A while back, I had to have a tooth pulled. I hate dental stuff and I hate the weirdness of how the geography of my mouth feels so different to my tongue.Anyway, when it was time to check out I asked what they were going to do for painkillers. I was rather looking forward to fortifying my hoard of oxycodone. Nope..they said to take three Advil (ibuprofen) and two Tylenol (acetaminophen) and it would work just fine.
Look, I’ve taken ibuprofen for pain before and I know it does a decent job, but this is for the pain of having a part of my skeletal structure forcibly removed. Im gonna need something with a little more horsepower than a fistful of OTC stuff.
Turns out I was wrong. I’ve had some serious pain since then from other events and injuries and, to my utter surprise, I’ve discovered that for all of it the 3/2 of Advil/Tylenol stomps that stuff down darn near just as good as the hydro. (Thats 200 mg Advil, 500 mg. Tylenol.)
Obviously a steady diet of ibuprofen is not a good idea for anyone’s liver, but we aren’t talking about a steady diet of it here. We’re talking about a temporary, short-term use because I broke a finger, cracked a rib, got an infected suture, shingles, or whatever else fires up the ol’ nerve clusters.
I now carry, always, in my Bag O’ Tricks a couple ‘pocket size’ tubes of Advil and Tylenol specifically for emergencies where serious pain relief is called for and I’m not near my in-home pharmacy. As it turns out, there seems to be a synergistic effect when combining the two.
The more professionally medically astute of you may have known this all along but, hey, its news to me.
Your mileage may vary, of course, but next time you really wanna smack down some strong pain give it a shot. Anytime you can get high-level pain relief without resorting to the prescription-only stuff…thats a win.
ETA: Apparently the Advil folks are offering a combo pill with acetaminophen and ibuprofen together. Two great tastes that taste great together. Brand name is ‘Advil Dual Action‘ with 125 mg ibuprofen and 250 mg. acetaminophen, which means you need to guzzle about four of these to get the 3/2 effect I mentioned earlier. Guess I’ll hit Walgreens and get some to keep in my Bag O’ Tricks.
Huh. Lots of that going around. I had one pulled a month ago. May be I should send you my guys card. Very little bleeding. No swelling. No bruising. I took three 500mg Tylenol twice daily. I was in an antibiotic for a week till the infection went away.
The only good thing about having a tooth pulled is the ice cream, chocolate pudding and other soft tasty food you get to indulge in guilt free.
Aspirin+ Tylenol (Acetaminophen) + Caffeine= Excedrin
____________ + Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) = “__________ PM”
Retired RN here: It’s typical for doctors in a hospital to alternate doses to reduce the affects on the liver. Depending on the literature, 3000-4000 mg tylenol/qday sustained is toxic to the liver. Usually dosed 3000mg max, alternating advil in between. Works well, but you have to be aware of GI tract issues with the advil (GERD). Would not be suprised if a lot of Iraq/afghan vets ended up with long-term liver failure as a result of tylenol overdosing.
I had an abscessed tooth and my Dentist prescribed the same thing. I was surprised it worked as well as something stronger. I was looking forward to some Oxy until time for the root canal. The 3/2 cocktail worked.
Doc told me years ago. Two extra strength (600 mg) Tylenol and two 300mg aspirin were the equal to regular Percocet. Not quite as long lasting, but in strength.
Served well over the years. Cheap and available.
My late Dad was an MD, and back when I was in the Army (late ’70s-early 80s), he told me to treat me numerous booboos by stacking. Start with 3 aspirin, 3 hours later 1 Tylenol, 3 hours later 2 ibuprofin, 3 hours later 1 Tylenol, 3 hours later the aspirin, and keep repeating the stack. No problems with that load, was in my 20s, healthy and a mostly good diet (for a soldier).
When I cannot get the script stuff, I still use this routine, just in a smaller dose of the ibuprofen – it’s some sort of conflict with a current med. I’ve used his stacking method for decades- it works.
