So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[3fingers]

Just be careful...

Egad man. An unlike for that one.

 

[2jakes]

What's also funny is I don't even like taking things like aspirin - I try to never take any over-the-counter pills / medicines / etc.

I'm quite happy to try this or that cocktail, new beer, etc., but I have an odd aversion to drugs, even the simple, pretty safe ones like Tylenol. As far as I know, drug addiction doesn't run in my family, but I did see some ugly things in my neighborhood growing up in the '70s that has made me aggressively avoid drugs my entire life.

To be clear, I'm not judging others or moralizing as what I do is right for me, but others should strike whatever balance is right for them. And, of course, there are people who need some, many medicines - again, I am not judging any of that at all.

I’ll take an Advil on very rare occasions but that’s it.
It was very difficult taking 36 prep pills the other day.
Next time I’m going to see if they have it in liquid form.

 

[Fading Fast]

I’ll take an Advil on very rare occasions but that’s it.
It was very difficult taking 36 prep pills the other day.
Next time I’m going to see if they have it in liquid form.

Mine was all liquid (not fun either, though - tastes nasty and was a lot - a real lot - to drink). There's no way around it - you just have to go straight through and accept that prep for that test sucks.

 

[2jakes]

^^^^^
There should be a thread for “what’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done “.

Many years ago, fearing the dreaded needles of novocaine at the dentist,
I poured a glass of tequila I found in the pantry. I also peeled an orange.
I don’t drink, so it was no time that the booze kicked in.

When I was in the shower, I would take one gulp of tequila
followed by a slice of orange. I kept drinking until my face was numb.
The dentist was within walking distance. So I walked because I didn’t
want to cause harm to others if I drove and have an accident.
I may be dumb, but not stupid enough to put others in danger.
Somehow I managed to get to the dentist with no problem.

To make a long story short.
The novocaine was not working at all.
Doc had to give more shots than usual to knock the pain and I was nauseous
from the alcohol for the rest of the day and the next.

One thing that came to mind was when I was drinking the booze, it gave me a
false sense of courage that I could handle it.
I realized then why so many folks have turned to drinking when they have problems.
To this day, the smell of alcohol will upset my stomach severely.

 

[ChrisB]

^^^^^


One thing that came to mind was when I was drinking the booze, it gave me a
false sense of courage that I could handle it.

Gin, supposedly invented in the Netherlands, was known as "Dutch Courage".

 

[Zombie_61]

...I'm quite happy to try this or that cocktail, new beer, etc., but I have an odd aversion to drugs, even the simple, pretty safe ones like Tylenol. As far as I know, drug addiction doesn't run in my family, but I did see some ugly things in my neighborhood growing up in the '70s that has made me aggressively avoid drugs my entire life...

I grew up in a house with an alcoholic (Dad) and an alcoholic/addict (Sister). I won't go into all of the details because that would take up an entire page of this thread, but I had a very vivid example of the negative effects of alcohol and substance abuse while I was growing up and, although I "dabbled" with both in my younger years, never really acquired a taste for either.

One of the dirty little secrets about Tylenol/acetaminophen that most people don't seem to know is that it can cause serious damage to the kidneys and/or liver if it's abused; sometimes fatally. The same can happen if you use it as directed, but regularly drink a lot of alcohol. Mixing booze and meds, even if they're the "safe/over-the-counter" variety, is never a good idea. Like you, I'm not judging, moralizing, or trying to be "preachy", but simply sharing a little-known fact as a word of caution.

I’ll take an Advil on very rare occasions but that’s it. It was very difficult taking 36 prep pills the other day. Next time I’m going to see if they have it in liquid form.

Listen to, and trust, the anecdotal advice about the "liquid form". I hate taking pills too, but I'd happily down an entire bottle of 'em rather than have to ever drink that foul-tasting "medical Drano" again.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A kid I know tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of Tylenol, and emerged from the experience with permanent liver damage. One of my neighbors took too much of it over a span of a couple of days and turned yellow -- she got to the hospital just in time. It is not something to gobble down willy-nilly.

I take a lot of OTC pain pills for my migraines and have to be extremely careful about how much I take in the course of a day -- I try to keep it to half of the recommended maximum on the label. I don't drink alcohol at all, except maybe a can of Narragansett once a year or so, but I'm careful about taking other pain medications -- aspirin, etc. -- along with the Tylenol. Rare is the day, however, when I don't have to take something.

