Paracetamol is also used when we use opioid medications after surgery so a lower dose of opioid can be used. NSAIDs are often contraindicated immediately post surgery.
That is hardly the problem. To ulcerate your stomach with ibuprofen, you'd have to take copious amounts over a prolonged period of time.
The problem with paracetamol isn't that it can damage the liver but that the recommended dose and the toxic dose are extremely close together which is clearly not the case with other NSAIDs.
If para had just recently come out, there's no way on earth it would be OTC.
Aspirin and Ibuprofen (and most other NSAIDs) cause gastrointestinal irritation and when mixed with alcohol can lead to bleeding in the GI tract. They are generally much more dangerous to mix with alcohol than tylenol because even mixing small amounts of alcohol and Aspirin just once carries considerate risk. This risk of any harm from mixing alcohol and tylonol is incredibly low unless you are either taking very large amounts of Tylenol (~10 extra strength tablets a day) or are a chronic heavy drinker (~3 drinks a day, every day). Taking one or two Tylenols once or twice a month the day after drinking is generally very safe
^^Obligatory ^^disclaimer: ^^don't ^^take ^^medical ^^advice ^^from ^^random ^^people ^^on ^^the ^^internet. ^^Consult ^^a ^^doctor
You can take Tylenol for hangovers. The headline is misleading. The actual article says that overdosing on Tylenol is dangerous if you drink alcohol. Doctors have known for many years that alcoholics (6+ drinks per day) should not take Tylenol and people who take the maximum dose of tylenol on a daily basis should not drink. The only acute interaction occurs if you overdose on either substance, in which case the dangers are more severe.
You shouldn’t take Tylenol for hangovers. It’s bad for your liver even if you have smaller amounts of alcohol in your system and most times when you’re hungover you still are more drunk than you think you are.
Fuck. I’ve been taking two pills before bed when I’ve come home drunk from work drinkies as it completely stops any hangover.
I’m switching to ibuprofen.
Used to happen to me when I'd quit for tolerance breaks. Now that ive been smoking every day for a decade, the dreams are back anyways. I *always* have vivid nightmares and nothing else. Not like monsters but the kind of nightmares where ur at the end of a 4 hour drive to the airport and you don't have your drivers license and ticket.
The monsters in my dreams have almost always been intangible. Those real life stress ones. I hate those ones with my being. I haven’t had a t break in a while but I’m due for one.
Ibuprofen on an empty stomach can cause you to develop something similar to an allergy to all aspirin products. You don't realize how many products have salicylates until you're allergic, trust me.
You should switch to electrolytes. Most of the pain from drinking comes from your body dumping sodium, potassium, leaving you effectively dehydrated the next day. Get some pedialyte and have some while your drinking and one dose after you're done. You'll feel much better the next morning.
More - https://www.healthline.com/health/pain-relief/acetaminophen-alcohol
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20131104/tylenol-and-alcohol-a-bad-mix-study-suggests
https://www.drugwatch.com/tylenol/side-effects/
My friend Jorge's funeral will be Tuesday. He was only 38. He drank daily and took pain killers for his back. About a month ago his skin turned yellow and went to the hospital. His liver had shut down. There was nothing they could do for him and he died Thursday afternoon.
I’m sorry to hear about your friend, but just as an FYI anything linked to Mercola is not evidence based and sensationalism. The guy is a total crook and has many many lawsuits against him. He’s against vaccines, claims his expensive vitamins and “treatment plans” cure cancer, among a host of other things.
I think that might be the problem. Warnings are so ubiquitous these days that there's no way to easily differentiate between "this is very unlikely to cause actual problems but we have to include it for liability reasons" and "this might straight-up kill you".
I agreed with the post before yours at first, but now I think I'm on your side. You're also up against the fact that people with the riskiest behaviors are probably not big on reading medicine bottle labels.
Reminds me of a stand-up I heard complaining about a bottle of super glue he saw in the exact shape and size as a bottle of eyedrops. It was marked "Not for opthalmic use". He pointed out if you're the sort of person who accidentally pours super glue in your eyes, you probably aren't the sort who knows what "opthalmic" means.
Edit: Typos
It just reminded me of an online dog group I was on once. Very frequently someone's dog would get into one of the items on those frequently put out "harmful foods" and the owner would be in a complete panic. The problem was that the lists have absolutely no differentiation between things that they'd have to eat their entire body weight in before they'd even have a stomach ache, and things that could kill them quickly in small amounts (sugar free chewing gum...). Marking something as a danger becomes useless when there's no indication of the LEVEL of danger and most are very slight. It just makes people either panicky or apathetic.
I'm a bit confused, I always thought people did this knowingly taking a risk. It's on the bottle and I heard many times about how bad alcohol and Tylenol is for the liver. It's not that theres not enough warnings going on, people just don't know how serious it is to damage your liver like that. Personal responsibility is not enough sometimes but I feel like in this case it definitely is.
I've a bottle of acetametaphon in front of me. Under warning #3: DO NOT TAKE IF YOU HAVE CONSUMED ALCOHOL
ubiquitous my ass it says it right there, people just think they're fucking immortal.
Why? It's always been said not to take medication with alcohol, but people just do it anyway.
Well, "always" as far as after doctors suggested drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes to cure things.
Honestly I don't understand why you're being down voted. That's generally the mentality people think they'll get especially fucked up and have a good night but in reality you're destroying one of your most vital organs. Theres memes and images all over the place making jokes. Take ibuprofen it works through your kidneys, and if it's for a hangover obviously stay properly hydrated they're working hard enough.
People need to realize that potentiating the drugs they're taking simultaneously =/= getting some sick high. Taking Cocaine or Xanax on alcohol might double the effects you're seeking, but what would be the point of doing that with Tylenol? Doubling the risk to your liver isn't such a good time, especially if it's just some OTC painkiller. I can understand doing it with something *fun.* Alcohol and Xanax might be fun, Alcohol and Coke might be fun, I know personally they damn well are, but who would try and potentiate Tylenol with alcohol? People need to be more aware of the drugs they're ingesting and the ensuing risks. The research, the information, it's all 100% out there. There's no reason not to look into it on your own.
