Tylenol - now it's bad for you?
#205787 - 08/16/05 05:17 AM
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I just heard on the Today Show when I woke up that women who take over the counter painkillers such as extra strength tylenol are more likely to develop high blood pressure and should monitor that. I always take tylenol! Normally it's regular strength which I suppose is better, but if I keep it up there may be a problem. Plus I always worried about the liver damage that they warn about on the back of the bottle from the acetaminophen. Whenever I have an attack I take 2 tylenol, an immodium and one of my other pills and I'm good to go.
Anyone else hear anything like this? What else do people take that doesn't bother them?
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Tylenol is very safe, but no meds are completely safe. If you are taking any meds on a regular (even if not daily) basis you should have regular check ups anyway. And the liver damage is only an issue if you exceed 4 grams in any 24 hour period or have less than 4 hours between each gram of acetomenophin. If you're very careful about that then it's just fine.
Plus some people don't even realise that extra strength tylenol and solpadeine contain codeine which is a narcotic painkiller...and of course if you're taking narcotics regularly you need to keep a check on your health!
Alot of people think that OTC stuff is completely safe and are lax about following the instructions which is why they've been making a big deal about the Tylenol thing recently. Just be sensible and it's very safe - and that's what I got told by a pain management consultant btw!
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I wouldn't worry about the liver damage too much in less you are taking it everyday! I HAD hep C, my body fought the infection and won as the dr's can no longer find any traces of the virus in my system. 
However, even while I had the hep C, I was still taking Tylenol occasionally for my tummy. I was told that it can build up in your system if you take it every day, even at the recommeded dosage. Your liver needs time to filter it out. So, if you have an attack or headache or whatever and take it for a couple of days than stop, you should be fine! I'm fighting a cold right now and I've been taking 2 tylenol twice a day for three days now. I'll probably take some more tonight as I'm still not feeling great but hoping to be able to stop it tomorrow!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Not sure if it's different in the UK, but here extra-strength Tylenol does not have codeine. You can't get Tylenol w/ codeine here without a prescription.
I take a ton of extra-strength Tylenol -- usually 2 grams each day -- and none of the doctors have said a word about it. I guess I never thought about it until now, but that's a LOT! I don't know what else to do. Suck it up and deal with the pain??? Ugh, I hate my body. Once upon a time all I ever took was ibuprofen once a month for menstrual cramps, and now I am a walking pharmacy.
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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I don't know about the extra strength tylenol where you live Linz but ours here in the states does not contain codeine. I just looked on the back of the bottle and I don't see that ingredient. I will double check with my Dad who is employed at McNeil pharmacueticals where they are produced but I'm pretty sure it doesn't contain it. I know in Canada you can by Tylenol with Codeine over the counter but you can't here in the states.
Anyway, as far as that topic they were talking about today on the Today's show, they stated that if you take MORE than 500ml a day you are at risk for high blood pressure. I paniced too as I pop Tylenol for every headache and menstrual cramp every month, however I by no means exceed 500mg a day so I wouldn't worry Brittany. I too can't take anything else as it makes me sick so I'm gonna stick to my tylenol.
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~~~Lisa~~~
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I'm so confused now. And 4g acetomenophin/paracetamol a day is still safe.
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Britt, they are always finding that something is bad for you. Tomorrow there will be a study saying that Tylenol is not bad for you. Just take everything in moderation. I am so sick of the media. The only way they can get ratings is by scaring people. Take your Tylenol. There are much worse things out there to do to your body.
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I think Extra Strength Tylenol is just more acetaminophen per pill. Regular Tylenol is 325 mg/pill, but extra strength is 500 mg/pill. I've been taking two Extra Strength Tylenol every 4 hours about 3 times a day for my fibro. I wasn't taking them, and then I finally convinced myself I need them to feel better for the time being, so I've been taking them more. I think the thing to keep in mind is that this study just shows your risk of high blood pressure increases, it's not guaranteed that your blood pressure will. Genetics and your diet and such also will play a role.
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Melissa
Friendship is thicker than blood. ~Rent
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is a controlled substance in the US. just like cough syrup with codeine you need to get it from a pharmacist with a doctors perscription.
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Dietetics Student (anticipating RD exam in Aug 2010)
IBS - A
Dairy Allergic
Fructose and MSG intollerant
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Haha that's true - there are MUCH worse things I could do. I can't help that I love tylenol.
And come to think of it, I swear I heard something a month or so ago that tylenol was the best one to take. They're all so full of crap.
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Tyenol is supposed to be safer but can eventually harm your liver. Don't ever take it with alcohol! My friend's nurse mom made her promise to never do that.
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Ah, okay!
#206320 - 08/18/05 12:03 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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That's just standard strength over here. So maybe I should have been recommending you take Solpadeine instead!  Get some meds off your doc sweetie, 1g acetamenophin is my only vaguely achey meds dose!
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I know that I have been told to take up to what the bottle recommends of 500mg tylenol everyday for the athritis in my back. The only warning that I got from the doctor was to never use alcohol and tylenol together within a 24 hour period of having taking either one. Something about the processing of the alcohol out of the system and the tylenol in the liver causes it to work harder. (This is coming from a fuzzy memory at this point on the whole discussion).
I have to say that I do love Tylenol's new ad campaign that came out after the problems with Alleve, etc. "If you can't use our product as recommended, we would prefer you didn't use it." Talk about getting the point across in people thinking if it says take 2 every four hours than 4 every two hours should nip it quicker.
I won't be giving up my Tylenol...although the Tylenol #3 for the migraines is a godsend.
Michelle
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I agree Tommy, they are always changing their mind. One day coffee is bad, then egg yolks, then tylenol, and a month later they are all great for you. It has to be in part with the special interest groups making sure they can keep a positive spin on things so they turn out their own new (biased) report on how it really is safe for you. I figure that sooner or later I am going to hear that being nice, smiling, or having fun are all bad for you. I know sarcasm is definitely bad for me...just too darn fun.
I am glad someone else realizes the media is only doing scare tactics. I mean Tuesday CNN is practically calling this worm the end of the world (Wolf Blitzer as Chicken Little was all I could think) because they had all their machines rebooting. All I could think of was...gee if you downloaded your patches like a good little users you wouldn't have had this problem. So to listen to Wolf tell everyone to turn off their machines was funny since the tech expert was very vocal on that they didn't need to go that far. Scare the viewers because you can't download your scheduled Microsoft patches. I guess that's why I love Food Network...they don't scare me...just tantalize me.
Michelle
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But then there are alot of times when I'm on Tylenol constantly so it would mean going completely teetotal!  It's just an extra stress on your liver I think. But then I figure that these days I never get roaring drunk - two glasses of wine in an evening is binge drinking for me!  - and the occasional glass of something whilst on Tylenol can't be much worse for my liver than getting plastered on a regular basis!
And shucks, I have few enough naughty feel-good vices left...especially now they've worked out that chocolate is GOOD for you!
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I just read your message concernng tylenol. Did you
find out if it was harmful or not for IBS? I use it
all the time I take two extra strength at bedtime and
I am able to sleep without pain.
squirrel2
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As part of a paper I wrote for one of my classes a few years back, I kept track of news article titles for about a week.
-Flu hits the area
-Flu gets worse
-Quick, get your shots
-Oh no, not enough flu shots
-You're at risk
Holy moly, after a week you think you're bound for certain death because everyone's at risk for everything.
Too much of anything can be harmful, but I've yet to hear of anyone dying from Tylenol ingestion.
And if it is true, I'd rather live a slightly shorter life pain free, than a long one with chronic pain.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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