Tylenol toxicity? How serious?? Please read!

mtn_aire · Jun 20, 2005

I'm very pleased to hear that your sister's recovery is improving and hope this continues to be so. You did mention she stopped taking her meds for bi-polar disorder which seems to have been perhaps the underlying reason for her suicide attempt. Non-compliance is common among many with bi-polar disorder, who like most people, don't want to feel the need to be dependent on a med to feel "normal," feel they no longer need the med once the drug starts working and they feel more in control, and also, tend to miss the manic stage of their disorder where they are highly productive and everything feels accomplishable, as their meds instead, tend to keep them from experiencing this stage of their disorder as well. I would suggest getting her counseling or supportive group therapy to reinforce understanding of her condition and the need for her to remain compliant with her meds.

Also, regarding the toxicity of Acetaminophen, I had the same question a few months ago and discovered a great site that explains it well. It apparently doesn't take much over the indicated safe dosage to do harm.

https://www.medicinenet.com/tylenol_liver_damage/article.htm

breastfeedingRN · Jun 21, 2005

mtn_aire said:

I'm very pleased to hear that your sister's recovery is improving and hope this continues to be so. You did mention she stopped taking her meds for bi-polar disorder which seems to have been perhaps the underlying reason for her suicide attempt. Non-compliance is common among many with bi-polar disorder, who like most people, don't want to feel the need to be dependent on a med to feel "normal," feel they no longer need the med once the drug starts working and they feel more in control, and also, tend to miss the manic stage of their disorder where they are highly productive and everything feels accomplishable, as their meds instead, tend to keep them from experiencing this stage of their disorder as well. I would suggest getting her counseling or supportive group therapy to reinforce understanding of her condition and the need for her to remain compliant with her meds.
Also, regarding the toxicity of Acetaminophen, I had the same question a few months ago and discovered a great site that explains it well. It apparently doesn't take much over the indicated safe dosage to do harm.

https://www.medicinenet.com/tylenol_liver_damage/article.htm

hi all. I totally understand his anger and know it is normal. this isn't the place or time though to be doing what he is doing. plus, he hasn't been a model husband or father anyway. I have never really cared for him or how he treats my sister or the kind of dad he is. she might as well do everything by herself most of the time, works full time, does all the housework, does everything for the kids. she constantly complains of not getting enough help from him and even my dad had a heart to heart with him about it and he had never changed. he'd rather golf than take his kids to boyscouts or some other activity.

I talked to her a lot today and she is up for help. she also sounds like she might want to leave her husband after this is over and I don't think it would be a bad idea. I told her that I support her in whatever she decides, just reiterated that she really needs to get long term counseling, not just back on her meds. she said she really liked the psychiatrist she spoke to and felt she could open up to him, so I hope she does.

she is in the psych facility today as of this afternoon so I won't be able to talk to her for at least 3 days. hope she really does some internal looking inside and finds the help she needs.

thanks again for all the support.

lavahawaii · Jun 21, 2005

breastfeedingRN said:

hi ER nurses. my sister apparently tried to overdose on tylenol PM or was taking it too much over a few days maybe to help her sleep. she is in the ER right now and the docs told my BIL that she has toxic amounts of tylenol in her system and that she may have liver damage, they are giving her n-acetylcysteine and are going to keep her in the hospital for 2 days at least. they told my BIL that she may still die.
is this true? any info you could give me? she is in florida and I am in arizona and it is so hard to not be there. thanks.

Tylenol is very damaging to the liver, if taken in large quantities. Even unsuspecting chronic pain users of the tylenol combination pain medicines are at risk over long periods of time..I have seen the antidote N-acetylcysteine work wonders though, so hang in there. Time will tell.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2005

breastfeedingRN said:

hi all. I totally understand his anger and know it is normal. this isn't the place or time though to be doing what he is doing. plus, he hasn't been a model husband or father anyway. I have never really cared for him or how he treats my sister or the kind of dad he is. she might as well do everything by herself most of the time, works full time, does all the housework, does everything for the kids. she constantly complains of not getting enough help from him and even my dad had a heart to heart with him about it and he had never changed. he'd rather golf than take his kids to boyscouts or some other activity.
I talked to her a lot today and she is up for help. she also sounds like she might want to leave her husband after this is over and I don't think it would be a bad idea. I told her that I support her in whatever she decides, just reiterated that she really needs to get long term counseling, not just back on her meds. she said she really liked the psychiatrist she spoke to and felt she could open up to him, so I hope she does.

she is in the psych facility today as of this afternoon so I won't be able to talk to her for at least 3 days. hope she really does some internal looking inside and finds the help she needs.

thanks again for all the support.

