tylenol overdose (liver failure)

[james]

if you OD'ed on a whole bunch of tylenol, how long would it take to die? and would it be a painful death?

[concerned]

I overdosed on Tylenol about seven years ago.  I took over 250 extra strength Tylenol.  I stayed alive for many hours, and it was extremely painful.  I have tried to commit suicide many times, including cutting my wrists.  Overdosing on Tylenol was the most painful.  It took many, many hours until I flat lined in the hospital.  As you can see they brought me back.  My liver is fine now, because it's one of your organs the can repair itself.  I would extremely discourage you from overdosing on Tylenol.

[Brian to James]

Not that there is a good way to kill oneself, but using tylenol is a very bad way.  Not only are you not likely to die, but you are likely to leave yourself living in pretty bad shape.  From your post it appears you are contemplating suicide.  Why?  Many things in life seem hopeless and yet when seen later from a different perspective they aren't as bad as you thought at the time.  Since suicide is permanent, there is almost always a better solution.  I think the only time it might be justified is if one were in excruciating pain from which there was simply no relief.  If that is not you situation, why not try getting some help?

[Brighty to James and 'concerned']

James...and also to "concerned"... please get some help. Life is worth living even though we all have periods where things seem hopeless. There are safe medicines available that can help you get rid of the hopeless feeling. As far as the tylenol I  remember a story you may be interested in. My daughter has an addiction and at one point she felt hopeless and attempted suicide on aspirin. Fortunately there was no serious damage because she got to the ER on time. The ER doctor told her that he had treated a woman some months before that attempted suicide because of a failing marriage. The woman had eaten a large bottle of tylenol. The doctor saved her life but a few weeks later she went into liver failure. She went on the transplant list but died before a liver became available to her. He recounted about her emotional suffering of feeling hopeless for a few hours. By the time she realized that she really did want to live.. for her children at least... she was in a seriously hopeless situation. She died desperately wanting to live. I hope this story helps you to seek counseling. Blessings to you both.

[M]

No matter how bad it is- there is always help-
You are a really good person, and no matter what, God loves you.  I know you're probalby rolling your eyes at this point, saying "ya, whatever-" and that isn't why I wanted to say that-  You are a beautiful person, and have much worth here- Get some help- It may be that you can help other people with the same problem your having now (once you get help).  You will be able to understand where they're coming from, and reach them a heck of a lot better than I ever could.  James- I will be praying for you, and I know our father hurts for you as bad as you hurt yourself.

[Terri Lea]

James,  I am hoping and praying that this reaches you .....I too overdosed on Tylenol, several years ago...at the age of 15, today I am alive an well, I guess the thing that puzzles me is why you picked the addiction forum to post in?  James, I know that you are hurting about something, and maybe part of it is possibly drug or alcohol induced depression, I don't know for sure, but I do know from personal history that all of my suicide attempts were part of my struggle with drugs and alcohol....Today, some 20 years later, I am almost 5 years clean and sober and have my 3 beautiful daughters with me and am so grateful that I never succeeded in the attempts to kill myself...I remember the very last time...I had taken a bunch of pills and was drinking heavily, after some time I lost the feeling in my legs, I was very disoriented, some how I managed to crawl to the steps going up to my girlfriends room, my children were sleeping in the room next to that hallway, I tried to call out...and there was hardly any voice left in me, I kept coming in and out of conscienceness, then I remember thinking, Please God, don't let my girls come out and find me this way..Please God, don't let this ceiling and these floor boards be the last thing I ever see...Please.....Well some how my girlfriend had heard me and was able to rush me to the hospital and have my stomach pumped...I woke up 3 days later and was madder then hell....But I can look back at it today and see how sad that time in my life was...but yet even in the midst of dying, I still wanted to live.....So please I am begging you...talk to someone and give your self a chance to get past what ever is hurting you...I promise things will get better..no matter how bad it seems, it will get better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God Bless You, And I prey you are still here to read this
let me know if you want
Terri Lea

terri_harding***@****

[Ezzy69]

Hey, guess what? I'm from :"THE FUTURE". Isn't is great to be in the future? And to be able to look back and laugh at all the ways we tried to die back then? So stupid. So silly. Now we know better. Lesson number one: Don't overdose on tylenol. Cause that's one long, angry, slow, death, of agony. I tried to do that, but turned out there were people who didn't want me to be dead, after all. And they sucked the evil death force (as I put it, cuz that what it really was . . .) out of me. And they brought me back to life.And ever since, I realized . . .there was a selfishness in me so deep, I only ever saw my own problems, my own pain. I never saw the people that were suffering all around me. I didn't see their lonliness, their desperation, their fear. I only saw mine. But when I saw their's . . .when I saw them for who they really were, in that blinding flash of light that seperates you from what iwho you are and who you want to be, I realized that I could change things. I could do something, I could try.

