Patients self-medicating with antibiotics meant for pet fish?

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Dead.Fetus said:
I've gone through worse things than taking fish antibiotics, like taking a sewing needle and sticking it all the way down the swollen area to drain it, it's dangerous I know, but like I said..desperate times, I just try to avoid eating on 1 side so it stays dormant. Trying to save up for 1 dental surgery for another tooth is gonna be one hell of a payment, the kind most insurance won't cover.

That is all:)
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You know dental insurance is something you can purchase right?
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Dead.Fetus said:
Been up all night in pain with a swollen mouth that happened as I got back from work. So obviously I started looking into dentists that were open on Sunday that take Blue Cross..sadly none were found. Tried to look up antibiotics that could be bought without a prescription, was pretty sure there weren't gonna be any but had to do it anyways. Then I come across people saying they've taken these fish antibiotics which led me here and I'm still not sure about them..my point is, there are times where people get desperate enough to try anything to try and fix their problem if they are bad enough. As in my situation, I have gotten to that point and am willing to try them out as soon as I find a store that sells them and not just online. I plan on seeing a dentist asap, but I have work I'm trying to take off and there would be no time until Wednesday/Thursday and I don't want do deal with this **** for that long. So when I get them today, I'll give it a day or 2 and letcha know if I grew any gills or had any kind of negative reaction to them or if they even worked. I am done with these Ibuprofen pills, they're beatin down my insides..probably shouldn't be taking 12+ a day though, so that's on me:) Anyways, appreciate all the input that was about the subject but like someone said earlier, no one wants to wait at the ER for 4+ hours just to get a small script of Penicillin(Yes, this has happened before) and I've gone through worse things than taking fish antibiotics, like taking a sewing needle and sticking it all the way down the swollen area to drain it, it's dangerous I know, but like I said..desperate times, I just try to avoid eating on 1 side so it stays dormant. Trying to save up for 1 dental surgery for another tooth is gonna be one hell of a payment, the kind most insurance won't cover.

That is all:)
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...please see an actual dentist ASAP.
 
Trying to, having no luck on anyone picking up my shift for me tomorrow. Just gotta hope it doesn't get a lot worse by the time I can go. And as far as that Fish Mox stuff..No place has it in stores, all online. Bit of a bummer. Guess I'll just keep poppin these Ibuprofen's and hope my liver doesn't give out by then heh.
 
Dead.Fetus said:
Trying to, having no luck on anyone picking up my shift for me tomorrow. Just gotta hope it doesn't get a lot worse by the time I can go. And as far as that Fish Mox stuff..No place has it in stores, all online. Bit of a bummer. Guess I'll just keep poppin these Ibuprofen's and hope my liver doesn't give out by then heh.
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Do you have sick days? Use a sick day.

You actually aren't helping yourself by choking down insane doses of ibuprofen. NSAID's (like ibuprofen) has a ceiling effect. After a certain dose you will not be getting any more pain relief, unlike with narcotics which do not have a ceiling. Use a sick day and go to a minute-clinic or acute care clinic.

I could find a scientific article but I'm lazy http://socmob.org/2013/02/nsaids-part-2-the-ceiling-effect/
 
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It's not for pain relief, that stuff doesn't work like that with me, would need vic's for pain. This is just for the anti inflammatory, it worked like week keeping it down, but the effects of the ibu messed me up inside n had to be sent home. I can't use a sick day on Mon and Tue, I'm the only one they have for my position those days. Called in today, but obviously..can't be seen today. There's a dentist I already looked up, takes my insurance so no spendin $300 or more. Tryin to find someone sellin Penicillin or Amox, quite hard though heh.
 
Just read that link, guess it's the same with inflammatory, so never mind on that.
 
Dead.Fetus said:
Trying to, having no luck on anyone picking up my shift for me tomorrow. Just gotta hope it doesn't get a lot worse by the time I can go. And as far as that Fish Mox stuff..No place has it in stores, all online. Bit of a bummer. Guess I'll just keep poppin these Ibuprofen's and hope my liver doesn't give out by then heh.
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Not sure where you live, but some places have dental urgent care clinics with hours that may work with your schedule.
 
