Is there any harm in taking 3 advil for a migraine?

Question

My co-worker has a migraine. She cannot recall if she took her usual 2 advil this morning (within the past hour) or not.

Can she take one Advil now?

If she did take her advil this morning and took one now, that would total 3 advil.

If she did not take her advil this morning and took one now, that would total 1 advil.

Would 3 advil have any harmful effects or is that fine for her?

Thanks for the comments, everyone! This is great news for her. Our office is hot and the lights apparently make her feel bad. This girl really needs to start writing down when she takes pills, or something.

Someone asked her weight. I'm not sure, but it's definitely more than 120.. she looks more on the 'heavy' side.

Answer 1

she can take 3, I take for at a time for my migraines

Answer 2

Doctors say that 4 Advil's are equal to a prescribed pain pill. Being a chronic suffer from migraines, as far as over the counter meds, Bayer's Aspirin is the best. A coke and several Bayer's work wonders. If you try this, you need to chew the Bayer up first and then wash down with Coke. Tell her to go see her Dr. there are great marketed pain killers just for migraines that work as fast as 5 minutes to relieve. She may never have to suffer from a migraine again if she just took that trip to talk to her Dr about this. I take Maxalt, it melts on your tongue and gets in the blood stream immediately. Then I take Inderal (a blood pressure med, use to help chronic migraines) at night to help control the on set of migraines. I am a new person, over the last few years when I finally talked to my Dr about migraines. God love her. I know the PAIN!!!

Answer 3

Tell her to go ahead and take 2 advil. Even if she took 2 advil in the morning already, they are partially metabolized by now, also 4 advil or even 7 taken at the same time will not cause any seious side effects. In order to get symproms of advil toxicity you need to take a minimum of 10 AT ONE TIME. IF she didnt take advil in the morning one pill will do nothing for her because it is below therapeutic dose.

Answer 4

Well, as long as she is in good health three advil should be fine. You just don't need to take that many regularly or take like 5 at a time.

Answer 5

I would call a pharmacist and ask them. They can answer questions like this. I do know it is a little rough on the liver and kidneys to take large doses of Ibuprofin at one time. There are a few things she can do to relieve pain naturally. Have her place a cold, wet wash cloth or paper towel over her face for a few minutes. This constricts lymph nodes and relieves pressure from the head. For reflexology, tell her to pinch her big toe. I know this sounds odd, but there is a link between the big toe and the head. Taking a walk, tying a cloth around her head (this slows blood flow which lessons throbbing and pounding). I also know that if you take too much medication, it can tend to make the headache worse.

Answer 6

I'm not one to tell people to OD, but i'm a pretty big guy so i tend to take 3 advil when they reccomend 2. Ditto for asprin and tylenol and ibuprofen. If it only says to take 1 i wouldn't take more than 2.

Answer 7

We have treated 15 - 20 yrs cases.
There is no medicine for H/A OR MIGRAINE. Not only these but for almost all painful diseases. Hence they become chronic.
Acidity, excessive wind, cold , heat, sour food and sinusitis, constipation, intestinal inflammation;
Blockage in the flow of Vital Energy are their causes. None of them can be treated with medicine. Our 100% success in treating migraine &H/A confirms it.
Acupuncture is the best treatment. I can treat it with naturopathy and YOG, but how can you manage pl see.
Avoid late sleeping if possible;spicy, sour, stale bakery foods and alcohole.
Sweet foods, sweet fruits, milk, rice and good sleep will help you.
But you try one herbal remedy- two drops of drumstick leaves' juice in opposite nostril if one side pains and both nostrils if full H/A will give you rescue. Betel leaf helps but it isvery strong.
If it is acute pl search a painful point 3-6 mm behind your thumb nail and press it, H/A will disappear within 30 seconds.

Source(s):
SHREE SWASTHYAYOG TREATMENT, TRAINING & RESEARCH INSTITUTE
R.H. – 19, Jhulelal Society, Sector – 2/E, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, INDIA.

Answer 8

she can even take two. advil is only 200 mg, it is common for doctors to prescribe 800 mg doses. I would just make sure she eats a cracker with it, so she doesn't get an upset stomach along with the headache.

Answer 9

No...taking three advil is not harmful. I take 800mg of advil anytime I use it. They prescribe 800mg of Ibuprofen daily

Answer 10

If she did take them it means it is not working. Tell her to take Excedrin Migraine from now on. It works great.

As to your question, I wouldn't take another one. Two is enough. Tell her to wait a couple more hours before taking another one.