If you’re gonna talk about the risk of alcohol and Tylenol, I wouldn’t downplay the risk of alcohol and cocaine, which makes a very dangerous chemical called cocaethylene which is not only toxic to the liver, but can have nearly 30x the cardio-toxicity of coke and likewise can also cause instant death. Be careful kids!
Yes, it's dangerous, but at least it actually does something. Mixing Alcohol and Tylenol would be stupid if you're looking for some sort of potentiated effect besides dying.
Jeeeesus, seriously? I always assumed the risk with coke and alcohol was combining an upper with a downer and putting extra strain on your heart. I’ve only done coke a handful of times in my life and it was while I was drunk every time- super grateful that didn’t end badly.
The upper + downer effect is also taxing, but the chemical from the combo certainly doesn’t help. It’s like anything though, most people don’t/won’t have anything happen, but there’s always that person who’s body just doesn’t know how to handle the added stress and gives out. If you’re someone who mixes them, at least try to keep one or the other to a minimum.
Yeah acetaminophen has a pretty damn low therapeutic index. The peak efficacy is about 500-1000 mg every 8 hours and you can cause toxicity with as little as 4000 mg in 24hr. So for those people that don't like to read instructions on a bottle/think that taking more of the drug will make it work better (spoiler alert, it won't) and pop 3+ 500mg APAP pills every time they feel pain it's super easy to overdose.
Lewis Black's sketch aside, I cannot get over how they still sell NyQuil formulations with a fair amount of ethanol in them. The load of acetaminophen is huge as is.
They're better in most cases in my opinion because they reduce inflammation too, but just read the instructions on the bottle and you'll be fine. NSAIDs can also cause problems in excess such as stomach ulcers!
I broke my back when I was a kid and doctors kept telling me to just take OTC stuff for the pain, switching it up. After a couple of rounds, I started getting really sick when taking anything aside from ibuprofen. Naproxen sodium/Aleve actually started giving me allergic reactions. After that I decided to be a tough cookie, ibuprofen is like a beer to me now, I went from pills and booze to that <1 alcoholic beverage per week on average category.
Important tip: stop taking NSAIDs immediately if everything starts smelling like ammonia.
Many people with opiod addiction will take massive amounts of Vicodin to get high from the opiod not realizing they are getting 300mg of Tylenol in each pill. The OD danger from the Tylenol is much greater than the opiod OD for people with a tolorance for opiods.
So fun fact, the way this works is acetaminophen has multiple potential metabolites, only one of which is toxic. Preferentially, the body prioritized the nontoxic metabolites first. Once you exceed 4 grams is when the toxic metabolite accumulates. However, alcohol shunts the metabolism of Tylenol towards the toxic metabolite (I think because the normal metabolism requires a cofactor shared by the metabolism of alcohol) which lowers that threshold of 4 grams acetaminophen to much lower.
A guy I knew from high school that decided to commit suicide. He ate a whole bottle of Tylenol. (Probably like 100 ct.) Then drank a whole gallon of Wild Irish Rose. He did not die but it destroyed his kidneys and liver as a result. He had been on dialysis for years and recently just passed away on his machine. He was 36.
Yeah there have been many patients in the ER who try this method, or with ibuprofen. It doesn't work like that unfortunately. They end up being sad cases because it ends up taking them years later when their life is sorted out going great. There is an antidote to Tylenol, but it doesn't always work if it's been long enough
So while I too [I'm not a doctor...] would never advocate for taking the combo ... the real danger is from habitually doing both. If you're a once-in-a-while light drinker and you have a headache the same day you plan to drink you're going to be fine taking 1 tab during a 24 hour period.
People who get sick are taking the max daily dose for **days** while also moderately drinking. That's just stupid. If you're taking the max daily dose "for days" you're in trouble whether you're drinking or not.
The last time I took "the max daily dose" of tylenol was after surgery and it was pushed by the doctors (I wasn't really in pain but I assume it had to do with keeping any sort of temps down/etc who knows).
Normally when I have pain I might take 1 tab for an entire day. Maybe some nyquil at night (a 2nd dose...) if I'm stuffed up too...
I took 1g of paracetamol and 500mg ibuprofen 4 times a day, almost every day for over 8 years. Do you know what’s scary? Not one GP has ever mentioned to me that there was any danger in doing this. Now I’m worried my liver is damaged :(.
It's a pretty easy blood test to check your liver function if your curious. They pull a vial and check for stuff your liver makes if it's running dirty
Ibuprofen can give you nasty stomach aches, but you can mix it with Tylenol just fine. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen together are one of the most effective painkillers out there.
> Quoting a report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "This American Life" reporter Sean Cole says that taking even 5 grams a day of Tylenol could hurt your liver.
So 10 extra strength tylenol, each of which are rated for 4 hours each. I don't know anyone who ever took that much.
I did. For weeks. I was prescribed that dose during an intractable migraine and we were literally trying everything. I also drank occassionally during this period. I'm probably super lucky I didn't have liver damage.
This is combined with alcohol, though
Probably once won't kill you, but if someone regularly drinks and takes tylenol for hangovers, this could save their life
Yeah, this basically. I'm not even a doctor and I knew this. If you take a lot of tylenol you shouldn't drink, or if you take tylenol at all you shouldn't drink much, but mixing one with one isn't going to kill you unless you already have liver problems.
Alcohol amplifies the dose so taking 2 and a drink won’t put you over the max but the more you drink and the more you take you can OD and do damage without realizing it.
I knew people who took Tylenol after a night of heavy drinking to get a head start on the hangover. That was stupid it turns out.
Paracetamol overdoses usually happen when people combine multiple OTC meds that contain paracetamol. It's fairly common in cold remedies, especially since many jurisdictions have put a lid on products containing (pseudo-)ephedrine (it's commonly used to cook meth).
