Tylenol Junkie!! Anyone??

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#1 Post by **gracie381** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 1:03 pm

I feel like a Tylenol Junkie

I'm 26 years old and my treatment started about 2 weeks ago. I had the metal spacers, now I have the molar bands and a wire running through the roof of my mouth, and Tuesday I had 4 pre-molars pulled. I will be officially getting braced this Thursday (uppers & lowers)!! I also just recently had 4 fillings on my left side (2 upper & 2 lower). My left side has been the worst for me. It just throbs a lot of the time. The molar bands don't help, because the upper molar is one of the teeth I recently had filled. Anyway, I have been taking tylenol for 2 weeks straight. I take the the regular kind twice a day, and the 8-hour right before bed. It's the only way I feel I can function. I do not like to take any kind of medication, so it's really worrying me that I'm taking this so much. I am allergic to asprin, so tylenol has always been my choice for pain. Did any of you take tylenol or something like it this often. I feel like I'm the only one, and I know I'll have to take it after I get braced Thursday (at least for the first couple of weeks). I just feel like I'm constantly taking pills!!! When will the pill taking be over?? Will the pain get better soon?? Sorry to sound so dramatic, but this has been really hard so far.

#2 Post by **HollyDontSpend** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 4:42 pm

Heck yes! My sister and I got braces last year at the same time. We went through 2 bottles of ibuprophen in the first two months! My doctor friend told me just to mix it up a little, so I would take a mixture of tylenol and ibuprophen during the day. I learned the hard way that aleve didn't do it for me. I had to wait 12 hours before I could take something. Don't worry!

It will get better, but it may take a little while. I hope that you start to feel better soon.

#3 Post by **CelestialVoices** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:03 pm

Lucy! Glad to see you back!

#4 Post by **peanut** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:52 pm

Hello,

I've found that it's easier to stay on top of the pain by taking pain killers at regular intervals, as you are doing, instead of trying to brave it, and only take the pills when things get really bad. Eventually though, you'll need to be brave and try not taking any pills for a day to see if the pain has gone away. It's very easy to get dependent on a drug (different than being addicted) because you are afraid of feeling the pain of the braces. That happened to me once after a knee injury; I took pills even after the knee healed because I was afraid of the pain.

Also, you may want to check with your orthodontist about what pain killers they suggest. My orthodontist and many others suggest Advil or Naproxen (anti-inflammatories) instead of Tylenol.

Good luck. Things will get better as you get used to the braces.
peanut

#5 Post by **gracie381** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 7:40 pm

Thanks for your replies. Glad to know I'm not the only one. I plan to maybe try Advil when I get my brackets on. I hardly every took anything before this. I'm pretty good with pain, but sometimes I forget my tylenol, and let me tell you my mouth lets me know. It is a little better now. I had my extractions done Tuesday, and I really think most of my pain comes from my bite being off. Anyway, hopefully the pain will get less and less. Just don't want to damage my liver by taking so much Tylenol!!! But I guess there's a lot worse things people take out there on a daily basis. Hopefully my tylenol days will be at least maybe not as frequent soon

Thanks again!

#6 Post by **jenns91civic** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:03 pm

Taking acetaminophen regularly for 2 weeks concerns me. It doesn't sound like you are exceeding the max daily dose, but if you read the info on the box it will say not to use it for longer than 7-10 days. I understand pain, but maybe there are other methods you can use such as warm salt water rinses and/or heat/ice application. Being allergic to aspirin (what kind of reaction do you have...out of curiousity?) complicates things in that people sometimes react to NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen too. If you've been able to take those meds in the past, you should switch to one of them and see how that helps. I think you should call your doctor (not the ortho, but your regular doc) and ask about the med usage. He/she may tell you it is ok for you to keep taking the Tylenol or they may have another suggestion. Hope that helps,

Jenn

#7 Post by **T4raegirl** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:57 pm

ohhh ya...i have been taking so much pain meds lately. i have recently had two root canals and i am the biggest baby with any pain...so my mouth would just throb and i was always taking tylenol.

#8 Post by **geekgirl** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:10 pm

ugh... i already take quite a bit of tylenol for heaaches... guess i can look forward to more when i finally get braced too, huh? oh goody...

from personal experience, DO NOT take more than the daily recommeded dosage. A few years ago i had an absolutely horrible tooth that needed a root canal, but i was waiting until my insurance kicked in. the pain was crazy... and i was taking 4 extra strength tylenol every 3 or 4 hours. Bad bad me, i know. i did find out that after a while, your body will tell you enough is enough and back up they come

Also, apparently more than the recommended dose is really bad for you liver.