((((((hugs)))))

You're right that your BIL is being inappropriate. Maybe his frustration is "normal" but y'know, it kind of is about her at the moment, and it should be. She is ill, that illness caused her to do something rash, and now she is sicker. He needs to find another way to deal with the negative feelings that yes, are totally natural, but should not be directed at her. As someone who survived a suicide attempt many years ago, the LAST thing she needs is her support system berating her. My thoughts are with you.

breastfeedingRN · Jun 22, 2005

elizabells said:

((((((hugs)))))
You're right that your BIL is being inappropriate. Maybe his frustration is "normal" but y'know, it kind of is about her at the moment, and it should be. She is ill, that illness caused her to do something rash, and now she is sicker. He needs to find another way to deal with the negative feelings that yes, are totally natural, but should not be directed at her. As someone who survived a suicide attempt many years ago, the LAST thing she needs is her support system berating her. My thoughts are with you.

well, apparently my BIL filed for divorce today and custody of their kids. even the one that isn't is who he called a "b*stard" the other day when he talked to me. he has turned my sister's boss against her, took her paychecks and deposited them so he can get the money (he doesn't work right now) and her boss who co-signed for her car is taking it back. like she needs all this right now. what a jerk.

I am a bit surprised they let her have phone calls during the 72 hour stay, but since they did, he has told her all this. not like she will be getting help now, just stressing over losing her kids, her job and her car.

what a turn around from all the lies he told me on the phone about how much he loves her, how he would go to the news if they didn't put her on transplant list, etc, etc.

pricklypear · Jun 22, 2005

I'm so sorry about all this... It just gets worse every day. You said your BIL has always been something of a jerk? Obviously she is better off without him, but her kids are a different story.

I hope things get better for you guys.

nicuRN2007 · Jun 22, 2005

breastfeedingRN said:

well, apparently my BIL filed for divorce today and custody of their kids. even the one that isn't is who he called a "b*stard" the other day when he talked to me. he has turned my sister's boss against her, took her paychecks and deposited them so he can get the money (he doesn't work right now) and her boss who co-signed for her car is taking it back. like she needs all this right now. what a jerk.
I am a bit surprised they let her have phone calls during the 72 hour stay, but since they did, he has told her all this. not like she will be getting help now, just stressing over losing her kids, her job and her car.

what a turn around from all the lies he told me on the phone about how much he loves her, how he would go to the news if they didn't put her on transplant list, etc, etc.

I am on fire reading this. All I can say is WHAT A FREAKIN JERK. Like the other poster said, she is better off without him...but this is a terrible time for all of this. I can't believe he would deteriorate her mental state even more than it already is deteriated by doing these things now. I am so sorry. I will be praying for you, your sister, and your family.

breastfeedingRN · Jun 22, 2005

ILoveScrubs said:

I am on fire reading this. All I can say is WHAT A FREAKIN JERK. Like the other poster said, she is better off without him...but this is a terrible time for all of this. I can't believe he would deteriorate her mental state even more than it already is deteriated by doing these things now. I am so sorry. I will be praying for you, your sister, and your family.

well, my sister left AMA today from the psych facility. she is afraid of losing everything if she stays in there. I don't fear for her life, just fear that this will only make it look worse for her in a court when they are fighting for the kids. haven't talked to her since she got out since I imagine she is trying to get her money from the bank, open separate account, etc. he could have waited till she got help for this to do all of this if that is what he thinks is best. what peeves me is that he was swearing his undying love for her to me just the days before, how he would do anything for her, etc. I think he was probably wishing she would die. JERK.

