No more than 2400 mg/24 hrs. I've taken up to 800mg at a time before. Not dead yet. It's not good to do on a regular basis, but if you only use advil once in a blue moon, it is probably fine.

What about aspirin?

It's most important to eat something with high fat content to a avoid gastric upset w/ ibuprofen.

600 mgs every 6 hours or 800 mgs every 8 hrs, for 3 or4 days should be fine if you don't have underlying stomach or kidney issues. Take it with food though.

I wouldn't. Advil can tear up your stomach. You should definitely take food (some crackers are enough) to buffer your stomach. My dad landed in the ICU because he had a bleeding ulcer (black tarry stool) from taking too much advil.

Try alternating Advil with Tylenol. The muscle cramps are related to high fever (your body trying to fight off the virus/infection) and bringing the fever down will help. Remember not to exceed the 2g/day tylenol or you'll go into liver failure!

Bump

I have the flu and it's mainly manifesting in the form of muscle aches pain. When you take OTC Advil, it recommends taking no more than 1200 milligrams/day. But when you have prescription-level ibuprofin, it's 800 milligrams/dose and you can take more times/day, right?

Basically, wondering if I can take a bit more than it says on the bottle if I'm really in pain. Thoughts? Does it matter if you take it all at once or spread through the day?