This is what I've been saying

[Karlynn]

Years ago, my pharmacology professor BIL told me he'd much rather see me take Coumadin daily than Tylenol. He said that Tylenol should be a prescription drug. (And this was years ago.) When we've gotten into debates here over the danger of Coumadin, I would mention that many who fear warfarin, don't give a 2nd thought to acetaminophen. Now the government is considering a black box warning for products containing acetaminophen.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529403,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518250,00.html

"Acetaminophen overdoses send an estimated 56,000 people to the emergency room each year, according to the FDA.

Despite decades of educational campaigns, bolstered warnings and other federal actions, acetaminophen continues to be the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S."

 

[Ross]

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm168830.htm

I'm waiting for the dirt to come out about Plavix.

http://www.druglib.com/adverse-reactions_side-effects/plavix/

 

[Wise]

I'm glad to know this. Thanks Karlynn.

 

[njean]

This is so upsetting to hear for many of us that take Tylenol for pain relief! What in the heck can we take now??? I don't take it every day but I do suffer from headaches at least 2 to 3 times a week & whenever I take Tylenol with a coke, my headaches goes away in no time!

So upsetting..........

 

[Cozycat]

At this point, it sounds like they are talking about problems for people who take it in overdose quantities, which most of us probably don't do. At this time, if it works for you and you only take it occasionally, it sounds like it won't be problematic. I, too, use it maybe a couple of times a week and usually only take one capsule and would guess that type of use won't be harmful. But, I am going to tell my BH about this because he takes what I think is alot of Tylenol...maybe not enough to be over use but more than I think is good for him.

Midge

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Tylenol and Coke, Norma? That stuff can burn your nose, you know! j/k

I wouldn't be worried about taking a couple every now and then, although I prefer Aleve (and before anyone gets started, I take it maybe once every few months and have never had a problem with my INR). Pretty much anything in mass quantities can be bad for you, even water! Obviously, Tylenol is abused by many. There's a reason it give specific instructions on the bottle.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I am going to tell my BH about this Midge

I'm trying to figure out what BH stands for. Bald Husband? Big Horndog? Bossy Halfwit?

 

[njean]

Tylenol and Coke, Norma? That stuff can burn your nose, you know! j/k

I wouldn't be worried about taking a couple every now and then, although I prefer Aleve (and before anyone gets started, I take it maybe once every few months and have never had a problem with my INR). Pretty much anything in mass quantities can be bad for you, even water! Obviously, Tylenol is abused by many. There's a reason it give specific instructions on the bottle.

A friend of mine told me to try this & I've been taking tylenol this way ever since! You need to try it & see! It works great!!!!

 

[Wise]

A friend of mine told me to try this & I've been taking tylenol this way ever since! You need to try it & see! It works great!!!!

Those are two of the ingredients in OTC migraine meds. I used a generic migraine med; it works. I do try to use it sparingly though.

 

[njean]

Those are two of the ingredients in OTC migraine meds. I used a generic migraine med; it works. I do try to use it sparingly though.

Sparingly, that's the key word! I hate having to take anything other than the meds I have to take daily but sometimes my headaches can get to be blinding & I have to seek relief.

I've always feared that all the meds will start to wear on my stomach lining or esphogus (?) & then I'll have addi'l problems to contend with!

 

[Reddog]

Bye Bye Percocet Too :-(

Bye Bye Percocet Too :-(

I had heart surgery about 2.5 weeks ago, and I'm weaning myself off of Percocet, switching to Tylenol. The FDA panel just recommended banning Percocet along with Vicodin. It's important to understand the dosages and not over-stack Percocet with Tylenol (since they both contain acetaminophen), but it's not rocket science.

However, I'm concerned that the very few effective pain management tools available to recent OHS patients are going to be disappearing. It is possible to use these drugs responsibly, cognizant of the dosages. Hopefully the FDA will ultimately decide not to ban everything. Perhaps the U.S. Gov't has figured out a way to make heart surgery even less pleasant...sigh.

Red

 

[Cooker]

This is so upsetting to hear for many of us that take Tylenol for pain relief! What in the heck can we take now??? I don't take it every day but I do suffer from headaches at least 2 to 3 times a week & whenever I take Tylenol with a coke, my headaches goes away in no time!

So upsetting..........

Overdosing on any thing can be and usually is dangerous. If mentioned I missed it but one problem with the liver and acetamenephine is when it is used daily with alcohol abuse. I know of a guy who was heavy drinker and consumed acetamenephine daily (over the recommended dose) who died young due to liver failure. Read any OTC analgesic label and it has an alcohol warning but acetamenephine and alcohol is very dangerous when combined in excess.

I take Tylenol about once a week and I take three at a time. I recently had complete blood work done and liver panel was completely normal. Norma, I have never tried it with coke but I will. I wonder if diet coke works just as well?

 

[Roger Frank]

This is so upsetting to hear for many of us that take Tylenol for pain relief! What in the heck can we take now??? I don't take it every day but I do suffer from headaches at least 2 to 3 times a week & whenever I take Tylenol with a coke, my headaches goes away in no time!

So upsetting..........

I'm with you Norma...now what? Guess I'll back off my max 24 hr dose to 3 grams, that's 1 gram under the old max and hope for the best....

 

[catwoman]

I wonder if diet coke works just as well?

My guess it's the caffeine in Coke. Pepsi, Dr Pepper or any root beer with caffeine might do just as well.

 

[njean]

My guess it's the caffeine in Coke. Pepsi, Dr Pepper or any root beer with caffeine might do just as well.

I believe you're right Marsha --- has something to do with the fizzzzz! Never tried it with anything other than coke but it does work wonders!

 

[geebee]

Well, Tylenol is the only thing that makes things tolerable for me when pain flares up. I take it just about daily but never more than 3 or 4 a day. I guess one has to weigh quality of life with the dangers of meds. Same thing for driving a car, using stairs, etc. - all carry risks but are necessary for doing what we want to do.

 

[Bina]

I'm trying to figure out what BH stands for. Bald Husband? Big Horndog? Bossy Halfwit?

LOL.......I'm going to assume that she meant Better Half. But Big Horndog works for me.

 

[Jkm7]

They are not talking about banning Acetemenophen.... they may make the extra strength dosage to be by Rx rather than over the counter. They probably will lower the recommended daily dosage of OTC. So many products contain acetemenophen that people take tamiflu, ny-quil and then tylenol and that is how they overdose. If people read packages before they took these meds, they could easily figure out they were duplicating the med by taking several products at the same time.

It is upsetting to me they may ban percocet entirely. That is such an effective pain control medication for so many of us. I used that after both my OHS with no problems and it was the perfect pain management for me. It is widely prescribed to heart patients and those with other severe pain. It has been safely used by millions for a great many years and it would be taking a very useful medication away from people who need it and use it with no problem.

 

[Karlynn]

I heard that one of the reports also says that the extra strength dose is really too much to take at one time. I've always just reached for the extra strength. I'm going to get the regular strength and see if that works as well. Like I said, my BIL was talking about this years ago. He was very emphatic that he believed it should be an Rx drug.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

My guess it's the caffeine in Coke. Pepsi, Dr Pepper or any root beer with caffeine might do just as well.

Oh, THAT kind of Coke! I was confused! I was going to PM you Norma to ask for your dealer's name, but how embarrassing that would have been now that I know you're talking about the OTC stuff!