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Advil Cold and Sinus

Discussion in 'Other Substances' started by jaray87, Oct 15, 2014.

  1. jaray87

    jaray87 Member

    It's not a prescription drug but it has pseudoephedrine. I take 2 in the morning and 2 at night. I have been doing for about a year now. It helps me stay awake in the morning and alleviates all my back pains and strains. Is this a form of abuse or addiction? I think I can stop but I have read nothing about long term affects of Advil Cold and Sinus - I am still below the limit of 6 per day. Any thoughts from non-doctors out there?
  2. Jen S.

    Jen S. Guest

    I'm not a medical professional, but are there any other pain/cold/sinus medications available over the counter that do not contain pseudoephedrine? It might be worth considering one even if you are below the daily limit. Good question.
  3. jaray87

    jaray87 Member

    I started taking advil for my headaches caused by my sinuses, so in fact they were sinus pains. The quick pain relief I got from Advil made me keep taking them no matter what headaches I had - whether they were sinuses or just plain headaches. I tried taking Advil without pseudoephedrine for my back pains but somehow they haven't been as effective. I kinda have figured that it is borderline addiction but I have to first find out the causes of all these pains before giving Advil up completely.
  4. Askani

    Askani Active Contributor

    You know pseudoephedrine is used to make meth right? I would think that get up and go feeling you have from the pills is exactly why is is used to make meth. I don't know if you have an addiction per se, but how does your body react when you go without taking the pills. If you have a very negative reaction then I would say you have a dependency. Advil also contains Ibuprofen which may cause life-threatening heart or circulation problems such as heart attack or stroke, especially if you use it long term. Be careful is what I am saying.
    Jen S. likes this.
  5. 420nosmoke

    420nosmoke Member

    If I got this right, you are taking 800mg of ibuprofen a day, which isn't a crazy dose. Many doctors prescribe it in that dose. However, even though it's very effective for inflammatory pain, it's not good to be on long term. In particular it is very irritating to the stomach, and can cause ulcers and gastritis. It's best to only take it occasionally if possible.
    I would work with a doctor to find other ways to address your back pain, like physical therapy. Also cutting down inflammatory foods, like sugar and refined grains, helps a lot of people with inflammation problems.
    Askani likes this.
  6. cc1001

    cc1001 Member

    I had a terrible toothache and started taking Advil heavily to eliminate the severe pain. It started out gradually but I believe I got started on an addictive path because I started craving the pills to eliminate any pains I felt in my body. My stomach started to hurt and I started having digestive problems. I stopped this because I didn't want to get addicted to pain killers and it was making me feel very bad.
  7. Profit5500

    Profit5500 Senior Contributor

    I never had took Advil for pain which I took pain reliever that you get over the counter from Walmart by Equate. They work okay and it took a while for the pain to go away. I never would have thought of taking Advil since I think it was just too expensive in Walmart.
  8. Geinnam

    Geinnam Member

    I would be very careful taking anything that contains pseudo-ephedrine. When I last went to purchase Advil Cold and Sinus, the pharmacy made a copy of my ID and warned me that it is a widely abused medication. They also told me that there are limits as to how many purchases can be made per year. Yes, it is used in the production of meth. For those reasons, I changed my mind and chose an alternative that the pharmacist recommended.
  9. Charli

    Charli Community Champion

    If you are still below the suggested intake, then I would say you're probably safe fire the most part. I think the best way to test if you really are addicted is to stop it for a while and see how you react to it, but of course if you can see a doctor about it before doing experiments it would be much better.
  10. zaerine

    zaerine Community Champion

    If you keep taking Advil even you are not in pain, I think that can be an addiction already.
    Better if you can ask an expert like a doctor if taking such amount on a daily basis in a long run could have side effects or could cause health risks.
  11. jade870

    jade870 Active Contributor

    I think that anything we use can be addicting if we abuse it. Yes Advil, can be addicting just as any type of pain relief. I've heard of many people using Nyquil, and becoming dependent on it for sleep. I don't really think it's what we use, it's how we use it. If we use it properly I don't think there would be any problems. On the other hand if you choose to abuse it more than likely you will become addicted.
  12. Adrianna

    Adrianna Community Champion

    It's an addiction. This is quite a lot to take of that. Probably you're not paying attention to the side effects. Rare occasions is all this stuff is for. There are plenty of natural things to take with no side effects. We've all been brainwashed to a degree in thinking any of this stuff is ok. Its garbage.
  13. Tsky45

    Tsky45 Community Champion

    I think it's still going to have some side effects. Your not suppose to take that much advil. Even if there are no known side effects why would you want to be the first to find out what they are? I'm pretty sure it's better for you to quit this addiction as soon as possible.
  14. kgord

    kgord Community Champion

    well, I doubt it meets the level of an addiction, but you may want to try backing off the dose just a bit and see what happens. I mean if you have not gone over the level you are supposed to, and it is helping you...why worry about it? I take aspirin everyday...but I try to keep it to one..because too much aspirin can cause stomach bleeding.
  15. L_B

    L_B Community Champion

    If you take it every day twice a day to get through the day then I would say it is an addiction. You said you never tried not taking them so obviously you are at a point where you haven't tried to do without. Give it a try, you may be surprised how difficult it may be. I think you should talk to a doctor and see what the long term effects are. It can't be good for you.
  16. lexinonomous

    lexinonomous Community Champion

    I would consider this somewhat of an addiction, yes. The fact that you're depending on it to keep you awake in the earlier hours of the day says it all. You're using it as a dependent and that cannot be good for you physically and mentally. Have you tried cutting it out and seeing what your pain is without it? If you've been taking it regularly, you may not be having any pain at all and just aren't used to feeling "normal."