A Little Knowledge...
Sat., July 4, 12:19 PM
This is not the best morning for a headache. If I am to take the weekly Fosamax, I cannot eat or drink anything else for at least half an hour. The choices are either to postpone the Fosamax until tomorrow or to endure the headache… This is the time when I really would appreciate the Head On® — if I could just remember where I left it.
I waited the half hour, then had some coffee and breakfast before I took my acetaminophen. It begins to work within twenty minutes. I may not have the best of days, but the pain will subside. I should be able to rant properly at this important news item. Y’know, you can find opposite opinions about almost any subject. In the his column in yesterday’s newspaper (not on line), Dr. Gott quoted two references to a reader’s question; one said that estrogens prevent Alzheimer’s and the other said they seem to increase it. The first thing I always want to know is, who sponsored this research?
As I read this particular item on Tylenol®/acetaminophen, I wonder whether it was Bayer or Novartis, or some other competitor of Tylenol® who is behind this. Mr. “I’m not a doctor but I play one on television” comes out in his white coat and explains why his product is better… The science almost sounds accurate. I am always offended.
I am well aware that aspirin is the most effective over-the-counter pain reliever. However, I am also aware that I have become sensitized to it, and it makes me sneeze. (Four hours of sneezing!) Ibuprofin has the same effect, and at that point the doctor told me not even to try naproxen. I don’t exactly have a choice. Every medication has some sort of side effect, and I just had to learn more about using acetaminophen.
The role of the liver in the body is to remove impurities from the blood. The breakdown of some drugs put more of a strain on the liver than others. (So does drinking alcohol, but I don’t see many people giving up booze just for that!) The first thing to read is the instructions on the package.
They say “may be repeated in four hours,” but they also say “do not take more than four doses in 24 hours.” For me, one dose is usually enough, but suppose I am running a fever or have an injury that causes persistent pain. Well, then, I take it every six hours. Surprise, surprise — it still eases the pain. Six hours gives one’s body longer to recuperate. Incidentally, my doctor orders a “liver panel” with every blood test because I take other medications with side effects. I am fine, thank you.
Do you need 1,000mg at one time? Maybe. I certainly would not take more than that. However, if the 1,000 size were not available, I would do what I did in the past; I took three 325mg. In any case, if I felt that 1,000mg was not effective enough — and believe me, I do not have a high pain threshold — I would speak to my doctor about a prescription for acetaminophen with codeine. That, by the way, is available over the counter in Mexico and Canada.
Among the things that make me angry is being told what to do, on the assumption that I can’t think for myself. You don’t need a doctorate to understand this stuff!