I don't know if she can even deal with the stress of the kids, but this was uncalled for. she needed to get help and he knew this and he didn't care. I would slug him if I was there.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2005

breastfeedingRN said:

I would slug him if I was there.

I'd hold him down for you. And then kick him repeatedly in the goolies.

pricklypear · Jun 22, 2005

Does she have other family in the area?? She is going to need some serious support right now. I just feel so bad for all of you..

czeafer32 · Jun 25, 2005

im so sorry about what happened to your sister , I would just pray that it would not affect her that much as what you were discussing about the possibility of affecting her liver , the most important thing for her now is to have a psychological support from her family especially to you as her sister , maybe during those time nobody besides her to give her strength, whatever would be the result of it give her more support and give her an assurance that she can always count on you ...

breastfeedingRN said:

hi everyone. it looks like she took 30 extra strength tylenol pms (15 gms) at 5pm and didn't get the mucomyst started until 2am that night. I spoke with her ICU nurse today and she told me that she isn't doing as well as she should be.
apparently they are administering it via NG tube and she keeps vomiting it up, antiemetics aren't helping her to not vomit. she had low urine output today and had some episodes of ventricular bigeminy on her EKG today. they were going to run electrolytes to see if she had imbalances that were possibly causing it that could be corrected, but I don't know anything of those results. they gave her something to see if they could increase urine output or to find out if her kidneys are shutting down.

I keep waffling between trying to get there to see her or not. apparently she only gets a few visiting periods a day for 30 minutes and from 9pm to 9am can have no visitors, not even her husband. I don't even know that I would get there and be able to see her. they won't let her talk to me on the phone either. very frustrating. her day nurse was very informative and nice, but the night nurse was not.

I keep hoping she will be okay, but reality looks different. she is supposed to call me in the morning from her cell phone and I will see how things look and possibly drive there.

thanks for all the info. it is scary to know the possibilities, but better than sitting here wondering and trying to find into online. it is so not my area.

would appreciate any other info you might offer. thanks.

seaofsapphires · Jul 23, 2005

I was 16 when I attempted suicide, I am now 32. Lately, I have been thinking about the whole thing and decided to look up some information on what I did to see how serious the whole thing was. In looking up info., I came across your post, I am not a nurse but thought my story might help.

After being raped and not telling anyone, my parents divorcing, my mom telling me that the divorce was all my fault and that I had 15 devils in me, I took 100 Extra-Strength Tylenol (without throwing up), wrote my suicide note, and went to bed. I was not playing around and didn't plan on waking up...I figured an entire new bottle would do the trick. Well, it didn't...I woke up the next morning about 8 hours later throwing up over and over but I saw that I wasn't throwing up any pills so I was hoping I would still die.

My mom came in the bathroom and asked me what was wrong and I looked at her and she knew. She found the tylenol bottle but I ran and hid the suicide note, I was hoping she would not take me to the hospital. She rushed me to the hospital, against my will, which was 30 minutes away. I threw up in the car the whole way.

When I got there the er dr. took my blood and later showed me a chart and said I was double the amount of toxicity that it takes to kill a person and that I should be dead and I will probably die. He told me that he could not understand why I was still living and that it medically did not make since. Then he proceeded to yell at me and asked me if I understood that I could die. "Hello" isn't that the point of suicide!

Anyway, I don't know much after that, I woke up a week later in ICU and felt like I was dead. I then spent another week in a regular room. Then they sent me to some crazy place that was terrible with insane people, not depressed people.

I have put this out of my mind since then, I turned my life around...finished highschool, went to college, got a 4.0, got married and had children, became an elementary teacher, got my graduate degree, and never think of suicidal thoughts.

I have never told doctors through the years because I find it quite embarrasing to talk about face to face. I wonder if I would still need to have my liver checked, I haven't since I was 16?? They told me at the time that I had cirrocis(sp.) of the liver. Does anyone know? I would rather not bring it up with the dr.

Anyway, I wish your family all the luck in the world and I am testimony to the fact that even when things look entirely bleak everything can turn out better than you ever thought. I am a very happy person and happy to be alive. I hope your sister can do the same.

Sincerely,

Jennifer