VA Hopeful Dr said:
And let's not forget that Urgent Cares exist
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tiedyeddog said:
Do you have sick days? Use a sick day.

You actually aren't helping yourself by choking down insane doses of ibuprofen. NSAID's (like ibuprofen) has a ceiling effect. After a certain dose you will not be getting any more pain relief, unlike with narcotics which do not have a ceiling. Use a sick day and go to a minute-clinic or acute care clinic.

I could find a scientific article but I'm lazy http://socmob.org/2013/02/nsaids-part-2-the-ceiling-effect/
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Yep.

To add to the above,

We can't give medical advice on here but...

1. As previously mentioned, I'd suggest going to urgent care if the pain really is that bad and you can't wait to see a dentist. At the very least they can give you stronger pain meds and take a look to see if you have a peri-tonsilar abscess etc... that can be treated.
Otherwise see a dentist ASAP.

2. Agree with the above post on the ceiling effect for NSAIDs. Plus, its not your liver I'm worried about but your stomach (high doses trash your GI system leading to inflammation and bleeding - look up gastritis on wikipedia).

3. I'd avoid sticking non sterile needles into your mouth for many reasons. You can get a secondary infection, hit a blood vessel causing major bleeding, or damage a nerve leading to loss of sensation/paralysis without the proper equipment and training.

4. As for the fish antibiotics, none of that stuff is regulated so you could just be getting a bottle of sugar pills. Also, you don't even know if its a bacterial or viral infection or whether the bacteria are sensitive the antibiotics you get. You could end up taking a ineffective antibiotic that does nothing for the mouth pain/swelling while giving you bad diarrhea and nausea/vomiting.
 
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I've been trying to find places I can go that accept Blue Cross. Same ones keep popping up. As far as having sterilized needles, I sterilized them as best I could with heat and rubbing alcohol. Not an idiot when it comes to cleanliness lol..just a rudimentary cleaning of it. And as the bleeding goes...I'd rather have that ain in my stomache than having a golf ball on my face that could possibly kill me. I know both can kill me, but gotta put the poison priority in order, that and I don't want to go to work with my face lookin like the elephant man. I'm already semi depressed(mostly cause of my teeth). Question for the dentists, if you get one or two of those dental implants that are like 4k...How are the payment plans for that? I always thought getting those were around 2k per tooth, had a friend go to some place in mexico where their cost of surgery, trip and room, were all less than here..and they got at least 4 teeth done there..they didn't look bad either.
 
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Drinkin alcohol seems like the best way to nullify the pain, just has to be 12%+ (at least for me) You start forgetting about the pain, I can actually touch my back teeth almost normal from it. Before hand, I could barely tough my back teeth to touch almost normally. A fellow employee said that coconut oil helps bring out the bad **** in you mouth if you rinse it for like 20 mins or so..True/No?
 
No. Swishing coconut oil does not "pull toxins" out of your body.

Please try to find an urgent care place with dental tomorrow.

There are a number of medical / dental payment plans out there. Things like CareCredit, etc. My lasik was paid for with an interest free loan from the local medical society. Dentists will know if they work with such a plan. Call and ask.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
 
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Dead.Fetus said:
Drinkin alcohol seems like the best way to nullify the pain, just has to be 12%+ (at least for me) You start forgetting about the pain, I can actually touch my back teeth almost normal from it. Before hand, I could barely tough my back teeth to touch almost normally. A fellow employee said that coconut oil helps bring out the bad **** in you mouth if you rinse it for like 20 mins or so..True/No?
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dude go see a dentist or something Jesus christ
 
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Psai said:
dude go see a dentist or something Jesus christ
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Seriously. If you're like "Well, if I get drunk enough, I don't feel the pain" Then its an issue.
 
