All depends on your situation and what your doctor says.

I'm not allowed NSAIDS (Motrin, Advil, etc.) because of possible internal bleeding problems. Yet they cleared me for 2G of Tylenol a day, which makes hydrocodone and other meds allowable.

Went through something very similar with a tooth about a year ago although no pain, Chickened out and cancelled 6-7 appointments but finally had it taken care of exactly two weeks ago. I'll write more about it later.

Anyhow, I would get to a dentist if you're in a lot of pain, explain your medical conditions to him and get a prescription you can tolerate. OTC meds rarely do much for major pain.

Also check all meds. Had a dentist prescribe me something with ibuprofen in it, which was very clearly in my chart as something I couldn't take.

As expensive as it may be, it's worth it to save the tooth if possible.

Ouch! I had the same situation not long ago. Only thing is, the dentist wanted to surgically remove the tooth but refused to give me a prescription for an antibiotic beforehand. After explaining it to my liver doctor at Cleveland Clinic, he had one of the dentists up there surgically remove the tooth with local anesthetic and gave me a suitable antibiotic and all was well..............
I have extremely low blood platelets so cannot take any asprin, ibuprophen, motirn, advil, etc. Doctor said that in extreme cases of pain I can take Tylenol according to the instructions on the bottle but only for the time I need to either get the cause of the pain corrected or get over the pain/fever, etc. In other words, even with extremely compromised liver and blood platelets you can still take Tylenol in some cases. They just don't want you to do what many people do and that is take excessive amounts for excessively long periods. Drink plenty of water when and if you do take Tylenol or anything else for pain.......Hope this helps. As always, do check with your doctor if you are uncertain as to how to handle the pain.
Hugs and prayers...............CarolLentz

I am surprised that so many doctors are giving us medications like Tylenol or Ibuprofin, especially when there are already varices present. When I needed pain meds, my primary doctor was very adamant that I only take narcotics, primarily oxycodone/oxycontin.

I guess that sort of proves that every case is different. Although we all share the same "diagnosis" there are differences as to how symptoms appear and how they are subsequently treated.

I have requested that I not be given/prescribed any sort of narcotic if it can at all be helped. I have a problem when in the hospital and they give me morphine. I do not tolerate it well and the same with anything containing codeine.

As a footnote, I must say that the few times I have found it totally necessary to take tylenol, I have not noticed any problem with it at all. I am give to higher than normal fevers/temperatures when I get sick and get horrible chills and violent shakes. I willingly took the tylenol due to that but only took the tylenol until the fever broke and then, I relied on luke warm baths to sort of keep the temperature close to normal.

(By the way........That reminds me of how "treatment protocol" can change with the times. When my kids were growing up, when one would get a fever the doctor would recommend sponge baths and alcohol rubs. NOW, alcohol rubs and anything but warm baths are frowned upon due to the fact that they make the patient's pores close (i.e. chills and goose flesh) and that in tern causes the body to actually hold the heat. Best thing to do is to make the patient sweat which is the body's built in mechanism to cool itself down. My kids used to hate it when we would bring out the sponge tub and the alcohol thinking that was the right thing to do. Oh well......live an learn)

Anyway, as always, check with your own doctor if you have any concerns as to what is safe for you. That is always best I think. Hugs and prayers.......CarolLentz

as always thank you guys so much for your recommendations and for sharing your own personal experiences, believe it or not I get more comfort from your advice due to the fact that you guys have gone or are going thru similar situations.. @ Carol I am currently looking for a new doc, a liver spclt waiting on my new insurance to kick in.. my current doc a GI spclt is quick to ignore my complaints and concerns, that is why I am so grateful for you guys God bless the D/S family..

Ya know, we as patients and our doctors as care givers form a partnership with one goal in mind.....to keep the patient as comfortable as possible while being careful not to make the cirrhosis worse. So many times we have "good doctors" who have the office or bedside manner of a moss covered rock. Therefore, no matter how "good" the doctor is, he will not be successful in treating patients who are dealing with "end stage liver disease".......(End Stage Liver Disease is what it becomes once advanced cirrhosis is diagnosed.)

I worked for years with a group of orthopaedic surgeons in Florida who all shared the sentiment that, in a class of graduating medical students there are 50% in the upper part of the class and equally 50% in the lower spectrum of the class. When it comes to receiving a diploma, both upper and lower segments receive a diploma stating that they have completed their medical training requirements and they can all practice medicine. When I see a doctor for anything, I am constantly looking to see if I can tell which end of the class he/she graduated in. A good indication is how the doctor communicates with the patient. If the doctor makes no effort to be open about the why and the how of their treatment protocol then, that makes me think that they "may not know" themselves exactly how to treat the patient.

We should never be left hanging in wonder about any part of our treatment and care, most especially the medications we can take and those things that we cannot safely take.

I wish you great luck with your change of physicians and will pray that is the case. Best of luck and hugs and prayers......CarolLentz