What the Label Really Means, or Rough Weather Ahead

[dr_pretentious]

"If condition persists, consult your doctor." Straightforward, right? No, not so much. Apparently, if you follow the dosing instructions on a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol for any prolonged period of time--like, say, three months--you can tox out your liver. Apparently, the doctors who told me that tylenol would do just fine, now that I can't take ibuprofen or any of its NSAID cousins, never considered the possibility that I'd try the extra-strength tylenol. Considering that most people with the chronic pain diagnosis I have take opiates as daily maintenance drugs, I don't know why it didn't occur to them that I'd choose the stronger over-the-counter version over the weaker one. As far as I knew, I had consulted my doctor.

So now, until the bloodwork says my liver is happy, no more painkillers for little me. At all.

Maybe the lab will have something nice to say about my blood, and I'll be in the clear.

Just in case, though, I figured I'd give y'all a heads-up. I may be less useful than usual for a little while. As I discovered back in November, asking for help isn't the end of the world. (Who knew?) It's possible I might have to do that again.

Comments

[jeneralist.livejournal.com]

Hey, friend.

Thanks for the heads-up. Now listen: you are allowed to take care of yourself. You are encouraged to rest when you need to, to sit when you want to, to nap if a warm bed presents itself.

And as for the "less useful than usual" stuff: c'mon, when you think of why you're friends with someone, is utility high on the list?

NB: This was jeneralist-the-friend. If you want medical information from jeneralist-the-doctor, I'll change mental hats and LJ icons. Just let me know.

[reynaud.livejournal.com]

Does jeneralist-the-doctor's icon wear a different hat, too?

[jeneralist.livejournal.com]

Only in the OR.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

No, utility's not high on the list. But we're a community, too. We look out for each other, undertake projects together, etc. I figure, Cat needs to know the FSG main ritual liturgy got temporarily knocked down my list of priorities by a couple of slots. That kind of thing.

As you might guess from the fact that I'm back online, making the case for my codependency, I'm feeling a lot better than I was when Dan called you. Thank you! The tea did the trick.