How can I fit in adequate pain relief today? any ideas

[guiltynetter]

I want to take paracetamol and ibruprofen at regular intervals today. I'd prefer to take them together at the same time but I think that doesn't cover me for the whole day and night because I think it's 4 times a day max which takes me up to 8.30 tonight. I can't work out when 24 hours begins and starts and the pain is worse at night.

I've got severe toothache, had about 2 hours sleep with it, have a 4 year old and a 6 month old to deal with alone today until around 6 and the 6 month old is really hard!

if anybody could suggest times that would be great my head isn't working x

I would alternate them every 2 or 3 hours which will stretch it out a bit longer over the day.

Chewing chamomile granules is good for toothache.

It's easy, go and see pharmacists / dentist / doctor they are more qualified to help you.

Take them separately to maximise the pain relief it is a 24 hour period so if you take the first dose at 8am you can take up to the max does usually 8 tablets by 8 am tomorrow
8am 2 paracetamol
11am 2 ibuprofen
2pm 2 paracetamol
5pm 2 ibuprofen
8pm 2 paracetamol
11pm 2 ibuprofen
2am 2 paracetamol
5am 2 ibuprofen

Or get yourself to the pharmacy for something stronger like something with coedine as well as paracetamol to increase the pain relief

Oil of cloves and co codamol.

Alternate them with ibuprofen or some other NSAID - ask at the pharmacy.

If it is really grim, there will be ooh dentist at a local-ish hospital. Google it

Xxx toothache is just awful.

Please check the strength of your tablets before following the list above.

Note I am not a health professional, just someone who suffers with pain and this is my best method.

Fairy bunny THANK YOU that's exactly what I wanted/needed if I have a schedule laid out ahead of me ill feel more prepared for the day! yesterday I messed up and couldn't have any more pain relief in the night so instead sat down stairs sobbing 🙈

yiva I've been to the dentist the pain is after a root canal on Thursday. I went back yesterday so he could check it and jvd got antibiotics but he said it could take a few days to settle.

FairyBunnyAgain
That’s one dose too many for ibuprofen. It’s 4 doses a day for patacetamol and 3 for ibuprofen if you take two tablets at a time. So I’d skip the 5am dose of ibuprofen otherwise your schedule is what I’d do too when I’m managing arthritis pain.

i usually do ibuprofen with food, so 8ish, 3 ish and 9ish, just a piece of toast or fruit if not with an actual meal

then paracetamol shimmied in the middle of those times, so 6am/11am/6pm/11pm

and you can get paracetamol with codeine, which you can take alongside ibuprofen, so sub that for the ordinary paracetamol if required.

I also put the day's pills into a small tupperware, and set the times on my phone with named alarms which makes it much easier to remember where you are with which pills at what time!

Yy to getting co codamol too. Then you get codeine with your paracetamol 4 times a day. It really helps on those days when you are really suffering.

Ps I record when I have taken each tablet in the notes section of my phone. Otherwise I end up thinking did I take that tablet and end up missing a dose because I’m not sure.

Ibuprofen is only 6 in 24 hours. Having recently suffered anabcess this is what worked for me
8.30 1 ibuprofen
10.30 - 1 paracetemol
12.30 - 1 ibuprofen
2.30- 1 paracetemol
4.30 - 1 iboprofen
6.30- 1paracetemol
8.30 - 1 ibuprofen
10.30 - 1paracetemol
12.30 - 1 iboprofen
2.30 - 1 paracetemol
4.30 - 1ibuprofen
6.30 - 1 paracetemol

Be religous about taking them every 2 hours, you can take up to 8 paracetemol in24 hours, so this schedule means you cantake a couple extra overnight if you need to. I was very sceptical that one tablet would be enough, but it is if you keep to the schedule. it is a ballache to do, but toothache is worse t h an child birth, you have my sympathy.

thank you gamer widow. I started making a note on my phone too yesterday as d I couldn't remember which pain killer I had taken. no brain!

