# I took Advil and threw up 20 minutes later. Can I take more Advil? Or must I wait? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-took-advil-and-threw-up-20-minutes-later-can-i-take-more-advil-or-must-i-wait/111338 "2002-05-29T14:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hokienautic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@Hokienautic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokienautic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-took-advil-and-threw-up-20-minutes-later-can-i-take-more-advil-or-must-i-wait/111338/1 "2002-05-29T14:22:10Z")
That’s pretty much it. Not feeling well along with a headache. I took some Advil, and twenty minutes later was vomiting (not from the Advil, of course). In the course of vomiting, I saw the Advil mixed in there, so they hadn’t fully disintegrated (although they were now white pills instead of the brick-red Advil originates as). Would I be safe taking more Advil, or has the medicine been absorbed enough that I should still wait the four or six hours recommended? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Thing\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_1)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-took-advil-and-threw-up-20-minutes-later-can-i-take-more-advil-or-must-i-wait/111338/2 "2002-05-29T14:36:58Z")
If they are the normal 200 mg pills and you took 2 you would be safe in taking at least one more. My doctor told me to take 3 at a time (600 mg) for back pain so you can at least have another assuming you are an adult. I imagine if you saw the pills in your vomit then they were not absorbed yet and you could take 2 more with little likelyhood of danger. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice though. John ---
**Author:** ![miatachris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@miatachris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miatachris)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-took-advil-and-threw-up-20-minutes-later-can-i-take-more-advil-or-must-i-wait/111338/3 "2002-05-29T21:53:08Z")
Since: 1 - the advil did not cause the vomiting 2 - you saw the undissolved pills in the vomitus 3- Hi, Opal! 4 - advil is a pill that must dissolve to take effect 5 - you are an adult - drug-wise (over 100lbs) Therefore, you dont have any advil in your system yet and are free to re-dose. OTC dosing for advil is 1-2 tabs up to 4 times daily. Thing 1 is correct that 3 tabs (600mg) is a safe dose - as a prescription. Max dose for advil/ibuprofen is 800mg 4 times a day. Ibuprofen is one of the better otc headache meds. hth. miatachris, R.Ph. Ole Miss '95 Play Dixie! Play Dixie! ---
**Author:** ![Neurodoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neurodoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurodoc)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-took-advil-and-threw-up-20-minutes-later-can-i-take-more-advil-or-must-i-wait/111338/4 "2002-05-30T05:03:31Z")
Two things are possible: 1) you had a migraine and the nausea/vomiting was part of your headache symptoms…i.e. the Advil had nothing to do with it…except that it didn’t abort your headache; or, 2) you have an ulcer or gastritis, that was exacerbated by the Advil. In either case, I’d recommend trying something else to treat your headache.