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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think he's taken an overdose?

117 replies

worriedddddddddddd · 08/12/2015 20:46

My boyfriend is refusing to go to the hospital.
He's got a bad toothache (abscess, been receiving treatment for last 3 weeks)
Today he's been in so much pain he's taken 20+ (won't tell me how many) paracetamol/codeine.
Has a really bad stomach ache.
I'm not with him right now. What do I do?

OP posts:

ohtheholidays · 08/12/2015 21:26

I'm glad he's agreed to go to the hospital OP.

I did the same a few years ago,I was in so much pain and had no idea how many painkillers I'd managed to take until I came round on the floor,then I rang for an ambulance.

The hospitals head dentist came and saw me the same day I was admitted,he had me put onto 3 different antibiotic drips and I slept for the first time in over a week.Three days after I was admitted,I'd had all my bloods and sats done,had been pumped full of antibiotics,had had x rays done of my jaw and teeth and had the tooth removed and a large syringe full of poison that had settled in my jaw.

The relief was instant so I hope your boyfriend gets treated quickly and that there's no lasting problems from the pain relief he took.

MingZillas · 08/12/2015 21:34

Glad he's going to hospital.

Doughnutsandflapjacks33 · 08/12/2015 21:35

I did the same when I had a abcess, felt really embarrassed, I had booked tickets to take DSD out for her birthday, felt so ill, kept taking pain killers to try and get through the day, ended up ill whist watching a show, struggled to get home and then ended up in A&e where they gave me morphine and codeine which made me even more poorly, took a few days to feel human again , I should have gone straight to the dentist when the pain started.

FattyFishwife · 08/12/2015 21:46

my mum had an abscess in her rectum, and was in so much pain, she rang me sobbing, to come and sit with her. when i got there she let slip she had been taking a paracetamol an hour for the last 12 hours, to try and stop the pain, and get some sleep (so much less than the o/p) but i phoned an ambulance and they whisked her straight to A & E, where they had her on a paracetamol o/d regimen to counteract the drug in her blood.

Hope the o/ps fella is ok and has a speedy recovery.

Indole · 08/12/2015 21:57

So glad he is going to hospital and I hope all is OK.

no73 · 08/12/2015 22:03

Jesus all these people saying phone an ambulance..they are emergency vehicles for those unable to make their own way to hospital. No wonder so many people arrive in A and E in ambulances when they don't need to!!

Yes he needs to go to hospital but call a bloody taxi or drive him there!

Donthate · 08/12/2015 22:07

Hope he is ok, you are doing the right thing going to hospital.

Maryz · 08/12/2015 22:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Potatoface2 · 08/12/2015 22:34

why come on here to ask non medical people what to do, and even when you get the correct advice, ignore it.....paracetomol causes irreversable LIVER damage if not treated asap......why dont people read the labels.....it says a max of 8 in 24 hours at 4-6 hourly intervals ....in doesnt say 'but take more if you need too if the pain doesnt go'!

Indole · 08/12/2015 22:34

He has taken an overdose and she is not with him. He may die if not treated promptly. In what situation would you consider an ambulance more appropriate, no73?

kali110 · 08/12/2015 22:35

Hopefully when he gets to a&e they will give him better pain relief if he's been that desperate.
He'll most likely be fine op, his stomach pain could well be due to the antibiotics, not everybody who takes those painkillers gets stomach ache.
I never have done and i don't take them with food.
He's been silly but i understand what it's like to be in such intense pain.

tallulahturtle · 08/12/2015 22:45

Hope he is ok. I am going through a dental abscess now too. I was in so much pain on Friday i barely knew what was going on.
Went to emergency dentist who gave me antibiotics I tried ibuprofen and paracetomol neither were touching the pain so I phoned my doctor who said they were not able to give me anything stronger.
Been in so much pain :( seems with dental problems pain relief is not really accommodated (dentists can't prescribe it and doctors apparently can't prescribe pain relief for dental problems), so not suprised people end up overdosing.

no73 · 08/12/2015 22:48

An ambulance isn't going to get his treatment to him any quicker than if he went in a taxi. He may have taken an overdose but he is not going to die by going to hospital in a taxi. However, if there is no ambulance to get to someone having a cardiac arrest because they are taking someone to hospital who could very easily get in a taxi, then they will more than likely die.

There is a massive misuse of ambulances in this country which has a huge knock on effect on those that really, really need one.

Indole · 08/12/2015 22:51

Are you a doctor, no73?

BooyakaTurkeyisMassive · 08/12/2015 22:57

No73, I think this is probably the wrong thread for you to be getting on your high horse. If he wasn't making moves to go himself and refusing to make then phoning an ambulance would be the right move. A taxi driver won't be able to explain to him why he needs to go.

OP, I'm glad he's gone. But I believe he would be very, very unlucky to die or do serious damage at that dosage, but he should get it checked because he might be one of the unlucky ones.

The way I've had it explained to me by people who work in toxicology is that sensitivity to paracetamol differs from person to person, and there are some people who can die from taking not much over the stated dose. Which is why you sometimes see news stories about people who took paracetamol and drank a lot of lemsip together dying. That is, however, unusual and most people need a lot more. Most people won't do any long lasting damage at that level. But personally I wouldn't chance seeing whether or not I was one of the unlucky ones, he should get checked over.

no73 · 08/12/2015 23:02

I work in a busy A and E dept hence I've seen what happens when ambulances can't get to people in time. Hence my comments to all those saying 'he's taken an overdose, call an ambulance'.

A young man today died because an ambulance could't get to him in time.

no73 · 08/12/2015 23:04

plus OP writes..

worriedddddddddddd Tue 08-Dec-15 21:15:10
He's not on his own
He's going

He was not on his own, the OP just wasn't with him.

Indole · 08/12/2015 23:06

I've phoned NHS Direct and been instructed to call an ambulance for a lot less. And I have had several v stern talkings to by A&E staff re calling ambulances when my asthma is bad. This sounds worse than that.

no73 · 08/12/2015 23:07

Seriously its not. Asthma can kill you quite quickly.

BrokenGirl1 · 08/12/2015 23:08

As pp said - 20 paracetamol can be very toxic and cause liver damage. He needs to go to A&E now.

JasperDamerel · 08/12/2015 23:08

Up until that time, though, the OP thought that he was alone.

Indole · 08/12/2015 23:08

Can't an overdose take you past the point of no return quite fast - not death but irreversible damage?

hollinhurst84 · 08/12/2015 23:10

Asthma/breathing will always be a priority over an overdose unless they're unconscious. I do think people underestimate how many calls are made for ambulances. Try 3100 in 24hrs - that's the volume so no, there isn't always one available

BrokenGirl1 · 08/12/2015 23:14

Oh x-post, glad he went

no73 · 08/12/2015 23:16

Yes but he doesn't need to go in an ambulance which is my point, not that he doesn't need to go. However, someone unconscious, someone having a cardiac arrest, someone thrown into the air by a car, someone struggling to breathe, need an ambulance a heck of a lot more than someone quite able to text/phone their girlfriend and therefore get in a taxi.

I'm not disputing he needs to go I'm pointing out that he doesn't need to use an emergency, life saving vehicle to get there. Maybe when one of your relatives has to wait for an ambulance, when they really are on need of one, you might understand what I am getting at.

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