Could Advil be causing my symptoms?

4–6 a week doesn’t sound like a lot to me.

I have absolutely no idea if they could be related. It might be interesting for you to keep a log for some data to support or deny your hypothesis. A log might be of help for your doctor to figure out why you have burning during urination, assuming that it is not an infectious cause (which you will find out sooner or later).

Probably not.

Advil (ibuprofen) and other NSAIDs are usually known for irritating the stomach lining. A coworker of mine (in her early 20s) has had a lot of knee problems and surgeries and her recent stomach issues were from Advil. I can not figure how it would irritate the bladder/urethra if the stomach was not also irritated.

I agree that you might keep a log to see if other things might be triggering the symptoms. For example, do you increase caffeine intake with your headaches? Caffeine can irritate the bladder (although that’s usually and urgency rather than burning). Also take note of sexual activity, as that can easily cause bacteria in the urethra. Another possible source of irritation is how you clean your genital area, and what cleansers you use.

My reaction to ibuprofen resulted in emergency room visits due to severe intestinal pain (turns out I had micro-holes in my GI system). Never heard of it causing problems in the urogenital tract.

@hearkat The caffeine thing makes sense actually. I do increase my soda with my headaches because it seems to help relieve the headache.

I doubt it. I do advise you take Advil with a little food and a glass of water though, to protect your tummy.

Could the “irritation” actually be muscular?

Are you holding a long time? That can make me feel like I am getting a UTI and then it goes away after a few hours.

Caffeinated drinks sounds like a good possibility as suggested above.

@JLeslie I never hold it for too long. After the Advil it seems like I have an urgency and then only a small amount actually comes out. That’s when the burning starts.

Assuming you are right about not having a UTI, it sounds to me like you are dehydrated.

It doesn’t sound like you are really taking all that much. For me, the overtaking of ibuprofen (eating them like Chicklets after surgery) manifested itself as an ulcer. Which in turn involved vomiting late at night every night until it was diagnosed.

Maybe you should try taking two regular aspirin instead of Advil for a few weeks and see if anything changes.

My friend was taking Aleve without food and also ended up in the ER with issues similar to @syz and @laurenkem. That’s the classic problem.

No, I wouldn’t think they are related.

Burning urination is most commonly due to bacterial infection of the urinary tract affecting the bladder. The following side effects are associated with Advil Liqui-Gel oral.
The best thing you could do is to see a doctor just to be safe, rather than making assumptions and getting worried.

You mentioned taking it with soda. Are you referring to Coke or Pepsi?

Colas and Advil are a bad combination (usually for the stomach) because the cola beverages potentiate the caustic side effects of the Advil.

It wouldn’t surprise me if it affected your urine but I am surprised it doesn’t affect your stomach as well. I had to switch to non-cola sodas because I take Advil regularly for knee pain and would get horrific burning when I took Advil with Pepsi.

You must have an iron stomach. Perhaps your urinary tract is more sensitive.

@Buttonstc My stomach is pretty tough when it comes to medicine. I have no issue taking Advil on an empty stomach. And yes, I usually take it with Pepsi. I’ll try just sticking to water with my pills from now on and see if the burning still happens. In fact, I just took 2 Advil about 15 minutes ago with water and nothing has happened yet. We shall see!

Just FYI, even tho you may not feel anything when you take it in an empty stomach, that doesn’t mean that its safe to do so.

Advil is really terribly corrosive and when it hits your stomach lining unameliorated by the presence of food (or even a glass of milk) it is definitely doing damage. This is cumulative over time and many people end up with gastritis or a bleeding ulcer eventually if they continue taking it on an empty stomach.

It’s a really bad habit to develop.

@ItalianPrincess1217 : I am seconding @Buttonstc‘s advisory. You are fine until suddenly you are not when it comes to NSAIDs. And then, boy, are you not fine. We take it usually as a banana sandwich. Eat half a banana, take the Advil with water, then eat the other half of the banana. (And personally I consider Pepsi neither a food nor a beverage.)

Some people have been known to clean the batteries and/or engines in their cars with Coke or Pepsi. Talk about corrosive !

@Buttonstc @gailcalled Very true. Thinking back I have had some stomach problems in the past that could have very well been an ulcer. And if anything caused it, it would have been from taking the Advil on an empty stomach.

Well, good thing that now you know better and will never do that again because once the gastritis or ulcer is present you simply can’t be taking Advil ever again.

I had huge ulcers from an ibuprofen that lay in my esophagus overnight. I have the photos. I still take ibuprofen with zero problems. I just always take it with some food, plenty of water, and always take pills that are easy for me to swallow like the candy coated Advil. I don’t take it daily, just a couple days a month. Sometimes not at all in a month. I don’t worry about it at all. I usually take 600mg at a time.

I know I’m late to this thread, but I have the exact same issue. I’m prone to uti’s and every time I take Advil I will have uti symptoms for a couple of hours. At first I thought it was an infection causing the symptoms but then they were subside after a little while. It is unfortunate that Advil is causing this (I don’t know why) because I have chronic pain and I will take Advil quite often, however, I have had to cut down and switch to an anti inflammatory medication that my doctor prescribed. I think the coating of the Advil may cause this bladder irritation like caffeine does.

When I take 600mg of Ibuprofen I always get burning with urination within a few hours after. It definitely is caused by Ibuprofen however I dont know why. It helps to drink lots of water and when I do it goes away.

@Acarreir This is from 5 years ago but ironically this still happens to me! I never figured out why but I think it has something to do with dehydration. I increase my water intake a lot after taking the meds and this usually helps fairly quickly.