Advil doesn't work for me *at all.* Vioxx did, but they took that off the market for being potentially fatal. Oops.

I won't touch prescription pain meds -- there are already too many opioid cases around here, and I don't even want the stuff in the house. People break in and steal it.

 

[ChrisB]

Acetaminophen is the leading cause of acute liver failure. The recommended dose is 4 g / day, but as little as 7.5 g/day can cause liver damage. Unfortunately, acetaminophen is added to many medications, both prescription and over the counter, so many people are unaware of just how much they are actually taking.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Oh yeah, Propofol, a part of german use of language in every day. You know, old Germany is a big gastroscopy-nation! Very very good specialized mass-processing, easily and gladly paid for the public health-patient.
(Coloscopy is another story)

But the disadvantage:
At least half of the gastroscopies are useless, because outdated, just unprecise optical method and often, they don't found, what they should found.

That's the whole story, here. The classic, outdated method is still paid by law and the contemporay/modern bloodtests, which give you your exact status, promptly, are your private thing.

But like I said, coloscopy is another story and much more efficient. And paid by law, from age 55 on, but earlier on exeptions.

 

[2jakes]

.... I hate taking pills too, but I'd happily down an entire bottle of 'em rather than have to ever drink that foul-tasting "medical Drano" again.

The instructions called for 4 pills every 15 minutes with an 8 oz glass of water each time as recommended starting at 4 pm for a total of 20 pills and then 12 more at 9 pm.

I barely finished the first 20 pills between
4 to 5 pm.

The next batch at 9 pm... I tried but my
body kept rejecting it. I was so water logged that the first pill stuck in my throat and broke up burning my throat.

I was on the verge of throwing up which
meant a waste of the first batch of pills
I had taken earlier and the whole procedure would have been for nothing.

So I stopped taking the last batch.
Then Niagara Falls began for most of
the night.
I told myself as a consolation that since I wasn't getting any sleep and the procedure would begin at 6AM... I would probably have no problem falling asleep
on the operating table.

That's why I was thinking that next time
perhaps I can take the liquid instead.

I used to have headaches similar to migranes.
They lasted for two days non-stop.
Nothing helped. It was terrible, I
would wrap an ace bandage around
my head, shut my eyes and laid down.
After two days, I could feel the pain
slowly dimishing and I felt that life
was beautiful once again and I wanted
to live.
Ever since I stopped carrying the heavy
camera on my shoulders, the headaches
went away in time.

 

[3fingers]

When I had to have a colonoscopy a while back they had me go to Wal-Mart and buy a bottle of miralax powder and mix it in a bottle of Gatorade. Other than plenty of seat time in the bathroom it was easy compared to when I had to do the clean out for ulcer testing about 25 years ago. Not a pleasant night, but far easier than you guys are describing.

 

[Zombie_61]

A kid I know tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of Tylenol, and emerged from the experience with permanent liver damage. One of my neighbors took too much of it over a span of a couple of days and turned yellow -- she got to the hospital just in time. It is not something to gobble down willy-nilly...

Hearing a similar story was how I first learned how dangerous acetaminophen can be. A former paramedic/EMT told my wife and I about a friend of his who tried to commit suicide by swallowing an entire bottle of Tylenol. When it didn't have the desired effect he went to the hospital, but he waited too long and the extreme overdose of acetaminophen was already in his system. Apparently there's no way to filter it out once it's been absorbed, so there was nothing his doctors could do except try to make him comfortable and he died five days later from liver and renal failure.

...I won't touch prescription pain meds -- there are already too many opioid cases around here, and I don't even want the stuff in the house...

The negative medical side effects associated with long-term opioid use are the reason I've so far refused to take them. Over-the-counter meds don't eliminate the chronic pain in my lower back and legs, but they take the edge off just enough for me to function. That might change some day, but for now OTC meds are a more reasonable solution.

Acetaminophen is the leading cause of acute liver failure. The recommended dose is 4 g / day, but as little as 7.5 g/day can cause liver damage. Unfortunately, acetaminophen is added to many medications, both prescription and over the counter, so many people are unaware of just how much they are actually taking.