Here's the deal in the case with tooth pain. Most of the time if you have a tooth that needs a root canal or you want it pulled due to pain many dentists will put you on an antibiotic for a week before they remove the tooth. Why? Because they say the infection will spread and can cause sepsis. So they treat the infection first. My self and some friends have playet this game. Recently I started researching what I could online and the info there seems to support this. Now, I have a broken tooth, I know my dentist will write me a script for 500mg of amoxicillin or a script for clindamyacin. I've used both for the same tooth because the antibiotic is cheaper than the root canal I'm anxiously waiting for my tax return to pay for. Now... we switch so I'm not over using one antibiotic and to make sure it's cleared up between flares. Personally I'll take the fish antibiotics until it's fixed because it cheaper for now than to pay my dentist again.

People doing this aren't as dumb as you think. Many have degrees, some in relatable feilds, or are intelligent enough to assess thier benefit and risk. Some are extremely desprete and just can't afford another bill.
 
Casuallybluedelusion said:
Here's the deal in the case with tooth pain. Most of the time if you have a tooth that needs a root canal or you want it pulled due to pain many dentists will put you on an antibiotic for a week before they remove the tooth. Why? Because they say the infection will spread and can cause sepsis. So they treat the infection first. My self and some friends have playet this game. Recently I started researching what I could online and the info there seems to support this. Now, I have a broken tooth, I know my dentist will write me a script for 500mg of amoxicillin or a script for clindamyacin. I've used both for the same tooth because the antibiotic is cheaper than the root canal I'm anxiously waiting for my tax return to pay for. Now... we switch so I'm not over using one antibiotic and to make sure it's cleared up between flares. Personally I'll take the fish antibiotics until it's fixed because it cheaper for now than to pay my dentist again.

People doing this aren't as dumb as you think. Many have degrees, some in relatable feilds, or are intelligent enough to assess thier benefit and risk. Some are extremely desprete and just can't afford another bill.
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The most dangerous ones are the ones who have a little education and think it's a lot or that a degree in one field means they're qualified to talk in another. One tell is that they find spelling to be somewhat difficult
 
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Casuallybluedelusion said:
Here's the deal in the case with tooth pain. Most of the time if you have a tooth that needs a root canal or you want it pulled due to pain many dentists will put you on an antibiotic for a week before they remove the tooth. Why? Because they say the infection will spread and can cause sepsis. So they treat the infection first. My self and some friends have playet this game. Recently I started researching what I could online and the info there seems to support this. Now, I have a broken tooth, I know my dentist will write me a script for 500mg of amoxicillin or a script for clindamyacin. I've used both for the same tooth because the antibiotic is cheaper than the root canal I'm anxiously waiting for my tax return to pay for. Now... we switch so I'm not over using one antibiotic and to make sure it's cleared up between flares. Personally I'll take the fish antibiotics until it's fixed because it cheaper for now than to pay my dentist again.

People doing this aren't as dumb as you think. Many have degrees, some in relatable feilds, or are intelligent enough to assess thier benefit and risk. Some are extremely desprete and just can't afford another bill.
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Lol let me manage my tooth pain with my incomplete psychology degree instead of springing for a 4 dollar antibiotic and a consult.

Pretty much everything in your post is wrong by the way.
 
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Casuallybluedelusion said:
Here's the deal in the case with tooth pain. Most of the time if you have a tooth that needs a root canal or you want it pulled due to pain many dentists will put you on an antibiotic for a week before they remove the tooth. Why? Because they say the infection will spread and can cause sepsis. So they treat the infection first. My self and some friends have playet this game. Recently I started researching what I could online and the info there seems to support this. Now, I have a broken tooth, I know my dentist will write me a script for 500mg of amoxicillin or a script for clindamyacin. I've used both for the same tooth because the antibiotic is cheaper than the root canal I'm anxiously waiting for my tax return to pay for. Now... we switch so I'm not over using one antibiotic and to make sure it's cleared up between flares. Personally I'll take the fish antibiotics until it's fixed because it cheaper for now than to pay my dentist again.

