Is is possible to become addicted to ibuprofen?

Question

I take 8 200mg tablets about 3-6 or more times a day for over the past year. I used to take 4-6 tablets but my headaches just keep getting worse so i take 8 and then as many times a day as i have to but its usually 24 plus tablets a day. Ibuprofen is the only thing that will work for my headaches that i get everyday. Is it possible to become addicted to ibuprofen?

Answer 1

No

Answer 2

yes you can. because I know one time this guy 's dad made him take a lot of advil everyday and someone was explainging of the slight chance that he could get addicted to it. It seems like your body's just so used to it. Try  gradually taking less. you can't just go from as much as you're allowed to nothing. =)\

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Answer 3

I don't think you can get addicted, other than a psychological addiction, but that's really really bad for your liver and such.

Answer 4

i don't think so

Answer 5

nooooooooooo

Answer 6

yeahhh, i don't think that you can be addicted... other than in your mind but having that much ibuprofen can give you terrible stomach aches and really is not good for you.  

Answer 7

You can become addicted to anything.  But, that's a lot of ibuprofen that you're taking.  Ibuprofen in high doses, especially when taken long term, can be very, very toxic to your kidneys.  You should consult your health care provider.

Answer 8

Taking this much ibuprofen so often is not just "so bad for you."  8 x 200mg of ibuprofen, 3-6 times a day comes out to be 4.8-9.6 grams of  it in your system.  These levels are far beyond any that were used in scientific studies (to which even some patients started experiencing symptoms).  So yeah, I hope you understand the levity of the situation.

The fact itself that ibuprofen is helping you can mean that your headache is indeed COX-2 pathway (inflammation) involved, or perhaps a number of different reasons--but it does not seem likely that you are developing TOLERANCE to the ibuprofen, even after a year.  Have you tried combining the ibuprofen with Omega-3 fatty acids (found in Fish Oil) to continually promote the anti-inflammatory response, instead of popping more ibuprofen?  If this helps, gradually decrease your dose while increasing your Omega-3 intake.  If, instead, you experience a sort of 'rebound' effect with Omega-3's (which is highly unlikely), this is something you should also mention to your doctor, and is all related to the levels of inflammatory prostaglandins in your body.

In any case, long explanation aside, your treatment with your doctor should probably involve simply finding which headache medicine WILL work best for you (I'm no migraine medicine expert, but it seems that as with every western medicine these days, not everyone's condition will respond well to every treatment, while everyone seems to experience the broad side effects. :p)

Answer 9

ofcourse