tylenol with codeine?

[Unregistered]

I've been dealing with tooth problems, and I was given a script for tylenol with codeine.
What's the general wait time before flying after dosage?

 

[AuntPeggy]

Unofficially, I was told rule of thumb twice the dosing frequency. That is, if you take 1 every 4 hours, then wait at least 8 hours afterward. I'm an old scardy-cat, so I'd wait even longer, though.

- Aunt Peggy

 

[One Short]

I've not seen an exact time restriction. My personal opinion is: If you are taking them regularly as prescribed, then give it at least 24 hours. If you are just taking them 1-2 times a day, then at least 8 hours. Another consideration is the tooth problem. If it is bothering you to the point that you need to take a narcotic for it, then it is a self grounding problem, because it is a significant distraction. When I do an operation on someone, I tell them if they are still taking narcotics they shouldn't be driving, because their reflexes(and attention to details) will not be up to snuff.
Also, some tooth problems get excrutiatingly worse with changes in altitude.

Barb(AME)

 

[TMetzinger]

It's amazing how quickly tooth pain can become incapacitating with a drop in atmospheric pressure. In the CG we had more divers and pilots grounded for dental reasons than anything else. If you've got mouth pain bad enough to require narcotics, I wouldn't do any flying until it's fixed. On the other hand, if you've had oral surgery and the meds are for post-operative pain, then as soon as you can go for 24 hours without them, you should be good to fly again. That's what we used to tell our airmen back when I was wearing a uniform and stethoscope.