Tylenol PM - good, bad?

[Nita07]

I am a little confused with some answers given concerning tylenol pm.  My story is:  I have been taking only 2-3 "generic" pills mostly every night for the past 6 years or so.  I've tried to get off of them but haven't been successful.  I had a ruptured disc in 2006 and have some nerve damage in my legs, ankles and feet.  Before the surgery I was only able to stand on my feet anywhere between 10 - 45 mintues at a time.  That is all I could handle.  It was extremeley painful.  I started taking the tylenol pm to ease the discomfort so that I could sleep and find to this day it still helps me the majortiy of the time.  My concern is that I also have acid reflux in which I take an OTC pill along with tylenol pm before I go to bed.  I find my stomach getting upset at times and awaken during the night and can't get back to sleep.  Not sure if this is from the acid in the stomach or the tylenol.  Sometimes I find the tylenol leaves me "dragging" the next day but I just can't seem to quit.  When I don't take anything I don't sleep at all and find it more bothersome than dealing with the fallout from taking such meds.  I would prefer to be off of everything entirely but am worried that I won't get the rest my body needs.  Also, can either of these meds cause you to gain weight?  It is hurting me to stay on this course and what other alternatives are out there?  I need my body and brain to function at its best.   Any advice will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[waterLilly7]

ahhh, I saw the "generic pills at night" and I thought generic narcotic. Now I am confused, Are the generics pills you are referring to a narcotic, and then you take the tylenol PM, or are they generic tylenol pm's?

hugs,
Lily

[ImDONENoMore]

Actually she didn't mention any narcotics.. am I missing something?

And I do think the Tylenol PM is messing with you - I can't take it as it makes me really jittery and anxious which is the last thing you want to feel to help you fall asleep!

Try something natural, like melatonin, and the OTC acid reflux med before bedtime and see how that works.  But bottom line, AND most importantly, get yourself checked out by a Dr. for the acid reflux.  They will be able to tell you the best way to treat that.

Good luck to you!

[waterLilly7]

it may ot be the tylenol, it may be the diphenhydramine in  the tylenol PM. I used to use diphenhydramine years ago when Iw as young to get to sleep, long before my narcotic days, and it worked great until one day when it started messing with me, made me jittery and messssed with my eye even.

My advise to you is to get off the narcotic now. Is that what you want to do. I just posted about a book that healed me of my pain, and it was just like yours, I even had the nerve in the leg involvement too, and it s GONE. and I am 37 days free of any narcotic.

Keep reading the forum and hopefully the stories will hit home with you and you will want to quit the narcotic now before it gets any worse,

GOod luck to you,
hugs,
Lily