Root canal....GAH!

[Recoleta]

Anyone here ever had a root canal? Any good advice to help with the pain?

It feels like someone has beaten my face/jaw/gums with a hammer. The dentist put me on a Z-pak (prevents infection) and lots of Advil. Despite the fact that the Advil bottle says to not take more than 6 pills in a 24-hour period I have taken 13 pills in a 19-hour period. That can't possibly be good for me/my liver can it?

[Jennifer]

I've had one, a few years ago. I remember taking ibuprofin to reduce swelling.

I think you can take both tylenol type painkillers + ibuprofin types, full doses, at once... because they do different things. but someone else will have to confirm

[Ivy]

Yeah, I don't think we have any endodontists on board so this should not be confused with medical advice. BUT! I had one earlier this year and it does hurt like an SOB. If I were you, I'd call in the morning if it's still bad and request something. As for the Advil, I found this:

Motrin (Ibuprofen) drug indications and dosage - prescription drugs and medications at RxList

That site says not to use more than 3200mg total in a day.

[Martoon]

Originally Posted by Ivy

If I were you, I'd call in the morning if it's still bad and request something.

Yeah, what she said. I had some teeth pulled when I was younger, and the pain got unbearable so I got the dentist to prescribe some Percodan. Completely took care of it.

If you're in really bad shape tonight, and your insurance covers it, you might want to call an urgent care facility or ER (or see if you're dentist's after-hours phone menu lists an emergency number). If you're driven to the point of taking double the indicated dose of Advil, you need something stronger.

Also, for that particular kind of pain, I find acetaminophen (Tylenol) to be more effective than ibuprofen (Advil).

[whatever]

ugh- I'm sorry! I remember having my wisdom teeth pulled and that was no fun... I'm not really a big fan of receiving dental surgery at all! Tylenol damages your liver in high doses and advil, motrin and asprin damage your stomach lining. I've always found ibuprofin to work the best for things like that, but I was prescribed tylenol by the oral surgeon when I got my teeth pulled- it didn't help at all! I ended up putting ice chips in my mouth and they helped out some! Hope your mouth feels better soon!

(my sister, however, was given vicodin and felt great! lucky her!)

[Recoleta]

Thanks for the advice, guys; and for the link, Ivy. I appreciate it. I think I'll call the office in the morning and ask for "the good stuff" because Advil just isn't cutting it anymore. My toothache leading up to the root canal lasted about 3 days in which I took Advil the whole time...I wonder if it's possible to acclimate to the medicine that quickly if you take it too often?

And Jennifer, I believe you are right, you can take tylenol and advil at the same time...I remember hearing/reading that somewhere. Anyway, I just took my final round of Advil for the night (this time it's the PM variety....so I'm kinda excited about the possibility of sleeping again). Hopefully it'll work, because that last pill was my 3000th mg of the day. Ugh, I really don't like taking medicine unless it's absolutely necessary....but oh well, my face kinda feels like this: (sorry, I have always wanted to use that smily...lol) G'night folks and thanks again!

[Jennifer]

Hope you are feeling better today. Tooth/gum aches cause an amazing amount of discomfort for such a small area of the body.

Yes, with ibuprofin drugs, they really can rip up your stomach lining and badly, if you take them on an empty stomach consistently.

I did not know this, and a few years back took one of the common prescribed meds that is basically high-strength ibuprofin (begins with a V? I forget the name) for a month, without necessarily eating food all the time... and I had stomach issues for an entire year afterwards (couldn't handle anything acidic, etc.)before recovering. No one -- no doctor, no one -- had told me that this happens with the drug, and I guess I did not read the sheet or I never got one.

Even with OTC ibuprofin, if I take it for a few days straight, I make sure I take it with food because I've seen the same problem start to develop.

[Natrushka]

Nerve pain isn't something advil can typically handle. Even percocet didn't take the edge off for me. The only really good news is, once it's over, it's over. I hope it's over for you, soon.

[Recoleta]

Thank you. I'm feeling maybe a tiny bit better this morning. I was able to sleep for 4-5 hours, so that was nice. I called the dentist's office, but my dentist is out today so I left her a message on her emergency line.

And thanks for the advice, Jennifer...I'll be sure to eat a something with the meds.

[GirlAmerica]

percocet