pain medication after tooth extraction?

[formygirls]

i had a long appointment on tuesday. the final thing done was an extraction on a lower molar (the one in front of the last one-don't know the number!) it took almost 2 hours to extract the tooth-it was badly decayed.

the bleeding didn't last long and i was prescribed ibuprofen 800 mg and tylenol with codeine. i took them tuesday night and wednesday, but they made me so drowsy and heavy feeling- the last time i took a tylenol was 3am thursday morning. i have 2 little girls to take care of so i didn't want to risk anything. i switched to taking 400-600 mg advil every 4 hours, but it really isn't doing much for the pain.

it's been about 72 hours since the extraction. my husband is home from work now and will be for the weekend, so i'm going to take the prescription pain meds again so i can feel better.

my question (sorry it took so long to get here!) is...is it normal to need the strong prescription? i spoke with the dr that did the extraction and he kept asking if the pain was getting better-but it's hard to say since i stopped taking the medicine almost the day after the extraction. (i wouldn't say it's gotten any worse since yesterday morning.) how long do most people need to take medicine after a difficult extraction?

thanks for any help in advance!!

ally

[Phxcrybaby]

Ally,

Welcome to the forum! The first rule of thumb is to take the pain meds as directed by your dentist.....if you stop taking them every 4-6 hours and the pain gets a hold of you, it's difficult to get it under control. I had a tooth extraction the same day you did (last Tuesday) and I was instructed to take Alleve, Ibuprofen or Tylenol but since I have high blood pressure I have to be careful with Alleve and Ibuprofen so I opted to take Tylenol. I took one Tylenol every 4-6 hours and only had mild discomfort. I was given an RX for 6 tabs of Tramadol to take at night before bed and I was fine with that.

Today is Sunday and I have only a mild discomfort in my jaw...not sure if that is from the local anesthetic injection or from the extraction. Otherwise I feel like a million bucks! We all have different pain tolerances also so keep that in mind.

Hope you heal up fast!

Trish (formerly from New England)

[formygirls]

thanks for your reply!! glad you're feeling better what part of new england? i'm right outside the boston area.

unfortunately, i feel far from a million bucks! i had to get ahold of the dr that did the extraction today and he called in a rx for vicodin, as advil and tylenol were not doing enough to manage the pain.

i go back to my dentist at 10am tomorrow to see if it's either infection (i started amoxicillin on friday night and there's still some swelling) or dry socket. i just need an end to this agony! i can't even smile at my little girls and it breaks my heart

two more things: the dissolving stitches are still in the extraction site, though they broke apart and are just in my gums now. and i noticed two canker sores right at the extraction site as well. could these be causing some of this awful pain?

i never thought i'd be so excited to go to a dentist! i'm counting down the hours til tomorrow morning

[Phxcrybaby]

Ally,

I'm from Connecticut originally (Hartford area) and spent lots of time in Boston! GO RED SOX! I almost fainted when they won the world series and felt I could now die a happy woman after the 81 year slump and Curse of the Babe! My brother lived in North Reading for many years. I now live in the desert SW in Arizona.

So sorry you are still having so much pain but it is good that you are returning to see your dentist tomorrow. He can evaluate you and see if you have dry socket or an infection of some sort. Unfortunately dry socket occurs in about two to five percent of extractions and it's supposed to be very painful with pain radiating into the neck and all the way to the ear. I can tell you that he will be able to fix that up for you right quick. Vicodin is really strong so I hope that takes your pain away so you can sleep tonight.

Let me know how you are doing later this week and that you were able to smile at your girls!!! You can make it through this~~~we New Englanders are a tough bunch!



Trish