New use for Tylenol?

[mattcastens]

Occasionally I have run across old ladies that say they use Tylenol to help them sleep (not Tylenol P.M., mind you -- the regular stuff). I would always blow it off, thinking that it was all in their heads.

Now on some of our standing orders, the docs have Tylenol ordered at h.s. PRN for sleep!

Since I have never taken anything to help me sleep (I do just fine on my own), I just gotta ask -- does it work? Has anyone out there actually used regular Tylenol as a sleeping pill?

[jhf0174]

A lot of people have a low threshold for meds. I see a lot of elderly patients prescribed Tylenol for sleep. (And a few younger ones, too) It wouldn't work for me, but for some 650 mg of Tylenol knocks them out whether they want it to, or not!

[forget it!]

I have worked in LTC and a few of the elderly women will ask for tylenol to help them sleep and it works for them. My mom use to call it her "dream pills" . If she was having trouble sleeping she would take two tylenol and the next morning she would wake up refreshed having a good nights sleep and she was not elderly she was only in her fifties. I guess meds work different on different people. My mom would not take medicine unless it was absolutely necessary so I guess her body wasn't immune to the effects of tylenol. If a person was routinely taking stronger meds the tylenol would probably not be effective in my opinion.:)

[beth davis]

I don't see how tylenol will help you sleep unless discomfort is keeping you awake. I've not seen it ordered as a sleeping pill.

[sannp2]

Hi! I have worked in LTC for 7 yrs. now and I don't believe Apap has anything in to actually make you go to sleep. I do believe that it helps my elderly residents with their pain, therefore they are more relaxed and able to get to sleep. I have arthritis in my knee and I know if it's hurting there's no way I can fall asleep. I also know from what my residents tell me that not all nurses are willing to take that extra step in giving out PRN meds. Sometimes I think we need to remember to put ourselves in the patients shoes,even when we're rushed because of staffing shortages.

[silverheart]

My young son had a hernia repair and the surgeon pulled me aside and said to give my son Tylenol to help him rest. When I questioned it the surgeon replied that Tylenol was original made for a sleep aid not a pain reliever. You could have knocked me over. I couldn't believe it. I've never researched it , but you never know...

[HISSYTHECAT]

I know when I take the Tylenol I can sleep for hours. I am not a pill person. I hate taking pills. But whenever I take Tylenol, I have got to be sick......

[BLCaldwell]

I've been following this thread for awhile now and thought that I would try some "research". I have degenerative arthritis. I take Celebrex 200mg bid. I work full time 3rd shift on a psych unit in a cold (read well air conditioned unit). There are mornings that I am so stiff that it's got to be funny watching me leave the hospital and walk to the parking lot. WEELLLL, I started taking x1 extra strength Tylenol about an hour prior to end of shift and saving the Celebrex until just before I went to bed.... Voila!!! I will suggest to MD's and to anyone else that will listen...IT WORKS with the stiffness and if I have errands planned- I take the Celerex before shift change and take x2 Tylenol extra strength before bed...naturally with something in my stomach so I don't have to worry about GI side effects.