Waves of abdominal cramps

A few days ago I came down with a cold, so I started taking Tylenol for it.  About thirty minutes after taking the Tylenol, I got a cramp in my abdomen and my heart started beating harder.  This wore off, and didn't happen again that day.  Yesterday when I took some, the same thing happened but the cramp hasn't gone away.  Every few minutes, I get a short wave of a cramping pain in my upper abdomen.  I have also had less of an appetite.  Yesterday I forced myself to eat a sandwich but that was it.  This morning I felt a little nauseous.

I feel like this can't be related to the Tylenol, since I haven't taken near enough to cause acetaminophen poisoning according to the internet, but I'm not sure.

[Bridget A. Hewitt, RN]

Hi and thanks for using the forum.

Generally, Tylenol is pretty gentle on your stomach- a lot of patients prefer it over any of the NSAIDs (like ibuprofen) for this reason.  However, recently there has been a recall of many Tylenol products due to a musty, moldy smell.  The recall was issued in January.  There were some reports from patients who complained of nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarhea (diarrhea) after taking the medication.  You can get the complete list of Tylenol product recalls from the McNeil product recall website.  This site will include the lot numbers of recalled products and you can check the lot numbers on the Tylenol products you have to make sure that yours have not been recalled.  IF you notice a musty smell from your bottles of Tylenol products- do not use it- even if it is not on the recall list.  

It is also possible that you are just coming down with a stomach virus and the cramping is related to that.  Eat light meals until you start to feel better.  Avoid sugary drinks- stick with water or ginger ale (ginger ale can help with nausea) and give yourself some time to get over this.  IF these symptoms persist for more than 48-72 hours, then you might want to see your doctor.  Good Luck.  

Bridget