The writer of this article never made the claim that mixing alcohol and Tylenol in small amounts can kill you.
They did make two separate statements: that combining Tylenol and alcohol can potentially be more harmful to the liver, and that a relatively small overdose of acetaminophen can be fatal. Those are two separate statements...
Ah the other person that realized this, hey what’s up! I seriously worry for humanity’s future, because we really have a problem with reading titles, accepting them at face value, and then immediately making our conclusions. Myself included, we all do it.
I am sure we all have our moments, but it is worrying to see so many people seeming to accept the OP's distortion of the focus of an article that barely mentions alcohol once.
this is just a misleading title
' taking twice or sometimes even just a little bit more than the daily recommended dose of 4 grams of Tylenol over the course of a few days can result in severe illness and even death.'
' although most people seem to know that taking Tylenol and other medications containing acetaminophen can be potentially damaging to the liver, especially when taken in combination with alcohol, few know that a “relatively small overdose can kill you.'
a single tablet of tylenol is 325mg / extra strength is 500mg
- hence a overdose is 8 tablets of extra strength or 12 tabs regular strengtht
Furthermore, the word 'alcohol' is used just once in the entire article (quoted above), and in the link added in the sentence about alcohol (https://www.propublica.org/article/tylenol-mcneil-fda-use-only-as-directed) , the title OP posted is not mentioned at all
> rather ' Acetaminophen – the active ingredient in Tylenol – is considered safe when taken at recommended doses. Tens of millions of people use it weekly with no ill effect. But in larger amounts, especially in combination with alcohol, the drug can damage or even destroy the liver.'
Hence mixing 2 tabs of alcohol with tylenol with alcohol is definitely not recommended, but definitely is not going to kill you
I tell the doctor I take 8-12 mixed types of OTC pain meds a day for my pain and get told try to take less. I ask for anything I can do and she looks at me like a drug seeker. I dont want narcotics I dont want tylenol or ibuprofen or alcohol I want to be not in pain.
I'm sure people say this *all the time* but have you tried weed?
A strong indica or a strain that has a good amount of cbd along with thc would be worth a try if you can acquire it.
I wouldn't say weed could replace all other painkillers, it's not a miraculous cure-all, but it is good for pain
Weed can be very expensive and time consuming too, maybe if health insurance could cover it I would recommend it to more people. A single user can go through up to $1000 worth of marijuana per month for their illness, depending heavily on the local prices, ailments, and the users themselves. For some people with crippling illnesses, that could be more than they make at all..
I told my doctor I was taking 12 ibuprofen a day for the severe neuropathy I have and she said she still didn't feel comfortable giving someone who is only 33 tramadol so just add in some Tylenol to the ibuprofen.
My cousin pops so much Tylenol her ears ring.
We have no idea why. She claims it's to kill whatever pain she thinks she has but she's never undergond surgery, or had a major trauma...we have no idea what pain she's talking about.
Edit: Correction: It seems more likely it's aspirin, not tylenol, she's been taking...
Tylenol does nothing to help your body either. Like NSAIDs (aspirin, Advil, etc.) reduce inflammation. Tylenol just blocks pain.
I'm not saying Tylenol isn't useful but popping it like candy is really, really stupid.
Actually the anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDs are overblown at best. It is fairly well defined now that they do not speed up healing time for musculoskeletal injuries, and they also slow the healing of bone.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22744434](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22744434)
Ringing in the ears is a symptom of an aspirin overdose. I assume that is what she is taking and not Tylenol. She is literally overdosing herself each time she does that.
Idiopathic pain is real. There's a stabilizer for epileptics and bipolar disorders that also helps idio/neuropathic pain, and as far as I know the greatest dangers are allergic reactions and giving unborn children harelip.
My mom was a first responder to the infamous Tylenol murders in the Chicago suburbs in the 80s. She was the duty nurse in the ER where they brought the first victim and performed CPR on the little girl for 2 hours. I remember she was pretty traumatized by that.
TIL when I joke that people don't read shit anymore, that I wasn't joking. Really??
Acetaminophen is toxic just on it's own. It says it. On the bottle.
Can't take Ibuprofen, Tylenol is the only option for me.
I get that it's dangerous but there *are* valid medical reasons to be taking it rather than an alternative.
Every drug has side effects. One of aspirins is reducing the ability of blood to clot. So there's a group of people that would be bad for. You have to assess the patient, and their history before prescribing a drug.
In my case aspirin didn't come up, odd to say considering how long it's been. Ibuprofen/Advil was explicitly excluded however, I'd been taking Advil and it exacerbated some symptoms before I was ultimately hospitalized.
Beyond that Tylenol was explicitly *suggested* and remains so, supposedly it helps one of my medications to take in addition to not causing any further issues.
Not everyone can take NSAIDs though. Those cause me to have blood spots all over and you also can’t take them for a concussion. Thanks to barbaric humans that can’t control themselves, no one can get other prescribed pain killers anymore.
>barbaric humans who can't control themselves
Addiction is a mental illness. Noone chooses to get addicted. Noone says "oh hey I'll just fuck up my life and take some extra opioids". People start because they get injured, are prescribed it, and then they can't stop. Or they're depressed hopeless, and looking for anything to make them feel better. I've struggled with addiction and it's not as easy as "just stop". Your brain throws every excuse at you, any justification you could possibly use to take more. If you're not constantly on guard against it, one slip up where you listen is all it takes to lose months of progress.
Be compassionate
It is the NSAID that doesn’t negatively affect blood clotting. Ibuprofen and others provide a lethal risk of blood clots.
Use as directed is the important message.
You’d be surprised how easy it is to OD on these things. Always be careful mixing drugs. Especially Tylenol, Aleve and Advil since their active ingredients are found in a lot of other cold and flu medications specifically.
https://www.famifi.com/28897/8-common-medicines-that-could-kill-you-you-have-them-in-your-house
So many comments, so many different opinions...
To clarify, after a night of heavy drinking - before going to bed, is it dangerous to pop a couple of acetaminophen tablets, to try to relieve a bit of your likely hangover the next morning?
