About how many 500 mg painkillers would you need to take to OD?
NOT THAT IM PLANNING ON doing anything silly but i have had a really bad toothache for the past two days and i have taken six 500mg painkillers less than 12hours, and since friday i think i have taken about 16-20 (including the 6) painkillers without realizing because the pain is awful. Should i worry or not?
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You’d know pritty quit if something went wrong . I take 500mg every four hours so your not too far over. Stop taking them for eight hours clear you system, use a hot water bottle on your tooth and dab clove oil on your tooth (its meant to help).
hope it help and get better soon.
“Pain killer” can be any one of many pain killing medicine. Since you’re saying 500 mg, I’m guessing you’re taking Tylenol (generic acetaminophen). If that’s the case, the MAXIMUM recommended dosage is 4,000 mg in 24 hours, which would mean don’t take more than 8 per day. Also, don’t take more than two of these pills at a time – the maximum recommended dose at one time is 1,000 mg. So at most, you’d take two of these pills 3 to 4 times per day. And that’s ONLY if you’re at least 12 years old. The recommended dosage for kids under 12 is even less.
Anything over these recommendations can cause serious, sometimes fatal liver damage. Acetaminophen overdoses cause a very high number of deaths every year.
Soooo…. If nothing over the counter is working for you and you’re taking the maximum dose, you should see your doctor and get them to write you a prescription for something more effective at controlling pain.
There are other OTC pain killers such as ibuprofen (generic of Motrin, Advil) and Aleve (generic is naproxen).
I assume you mean 500 mg of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and many other products.
The problem with acetaminophen is that a fraction of the dose is turned into a cell toxic substance NAPQI, since the reaction mostly happens in the liver the liver is most at risk.
The body cells make an antidote to the NAPQI like chemicals called glutathione, but if the dosing is too frequent, too high or to long, then the glutathione stores can become depleted and the liver starts to be killed off, bit by bit.
You can lose about 1/2 or more of your liver, bit by bit, and not notice a problem, until it is too late. Acetaminophen products are a major cause of death due to liver failure in the USA and other developed countries. You would not know it from watching the commericals.
The dosing guidelines on the bottle are more about sales than safety, the less the better.
Below is a link to the Merck Manual, a trusted source but still it is from a drug company so keep this in mind:
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/injuries_poisoning/poisoning/acetaminophen_poisoning.html#v1118534