotics they could prescribe in pill form. It took a week before the dentist could actually pull another tooth that was bothering me, but she showed me the x-rays from the day after the ER visit. Most of my lower jaw bone on that side was eaten away by the infection. She told me there was a good chance that they may fracture my jaw getting the other one out.

You need to get on antibiotics asap, and ER will be able to do that.
 
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fastnoc

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Actually I did go to the ER on Saturday. They referrerd me back to the dentist. I asked if they could give me a shot to numb my face and the doctor said no because he didn't have the same skillset the dentist does in deadening the nerve (called a block i guess).

He said he couldn't give me pain medication because too many people come in begging for drugs that way. and gave me no antibiotics either.
 

dixie_darlin

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There is this medication called "Hurricane" at CVS and Walgreens. You have to ask the Pharmacist for it because they keep it behind the counter even though it's OTC.. It's the same topical analgesic they use at the dentists office. They use it to numb you before giving you the shot.
It's GREAT stuff.


There is also something made by Red Cross for toothaches. It's pure sesame oil. It comes with tiny tweezers and cotton balls. It works wonders also! It actually deadens the nerves in the tooth

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/search/sea...0cross%20tooth
 

taterbug

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Are you in the southern part of the US? If you are, try Goody or BC powders...2 of them at a time. They are the only OTC meds that will ease the pain of a tooth ache for me.

While you are waiting for your appointment, get a glass of "hot as you can stand it" water and stir in a teaspoon of salt and use it to rinse your mouth for 15 minutes every two or three hours, or more often if it makes your tooth feel better! But don't swallow it!!
It really does help!
 

tierre0

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

Can you O/D on this stuff? I've got huge bottles of Bayer Aspirin, Advil, and Ibuprofen.

Lately I've had a HORRIBLE tooth ache. It's to the point that the entire right lower jaw is swollen so bad it looks like I've got a golf ball in my mouth.

I also can't close it or the pain is excruciating. I haven't slept for 3 days because the pain only subsides for a couple hours. So i get a few minutes of sleep and that's it.

I've been pacing almost constantly because the movement takes my mind off the pain. I cleaned my place top to bottom at 3 am and then at about 10am I took all 3 litter boxes, dumped them, scrubbed them with comet, dried them and refilled them. lol.

The point is, can I OD on OTC pain reliever? I can't get to the dentist until thursday, she's booked, and she told me that what's probably going to happen is she'll give me antibiotics and send me home until the swelling subsides because until that point she really can't deaden the nerve to work on it. I'm sure I'll get good strong pain killers but that's 3 days away.

I've been taking like 6 advil liqui gels, every 3 to 4 hours. Sometimes supplementing them with 4 aspirin or ibuprofen.

is that going to kill me?
You shouldn't mix Advil and Asprin, it's can make you very sick and cause gastric bleeding. If you are going to take them just stick to one type..However you can add Tylenol and cut back on the Advil which are really hard on your stomach..
Sounds like you have an abscess and if your lucky it will start to drain once it reaches a certain point, when that happens make sure you rinse your mouth really well with salt water often to prevent you from swallowing the infection that will be draining..

I understand them not giving you painkillers at the ER but they should have given you antibiotics that is standard treatment for an abscess..
 

clixpix

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You can absolutely overdose on Advil! You might find your best OTC relief by alternating ibuprofen (advil) with acetaminophen (tylenol). Take them according to package directions, but make sure the times are staggered. Do not exceed the prescribed dose! The anbesol is a great suggestion as well.

You can take both of these medications because they are cleared differently. The ibuprofen is cleared by the kidneys, and the acetaminophen is cleared by the liver.
 

starryeyedtiger

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Yes you can absolutely overdose on OTC medications. Please adhere to the recommended dose for your own safety.


Just a little FYI - Tylonel Arthritis is the one of strongest OTC pain meds you can take (learned that from my pharmacist a while back).
It should help a bit, but you still have to follow the directions.

You should get a second opinion asap to a different dentist! You should not have to suffer like that! Mouth pain can be unbearable- I had to have an emergency root canal this summer and the pain from it was excruciating before they fixed it..I couldn't eat I couldn't sleep and it was just a nightmare- nothing worked for me eithor until I got in and they repaired it.

Can you call another dentist in your area and get in tomorrow? You should not have to wait and you should not have to wait without any type of pain meds or antibiotics- if you have an infection then your doctor making you wait that long means it might spread.

I hope you get this all sorted out soon
In the mean time- take some of the maximum strength Orajel (It's an orange liquid you can just dip it on your finger or a q-tip) and put it all in your mouth. Here's the thing, when I needed my root canal- I had excruciating pain in my bottom molar.....but guess what- when they got me in and did x-rays, that tooth was perfect....not a thing was wrong with it - but I needed a root canal on the tooth directly on top of it! The endodonitist (sp?) called it "Defered pain" or something like that- there are complicated nerves in your mouth and you might not always feel pain in the area you'd think you should....so the night before I got in there, when I was putting orajel on the tooth I thought was hurt, that's why it didn't do anything because I didn't deaden the right one....so try putting it all over your teeth to see if that helps a little- you may be feeling the pain in an area that's not really hurt because of deferred pain....just a little something to try if you can't get any relief!
 

strange_wings

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Both NSAIDs and acetaminophen can cause damage to kidneys and liver.
...I wonder, over a year ago I had a liver enzyme test high - no one said anything about it. Recently, while in the hospital, I was told one of my liver enzymes was high. I've been taking various NSAIDs for... 13 years? due to arthritis. Ibuprofen sometimes up to 3 -3.5g a day... bad idea, no one do this. If ok'ed by a doctor up to 2g should be safe.
Apparently though, NSAID use can cause liver enzymes to be off while there's no actual damage.
I still regularly take nabumetone.