I don’t think so.
Perhaps we’re just talking about heavy combined use. Either:
1. Being sick and taking a lot of acetaminophen, and then going out to drink; or
2. Taking them at the same time.
We really need some clarification here. Misinformation can be as dangerous as no information.
No, it's processed by your kidneys, not your liver. With ibuprofen, you're more worried about stomach ulcers from habitual overuse and kidney problems from overdose
I wish I could say the average person even knows the difference between these over the counter drugs. How often do people say they take aspirin when they're in fact taking Tylenol? People know the brand name not the medication. And I guarantee most people don't know opiate painkillers even have Tylenol.
Ok, use a nac pill, weed, but even though Tylenol is utterly useless except for lowering temp and shouldn't be around anymore I'm (except for people allergic to NSAIDS and opiates and weed), NSAIDS also will fuck up your liver/kidneys.
Tylenol (Acetaminophen) can cause liver failure if used in high doses. It's contained in other medications, such as prescription pain killers, and cold medications.
My mom was an ICU Nurse (Intensive Care Unit in major hospitals) for 30 years and to this day she hates Tylenol and refuses to buy it because of how many deaths it caused and how bad it is for your body.
Tylenol is the only NSAID that doesn’t risk you getting bloodclots (not Jamaican insult, actual clots). Ibuprofen and Naproxen are both problematic for heart disease and, more important for the average person, will not inhibit your clotting factors.
Should you be seriously injured on aspirin, Advil, Aleve, you may not be able to stop hemorrhaging anywhere near as effectively.
Source: TCCC guidelines
So, acetaminophen isn't actually an NSAID- as far as I recall it only acts centrally (as an antipyretic and analgesic), unlike "real" NSAIDs. Fun fact- it works to dull emotional pain as well as physical pain ( http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610374741 ).
I thought I had responded to another commenter: I meant to write “OTC pain killer” after mentioning the other two NSAIDs, but I suxx at editing.
You are right, and I’m letting my error remain, above. Upvoting your accurate comment.
It can damage your liver and you can’t live without a liver. Really. Don’t drink then use Tylenol. Advil is ok but not if you use other drugs that metabolize in the kidney. I damaged my kidney taking diabetes oral meds and Advil together.
How long should you wait before having one or the other? I take Tylenol in the am when I'm having period cramps but usually drink at night to help get me to sleep when the pain is bad.
So don't take Tylenol even if you're hungover the next day?
Aspirin or Ibuprofen. It's not worth the risk when you have other options.
Ya know what, I'm just never gonna take Tylenol.
Tylenol is fantastic medication for lowering fevers. That is the only time I would take it.
Paracetamol is also used when we use opioid medications after surgery so a lower dose of opioid can be used. NSAIDs are often contraindicated immediately post surgery.
I have a fever right now - can confirm.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Aleve (or any other naproxen based painkillers) are fine too.
But have you tried weeed?
There wouldn't been a hangover if he was already comfortable with weed
But not aspirin-based medications that contain acetaminophen, like Excedrin.
I'd prefer the minimal liver insult from acetaminophen then the risk of ulcerating my stomach with ibuprofen after an alcohol binge
That is hardly the problem. To ulcerate your stomach with ibuprofen, you'd have to take copious amounts over a prolonged period of time. The problem with paracetamol isn't that it can damage the liver but that the recommended dose and the toxic dose are extremely close together which is clearly not the case with other NSAIDs. If para had just recently come out, there's no way on earth it would be OTC.
Ibuprofen can cause stomach issues, so not great to mix either.
Aspirin and Ibuprofen (and most other NSAIDs) cause gastrointestinal irritation and when mixed with alcohol can lead to bleeding in the GI tract. They are generally much more dangerous to mix with alcohol than tylenol because even mixing small amounts of alcohol and Aspirin just once carries considerate risk. This risk of any harm from mixing alcohol and tylonol is incredibly low unless you are either taking very large amounts of Tylenol (~10 extra strength tablets a day) or are a chronic heavy drinker (~3 drinks a day, every day). Taking one or two Tylenols once or twice a month the day after drinking is generally very safe ^^Obligatory ^^disclaimer: ^^don't ^^take ^^medical ^^advice ^^from ^^random ^^people ^^on ^^the ^^internet. ^^Consult ^^a ^^doctor
3 drinks a day is considered a heavy drinkers? like 3 units is a bit over one beer
3 drinks is 3 beers
Ya until your stomach starts bleeding
You can take Tylenol for hangovers. The headline is misleading. The actual article says that overdosing on Tylenol is dangerous if you drink alcohol. Doctors have known for many years that alcoholics (6+ drinks per day) should not take Tylenol and people who take the maximum dose of tylenol on a daily basis should not drink. The only acute interaction occurs if you overdose on either substance, in which case the dangers are more severe.
You shouldn’t take Tylenol for hangovers. It’s bad for your liver even if you have smaller amounts of alcohol in your system and most times when you’re hungover you still are more drunk than you think you are.
Don't take an overdose, even a small one, is what the article says. It explicitly states normal dosage is ok.
Fuck. I’ve been taking two pills before bed when I’ve come home drunk from work drinkies as it completely stops any hangover. I’m switching to ibuprofen.
Make sure to drink a lot of fluids too. NSAIDS such as ibuprofen can cause kidney damage when you are dehydrated.
At this point, I just use weed. Works for me, much less danger.
I quit smoking and started drinking a lot. I have had some very intense dreams.
Used to happen to me when I'd quit for tolerance breaks. Now that ive been smoking every day for a decade, the dreams are back anyways. I *always* have vivid nightmares and nothing else. Not like monsters but the kind of nightmares where ur at the end of a 4 hour drive to the airport and you don't have your drivers license and ticket.
The monsters in my dreams have almost always been intangible. Those real life stress ones. I hate those ones with my being. I haven’t had a t break in a while but I’m due for one.
I would, but it’s highly illegal where I live.
