Tooth infection, most pain ive ever had :(

[tallulahturtle]

Apologies for typos and poor grammer but i am in unbelievable pain.

I went to my dentist for my 6 month check up and mentioned that a chipped filling was starting to cause sensitivity- throbbing for ages after eating. (He had previously seen the chipped bit but as was no pain he left it).

So this time he filled in the chipped bit.
That night started the pain and i was awake most nights at around 4.30 with the most horrendous pain.

Left it a few days then phoned him, he said the filling was now probably a bit too high and to come back. - this was last thursday and he couldnt fit me in till the monday.

Go on monday and he files down the filling so it is not high, also does an x ray for good measure and finds an infection. :/

Got antibiotics - amoxicyllyn 250 3 x per day. Told to use paracetomol for pain.
I had been using ibuprofen but after using it for a few days my i started getting intense and non stop hunger pangs (symptoms of a stomach ulcer) i have had one years ago so knew immediately to stop any NSAIDs my doctor had cleared me to take ibuprofen again but obviously taking it for so many days in a row has pissed my stomach off.

That night paracetomol doesnt cut it and DH is very close to taking me to minor injuries/putting me out of my misery.

Called the doctor the next morning and got some codeine.

Has anyone ever had an infection/absess on here and if so how long for antiobiotics to kick in?
I am worried as not allowed to take codeine for more than a few days and the pain is not reducing. Even the codeine is taking a while to kick in and the pain felt before it kicks in is horrendous .

Are there any other drugs i can take for it if i have to stop the codeine?

What is the next step if the antiobiotics dont work?

Whats a roor canal like and what state will i be in after?
Sorry for all the questions but i honestly have never been in this much pain, i am so tired too have not had a half decent nights sleep for 2 weeks. :(
Also due to go on holiday soon so need this to be sorted as i cant go on holiday with this much pain.

It's flipping miserable, you poor thing. I can't think of any other painkillers you can take, but a couple of days of codeine should see you through to a reduction in pressure of the infection.

I've had a couple of root canals and I didn't find them any worse than a large filling.

Happened to me several times, and it's taken a while to get on top of the pain, and then keep the painkillers up until the antibiotics have done their job.

My home made help is to get whisky on a cotton wool pad, and hold it on the part of the gum that hurts - I think it probably just numbs it for a bit, but it does seem to help.

I've had several root canal fillings, and whilst it's a long procedure and not particularly comfortable, it's not as bad as I've heard some people say. And when the pain's as bad as yours is, you don't really care anyway! I have another one coming up, after my dentist (bless him) decided to re-do a filling although it wasn't hurting, and has obviously disturbed my decidedly dodgy teeth. Now I'm looking forward to getting it done, as I'm fed up with the (currently) intermittent pain!