tylenol pills not working

 Does any one else have a problem with taking pain medicine in pill form and having it work , or work well...

Last night in a 6 hour period i took 5 Tylenol and it didn't not do a single thing for my headache... where before WLS i could take 2 and be great....

I was given loratab after surgery for pain and if i take 1teaspoon of that it will kill my headaches...

I think it has to do with being a liquid it gets in to the system faster.... or am i just crazy

My doc says to ALWAYS crush pills, even tylenol. I haven't done it yet so I don't know how well it works. I got some liquid children's tylenol and it didn't work but it was childrens. The doc did say the best way to take tylenol is to get the gel caps and pierce them. Not sure if that helps or not ...

I understand your head was hurting, but 5 Tylenol?  That is an insane amount of Tylenol at once.  Definitely not good for your liver.  I want to say the maximum daily dosage is 3,000mg which is 6 Extra Strength.  I may be wrong though.  I remember reading about the FDA lowering the dosage, but I don't remember to what.  If I wasn't on my phone I would check.

The liquid does get into your system faster which is why it works better.  It also has to do with it being a narcotic combined with Tylenol instead of just Tylenol.  I've had issues absorbing pain meds since my RNY.  It seemed like whatever I would take would work for about an hour or two and then fade away pretty quickly.  It also hit me faster. 

My "go to" headache combo is usually 2 Tylenol PM.  The Benadryl in the Tylenol PM helps to relax me and helps with nausea.  I have taken them since surgery for intemittent pain and they have worked fine although they didn't last as long.  

If you're concerned that you need something stronger for your headaches since we do malabsorb certain meds then give your PCP a call.  Were the Tylenol capsules or tablets?  I was told not to take capsules after surgery because they need the acid in your stomach to break them down.  We don't have enough acid in our pouches to accomplish this before it enters the intestines.

You might want to contact your doctor to find another option.  Most importantly, PLEASE be careful in the amount of Tylenol that you take... acetaminphen can blow out your liver if you exceed the maximum daily dose.  Where as with some painkillers you can increase the dose, that is not recommended at all for Tylenol.  Max dosage listed on the bottle really shouldn't be exceeded.

I am in the same boat with Tylenol as far as how effective it is... it doesn't touch any of my headaches, backaches or cramps.  I've gotten a prescription from my doctor for Ultram for medium pain, and when my back gets really bad, I have Percocet for breakthrough pain.  

Good luck... headaches that don't go away are no fun at all.


tori

OT somewhat but is Ultram a narcotic?  I ended up taking the delauded left from surgery last month for cramps.  I can't take stuff like that and fuction though.  Thanks!

Hey there!

Ultram is a synthetic narcotic... so while it is better at killing pain than most NSAIDs (or making you not care about it as much), it's thought that it's much less likely to become addictive because it's synthetic (or so I was told).  When I first started taking them, they made me drowsy... I didn't feel dizzy or woozy, just sleepy.  Now, that doesn't even happen... I feel normal and the pain abates.

It's worth a shot!  And you're not alone... Percocets, Vicodin, Roxicet and Dilaudid also make me feel absolutely loopy for the ten minutes I'm awake before I pass out, lol...


tori

Thanks!!  I'll talk to my pcp about it.  I don't have much pain except for menstrual cramps.  Never had that problem before surgery but damn they were bad after!!  I didn't hurt that much after surgery!  Thanks again!!

is Ultram an NSAID?

Nope, it's not... thus it's safe for us.  Lots of post-RNYers use it.... one of the few options we have that won't drug us out too badly! 


tori

I've seen lots of folks on the board that have trouble absorbing pain meds post op. Me included. I'm gonna start asking for mine in liquid I think, because my Percocet works for like, an hour and then whatever hurts (usually knee out of socket) is back with vengeance.

On the Tylenol. The max dose is actually only 2000mg per 24 hours so please be VERY careful. And overdose of tylenol WILL kill you - by shutting down your liver. doesn't happen to everyone, but do you really want to chance it?

Can totally empathize with your headache - I get bad ones and have to take either a percocet and a valium, or a couple of fioricet. And sometimes that doesn't even work, so I totally understand your frustration. Can you call your doc?

Hope you feel better soon. Take care.