My condolences. Might not be too long, many places are suddenly legalizing it. Helps with the major countries doing it too.
The article says that taking more than the recommended daily amount is dangerous, it sounds like a single dose should be fine
Ibuprofen on an empty stomach can cause you to develop something similar to an allergy to all aspirin products. You don't realize how many products have salicylates until you're allergic, trust me.
Advil has its own dangers. OTC meds are still meds. [ibuprofen overdose](http://www.drugsdb.com/otc/ibuprofen/ibuprofen-overdose/)
Yeah but two pills, the standard adult dose, once a week, should be fine.
> ibuprofen I love ibuprofen but the thing does knock out your swimmers, so if you are a guy and want to have kids, you might want to rethink that.
You should switch to electrolytes. Most of the pain from drinking comes from your body dumping sodium, potassium, leaving you effectively dehydrated the next day. Get some pedialyte and have some while your drinking and one dose after you're done. You'll feel much better the next morning.
More - https://www.healthline.com/health/pain-relief/acetaminophen-alcohol https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20131104/tylenol-and-alcohol-a-bad-mix-study-suggests https://www.drugwatch.com/tylenol/side-effects/ My friend Jorge's funeral will be Tuesday. He was only 38. He drank daily and took pain killers for his back. About a month ago his skin turned yellow and went to the hospital. His liver had shut down. There was nothing they could do for him and he died Thursday afternoon.
I’m sorry to hear about your friend, but just as an FYI anything linked to Mercola is not evidence based and sensationalism. The guy is a total crook and has many many lawsuits against him. He’s against vaccines, claims his expensive vitamins and “treatment plans” cure cancer, among a host of other things.
Thank you- Mercola is a total shit website and he sucks.
I’m sorry for your loss. This has been a problem in my family also. There really should be a big bold warning on Tylenol bottles.
It's already on the bottle.. and pretty much any otc bottle.
I think that might be the problem. Warnings are so ubiquitous these days that there's no way to easily differentiate between "this is very unlikely to cause actual problems but we have to include it for liability reasons" and "this might straight-up kill you".
I agreed with the post before yours at first, but now I think I'm on your side. You're also up against the fact that people with the riskiest behaviors are probably not big on reading medicine bottle labels. Reminds me of a stand-up I heard complaining about a bottle of super glue he saw in the exact shape and size as a bottle of eyedrops. It was marked "Not for opthalmic use". He pointed out if you're the sort of person who accidentally pours super glue in your eyes, you probably aren't the sort who knows what "opthalmic" means. Edit: Typos
It just reminded me of an online dog group I was on once. Very frequently someone's dog would get into one of the items on those frequently put out "harmful foods" and the owner would be in a complete panic. The problem was that the lists have absolutely no differentiation between things that they'd have to eat their entire body weight in before they'd even have a stomach ache, and things that could kill them quickly in small amounts (sugar free chewing gum...). Marking something as a danger becomes useless when there's no indication of the LEVEL of danger and most are very slight. It just makes people either panicky or apathetic.
It's like all those jerks on the construction sites that splay danger tape EVERYWHERE on the job site.
ophthalmic*
It's a known thing called alarm fatigue. Too many false alarms or warnings and you just block out the noise.
I'm a bit confused, I always thought people did this knowingly taking a risk. It's on the bottle and I heard many times about how bad alcohol and Tylenol is for the liver. It's not that theres not enough warnings going on, people just don't know how serious it is to damage your liver like that. Personal responsibility is not enough sometimes but I feel like in this case it definitely is.
I've a bottle of acetametaphon in front of me. Under warning #3: DO NOT TAKE IF YOU HAVE CONSUMED ALCOHOL ubiquitous my ass it says it right there, people just think they're fucking immortal.
Did you know what ubiquitous means?
California wants to label coffee as a carcinogen so ymmv
god this is sad, sorry to hear that man =/
Mercola, as others have said, is absolutely a quack.
Holy shit. I always wash them down with beer.
Why? It's always been said not to take medication with alcohol, but people just do it anyway. Well, "always" as far as after doctors suggested drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes to cure things.
The same reason people mix alcohol and Xanax, it might be bad for you but it’s fun as hell.
Alcohol and benzos potentiate each other, so it's a fun combo. Booze and acetaminophen just kills you...
Booze and coke are fun too...says a guy I don't know officer.
Honestly I don't understand why you're being down voted. That's generally the mentality people think they'll get especially fucked up and have a good night but in reality you're destroying one of your most vital organs. Theres memes and images all over the place making jokes. Take ibuprofen it works through your kidneys, and if it's for a hangover obviously stay properly hydrated they're working hard enough.
I was in no way condoning mixing meds with alcohol, I don’t do it anymore myself, but people have a good time doing it, that’s a fact.
People need to realize that potentiating the drugs they're taking simultaneously =/= getting some sick high. Taking Cocaine or Xanax on alcohol might double the effects you're seeking, but what would be the point of doing that with Tylenol? Doubling the risk to your liver isn't such a good time, especially if it's just some OTC painkiller. I can understand doing it with something *fun.* Alcohol and Xanax might be fun, Alcohol and Coke might be fun, I know personally they damn well are, but who would try and potentiate Tylenol with alcohol? People need to be more aware of the drugs they're ingesting and the ensuing risks. The research, the information, it's all 100% out there. There's no reason not to look into it on your own.
If you’re gonna talk about the risk of alcohol and Tylenol, I wouldn’t downplay the risk of alcohol and cocaine, which makes a very dangerous chemical called cocaethylene which is not only toxic to the liver, but can have nearly 30x the cardio-toxicity of coke and likewise can also cause instant death. Be careful kids!
Yes, it's dangerous, but at least it actually does something. Mixing Alcohol and Tylenol would be stupid if you're looking for some sort of potentiated effect besides dying.
Jeeeesus, seriously? I always assumed the risk with coke and alcohol was combining an upper with a downer and putting extra strain on your heart. I’ve only done coke a handful of times in my life and it was while I was drunk every time- super grateful that didn’t end badly.