[Nikkiharris]

I am 18 years old and in the past few years my life has been a living hell. I have no family to turn too. My boyfriend of 4 years has left me and I feel so alone and miserable. I was seeing someone else but one night of drinking turned into him hititng me and that being the end of it. I feel like I have lost so many friends, and i am not happy in the life I am living. Yesterday I had serious thoughts of suicide..I feel life would be better off that way. I feel so much pain right now its not even funny. I just wanna be somewhere else...I wanna run away from it all......

[theeagle]

Tylenol overdose and end stage liver failure is an extremely unpleasant and ugly way to die..........even medical texts mention that a patient is very lucky to go into a coma before the dementia and delirium develop....   very bad scene

[autogal]

nikki,,,I just wanted to share my ongoing story....I was just released from the hospital yesterday from an overdose on tylenol pm.  I think I swallowed at least 250 or more of them and I had been drinking quite a bit of wine before that. My son 17 yr old son sent me a text message and I guess my responses were so messed up he called my husband to find out what was wrong with me,,,my husband saw the pill bottle and was asking where the pills were when I passed out,,, by the time the ambulance pulled up I was throwing up blood and screaming out of control...3 days later in the hospital I finally was able to removed all the tubes, iv's, and finished all the horrible medicine you have to take!!  All in all I have managed to wreck my body, my soul and my life!!  Life is what I have left and I am so thankful that I do!!  Im going to be in an intensive therapy program and I hope to pull myself out of the bottom of the world I created....please dont think your alone with feelings such as yours because your not!  The hardest thing to do is ask for help because it feels like no one else will understand or be able to help and thats not the case at all....please dont put yourself or your body in the position I just did because some people dont make it and deep down we all really do want to live- we just dont see it!!!  Look up online for help even if its over the phone at first,,,you can even e-mail me and I would be happy to talk to you!!!  You could also be good for me too!!   My e-mail is...***@****!!!!

[Babbieface]

Tylenol overdose can kill, but the way it kills will vary from person to person.  

A general rule of thumb is a toxic dose is 150mg of acetaminophen for each kilogram of your body weight.  The less you weigh, the less it will take.  The more you weigh, the more you have to take.

Even then, other factors add on to what makes it lethal.  If you were fasting, drink more than 3 alcoholic beverages, or for whatever reason not eating, half the normal lethal amount could kill you.

Even if you take the recommended amount, but for longer than 10 days, you could have the lethal amount build up inside of you.

Then again, you might be one of those odd people who could take a massive dose over a long period of time and nothing at all will happen.

How long will it take to die?  Could be a few days, a few weeks, a few months, a couple of years, or never.  

If you damage your liver, you risk other organ damage such as kidney, pancreas, heart and brain.  You might not die, but you might have to live with the damage...or not.

It is a game of roulette not worth playing.  

I have taken massive amounts of it myself.  I am very lucky nothing has happened to me.  Now whenever I see this topic I feel compelled to warn people a Tylenol overdose is not a good thing to consider.  I realize how lucky I am thanks to my genetics, overall positive attitude, and being overweight.  Anyone else not so lucky could have taken the same amount and died immediately or lived long enough to wish for a quick death.

People do survive this type of overdose.  Some fare better than others.  Some die immediately or eventually.  The sooner you get help, the sooner you can get a drug to counter the damage being done internally.

If the issue is one of deliberate intent, I would have to ask why do you want to kill yourself?  There is always a way to get help if you need it, but you need to go that extra step and ask for it.  If you could consider taking a few steps to od on Tylenol, why not use that time in getting to a doctor and asking for help?

[abbylulu]

My daughter died June 26th. She had been taking Lortabs, which contain hydrocodone and acetaminophen. She was addicted to the hydrocodone, which caused her to take larger and larger doses, resulting in an overdose of acetaminophen. She died of Acute Liver Failure.

Acetaminophen is a liver toxin when taken in large doses. The liver can no longer filter toxins from the blood, the toxins build up in the brain, and the brain starts shutting down organs and bodily functions.

Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of Acute Liver Failure in the US. From what I am learning it is not an easy or painless death.

Visit this link to learn about the the 4 clinical phases of Acetaminophen Toxicity:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1008683-overview

[laceylucy3]

This is the reason the FDA is talking about banning all prescription medications with tylenol in it. Too many people are taking way too much of it. Liver failure  is an ugly ugly thing. I hope none of you ever has to die that way.