Excellent point. This is why I do the research any time I take any form of medication; I want to know what the potential side-effects are. And as far as dosages are concerned, if I've forgotten whether or not I've taken the previously mentioned OTC meds, or have forgotten when I took them, I either skip a dose or increase the time limit between doses. I'd much rather endure more pain for six hours than add irreversible kidney or liver damage to my list of medical conditions.

...Then Niagara Falls began for most of the night...

One thing I can say about the "medical Drano" is that the expected effects weren't nearly as drastic as I'd been told they might be; not for me, anyway. Yes, I visited the bathroom more frequently than usual, but it only lasted three or four hours and "Niagara Falls" only entered into the situation near the end (no pun intended) after my "pipes" had been thoroughly cleaned out. I've only had the procedure performed once, so I have no practical experience to compare the effects of "pills vs. liquid".

 

[sheeplady]

I agree with how dangerous acetaminophen can be. We have a cousin who tried to commit suicide twice with it (she survived, they pumped her stomach).

Until i was pregnant/ we had kids, I didn't keep it in the house.

I nowhere near a teatotaler, but I don't mix meds and alcohol.

 

[tonyb]

The dewy-eyed bride's coworker died of acetaminophen poisoning just recently. Apparently accidental. He was, like, 25.

 

[Harp]

Notre Dame far from the madden' crowd; Wichita State Shockers to give a good account of themselves;
Gonzaga to run the distance 'cause last year Zags should have prevailed against the blue blooded Tarheels.

 

[2jakes]

I won't touch prescription pain meds -- there are already too many opioid cases around here, and I don't even want the stuff in the house. People break in and steal it.

About 20 years or so, my place was broken in. My Nikon and cologne were
some of the things I recall that were stolen.
The handyman installing burglar bars
said that this was not 100 % burglar-proof.
He added that it was a deterrent in that most likely they would not break in again
since they prefer the easiest and fastest way to get in.
Like I said, it's been over 20 years with no problem.
Also, the meter man will knock on the door to ask for permission to enter the yard ever since I posted warning signs about my pit-bulls roaming
around.

 

[tonyb]

...

I won't touch prescription pain meds -- there are already too many opioid cases around here, and I don't even want the stuff in the house. People break in and steal it.

I'd rather see people take one or two codeine pills than handfuls of less-effective OTC pain medications.

I have a bottle of codeine with acetaminophen pills from which I consumed only two tablets. The dentist wrote the prescription. Didn't really need it after the first day, as it turned out. Perhaps in my younger days I might have taken a couple and washed 'em down with a beer or three, but such forms of recreation no longer hold much allure for me. Got a drawer full of souvenir T-shirts already.

Codeine is available OTC in Canada. Or it was in years past, anyway. It was common for people in the Seattle area to come back home with bottles of it from their weekend jaunts to Vancouver. I have no recollection of it causing much of a problem with overdoses or dependency. As recreational drugs go, it's far from the most compelling. Or so it appears.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I used to get coedine for my migraines, until my brother stole it to resell at school. They were sleepier than usual in study hall that day.

 

[2jakes]

I must have a high tolerence for those
pills.
Hydrocodone barely worked when I'd get
the 2-day headaches.
I once took more than required and all I got was an upset stomach on top of the headaches.
I haven't taken any pills since 2008 when
I stopped carrying the heavy camera gear
which I found out was the cause for those hellish headaches.
Thanks to computer-chip smaller & lighter gear today.

 

[Zombie_61]

...I have a bottle of codeine with acetaminophen pills from which I consumed only two tablets...

I have to be careful with that combination. Based on my personal history I can apparently take Tylenol #3 with no problems, but Tylenol #4 will quite literally knock me out on my feet. The first time it happened I was at home and thought that feeling of light-headedness was unusual, but I was able to lay down and sleep it off. The second time it happened I was at work; one moment I was working as usual, the next I was waking up on the warehouse floor with several co-workers and my supervisor staring down at me. I've taken straight codeine before with no ill effects, so there's apparently something about the combination that doesn't agree with me.

This is one of the reasons I much prefer the "safer" over-the-counter meds. I'm sensitive to most things with a sedative nature--even something as relatively harmless as Ny-Quil knocks me out for hours and leaves me drowsy the next day--so I'm unwilling to spend a year or so trying this drug and that drug just to figure out which one won't interfere with my ability to function normally.