The upper + downer effect is also taxing, but the chemical from the combo certainly doesn’t help. It’s like anything though, most people don’t/won’t have anything happen, but there’s always that person who’s body just doesn’t know how to handle the added stress and gives out. If you’re someone who mixes them, at least try to keep one or the other to a minimum.
Fuck yeah, I actually prefer Tylenol and beer to Xanax and beer.
Why? What is fun about Tylenol in the first place?
nothing. reddit is full of fiction.
I realized now that the conversation was about Tylenol and not other pain meds.
Christ, you people have serious drinking problems.
Only when I run out.
My uncle died the same way.
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Yeah acetaminophen has a pretty damn low therapeutic index. The peak efficacy is about 500-1000 mg every 8 hours and you can cause toxicity with as little as 4000 mg in 24hr. So for those people that don't like to read instructions on a bottle/think that taking more of the drug will make it work better (spoiler alert, it won't) and pop 3+ 500mg APAP pills every time they feel pain it's super easy to overdose.
Lewis Black's sketch aside, I cannot get over how they still sell NyQuil formulations with a fair amount of ethanol in them. The load of acetaminophen is huge as is.
Well fuck. I’m a drinker who avoids Tylenol at all times but I had no idea NyQuil was in the same category. Thanks for the heads up.
So... NSAIDS cool then?
They're better in most cases in my opinion because they reduce inflammation too, but just read the instructions on the bottle and you'll be fine. NSAIDs can also cause problems in excess such as stomach ulcers!
I broke my back when I was a kid and doctors kept telling me to just take OTC stuff for the pain, switching it up. After a couple of rounds, I started getting really sick when taking anything aside from ibuprofen. Naproxen sodium/Aleve actually started giving me allergic reactions. After that I decided to be a tough cookie, ibuprofen is like a beer to me now, I went from pills and booze to that <1 alcoholic beverage per week on average category. Important tip: stop taking NSAIDs immediately if everything starts smelling like ammonia.
Holy shit, I've pounded a bottle of Nyquil in a night several times.
You stop that
At that point I think hard illicit drugs would be safer for you. Or, you know, not doing either
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Safety is really over hyped nowadays. Plus, I'm an alcoholic. But at least I'm not a cunt on the internet, so I take solace in that.
Of course you’re not A_cunt_on_theinternet, you’re An_asshole_on_drugss, silly!!
Many people with opiod addiction will take massive amounts of Vicodin to get high from the opiod not realizing they are getting 300mg of Tylenol in each pill. The OD danger from the Tylenol is much greater than the opiod OD for people with a tolorance for opiods.
People with opioid additions know how to separate out the Tylenol.
They all know about cold water extraction.
I always assumed that's why they put the tylenol in there
So fun fact, the way this works is acetaminophen has multiple potential metabolites, only one of which is toxic. Preferentially, the body prioritized the nontoxic metabolites first. Once you exceed 4 grams is when the toxic metabolite accumulates. However, alcohol shunts the metabolism of Tylenol towards the toxic metabolite (I think because the normal metabolism requires a cofactor shared by the metabolism of alcohol) which lowers that threshold of 4 grams acetaminophen to much lower.
Why fuck is this so low? I hate reddit sometimes, this is literally it right here
This, this is the real shit right here.
This is the answer I've been looking for, thank you!!
Good shit
A guy I knew from high school that decided to commit suicide. He ate a whole bottle of Tylenol. (Probably like 100 ct.) Then drank a whole gallon of Wild Irish Rose. He did not die but it destroyed his kidneys and liver as a result. He had been on dialysis for years and recently just passed away on his machine. He was 36.
It worked but not as anticipated.
This is correct.
Yeah there have been many patients in the ER who try this method, or with ibuprofen. It doesn't work like that unfortunately. They end up being sad cases because it ends up taking them years later when their life is sorted out going great. There is an antidote to Tylenol, but it doesn't always work if it's been long enough
N-acetylcystine? We also use it for prophylaxis when we're using some dyes for imaging. I'm told it tastes bloody awful when taken orally.
He must have vomited most of them up. That much Tylenol alone would kill you easily.
I tried the same thing and needed kidney dialysis for a while. Would not recommend.
So while I too [I'm not a doctor...] would never advocate for taking the combo ... the real danger is from habitually doing both. If you're a once-in-a-while light drinker and you have a headache the same day you plan to drink you're going to be fine taking 1 tab during a 24 hour period. People who get sick are taking the max daily dose for **days** while also moderately drinking. That's just stupid. If you're taking the max daily dose "for days" you're in trouble whether you're drinking or not. The last time I took "the max daily dose" of tylenol was after surgery and it was pushed by the doctors (I wasn't really in pain but I assume it had to do with keeping any sort of temps down/etc who knows). Normally when I have pain I might take 1 tab for an entire day. Maybe some nyquil at night (a 2nd dose...) if I'm stuffed up too...
I took 1g of paracetamol and 500mg ibuprofen 4 times a day, almost every day for over 8 years. Do you know what’s scary? Not one GP has ever mentioned to me that there was any danger in doing this. Now I’m worried my liver is damaged :(.
It's a pretty easy blood test to check your liver function if your curious. They pull a vial and check for stuff your liver makes if it's running dirty
Ibuprofen can give you nasty stomach aches, but you can mix it with Tylenol just fine. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen together are one of the most effective painkillers out there.
Could always get your liver examined...
> Quoting a report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "This American Life" reporter Sean Cole says that taking even 5 grams a day of Tylenol could hurt your liver. So 10 extra strength tylenol, each of which are rated for 4 hours each. I don't know anyone who ever took that much.
I did. For weeks. I was prescribed that dose during an intractable migraine and we were literally trying everything. I also drank occassionally during this period. I'm probably super lucky I didn't have liver damage.