Definitely get co-codamol. But I would also call your dentist again. Post root canal pain should not be this severe and antibiotics should start working pretty quickly. It’s so easy for doctors to fob you off and say it will take time to settle blah blah but if you are sobbing in the night that’s not normal. Women especially are socialized to be pleasant and not complain but it is very common for this to lead to inadequate pain relief from doctors. Seriously, call him/her. Good luck

You can get paracetamol with codeine and also ibuprofen with codeine, although you would probably have to visit two chemists for this. I wouldn't recommend it long term, but it won't do you any harm if you are in severe pain over the weekend. Severe pain is usually treated with 30 to 60 mg doses of codeine.

Make sure you visit an emergency dentist on Monday though.

I found the dissolvable paracetamol with co-codamol the best when I had an infection in my mouth as felt swishing it around my mouth before swallowing helped (possibly in my mind) also took ibuprofen. They are available over the counter in boots.

taxigood it's the weekend and it's an NHS dentist so I can't ring. I've only had two doses of antibiotics (one last night, one this morning ) so I'm hoping they'll start to work. soon.

thanks for all the codeine recommendations. I'm.a bit worried to take it as I've never had it before and I'm not sure about side effects, especially as I have 2 children to drive around today. I also can't really eat anything and it says to take it with a meal. I'll try some soup later though.

thanks for all the replies 😊

Yorkshiremum17 I'm not a professional or anything but I'm sure you can't split the doses like that. If you take 1 tablet instead of 2, that's still your dose. 4 doses in 24 hours. Something to do with your liver processing it.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me comes along soon.

Hope you feel better OP. I second the cocodomol recommendations!

You can get paracetamol with codeine and also ibuprofen with codeine, although you would probably have to visit two chemists for this. I wouldn't recommend it long term, but it won't do you any harm if you are in severe pain over the weekend. Severe pain is usually treated with 30 to 60 mg doses of codeine.

This. In theory you can take 2x over the counter CoCodamol and 2x Ibuprofen & Codeine (Nurofen Plus, or Boots do their own version) at the same time if you are in agony. That would give you 41.6 mg of codeine, which is below the max prescription dose of 60mg. Or you could stagger them. Wouldn't recommend doing it regularly as codeine can be addictive, but this saved me when I was weeping in sleepless agony with a tooth abscess. The downside is codeine can make some people feel woozy or sick, and some people lack the enzyme that you need to process it, so it has zero effect on some people.

flyingpie this is what my dentist told me to do in the same situation as the op. One tablet is only half a dose,it certainly worked for me when my root canal abscessed!

If you are not sure about the codine you could take one co-codamol and one normal paracetamol on the same schedule for the first dose. 8mg is not much, if you feel ok on that take two co-codamol for your next dose and no paracetamol.

It is paracetamol that you need to be particularly careful with as even going slightly over can make you very ill. There is more tollerance with ibuprofen- I have been prescribed more than the normal dose before. You must have food though and obviously for some people there are counter indications. I have in the past used liquid medicine (Calpol/Nurofen) at adult for toothache and sore throat which seemed to help when directed onto the location- though that could just be a placebo effect!

Go to a chemist and explain your situation. Ask if paramol is suitable, (its , made up of paracetamol and dihydrocodeine in one). You can take ibuprofen on top but I found paramol to be enough.

I write the times down so I don’t mix them up and always take ibuprofen with food and never on an empty stomach. You will end up sick taking them on an empty stomach. I hurt the stitches in my mouth from 🤮

Yorkshiremum17, fair enough. As I said I'm no expert, just passing on something I'd heard.
Hope you are feeling better OP.

Go to a pharmacist and ask them. Seriously. Too many different suggestions here and when it comes to painkillers, particularly codeine you can't be guessing or going off the advice of strangers on the internet.

I know you know that and I know you're desperate but please go to a pharmacy tomorrow. Ones in supermarkets will be open and some branches of Boots, Lloyds and local pharmacies will be open for a few hours.

Or call 111 or ooh and speak to a nurse or doctor over the phone.

Tooth pain is awful, I really sympathise. When you find out the right answer write it on paper and stick it to your fridge for when you're feeling fuzzy headed. Hope you feel better soon.