People doing this aren't as dumb as you think. Many have degrees, some in relatable feilds, or are intelligent enough to assess thier benefit and risk. Some are extremely desprete and just can't afford another bill.
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I guarantee you don't want me to load you up on local to the point where I can't give you any more safely and you're *still* crying in pain as I'm trying to do your root canal or take your tooth out

Hence the antibiotics at your consult appointment

But what do I know anyway?


(not dental advice)
 
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I live in Georgia and don't have insurance. My children qualify for medicaid but me and my hubby do not, so we tryed to get low cost health and dental through Obamacare and my hubby and I don't qualify for that either. And since GA is one of the states that won't extend medicaid to people who don't qualify for Obamacare, my hubby and I are screwed. We are the few who are not required to have healthcare because the cheapest offered through Obamacare is $500+/month just for the 2 of us. Every year we get a healthcare exemption code/number to give to our tax preparer so that we don't get penalized for not having insurance. So the myth that everyone has healthcare now is just that, a myth.
Hopefully one day we will be able to afford healthcare but until then, what do people like us do? Out of no where the gum in between two of my front teeth is swollen and throbbing in pain. The area is not red, not bleeding, and I have no fever. I thought maybe I need antibiotics which is what led me here, but of course I have no clue. I thought it may be gingivitis but doesn't that affect the entire gumline or at least partial? This is only one area of my gum and it's in between 2 teeth. There are no walk in dentists here, only low cost dentistry for people like us with no ins who pay in cash. But those places are not for emergencies and they won't see you same day. You have to have an appt. which is usually a week or more out. They won't even give a script for pain. So then we have to go to the ER. They will only prescribe ibuprofen to help with the throbbing but no narcotics because in my case, they don't see significant swelling or redness. Any thoughts on what is causing this and any suggestions for the pain until my appt? Anbesol does great numbing everything but the pain. 85% Eugenol worked at first, but only for short periods of time. Now that the pain is getting worse, it doesn't help at all. All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks
 
qtpa2t said:
I live in Georgia and don't have insurance. My children qualify for medicaid but me and my hubby do not, so we tryed to get low cost health and dental through Obamacare and my hubby and I don't qualify for that either. And since GA is one of the states that won't extend medicaid to people who don't qualify for Obamacare, my hubby and I are screwed. We are the few who are not required to have healthcare because the cheapest offered through Obamacare is $500+/month just for the 2 of us. Every year we get a healthcare exemption code/number to give to our tax preparer so that we don't get penalized for not having insurance. So the myth that everyone has healthcare now is just that, a myth.
Hopefully one day we will be able to afford healthcare but until then, what do people like us do? Out of no where the gum in between two of my front teeth is swollen and throbbing in pain. The area is not red, not bleeding, and I have no fever. I thought maybe I need antibiotics which is what led me here, but of course I have no clue. I thought it may be gingivitis but doesn't that affect the entire gumline or at least partial? This is only one area of my gum and it's in between 2 teeth. There are no walk in dentists here, only low cost dentistry for people like us with no ins who pay in cash. But those places are not for emergencies and they won't see you same day. You have to have an appt. which is usually a week or more out. They won't even give a script for pain. So then we have to go to the ER. They will only prescribe ibuprofen to help with the throbbing but no narcotics because in my case, they don't see significant swelling or redness. Any thoughts on what is causing this and any suggestions for the pain until my appt? Anbesol does great numbing everything but the pain. 85% Eugenol worked at first, but only for short periods of time. Now that the pain is getting worse, it doesn't help at all. All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks
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Please stop saying hubby it makes me want to flog a sealion
 
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@qtpa2t we can't give out medical or dental advice on SDN.

there are dental urgent care centers that you may want to check out.

as for the cost of ins, my plan is almost 800/month. obviously I don't have dental insurance, but medical ins is expensive everywhere.
 
