Is acetaminophen damage potential related to weight?

[kapiken]

A little background, I get headaches and am scheduled with a neurologist in a month. But for now I've been using OTC meds to manage the pain. My PCP told me to try tylenol, which I always avoided in the past in favor of NSAIDs. It works and it doesn't, long story. But earlier I took 3 tablets of tylenol, and they still wouldn't do anything so I took a 10-325 norco I had left over from a muscle injury so I can at least wind down a little. But I failed to realize that the earlier tylenol tabs were the 500 mg variety (guess I'm used to 200 mg motrin).

I'm a big girl (200lb), so I know I have to take a little more than normal people to be effective. Considering that I don't smoke or drink, and have only started taking acetaminophen within the past year, does this have the potential to be a big hit to my liver? I don't plan on taking any more today. The only other medicine I take is a potassium supplement.

[philnoir]

Weight has nothing to do with this.

Acetaminophen, in large doses, has the capacity to destroy liver tissue. This is why the FDA has established the safe daily limit for acetaminophen as 4g (4,000 mg) daily.

That's a total of 8 "extra strength" (500mg) Tylenol capsules per day. Some NSAIDs are also hepatotoxic -- naproxen, found in Aleve, is also poisons the liver in large doses.

As the previous member noted, there is also acetaminophen in other OTC remedies, like cold and flu remedies and steep aids. Always read the labels, and if you have a question, ask your pharmacist.

[YardBull]

Tylenol (acetaminophen) is often suggested for pain relief as it is the least problematical, alone or combined with other drugs.  However, it does not do anything for inflammation, if that is a problem.  NSAIDs are better for inflammation.  It is best to go by the label with acetaminophen for dosage, as any overdose could seriously affect the liver.   One also has to keep in mind that several other drugs contain acetaminophen, and that has to be counted in the overall total.