Overdose on pills

Harold Chavez3, get yourself to the ER and tell them exactly what you took. 🙂 Listen to velvetmoose9, they know what they're talking about.

I’m with you on calling 911 (though I’m really hoping Harold Chavez3 already cleared out). Regarding the Zaldiar, my dentist was super strict about it—told me point-blank not to mix it with any other Tylenol or random pills. There's basically a whole laundry list of stuff you aren't supposed to combine with it. Plus, they said you need a full 6-hour gap between doses, which obviously means you shouldn't be touching anything else in the meantime either. The only way you'd take it differently is if your doctor specifically writes a different script for you.

Harold Chavez3 said:Hey,

I’ve got this brutal toothache. I took one Zaldiar this morning—which, by the way, isn't even doing much—and then spent the day taking four half-doses of Voltaren ER. To top it all off, about thirty minutes ago, I popped an Excedrin because nothing else was touching the pain. Now, I have this nagging feeling that the whole cocktail is starting to hit me at once..

I'm feeling some pressure in my chest... my breathing feels a bit shallow, and there's this sharp, stabbing sensation on both the left and right sides of my stomach area. It's nothing catastrophic, just this heavy, oppressive weight hanging over me..

Was that a bad combination of meds? Should I be worried?

velvetmoose9 said:Taking this specific combination of drugs in such a short window is basically playing Russian roulette with your own health. It's incredibly reckless.
By taking 4 and a half Voltaren ER pills (assuming we're talking 100mg tablets), you've way exceeded the recommended daily dose of diclofenac. This kind of combo can do serious damage, so it makes total sense to check in with a doctor ASAP (usually the packaging lists the max daily dose, which I'm sure you saw).
And honestly, adding Nalgesin on top of everything else you've already swallowed today? You might as well call that a direct assault on your stomach, kidneys, and maybe even your heart and a few other vital systems.

I'm totally with everyone else on this—that combo is just asking for trouble. I was looking at what Harold Chavez3 said about taking half a Voltaren ER pill four separate times... I mean, that’s two whole tablets total. Honestly? It’s still way too much and honestly just pointless. If one pill doesn't touch the pain, doubling up isn't going to be some magic fix... plus, it's not exactly life-threatening in most cases. Sure, you hear those rare horror stories about GI bleeding where things get serious, but for the vast majority of people, it's just overkill. And for the record, those ER tablets have a special coating designed specifically to release the meds slowly over time... you really shouldn't be breaking them, crushing them, or crumbling them up... it ruins the whole point...

Man, that caffeine in Excedrin can seriously mess with you... if you aren't used to it, or if you're already totally fried from stress like I was... you can end up with that crazy heart palpitations and anxiety kicking in out of nowhere... it's intense...

When you're dealing with pain this intense, it’s honestly brutal... you just have to hang in there and wait for the meds to actually kick in. Most painkillers—unless the label specifically tells you otherwise—usually work better and faster if you grab a little something to eat first. Don't just take them on an empty stomach... trust me...

I found this PDF from a dental clinic that’s actually loaded with advice on which painkillers really hit the spot when you're dealing with a toothache... definitely worth a look if you're hurting...

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So, I’m still here, folks... I’m alive!!! 😁 For the most part, anyway. Look, I’ll admit I was being a bit reckless—maybe even a little foolish—but the pain was so unbearable that I started experimenting with whatever I could find. The issue is that I’m only supposed to take one and a half Voltaren tablets a day, which obviously wasn't cutting it, so I started mixing in some Excedrin on top of it.

My doctor prescribed Voltaren twice a day, but honestly, I think I’ll just stick to the Excedrin from now on.

I’m thinking about trying just half a tablet and seeing how it goes. It doesn't actually hurt that much right now... though my face is incredibly swollen. I have to head into the clinic tomorrow to get this drained.

@Harold Chavez3 - don't even bother trying to break those pills, you gotta take them whole.

The amount of codeine in Excedrin is pretty low, but if caffeine isn't your thing, your heart is still gonna be racing like crazy from it...

...

So how am I supposed to take 150mg then? The tablets I have are 100mg... I don't have any 50mg ones lying around... just these.

The pain is actually pretty mild right now... so it should be enough to handle it. My dentist told me I need to start on Clavulin, but I’ll have to drive out to a small town in USA to pick it up.🙂

Harold Chavez3 said:So how am I supposed to take 150mg then? The tablets I have are 100mg... I don't have any 50mg ones lying around... just these.

