Excedrin and pregnancy?

Question

I have the worst headache? migraine? It has lasted over 24 hours now and I know that Excedrin will calm it down at least but I'm not sure if it is safe. I'm three months pregnant and Tylenol just isn't working. Anyone know if Excedrin once in a while is safe?

Answer 1

Excedrin contains
acetaminophen (Tyleonol)
acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)
caffeine

You absolutely can NOT take aspirin or advil during the third trimester as it can cause a the duct in your babies heart to close prematurely, this causes death and is not treatable.

Aspirin is of questionable safety during the first two trimesters. It is considered safest during the second trimester. That means it hasn't really been shown to cause problems but they aren't sure it is safe either. It is Category C according to the FDA.

I would try taking tylenol with 2-3 cups of coffee. If that doesn't work (and caffeine increases the effectiveness of Tylenol) then 8 hours after that I would take Excedrin. I think one dose is probably safe.

Answer 2

Zofran is ok. Excedrin is a HUGE no no during pregnancy! The only thing that is ok to take is tylenol! Also 5 pounds isn't really that bad. Stop taking the Excedrin the rest of your pregnancy and try to eat more to try to make the baby gain as much weight as it can before you give birth. I was just barely 6lbs when I was born. Your baby would be fine either way.

Answer 3

Excedrin has asprin in it which can cause birth defects. The other two ingredients are basically tylenol and caffine. Have you tried taking the tylenol with a pepsi? The caffine enhances the pain killing effects in the tylenol and make it work *much* better. If that doesn't help I'd say call your Dr before taking Excedrin.

Answer 4

Dont they have a Tylenol tension headache or Tylenol Migrane? You arent supposed to take else. You may have to just go old school and drink a lot of room temp water, take a bath, put a sleep mask on and try to sleep in a very very dark room.

I suffer from Migranes, but Ive been avoiding my triggers since being preggo, so I have only had one or two. I just take my extra strength Tylenol and do the above.

Good luck, I know it hurts.

Answer 5

Excedrin isen't safe. If your headaches are still really bad after you take a tylenol and try to sleep them off then call your doctor and see what they recommend.

Answer 6

NO! Only Tylenol products are safe. I had the same problem with headaches, and they turned out to be allergy related.

Call your doctor. Don't ever rely on boards like these to diagnose yourself. These are fine for experiences, etc., but you need to call your doctor because headaches could be a sign of something you need to get fixed right away!!

Answer 7

Sorry- Tylenol is the safest and what doctors recommend- so go to your doctor and see if they can do anything else for you... don't give in by taking anything except Tylenol without seeing the doctor first. You will do damage to your baby growing! You don't want to risk doing harm to your sweet baby now do you?

Answer 8

I would take extra strength tylenol, thats what my dr told me was ok, and drink a soda, dr pepper or a coke. The caffeine will help. Otherwise I would head on in and see if the dr. can prescribe you something safe.

Answer 9

Nothing but Tylenol call your doctor you are still in the early phase. Please don't take anything until you consult with your OB just give them a call ask your question if they are to busy to come to the phone they will call you back they don't mind. good luck get your man to rub your back and neck. that may help for the time being.

Answer 10

Anything that is a asprin base is not good for you especially in your third trimested (asprin is a blood thinner) I would check with your doctor and see if they can recommedn anything. Have you had your blood pressure check recenlty, if your blood pressure is up it may be causing you headahes.