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

milk thistle

[tracyandrook.livejournal.com]

Here's a traditional remedy for toxic hepatitis. Again, I don't want to steer you wrong, jeneralist has an herbal desk reference. Maybe give her a call.


Francine Rainone. American Family Physician. Kansas City: Oct 1, 2005.Vol.72, Iss. 7; pg. 1285, 4 pgs

Headnote]
Milk thistle has been used as a cytoprotectant for the treatment of liver disease, for the treatment and prevention of cancer, and as a supportive treatment of Amanita phalloides poisoning. Clinical studies are largely heterogeneous and contradictory. Aside from mild gastrointestinal distress and allergic reactions, side effects are rare, and serious toxicity rarely has been reported. In an oral form standardized to contain 70 to 80 percent silymarin, milk thistle appears to be safe for up to 41 months of use. Significant drug reactions have not been reported. Clinical studies in oncology and infectious disease that are under way will help determine the efficacy and effectiveness of milk thistle. (Am Fam Physician 2005;72:1285-8. Copyright © 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians.)


Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) was used in classical Greece to treat liver and gallbladder diseases and to protect the liver against toxins. It recently has been investigated for use as a cytoprotectant, an anticarcinogen, and a supportive treatment for liver damage from Amanita phalloides poisoning. Its active ingredient is silymarin, found primarily in the seeds. Silymarin undergoes enterohepatic recirculation, which results in higher concentrations in liver cells than in serum.1 It is made up of components called flavonolignans, the most common being silybin.2

This article was a literature review. It has recommendations for physicians but this is a pdf picture that I cannot attach. I will try to stick it in the Yahoo group files as with other things I can find.