The pain is actually pretty mild right now... so it should be enough to handle it. My dentist told me I need to start on Clavulin, but I’ll have to drive out to a small town in USA to pick it up.🙂

Awesome, most important thing is that you survived. 😉
Honestly, I had a bit of a minor panic attack earlier—it was pretty late at night too—when I read about someone taking like four and a half Voltaren ER tablets. Even though two of those in less than 24 hours is already over the recommended dose, especially when you're mixing them with other stuff like Zaldiar or Excedrin in the same window. Anyway, Tyler James5 is totally right about the extended-release stuff; you generally shouldn't crack them open or break them unless the packaging specifically says you can, and usually, they'll have that little notch built in to make it easier if they're meant to be split.
Look, your dentist knows your mouth best, so definitely listen to them and get to that small town in USA as soon as you can (personally, I feel like Clavulin doesn't really kick in and make things better until about 48-72 hours later).
You should probably chat with your dentist or doctor about what to do if this happens again, because honestly, Voltaren ER feels like a weird choice for a toothache to me. Maybe Voltaren Fast Acting would be better (just stick to the recommended doses!) if you're just trying to kill a few hours until you can actually get into the clinic. A lot of times, you just have to go through the trial and error yourself to figure out which specific painkiller actually touches this kind of ache; for some people, it's Advil (Motrin, ibuprofen...)—which you can take a few times a day—while for others, Metamizole is the only thing that saves the day. But seriously, always check with your dentist or doctor before you start playing chemist. 😉

Tyler James5 said:I'm totally with everyone else on this—that combo is just asking for trouble. I was looking at what Harold Chavez3 said about taking half a Voltaren ER pill four separate times... I mean, that’s two whole tablets total. Honestly? It’s still way too much and honestly just pointless. If one pill doesn't touch the pain, doubling up isn't going to be some magic fix... plus, it's not exactly life-threatening in most cases. Sure, you hear those rare horror stories about GI bleeding where things get serious, but for the vast majority of people, it's just overkill. And for the record, those ER tablets have a special coating designed specifically to release the meds slowly over time... you really shouldn't be breaking them, crushing them, or crumbling them up... it ruins the whole point...

Man, that caffeine in Excedrin can seriously mess with you... if you aren't used to it, or if you're already totally fried from stress like I was... you can end up with that crazy heart palpitations and anxiety kicking in out of nowhere... it's intense...

When you're dealing with pain this intense, it’s honestly brutal... you just have to hang in there and wait for the meds to actually kick in. Most painkillers—unless the label specifically tells you otherwise—usually work better and faster if you grab a little something to eat first. Don't just take them on an empty stomach... trust me...

I found this PDF from a dental clinic that’s actually loaded with advice on which painkillers really hit the spot when you're dealing with a toothache... definitely worth a look if you're hurting...

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Spot on response. 🙏

The emergency dentist just finished drilling out my tooth, but the pain is still absolutely relentless... I was given some Advil granules, but they aren't doing a damn thing for me. I took one packet around 10:00 AM today... would it be alright if I took a Voltaren ER now? It’s really the only thing that seems to touch this pain.

Oh, and I also started on the Clavulin...

Harold Chavez3 said:The emergency dentist just finished drilling out my tooth, but the pain is still absolutely relentless... I was given some Advil granules, but they aren't doing a damn thing for me. I took one packet around 10:00 AM today... would it be alright if I took a Voltaren ER now? It’s really the only thing that seems to touch this pain.

Oh, and I also started on the Clavulin...

Look, here's the deal. It isn't exactly smart to mix two different NSAIDs—like Voltaren and Advil—without waiting at least 8 hours between them. But, seeing as your tooth is basically getting wrecked and is probably pretty inflamed, the Advil might just be struggling to kick in properly. Give that Advil (I'm assuming it's the 600mg stuff) at least 4 hours to do its job; if it hasn't helped by then, as long as you aren't having any side effects, you can dissolve another packet. A healthy adult can take up to 2400mg of Advil in a 24-hour period (provided there aren't any medical reasons to avoid it, though you could always double-check with your doctor just to be safe), for short-term relief.
If you don't have any contraindications, you can actually take something like Lupocet or Tylenol alongside the Advil; they tend to work pretty well together.

velvetmoose9 said:Look, here's the deal. It isn't exactly smart to mix two different NSAIDs—like Voltaren and Advil—without waiting at least 8 hours between them. But, seeing as your tooth is basically getting wrecked and is probably pretty inflamed, the Advil might just be struggling to kick in properly. Give that Advil (I'm assuming it's the 600mg stuff) at least 4 hours to do its job; if it hasn't helped by then, as long as you aren't having any side effects, you can dissolve another packet. A healthy adult can take up to 2400mg of Advil in a 24-hour period (provided there aren't any medical reasons to avoid it, though you could always double-check with your doctor just to be safe), for short-term relief.
If you don't have any contraindications, you can actually take something like Lupocet or Tylenol alongside the Advil; they tend to work pretty well together.

So, I took one 600mg Advil at 5 AM... a second one around 10 AM... when can I take some Voltaren ER 100mg? 😁 Maybe around 6 PM?

Because this Advil isn't doing a damn thing... it's like I didn't even take it. I need something more serious... I don't have any of those other meds at home...

Harold Chavez3 said:So, I took one 600mg Advil at 5 AM... a second one around 10 AM... when can I take some Voltaren ER 100mg? 😁 Maybe around 6 PM?

Because this Advil isn't doing a damn thing... it's like I didn't even take it. I need something more serious... I don't have any of those other meds at home...

Did the toothache settle down? Did it just quit on its own, or did you have to lean on the Advil or Voltaren to get some relief?