#9 Post by SW » Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:21 pm

jenns91civic wrote:Taking acetaminophen regularly for 2 weeks concerns me. It doesn't sound like you are exceeding the max daily dose, but if you read the info on the box it will say not to use it for longer than 7-10 days. I understand pain, but maybe there are other methods you can use such as warm salt water rinses and/or heat/ice application. Being allergic to aspirin (what kind of reaction do you have...out of curiousity?) complicates things in that people sometimes react to NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen too. If you've been able to take those meds in the past, you should switch to one of them and see how that helps. I think you should call your doctor (not the ortho, but your regular doc) and ask about the med usage. He/she may tell you it is ok for you to keep taking the Tylenol or they may have another suggestion. Hope that helps,

Jenn

I have to agree with you Jenn. Besides the possible liver issues, I have also heard of acetaminophen causing "rebound headaches" when taken for long periods of time. I don't know if this happens with other types of pain, but it would be a good idea ask a doctor or pharmacist about long-term use of Tylenol.

(I tend to have problems with aspirin and NSAIDS too, unfortunately. Aspirin works, but causes major stomach and intestinal upset for me and can actually cause bruises to develop on my legs, even if I take the 81mg dose. NSAIDS like ibuprofen are even worse, like burning acid in my stomach, and Anaprox made me so dizzy I had to lie down.)

#10 Post by **gracie381** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:28 am

Thanks for your suggestions. I have laid off the tylenol a bit. I just take 2 500 mg. during the day and 2 850 mg. right before bed. I know my pharmacist pretty well, and I plan on asking her for any other suggestions. As far as asprin or Ibuprofin goes, my lips swell really bad with both and I break out on my wrists and chest. I had this happen more than once unfortunately before I figured out what was causing it. I have been having a lot less pain lately, but my braces will be put on Thursday, so I'm afraid I'll be back to the tylenol once again!! I took my 850 mg. tylenol before bed last night about 10:00 p.m. and it's now 9:20 a.m. and I'm pain free, so haven't took anything yet. My main problem is at night. I can't sleep if my jaw is aching. I think most of my problem is that my teeth are not hitting right on my left side. I notice that my pain is usually worse after I eat or talk a lot (which I tend to do) as you can see. Anway, I will see what my pharmacist says and I will also ask my ortho on Thursday. I'll let you know what advice I get. Thanks for all your responses. And let me know what works best for you!!

#11 Post by **gracie381** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:42 am

Just to update you, my pharmacist recommended something called Phenylgesic. It has less Acetaminophen in it, and an ingredient called Phenyltoloxamine Citrate. She's says it seems to be really good for pain. I'll try it out and let you know. She also said Motrin is supposed to be really good for tooth pain. Who knows!! If that doesn't work, she said I just get my doctor to call in a mild pain pill to take just the first week or so. Anyway, we'll see how it goes!!

#12 Post by **Carmella** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 10:47 am

I would reccommend Motrin. It seems to work the best for me...also I would advise to stay away from generics, their ingredients can vary +/- 10% of each active ingredient compared to the name brand. I can tell a major difference in taking "Motrin" (little orange pills) and "generic ibuprofen", Motrin gives me more relief.

Try a warm salt rinse, if you have small cuts or abrasion this helps tremendously!

#13 Post by **jenns91civic** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:23 pm

Very well written meryaten!! You are exactly right. Generics are bioequivalent to brand names. They have to be or they aren't approved. Exceptions are rare and until Nov 1 2004 included guaifenesin. Now the only one I know of is pancreatic enzymes which have been grandfathered into approval. They are working on this though...

Motrin = Advil = any store brand of ibuprofen. They are all the same but some cost more. Now when you get into medication form, there are differences. Advil liqui-gels just plain work a load better for me than any other form of ibuprofen besides suspension. They are absorbed faster (already liquid so they don't have to be broken down as much) and probably made to be more bioavailable because of how our bodies work.

Caffeine is used along with some analgesics because of something called synergy. The caffeine helps the analgesic work more effectively. Because of this, things like Excedrin are available. In Excedrin Migraine and Excedrin Tension Headache (funny, they have the same ingredients...) there is aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine. The orally disentigrating tablets ("quick tabs" etc) work great for me. Aspirin sensitive and allergic people shouldn't take anything Excedrin without reading the label. The med your pharmacist suggested works the same way. Syngeristic effects. Gotta love pharmacology!!

#14 Post by SW » Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:34 pm

I have always wondered about the inactive ingredients in medication and their relation to side effects, etc. I have found that for some reason, if I take the kid's liquid Tylenol it bothers me more than taking the same stuff marketed by Target. Why? I don't know... I also have found that the chewable 81 mg aspirin is murder on my stomach (both Bayer and St. Joseph) , but if I chew a coated 81 mg (St. Joseph's aspirin) it doesn't bother as much either.

#15 Post by **jenns91civic** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:47 pm

I almost said the aspirin question is easy...then I reread it. You should never crush or chew coated medications. They are designed to be swallowed whole so they are absorbed later in the GI tract rather than in the stomach.

The Tylenol thing is interesting. It could be the flavors used. Actually now that I think about it.....I bet it is the flavoring since chewable asa bothers you too. Figuring out which flavors (or colors I guess) is the hard part.

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Tylenol Junkie!! Anyone??

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