Please, help me??????

Question

Hi,

I am wondering what to do in my case. I am 15 years old, and for the past 2 years I have been taking 2 extra strength tylenol, everyday. It's because I have chronic upper back pain, sciatic pain in my leg, and suffer from RSD(Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) . I had back surgery last September, and I am still in so much pain. I had it for a grade 5 spondylolisthesis. I am just afraid that I am going to cause some serious harm to my liver because all the pain medication I take daily. I don't want to stop because I would be in a lot of pain, and I mean a lot. I want to know how much damage I am causing, and if anyone has an suggestions I could do to help with my pain?

Thanks soo much for answering!=)

Answer 1

I have sciatica that I've had since I was 17. I have a mild case of scoliosis, a herniated and torn disc in my lower back, 4 buldging discs in my neck, and degenerative disc disease. My left foot is always numb too. Anyhow, I am 33 have a very healthy liver and am on two different types of arthritis medicines that are very similar to tylenol, plus about 2500 milligrams of tylenol. You can take up to 4000 milligrams of tylenol a day without hurting yourself. This I learned through my pharmacist. I am sure taking only 1000 milligrams of tylenol will not even begin to hurt you- even if you take that amount for the rest of your life. Tylenol isn't really a pain medication. I hope that you never have to use a real pain med. Then you truly will have a dilemma on your hands like I do.

Answer 2

Even though Tylenol most likely does not cause serious liver damage in recommended doses, it can cause elevations of liver enzymes in the blood suggesting injury to the liver. In a study of 145 healthy subjects who were randomized to receive placebo or 4 grams of Tylenol daily for two weeks, subjects in the placebo group experienced no elevations of ALT, a liver enzyme, but 33%-44% of the subjects in the Tylenol group had ALT elevations greater than three times the upper limits of normal. The highest ALT elevation was greater than 500 which is approximately 10 times the upper limit of normal. All enzyme elevations returned to normal after stopping Tylenol. Thus, recommended doses of Tylenol given to healthy subjects for two weeks can cause mild to moderate reversible liver injury. Tylenol, like all other medications should be used cautiously under a doctor's supervision with monitoring of liver enzyme levels.





  

  

Answer 3

ask ur doc to pescribe you marijuana