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Vicodin, ibuprofen.. options?

This morning I received an injury to my face which forced my teeth through my bottom lip and knocked out one of my teeth which was reseated.  They gave me morphine by injection at the ER and prescribed Vicodin and said I could take that as soon as I got home.  The Vicodin worked at first and I fell asleep.  When I awoke, I was in excruciating pain, worse than when the injury first happened.  It was 2 hrs before I can have another Vidodin so I took 800mg of ibuprofen.  It is still another hour before I can have the Vicodin and I'm trying to be patient but the pain is incredible.  Ice pack helps some.  Is there anything else I can do... I'm desperate.  Would taking a Vicodin only one hour early be dangerous?  I am not a drug addict by any means and under normal circumstances, decline meds when offered by the Dr.
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1340994 tn?1374193977
Ibuprofen slows bone healing.  That's why they gave you Vicodin.  I remember taking Vicodin every 6 hours after foot surgery.  For me, it was 6 hours on the dot when the pain returned.  I'd use ice and try to sleep.  Keeping inflammation down is important.    There are a lot of nerves in the face, so that's why it would hurt so much.  
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Avatar universal
I went through something similar when I had my wisdom teeth extracted. The pain came on quite a bit before my next Vicodin dose. I toughed it out, difficult though it was.

Does your health insurance or the hospital where you were treated have a nurses's info/hot line? If so, call them and get their advice. Doctors always appreciate being consulted about such things. If you run out of Vicodin, they may become suspicious, and you want to avoid that if possible.

Meanwhile, try distracting yourself with the most enjoyable, engaging activity you can think of. Music, video/computer games, whatever works. I have a chronic pain condition, and that's one of my standard tricks for getting through a pain flare when ice packs, meds, or whatever else isn't enough.

Deep breathing and other relaxation exercises also help, but only if you're already comfortable doing them.

Hope the pain eases and the Vicodin mutes it enough so you can heal quickly.
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