Addicted to ibuprofen, any Dr's around to tell me honestly if it's that bad?

Well done! Perhaps get rid of the ones in the cupboard, you don’t need to make things harder than needed.

no Need to be ashamed. You’re not hurting anyone else and you didn’t mean to hurt yourself. You are not the only one. Up and down the country people are addicted to all sorts of stuff! Just ask for help and go with it. You can get off it

As I said, my doctor told me it can cause headaches with frequent use (ibuprofen)

it’s online on webMD and NHS website

Came here to say this as a renal nurse. Ibuprofen is highly nephrotixic.

I don't understand why it's sold OTC me. It wrecks your stomach. It was always my husband's go to until one day he developed anaphylaxis and ended up in hospital for a few days. He can't have it again.

I hope your gp will be supportive in helping you stop. If not, cutting down by one tablet each morning and evening might be easier than stopping abruptly.

The risk is very real. Just because you got away with does not mean it’s not dangerous. Lots of people get away with things that are dangerous, for example Keith Richards is still alive. Not all smokers die of lung cancer, etc.

@simsbustinoutmimido you have a medical qualification?

My doctor also told me it can make headaches worse, if taken too frequently.

Are you qualified medically to say that?

I would suggest getting your Egfr (kidney function) checked - it’s a simple blood test. But you could seriously and permanently damage your kidneys. Hope you can stop.

My 40 year old SIL took too many ibuprofen for several weeks due to a sport injury. Ended up being airlifted to hospital with a bleeding stomach ulcer. Please speak to your GP. If you really can't consider buying omeprazole or a similar PPI which will help protect your stomach.

And I took too much over a couple of weeks coz I’m dyslexic and misread it and I had kidney problems.

You just don’t know. It’s always worth getting checked. She needs to see her GP. And not lie about it like another poster did (I’m not insulting that poster, she was very kinds to share her story with OP, and as a warning. I’m just saying, don’t lie about it).

I took it (mixed with codeine) for years (about 18 tablets at once) and I never had any internal damage at all. I don’t think it’s fair to scare OP like that

Oh lovely.

You’re not addicted to ibuprofen, you’re addicted to the action of taking them and the fear of feeling pain. Your GP will absolutely want to help you.

I took ibuprofen for two weeks after hurting my back, leading to diagnosed gastritis for two years. Good luck. You can totally do this x

I know of someone who took less Ibuprofen per day than you for back pain (in their 30’s) and needs a kidney transplant. Whilst on the waiting list they are being dialysed 3 times a week. No other past medical history.

Rooting for you!

This is absolutely correct.

Ibuprofen is not addictive. You have a psychological compulsion. You need tharapy.

Speak to a GP, preferrably one you know. My DD was taking too much ibuprofen (period pain, headaches) and the doctor was SUPER supportive when she told her. Do it.

I’ve had a similar experience. I was having daily headaches and took ibuprofen every day for about 5 years-3 doses a day. Doc prescribed amitriptyline as a headache preventer but it didn’t seem to make a difference. I finally realised that I had to wean myself off the ibuprofen which was difficult to start with but it has worked.
I still get occasional headaches but 35mg of amitriptyline seems to help and I only take paracetamol now.
I actually think the painkillers were making the headaches worse.

I’m disabled and have taken lots of painkillers over the years. I am also the self professed queen of headaches, though it sound like you might be able to steal my crown.

Most (possibly all) painkillers have their effects reduced with frequent use. I’ve been addicted to codeine. It started with one a day, which helped my joint pain quite a lot so I carried on. But then it didn’t work so well so I had to up it to two a day. Within a year I was up to 8 dihydrocodeine a day and it wasn’t doing anything for my joint pain. It then took months to wean myself back off the codeine.

You need to seek medical help with this. Though if you can’t get an appointment quickly, just start by dropping down to 4 tablets for one of your doses. Or maybe cut one in half and go with 4 1/2 tablets. It’s not going to be quick but it does work.

You really need to identify the causes of your headaches. I used to get so many but over the years I have learned what the triggers are. The list is long: too much sleep; not enough sleep; too much caffeine; not enough caffeine; bring lights; anything that can cause eye strain (reading, computer etc); going without food for too long, being out in the sunshine; sleeping badly (crooked neck). I can get away with alcohol sometimes, but sometimes not.

The two biggest culprits were the pill and artificial sweeteners (aspartame and acusulfame k, need to test sucralose but don’t want to risk a headache). In recent years I started getting a really bad migraine every month just before my period, building up to spending two days in a dark room throwing up. I’m now on amitryptaline and that’s dealt with those.

It’s taken me years to pin down the causes, I don’t get many headaches these days and not usually anywhere near as bad as I used to. If you’re organised (I never was) you could try keeping a diary to try to spot connections. And finally, get your eyes tested!

I believe long term use causes kidney damage so it would be wise to start weaning yourself off, the doses you are taking sound very high - are they above the packet guidance? If so the risk will be greater.

Are you sure it’s ibuprofen and hasn’t got codeine in it as well?