Add caffeine to the mix. Also for pain and inflamation get one of those rechargeable red light wands on amazon. For people and pets
Cost between 120 and 190 dollars. Great for aches and pains long term and short.
Now while I have you, a good general purpose knife is the Gerber Strong-arm and or Prodigy.
I prefer the prodigy for the handle but both are well documented on the tube.
Doc here. Not giving medical advice but a few observations.
Ibuprofen is often dosed up to 800 mg three times a day. This is an aggressive dose occasionally used in orthopedic injuries.
Tylenol is often dosed up to 1000 mg, up to three times a day. Also a “max” dose.
The two drugs work in different ways are do not interact. Patients often take both. They typically last around 8 hours, as effects start to drop off.
Some regimens call for this two drug dosage in a staggered manner such that you are dosing one or the other drug every 4 hours. That way one of the drugs is peaking when the other is waning. 800 Ibuprofen….4 hours later 1000 Tylenol….4 hours later 800 ibuprofen…. repeat….
Look to an online resource (drugs.com) for confirmation as needed. I’m not a pharmacist.
FYI ibuprofen can cause ulcers if used in prolonged treatment. Tylenol causes liver toxicity in high doses and in longterm use as our RN notes.
Best.
What if you can’t Ibuprofen. Which I can’t. After 4 days my stomach starts to bleed.
Excedrin Migraine ( the Aspirin, Aceaminophen, Caffeine combo) is a miracle drug for me. Takes care of headaches that tylenol or Ibuprofen would just take the edge off and take all day to get rid of in the past, Also I can take two and feel the arthritis pain disappear making me functional again. Thanks for the post, I’ll keep the combo mentioned in mind also.
the only thing worse than going to the dentist is not going to the dentist. An infected tooth socket isn’t very far from the brain and is a recipe for disaster. Both the liver and the kidneys will suffer from long term high dosage of OTC or scripts. (so how is Keith Richards still alive?) I try to minimize the meds and only swallow some when the pain becomes unbearable.
Excedrin has proven really good for me in fighting headaches. Haven’t used it in years since I heard it’s hard on your liver. I probably take more Ibuprofen than I should. Maybe I should mix in some Excedrin on ocassion?
I found out about this a few months ago. It’s been a lifesaver for my back pain. Also an ice pack. Somehow that helps me get to sleep faster.
Pharmacist here, with respect to tylenol (APAP) 10 years ago the recommendation was under 4000 mg/day and under 2000 mg for alcoholic beverage drinkers. As stated above its now under 3000 mg/day. However, taking a supplement called N-acetyl cysteine should alleviate any concerns about liver effects. It is the antidote to Tylenol overdose if administered w/in 24 hours. Also used in Cystic Fibrosis breathing treatments to thin mucous plugs. The toxicity from Tylenol comes from depleting the reduced form of glutathione and formation of a toxic intermediate metabolite the body cannot excrete. Recharging glutathione with NAC remedies this. For supplementing everyday, 600mg twice daily should allay any fears.
I had a front tooth pulled last fall and I just had 2 shots of Jim Bean and that worked fine. —ken
about 4 yrs ago I had one pulled. I explicitly ‘told dentist I did want want prescribed pain meds… I was told
We don’t do that anymore. Take Tylenol and excederim max Strength OTC… it worked…. actually
Knocked me out when I got home….. but.i don’t tAke anything.ever for anything
Given the cost of the Advil Dual combo pill you may as well just get acetaminophen and ibuprofen tablets and add a caffeine pill as well.
Tylenol can be very effective, but also dangerous.
Tylenol can interact with a number of drugs – especially alcohol – to cause liver damage.
The damage can occur in a short period of time with the wrong combo travelling through your liver.
Do some research about it pertaining to what else you put through there personally.
Drug reactions to alcohol arent a problem for me.
Motrin-800mg was called Marine candy as the Corpsmen could hand it out to keep you going. Do not exclude real asprin in bag o’ tricks as used sublingually for heart attacks when that chest grabber occurs far from immediate care you may save a life.