Over the counter meds?

[WOG1964]

Good Morning,

I have another question for you all :) What would one consider over the counter meds? I am currently taking Motrin for neck pain. Suffer from this due to physical abuse many years ago.

(HectorSF advised on one of my post, Thank God, because i wouldn't of known)
Obviously no more alcohol or any other drugs (even over the counter meds) without approval of your liver specialist before taking them.

Anyway, i am a little confused because I stopped taking Tylenol years ago because it came out that it damages your stomach and liver. I already knew that I had hep c so I take aleve or advil when the pain would flares up. I just had an upper GI and results stated (ulcer and that the lining of my stomach was a little tore up) I mentioned the use of Tylenol to Dr. bcuz of my neck. I informed him that I take advil or aleve for the pain. He told me to stop taking it and to take Tylenol for the pain and handed me a list with suggested meds. (which did not have Tylenol on it) I called the office and questioned it and she put me on hold and went to make sure because she noticed on my chart that I had liver problems not to mention the ulcer and stomach. She comes back on the phone and said, "Dr. says to take Tylenol" HELLO! My daughter takes list to pharmacy and kind of gives the pharmacist a quick run down and pharmacist says NO TYLENOL!

Would these be considered over the counter meds? Sorry, maybe stupid question but all of this a little overwhelming.

DECLARE YOUR VICTORY TODAY!

  

[Dee1956]

It is very confusing isn't it? I was told when I treated I could take up to 2000mg per day of tylenol as needed.
When it didn't work I was told that I could take advil.  Of course they would prefer you to take nothing but there are times you need something.
Good luck through the maze of information :)

[pooh55811]

First, "Over the Counter" refers to any and all medications that are not prescription medications. So any medication that you can go in and buy without a prescription is considered an over the counter medication. This would include every single med lined up on the shelves ..... pain killers, cough meds, diarrhea meds, nausea meds, stomach meds, anti-itching meds, everything.

If I recall correctly, you have cirrhosis, so you really do have to be careful not to take anything that the doctor does not approve first.

All NSAIDS of which Motrin is one, are very hard on the gastric system and can cause ulcers. NSAIDS also affect the liver.

The information about Tylenol is confusing. You always hear, "do not take it because it is hard on the liver." However, Tylenol is the one medication that cirrhotics can take, usually up to 2000 mg a day (in divided doses) as long as your doctor says it is okay.

You should clear any over the counter medication with your doctor before taking it. Also, keep in mind that many over the counter medications contain Tylenol so that people often accidentally take much more Tylenol than they realize. Always read the labels and know the various names for Tylenol.

[Idyllic]

There are some enlightening threads on here related to pain relief & cirrhosis
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Cirrhosis-of-the-Liver/tylenol/show/1926931
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Topical-NSAID/show/1806815
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Ibuprofen-or-acetaminophen/show/1591193

What Hector says in his post toward the end of this thread:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Article-on-pain-meds/show/1552015

[WOG1964]

OMGoodness.

Lord, please help me understand everything I need to understand. Okay, so Tylenol is what i should be taking but ONLY and IF needed. I am going to go see a Chiropractor tomorrow for my neck pain. Hopefully there will be some relief of this pain. I think all my nerves is what's triggering it right now. SO EXCITED THOUGH! recieved the call for my Hepatologist Appt. April 29th!

This was my VICTORY today!

[ceanothus]

Pooh is correct. It gets very confusing to many people because large doses of Tylenol are so toxic to the liver that they can cause death even in people starting with perfectly healthy livers. This makes many people assume it is very dangerous to take with liver disease, but in truth it is very much dependent on the dosage. As Pooh said, Tylenol is the only OTC pain med usually recommended for cirrhotics, but the standard advice given is to carefully read labels on all OTC meds and make sure that your total intake of Tylenol never exceeds 2000 mg in any 24-hour period. Most ingredient labels in the U.S. call it by the generic name of acetaminophen.

[HectorSF]

Pooh and ceanothus are correct.

But it all depends on the amount of liver disease you have.
Little liver disease the liver is fully functional and operating normally. When a patient has cirrhosis and portal hypertension the liver and the venous system system is no longer functioning normally.

Cirrhotics should only take Tylenol (acetaminophen) and ceanothus said sing correct dosage and not mixed with alcohol.

If a person has cirrhosis they should talk to the hepatologist regarding any vitamins, supplements, herbs, meds and diet changes BEFORE changing anything. In a cirrhotic liver any of these substances can injure the liver and impact the complications of cirrhosis while can have life-threatening results.

Good luck.
Hector