Originally Posted by tierre0

You shouldn't mix Advil and Asprin, it's can make you very sick and cause gastric bleeding. If you are going to take them just stick to one type..
One should never mix NSAIDs, this includes naproxen(aleeve) and any prescription NSAIDs as well.


I don't understand why the dentist simply couldn't call a prescription in for antibiotics. Chances are it will be a rather basic antibiotic at that.
Painkillers may be useless, just for the fact that once the pain is really bad it's hard to stop it. Generally they do better if you take them before the pain builds up - but then again I'm very tolerant to pain meds so my experience with them may be different then the average person's.
...I wonder what they're going to give me for pain after my surgery Wednesday.


Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

Here's the thing, when I needed my root canal- I had excruciating pain in my bottom molar.....but guess what- when they got me in and did x-rays, that tooth was perfect....not a thing was wrong with it - but I needed a root canal on the tooth directly on top of it! The endodonitist (sp?) called it "Defered pain" or something like that- there are complicated nerves in your mouth and you might not always feel pain in the area you'd think you should....so the night before I got in there, when I was putting orajel on the tooth I thought was hurt, that's why it didn't do anything because I didn't deaden the right one....so try putting it all over your teeth to see if that helps a little- you may be feeling the pain in an area that's not really hurt because of deferred pain....just a little something to try if you can't get any relief!
I have had this, too - it confused my dentist. The problem was above the right front tooth, but he didn't understand how I could be feeling pain all along my bottom right molars and in my left front tooth.
Orajel doesn't work for me
It only manages to numb my tongue a little for ten minutes tops.
 

meowers

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Call your doctor.

They can perscribe a great pain killer to tide you over until the dentist appt. What they perscribe will be strong, i hope, but in proportion to what your liver can process. besides, an infection can be very serious in your jaw/mouth sine it is so close to your brain. ive had several friends get very ill from that sort of thing.

Stuff like advil can be really really bad for you in high doses, please call your doctor for better pain management. I promise you will be better off
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

Can you O/D on this stuff? I've got huge bottles of Bayer Aspirin, Advil, and Ibuprofen.
Yes you can! Please stop abusing medication! Only take the prescribed dose of ONE of the medications, not all of them together! See your doctor if your pain is not controlled.

Also, all of those medications have blood thinning properties, so if you cut yourself you stand a very real chance of bleeding to death. You can also get an ulcer from them too because they eat away at the stomach lining.
 
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fastnoc

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Wow some great advice here. SOmetimes it amazes me how much more this forum is than jusdt a place to talk about cats.

Thank you everyone.

I backed off the Aspirin for now. Isn't Tylenol acetaminophen anyway? I didn't look but that's what I thought when I bought it. My goal was to get every kind of pain reliever I could think of in at least a 500 pill bottle. So i wouldn't run out. There is nothing worse than being sick and not having medicine because you're too lazy to get it other times. Then again, I do that type of thing with lots of stuff.

Anyway, I stopped the Aspirin because of the Advil/aspirin recommendation, so i should be ok. I also checked and I'm not take nearly as many milligrams as i thought.

As for the dentist, that's just the way it is here. If you have a dentist you like, they're probably good, which means they'll be busy. She said that if and when anyone cancels they'll call me. I'm just a little pissed at the ER. I mean that is the doctor's oath. To ease pain and suffering. To me it's ethically wrong to be able to see the infection, and refuse to prescribe antibiotics to fix it and some pain killers to ease the suffering. I can assure you i don't look like a druggie and I think i was justified to ask.

The problem is once i got done I was in too much pain to complain. Maybe I'll do it later. I did tell the billing nurse that if they tried to bill me I'd take them to court over it since no work was done. Though i'll probably lose because I did go there, and the doctor DID physically see me.

Anyway, I'm babbling again. I'm sorry. It's because I'm nearly delirious.
 

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You truly need to go back to ER. See another doctor. You need antibiotics PRONTO. The infection could easily spread and either go into osteomyelitis or up into your BRAIN. Go NOW! I'm serious!!!!
 

catkiki

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Is there another hospital in your area that you could go to? That ER doctor did not do his duty! You need antibiotics to stop the infection! And I can't believe your dentist can't squeeze you in since it is an emergency!
 

carolpetunia

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Originally Posted by Catkiki

And I can't believe your dentist can't squeeze you in since it is an emergency!
This is so clearly an emergency -- she should skip lunch or stay late to get your infection under control!
 

alleygirl

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If my dentist can't see me right away, he will always call in an antibiotic prescription. Call you dentist asap and ask him to do this. You need to start on the antibiotics right away. Once the infection starts going down, the pain will ease as well.
 

psjauntie

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One thing I have found that helps is to rinse with Listerine, something about the antiseptic helps, at least for me. I hope you get this taken care of soon, I know how bad it hurts. that relief is on way soon.
 
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fastnoc

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Alley the problem is I don't have a regular dentist. I only moved here 10 months ago and this is the first dentist I've seen since I've been here. But that's all I could find.

Went to the pharmacy to ask if there was anything else I could use. She recommended Aleve because it's Naproxin and would help with the swelling. It's so swollen now I can't close my mouth, and I can't smoke because i can't suck on the cigarette. So maybe it's a good thing?
 
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