I don't have ins because I can't afford it, which is also why I am excempt from having to buy it. If I could afford it I would have it, no way around it. Not everyone has to pay that much since healthcare reform but so glad you can afford your $800 a month.
I'll look further into the urgent care even if I have to drive 2 hours it will be worth it.



fancymylotus said:
@qtpa2t we can't give out medical or dental advice on SDN.

there are dental urgent care centers that you may want to check out.

as for the cost of ins, my plan is almost 800/month. obviously I don't have dental insurance, but medical ins is expensive everywhere.
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qtpa2t said:
I don't have ins because I can't afford it, which is also why I am excempt from having to buy it. If I could afford it I would have it, no way around it. Not everyone has to pay that much since healthcare reform but so glad you can afford your $800 a month.
I'll look further into the urgent care even if I have to drive 2 hours it will be worth it.
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You're welcome.
 
qtpa2t said:
I live in Georgia and don't have insurance. My children qualify for medicaid but me and my hubby do not, so we tryed to get low cost health and dental through Obamacare and my hubby and I don't qualify for that either. And since GA is one of the states that won't extend medicaid to people who don't qualify for Obamacare, my hubby and I are screwed. We are the few who are not required to have healthcare because the cheapest offered through Obamacare is $500+/month just for the 2 of us. Every year we get a healthcare exemption code/number to give to our tax preparer so that we don't get penalized for not having insurance. So the myth that everyone has healthcare now is just that, a myth.
Hopefully one day we will be able to afford healthcare but until then, what do people like us do? Out of no where the gum in between two of my front teeth is swollen and throbbing in pain. The area is not red, not bleeding, and I have no fever. I thought maybe I need antibiotics which is what led me here, but of course I have no clue. I thought it may be gingivitis but doesn't that affect the entire gumline or at least partial? This is only one area of my gum and it's in between 2 teeth. There are no walk in dentists here, only low cost dentistry for people like us with no ins who pay in cash. But those places are not for emergencies and they won't see you same day. You have to have an appt. which is usually a week or more out. They won't even give a script for pain. So then we have to go to the ER. They will only prescribe ibuprofen to help with the throbbing but no narcotics because in my case, they don't see significant swelling or redness. Any thoughts on what is causing this and any suggestions for the pain until my appt? Anbesol does great numbing everything but the pain. 85% Eugenol worked at first, but only for short periods of time. Now that the pain is getting worse, it doesn't help at all. All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks
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SDN is not intended for medical advice. Please consult a medical professional. You may be able to find a free clinic if costs are a concern. However, this is not the right place to consult.
 
dyachei said:
SDN is not intended for medical advice. Please consult a medical professional. You may be able to find a free clinic if costs are a concern. However, this is not the right place to consult.
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Yes I already know this, you sent me a PM, remember?
 
Last edited:
qtpa2t said:
I live in Georgia and don't have insurance. My children qualify for medicaid but me and my hubby do not, so we tryed to get low cost health and dental through Obamacare and my hubby and I don't qualify for that either. And since GA is one of the states that won't extend medicaid to people who don't qualify for Obamacare, my hubby and I are screwed. We are the few who are not required to have healthcare because the cheapest offered through Obamacare is $500+/month just for the 2 of us. Every year we get a healthcare exemption code/number to give to our tax preparer so that we don't get penalized for not having insurance. So the myth that everyone has healthcare now is just that, a myth.
Hopefully one day we will be able to afford healthcare but until then, what do people like us do? Out of no where the gum in between two of my front teeth is swollen and throbbing in pain. The area is not red, not bleeding, and I have no fever. I thought maybe I need antibiotics which is what led me here, but of course I have no clue. I thought it may be gingivitis but doesn't that affect the entire gumline or at least partial? This is only one area of my gum and it's in between 2 teeth. There are no walk in dentists here, only low cost dentistry for people like us with no ins who pay in cash. But those places are not for emergencies and they won't see you same day. You have to have an appt. which is usually a week or more out. They won't even give a script for pain. So then we have to go to the ER. They will only prescribe ibuprofen to help with the throbbing but no narcotics because in my case, they don't see significant swelling or redness. Any thoughts on what is causing this and any suggestions for the pain until my appt? Anbesol does great numbing everything but the pain. 85% Eugenol worked at first, but only for short periods of time. Now that the pain is getting worse, it doesn't help at all. All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks
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But for the love of god don't go and buy fish antibiotics. :lame:
 
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