A simple toothache and desperation to ease its pain almost killed an Adelaide man who wouldn’t take a sickie.
Simon Yeaman was working as a media advisor ahead of South Australia‘s state election late last month when he started to feel sharp pain.
‘This toothache developed and I didn’t want to take time off to go to a dental appointment so I thought I’d just pop Nurofen. I was pretty ignorant,’ Mr Yeaman told Daily Mail.
He’d made it past the election thanks to the over-the-counter pain killer but it led him to taking 30 Nurofen tablets in just two days.
On the Tuesday after the election, he went to bed feeling ‘absolutely fine’ but woke up on the bedroom floor at 3am.
‘I literally could not get up. I luckily had my phone on the floor near me. I spent three hours trying to get up,’ Mr Yeaman said.
‘I thought I was having a stroke. I didn’t think it was related to the painkillers at all.
‘I couldn’t work out why I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t even crawl onto my mattress. I could barely speak.’
Simon Yeaman didn’t think taking 30 Nurofen tablets in two days would nearly kill him
Mr Yeaman required more than 100 stitches after his internal bleed
Mr Yeaman eventually was able to call Triple Zero and it was then that the reality of his situation hit home.
‘They (paramedics) put me in the ambulance and had the sirens on and that’s when I thought this was more serious,’ he said.
‘The pain was beyond belief and a nurse said “you need to calm down because we’re trying to save your life”.’
Mr Yeaman, who has a heart condition, experienced a massive internal bleeding event through the bowels while he underwent emergency surgery and he required three units of blood transfusions to save his life.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Royal Adelaide Hospital, Mr Yeaman told Daily Mail how his heart stopped for several minutes during surgery.
‘I had to be revived. My heart stopped beating for four or five minutes,’ he said. ‘I was dead.’
Mr Yeaman, who woke with more than 100 stitches, was stunned when he found out how close to death he was.
‘I have a daughter and I didn’t want her to come in case I did die,’ he said.
The maximum dosage for Nurofen Zavance (200mg ibuprofen) is six tablets in 24 hours
Mr Yeaman warned Aussies to read labels on medications and stick to the advice
The 61-year-old is currently getting his tooth fixed with root canal therapy and is expected to make a full recovery and may even leave hospital this weekend.
For adults, the maximum dosage for Nurofen Zavance (200mg ibuprofen) is six tablets in 24 hours.
The warning labels on the medication say: ‘Do not exceed the recommended dose. Excessive use can be harmful and can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke or liver damage.’
Mr Yeaman said his case was a good lesson for Aussies who think over-the-counter drugs aren’t strong enough to cause damage if not used correctly.
‘Sure, there’s tiny writing on the back warning only to take a certain amount and avoid if pregnant, but I was just in so much pain,’ he said.
‘I had no idea how bad Nurofen could actually be. I was talking to the nurses and they said a lot of people don’t realise.’
He said he would be using Panadol from now on to manage pain.
Australian Medical Association SA president, Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam told The Advertiser that people often underestimate over-the-counter like Mr Yeaman did.
‘Over-the-counter does not mean harmless,’ he said. ‘Every medication, even those readily available, can cause serious harm when you take it outside the appropriate medical advice.’
And after being dead for a few minutes, family and friends naturally asked Mr Yeaman what was on the other side.
‘I told them nobody was home. There was no Jesus, no Elvis, nobody,’ he said.
Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Nurofen, was contacted for comment.