[beki25]

i am a 25 yr. old woman , i am depressed but i find myself not wanting to take anti-depressants because of fear of what they may do to my mind and body, yet i take about 18 acetaminophen 500mg a day at one time, i sometimes want to die but other times i want to live, i have lost my faith in god completely for about 2 yrs now, the reason for all of this is i lost both my children and i prayed that god would take my life and he didnt so i take this medicine thinking i will die in my sleep, but then i read about it online and  i tried to stop taking this medicine and i cant sleep or think straight and i suffer very bad migrains, my family has a concern for me but im to ashamed and unwilling to get help, but i know i need it can any please email me anything websites phone numbers someone i can call for help before its too late, and hopefully before i loose this courage. thanks everyone for reading i hope some one can help me. kittie underscore angel at yahoo *******

[Ella789]

Oh, please,  go to the ER or a mental health facility.  Tell them about your problem and ask for help.  Just ask for help,  someone will help you.  You don't have to live like that and you shouldn't want to self-destruct.   You do want to live,  you just don't know how to cope with the trauma in your life.  You can be happy if you put some effort into living and move on from the past.  Please, go get the help you need, okay?!

Best wishes !!
Ella

[lisa6013]

I just sent you a private message.... please read it NOW!

[lisa6013]

did u find my email under the "My Med Help" red heart under messages?  If you like you can call me.  I am wide awake.  If you would like to, I can send you my number in another email to you........ let me know!

lisa :)

[beki25]

i am depressed, but i think the scariest part of this is my isolation, i dont talk about this to my family i secretly try to kill myself with acetaminophen, but i take these pills without a care for about an hour, just untill the effects of the drug start. then i become scared of the overdose, i know it sounds crazy. but i go to sleep and i always wake up i dont get my desired effect (death) . so i continue to take this medicine. even though it scares me, i cant seem to stop, i have tryed to stop and i get bad withdraws, headaches, sleeplessness, you know. i do want help, but im so ashamed and embarassed about this i feel people will judge me and say i just want attention or im crazy, the easiest way for me to talk about this is online, so no one sees me. i just learned about acetaminophen and what the overdose signs are ..... thats not how i want to die. i dealt with a great loss and i dont know how to go on, well i dont want to bore you guys with my story, but if anyone has advice or comment please drop me a line .
i will consider all options. thanks you guys

[Ella789]

I wish there was something I could say to help you sweetie,  you just need so badly to go to someone and tell them your feelings.  It is much easier sometimes to tell a Dr.  than a family member.  Please,  go get help,  you need some expert adivce as I can only give you advice from my heart.  You are sorely depressed,,  you need some help in dealing with the trauma in your life.  Please, go ask for help,  try to be happy or to stop that feeling of wanting to die.  You don't really want to harm yourself,  you are crying out for help,  please go get it.
Hugs
Ella

[ControlingFlamez]

help me my friend is in trouble she is taking pills for depression wat should i doo!!! i dont want her to die

[TrayCee]

call 911!!!!!!

[avisg]

how old is your GF if she is under 18 plz tell her parents so they can get her help

[mtgoat911]

the first time i tried to kill myseld i was 14 or 15, , the effects on my body happened real fast, please call this number and talk to someone right now, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), you can also call me! i suffered from depression all my life, have been committed several times for intentional overdoses, i still remember waking up living every minute of the day wanting to die, i found help in a 12step program i can also send you the number for na, its tricky fighting those suicidle and self mutilation thoughts, but it can be done, i have made a new life for myself, i still get down in the dumps but i work hard on finding good things about myself, 5 yrs ago i could not name one good thing about me, with all the help i found i now can make a 3 page list, all you need is a pasitive person to help you find the good in life, a person who is grateful for life will never take their own life

[jessie200919]

I have Overdosed on medication twice. The first one was adderall (adderrall) the second Tylenol Extra Strength. The weird thing is that when i went to the hospital the first time they hadnt found any traces of adderall (adderrall) in my system. I hadnt felt sick I was just out of it. The Tylenol overdose was weird also I had took close to 30 extra strength Tylenol. The doctor had said that 20 could kill you. They ran the tests i got sick a few times. But he had came back to say that there were no traces of tylenol found in my system. And my liver was not at a high risk. I dont get it . Well im glad that nothing had happened to me but im still wondering why it hadnt shown up? Could something be wrong with my body and i dont know it? Im kind of nervous because its odd that No traces of tylenol were found. Is that weird? Should I get it checked out?

[SuzzQ]

are you okay?  Sometimes life seems so very hard.. like it will never get better... but, you know what.. I am older, and I am here to tell you that it does get better... there are bad times and there are okay times and there are good times... sometimes the bad times might last too long and make us feel like things will never get better, but they do... and they will.... I hope you are okay.. please just keep living and you will see, things will get better..

[SuzzQ]

are you there? You need to be strong right now... even if you are not religious, it doesn't matter... praying can help... James, are you there now???

[SuzzQ]

please write something...