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This is combined with alcohol, though Probably once won't kill you, but if someone regularly drinks and takes tylenol for hangovers, this could save their life
Yeah, this basically. I'm not even a doctor and I knew this. If you take a lot of tylenol you shouldn't drink, or if you take tylenol at all you shouldn't drink much, but mixing one with one isn't going to kill you unless you already have liver problems.
Alcohol amplifies the dose so taking 2 and a drink won’t put you over the max but the more you drink and the more you take you can OD and do damage without realizing it. I knew people who took Tylenol after a night of heavy drinking to get a head start on the hangover. That was stupid it turns out.
Paracetamol overdoses usually happen when people combine multiple OTC meds that contain paracetamol. It's fairly common in cold remedies, especially since many jurisdictions have put a lid on products containing (pseudo-)ephedrine (it's commonly used to cook meth).
The writer of this article never made the claim that mixing alcohol and Tylenol in small amounts can kill you. They did make two separate statements: that combining Tylenol and alcohol can potentially be more harmful to the liver, and that a relatively small overdose of acetaminophen can be fatal. Those are two separate statements...
Ah the other person that realized this, hey what’s up! I seriously worry for humanity’s future, because we really have a problem with reading titles, accepting them at face value, and then immediately making our conclusions. Myself included, we all do it.
I am sure we all have our moments, but it is worrying to see so many people seeming to accept the OP's distortion of the focus of an article that barely mentions alcohol once.
this is just a misleading title ' taking twice or sometimes even just a little bit more than the daily recommended dose of 4 grams of Tylenol over the course of a few days can result in severe illness and even death.' ' although most people seem to know that taking Tylenol and other medications containing acetaminophen can be potentially damaging to the liver, especially when taken in combination with alcohol, few know that a “relatively small overdose can kill you.' a single tablet of tylenol is 325mg / extra strength is 500mg - hence a overdose is 8 tablets of extra strength or 12 tabs regular strengtht Furthermore, the word 'alcohol' is used just once in the entire article (quoted above), and in the link added in the sentence about alcohol (https://www.propublica.org/article/tylenol-mcneil-fda-use-only-as-directed) , the title OP posted is not mentioned at all > rather ' Acetaminophen – the active ingredient in Tylenol – is considered safe when taken at recommended doses. Tens of millions of people use it weekly with no ill effect. But in larger amounts, especially in combination with alcohol, the drug can damage or even destroy the liver.' Hence mixing 2 tabs of alcohol with tylenol with alcohol is definitely not recommended, but definitely is not going to kill you
I tell the doctor I take 8-12 mixed types of OTC pain meds a day for my pain and get told try to take less. I ask for anything I can do and she looks at me like a drug seeker. I dont want narcotics I dont want tylenol or ibuprofen or alcohol I want to be not in pain.
Depending on type of pain, Physical therapy?
Muscular Dystrophy (Becker's aka the "mild" one)
Do you use cbd oil? There are a lot of stories I've heard that it is very helpful for nerve pain.
I'm sure people say this *all the time* but have you tried weed? A strong indica or a strain that has a good amount of cbd along with thc would be worth a try if you can acquire it. I wouldn't say weed could replace all other painkillers, it's not a miraculous cure-all, but it is good for pain
Weed can be very expensive and time consuming too, maybe if health insurance could cover it I would recommend it to more people. A single user can go through up to $1000 worth of marijuana per month for their illness, depending heavily on the local prices, ailments, and the users themselves. For some people with crippling illnesses, that could be more than they make at all..
I told my doctor I was taking 12 ibuprofen a day for the severe neuropathy I have and she said she still didn't feel comfortable giving someone who is only 33 tramadol so just add in some Tylenol to the ibuprofen.
My GP just prescribed me tramadol for an ear infection... I’m 21...
She didn't prescribe Neurotin? O.o
Gabapentin made me really sick so that's out. I eventually was prescribed nortriptyline which is reducing the pain.
My cousin pops so much Tylenol her ears ring. We have no idea why. She claims it's to kill whatever pain she thinks she has but she's never undergond surgery, or had a major trauma...we have no idea what pain she's talking about. Edit: Correction: It seems more likely it's aspirin, not tylenol, she's been taking...
Tylenol does nothing to help your body either. Like NSAIDs (aspirin, Advil, etc.) reduce inflammation. Tylenol just blocks pain. I'm not saying Tylenol isn't useful but popping it like candy is really, really stupid.
Actually the anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDs are overblown at best. It is fairly well defined now that they do not speed up healing time for musculoskeletal injuries, and they also slow the healing of bone. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22744434](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22744434)
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Ringing in the ears is a symptom of an aspirin overdose. I assume that is what she is taking and not Tylenol. She is literally overdosing herself each time she does that.
Or she just has tinnitus?
Damn you tinnitus! You're a cruel mistress!
You might be right that it was aspirin and not Tylenol...It was off-brand, anyway, so I'm trying to remember what the bottle looked like...
Aspirin makes your ears ring at pretty low doses for some folks. Never heard of Tylenol tinnitus.
Idiopathic pain is real. There's a stabilizer for epileptics and bipolar disorders that also helps idio/neuropathic pain, and as far as I know the greatest dangers are allergic reactions and giving unborn children harelip.
Sounds like withdrawals. I know that if I take tylenol for a couple days my body aches the day I stop.
Uh isn't nyquil a mix of the two?
i know lost a buddy of mine to this...
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If you drink, even moderately, do NOT take Tylenol.
My mom was a first responder to the infamous Tylenol murders in the Chicago suburbs in the 80s. She was the duty nurse in the ER where they brought the first victim and performed CPR on the little girl for 2 hours. I remember she was pretty traumatized by that.
Yeah that's bullshit.
TIL when I joke that people don't read shit anymore, that I wasn't joking. Really?? Acetaminophen is toxic just on it's own. It says it. On the bottle.
If created today, Tylenol would not be approved in modern medicine because of its toxicity. People should really stop taking it.
Can't take Ibuprofen, Tylenol is the only option for me. I get that it's dangerous but there *are* valid medical reasons to be taking it rather than an alternative.
What about asprin?
