Tylenol's new ad campaign...

"When you get headaches, the frist thing you want is for the pain to go away.

But the last thing you want is stomach damage."


No, McNeil Pharmaceuticals, the last thing I want is liver damage.

Don't use Tylenol.

Painkillers and Liver Damage


Over-the-counter pain medication can be such a blessing when we’re not feeling great. It’s so easy to just take a pill and feel a whole lot better. But, medicine that’s easy to get and easy to take can also have an unexpected effect on our liver.


Nurse “Are you in any pain at all today?”
Beverlee Norene “No, not today.”


A YEAR AGO, BEVERLEE NORENE WAS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM AT UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER. SHE WAS IN A COMA, AND SHE WAS DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO DEATH.

Dr. John McVicar/Liver Transplant Surgeon

“When Beverlee Norene came into the hospital we weren’t quite sure exactly what was wrong with her although we did eventually find out that she probably took too much Tylenol.”

Norene “I was taking Tylenol cold medicine, Tylenol to sleep, Tylenol for headaches. We just don't realize that what’s in our medicine chest could kill us.”


OVER-THE-COUNTER PAIN MEDICATION WAS A BIG PART OF THE PROBLEM. BEVERLEE’S LIVER HAD BEEN DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR. SHE EVENTUALLY HAD A LIVER TRANSPLANT TO SAVE HER LIFE.

Dr. McVicar “There was almost no liver function left at all.”
Dr. McVicar “Does it hurt when I push on it?”
Norene “No.”


BEVERLEE’S CASE IS EXTREME. BUT LIVER DAMAGE BECAUSE OF OVER-THECOUNTER PAIN MEDICINE IS NOT UNCOMMON.


Dr. Neville Pimstone/Gastroenterologist “Fifteen to 30 percent of Americans use pain tablets for chronic pain syndromes, the common ones being rheumatological conditions, headaches, back pain.”

TYLENOL IS A TRADE NAME FOR A CHEMICAL COMPOUND CALLED ACETAMINOPHEN. ACETAMINOPHEN IS IN A LOT OF OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICINES: COLD AND FLU MEDICINES, SLEEP PREPARATIONS, HEADACHE REMEDIES AND MORE. NOW TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PICTURE BETTER,
THINK OF YOUR LIVER AS A GIANT DETOX CENTER.


Dr. Pimstone “Its main function is to take in all the nutrients, all the things that we’re exposed to in
the environment and to either use it for good purpose or to detoxify it to render it
harmless.”


THE LIVER GENERALLY DOES A GREAT JOB, BUT TOO MUCH ACETAMINOPHEN CAN OVERWHELM THIS PROCESSING CENTER.


Dr. Pimstone “Let’s say a person in extreme pain takes eight or 10 extra-strength Tylenol a day… that’s 5 grams a day. That could be enough to overwhelm the liver’s defense mechanism.”


AND IF YOU ADD ALCOHOL, EVEN A SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE ONE OR TWO GLASSES OF WINE A DAY, YOU NEED ONLY FOUR EXTRA-STRENGTH TYLENOL OR ACETOMINOPHEN TABLETS A DAY TO CAUSE LIVER DAMAGE.
WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE? WELL, THE LIVER DEVELOPS FIBROUS TISSUE WHICH CAN DEVELOP THEN INTO SCAR TISSUE. AND THE SCAR TISSUE CAN
LEAD TO CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER.


Dr. Pimstone “A person may have cirrhosis of the liver for 10 or 15 years before there’s a danger of liver failure or liver cancer developing, so it’s a silent killer.”


THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT ONLY A FRACTION OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TREATING CHRONIC PAIN WITH TOO MUCH ACETAMINOPHEN WILL ACTUALLY GET INTO TROUBLE. EVEN WITH THE ADDITION OF ALCOHOL, THE CHANCES OF GOING INTO COMPLETE LIVER FAILURE ARE SMALL. IN BEVERLEE’S CASE, DOCTORS THINK A SERIOUS VIRUS MAY HAVE COMPROMISED HER LIVER, WHICH THEY BELIEVE WAS ALREADY STRESSED BY THE TYLENOL. SHE WAS SO SICK THAT SHE HAS NO MEMORY OF THE DAYS BEFORE HER LIVER TRANSPLANT.



Dr. McVicar “Good result! I’m very pleased.”


SO HOW CAN YOU MAKE SURE YOU DON’T DAMAGE YOUR LIVER WITH PAINKILLERS? HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO KNOW:

THERE ARE THREE CATEGORIES OF OVER-THE-COUNTER PAIN MEDICATONS, WHICH CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE TROUBLE. THE FIRST IS ACETAMINOPHEN, AND A WELL-KNOWN BRAND NAME FOR IT IS TYLENOL.

THE SECOND CATEGORY IS ASPIRIN COMPOUNDS. TOO MUCH ASPIRIN CAN CAUSE A TYPE OF LIVER STRESS THAT IS QUICKLY REVERSIBLE. IN YOUNG CHILDREN, ASPIRIN CAN INTERACT WITH THE LIVER TO CAUSE REYE’S SYNDROME, WHICH IS A SERIOUS, POTENTIALLY DEADLY CONDITION. THE THIRD CATEGORY IS NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS, OTHERWISE CALLED NSAIDS. THESE ARE MEDICATIONS LIKE MOTRIN, ADVIL OR IBUPROFEN.


REMEMBER, MOST LIVER DAMAGE FROM OVER-THE-COUNTER PAIN KILLERS COMES FROM USING TOO MUCH.



Norene “Just because it’s over the counter doesn’t mean it’s healthy for you. People should read the ingredients over the counter and should know what is in them.”


Here’s some good news … doctors say the liver can actually heal itself if it gets a rest from drug and alcohol overload. And that period of regeneration and recovery can happen quickly – sometimes in just a week if serious damage hasn’t occurred.

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/pulse/scripts/00_01/painkillers_and_liver_damag.pdf

Tweet