Wosrt case scenario for taking Nurofen Plus?

I have the worst tooth ache which has been bothering me for about 2 weeks, went to the Doctors and he prescribed Antibiotics which I have been taking now for 4 days.. Apparently the only thing I can take for pain is paracetamol but it's just not working! I've had tooth aches like this before and the only thing that offers any pain relief is Nurofen Plus but the Pharmacist won't let me take it!!

I'm 9 weeks pregnant and the dentist won't fill the tooth until I get a letter from my Doc saying it's OK to be done in the first trimester, so basically I have to put up with this pain!

My question is: What would be the worst thing that could happen to me and my baby if I decided to take the Nurofen? I mean really there are stupid women out there who do far worse to their bodies while pregnant, all I ask for is a little pain relief so I can at least get a good nights sleep.

Instead of taking nurofen, try some panadeine instead. taking nurofen once won't hurt the baby, but if you can get away with taking something else, then I would use that first.

Yup I agree. Panadeine won't hurt the baby, nurofen might.

Hope you feel better soon. :hug:

Are you sure the Dr won't write the letter? You didn't say he wouldn't.

I wouldnt take the nurofen. My OB said I could take Mercyndol for bad pain, or panadeine forte. Could you try that? I think some codeine is ok.

Hope you managed to get some sleep chickie.

It's not the plus bit that's the issue. That's codeine and perfectly fine to take, it's the Nurofen bit that hasn't been tested on preg/bf women so they don't know if it's safe to take or not - best to err on the side of caution.

Have you tried clove oil? It sounds awful and tastes worse, but it really does work. And it's drug free. Just put some on a cotton tip and dab on.

I'd trust your doctor. Ibuprofen is a blood thinning agent like asprin. Don't go there hun.
Go the panadeine if you are really desperate.

I have a really bad wisdom tooth and I am taking panadeine and it is really doing the trick for me till I get it pulled out on monday I found panadol was not working but nurofen was so give panadeine a go :)

I would also suggest you give nurofen a miss. I would also suggest you find a new dentist. Dental work in pregnancy is safe. In fact you run a much greater risk of harming your baby and yourself by not getting your teeth attended to.

You need to find a new dentist quick smart. As Alan said, dental work during pg is perfectly safe (just make sure you tell them you're pg, so they can use the right anaesthetic etc). You really don't want to leave this go too long, I'm really annoyed that they wouldn't treat you.

In the meantime, try some panadeine.

Thanks everyone. :)

Sorry to say I gave in to the pain on Saturday and sent my partner to get some Nurofen (without the Plus).. I know I shouldn't have but I was crying in pain and the panadol just wasn't doing it for me.

I asked at the Chemist about pain relief for tooth aches while pg and they told me the only thing I could take was panadol, I wasn't even allowed to use the Clove Oil!

I have an appt with my Doctor this afternoon, he's really good so hopefully he will give me the letter I need and maybe a script for Panadeine Forte if I'm allowed to have that.

I'm also getting my second script of antibiotics out today ready for tomorrow, I can't believe my teeth are so bad. I remember getting a filling done when I was pg with my second son but I was much further along in the pregnancy so maybe thats why the dentist won't see me yet? Along with the all-day sickness of being pg and this toothache, I'm not having much fun this time round.

Dont take the nurofen.
I had a very similar experience when i was aboout 12 weeks pg with my dd now 9 mo. I had an abssess in my wisdom tooth and my mum ended up taking me to emergancy where they gave me antibiotics and told me to take two panadol with 2 nurofen plus.
I wasnt sure so i rang my birthcentre and spoke to the midwife and she said NO!
Nurofen plus can possibly cause blood flow probs in the bubs heart.
The best thing i found was lemsip max. Make yourself a mug and drink it slowly swishing it over the offending tooth and see how that goes.

Good luck!

I had a wisdom tooth infection early on (about 15-16 weeks) and I was told no neurofen (plus or otherwise), no clove oil. Anything with paracetamol is fine, because as someone else said it's not the "plus" its the neurofen. Of course once off probably won't have any effect but I wouldn't take it again.

The dentist was all ready to pull my wisdom tooth (though I decided against it as it required me to have x-rays which I wasn't prepared to do in pregnancy ...) so I am not sure why they won't do a filling? Hope you got your letter to get the filling.

yep, in the standard introductory letter from my ob he said that dental work SHOULD be carried out whilst pregnant and it's more dangerous to leave it.