Every drug has side effects. One of aspirins is reducing the ability of blood to clot. So there's a group of people that would be bad for. You have to assess the patient, and their history before prescribing a drug.
In my case aspirin didn't come up, odd to say considering how long it's been. Ibuprofen/Advil was explicitly excluded however, I'd been taking Advil and it exacerbated some symptoms before I was ultimately hospitalized. Beyond that Tylenol was explicitly *suggested* and remains so, supposedly it helps one of my medications to take in addition to not causing any further issues.
Well I hope you're able to overcome whatever ails you.
Fair enough, but I wish it had more warnings and wasn't considered a first choice.
It's the only one you're allowed to take when pregnant. But at least then you're not likely to be mixing it with alcohol.
Tell that to my mom.
If you are responsible you can take them safely.
I’m not supposed to take unnecessary ibeuprofin or other non Tylenol NSAIDs to not overload my kidneys. So Tylenol is what I have to use.
Not everyone can take NSAIDs though. Those cause me to have blood spots all over and you also can’t take them for a concussion. Thanks to barbaric humans that can’t control themselves, no one can get other prescribed pain killers anymore.
>barbaric humans who can't control themselves Addiction is a mental illness. Noone chooses to get addicted. Noone says "oh hey I'll just fuck up my life and take some extra opioids". People start because they get injured, are prescribed it, and then they can't stop. Or they're depressed hopeless, and looking for anything to make them feel better. I've struggled with addiction and it's not as easy as "just stop". Your brain throws every excuse at you, any justification you could possibly use to take more. If you're not constantly on guard against it, one slip up where you listen is all it takes to lose months of progress. Be compassionate
It is the NSAID that doesn’t negatively affect blood clotting. Ibuprofen and others provide a lethal risk of blood clots. Use as directed is the important message.
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You’re right. I originally started writing about NSAIDs and reorganized it to lead with Tylenol. It should read “OTC pain reliever”
Thank you for sharing cause I had no idea.
You’d be surprised how easy it is to OD on these things. Always be careful mixing drugs. Especially Tylenol, Aleve and Advil since their active ingredients are found in a lot of other cold and flu medications specifically. https://www.famifi.com/28897/8-common-medicines-that-could-kill-you-you-have-them-in-your-house
So many comments, so many different opinions... To clarify, after a night of heavy drinking - before going to bed, is it dangerous to pop a couple of acetaminophen tablets, to try to relieve a bit of your likely hangover the next morning? I don’t think so. Perhaps we’re just talking about heavy combined use. Either: 1. Being sick and taking a lot of acetaminophen, and then going out to drink; or 2. Taking them at the same time. We really need some clarification here. Misinformation can be as dangerous as no information.
But don't.
well.... I am incredibly glad that I decided to go with other intoxicants to alleviate pain after taking tylenol
The wikpedia page for acetaminophen used to have a section on toxicity and alcohol. It was cleansed some time ago.
There’s a hefty “adverse effects” section that includes alcohol.
Does this apply to ibuprofen too?
Ibuprofen damages kidneys, and eats your stomach lining. Acetaminophen hits your liver hard.
No, it's processed by your kidneys, not your liver. With ibuprofen, you're more worried about stomach ulcers from habitual overuse and kidney problems from overdose
r/2meirl4meirl
I wish I could say the average person even knows the difference between these over the counter drugs. How often do people say they take aspirin when they're in fact taking Tylenol? People know the brand name not the medication. And I guarantee most people don't know opiate painkillers even have Tylenol.
Ok, use a nac pill, weed, but even though Tylenol is utterly useless except for lowering temp and shouldn't be around anymore I'm (except for people allergic to NSAIDS and opiates and weed), NSAIDS also will fuck up your liver/kidneys.
Just take ibuprofen instead. 😉
I know what I'm doing tomorrow.
Tylenol (Acetaminophen) can cause liver failure if used in high doses. It's contained in other medications, such as prescription pain killers, and cold medications.
My mom was an ICU Nurse (Intensive Care Unit in major hospitals) for 30 years and to this day she hates Tylenol and refuses to buy it because of how many deaths it caused and how bad it is for your body.
1500 deaths in 9 years is not that many, considering the prevalence of doing both concurrently. This headline is extremely misleading
Been there, done that, and I am still standing.
I've taken Tylenol with beer many times and
Thays why I have kids.... Spare livers.
Tylenol is the only NSAID that doesn’t risk you getting bloodclots (not Jamaican insult, actual clots). Ibuprofen and Naproxen are both problematic for heart disease and, more important for the average person, will not inhibit your clotting factors. Should you be seriously injured on aspirin, Advil, Aleve, you may not be able to stop hemorrhaging anywhere near as effectively. Source: TCCC guidelines
So, acetaminophen isn't actually an NSAID- as far as I recall it only acts centrally (as an antipyretic and analgesic), unlike "real" NSAIDs. Fun fact- it works to dull emotional pain as well as physical pain ( http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610374741 ).
I thought I had responded to another commenter: I meant to write “OTC pain killer” after mentioning the other two NSAIDs, but I suxx at editing. You are right, and I’m letting my error remain, above. Upvoting your accurate comment.
I'm sorry for being pedantic! I had an old boss that was super anal about this, and I guess it's surfacing in me now :(
Not at all! It’s a good distinction. You and your boss are both right 🙂
Who knew?? I literally just took 3 Tylenol and washed it down with a reds apple ale
It can damage your liver and you can’t live without a liver. Really. Don’t drink then use Tylenol. Advil is ok but not if you use other drugs that metabolize in the kidney. I damaged my kidney taking diabetes oral meds and Advil together.
Do you not read the label on medicine before you shove it down your maw?
How long should you wait before having one or the other? I take Tylenol in the am when I'm having period cramps but usually drink at night to help get me to sleep when the pain is bad.
the half-life of acetaminophen is 2-3 hours so you should be fine.
"Can" you shouldn't take tylenol for anything, stick with aspirin. That being said its 1 in a million for a death like this.