acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

[neptune235]

I know, this is an old question.



All my previous hepatologists have steered me towards ibuprofen, because of the liver toxicity risk associated with acetaminophen.



However, my doc has told me to definitely switch now to acetaminophen.  My recent biopsy shows advancing liver disease due to hep c, I'm now stage3/grade3.



My doc says that as liver disease advances, the risk to the kidneys from ibuprofen exceeds that to the liver from acetaminophen.  He said it is possible to blow out one's kidney's from just one dose of ibuprofen.



Anybody else hearing similar?

[Stvski80085]

I haven't heard this before.  I will ask my doctor about that.  Thanks for posting the info though.



Take care,



Steve

[iceboy]

My doc said NOT to take ibufen at all, but ok with paracetamol 500 or 1000 mg a day. are you familiar with paracetamol over there.



all the best

[iceboy]

Yea, I have looked it up. acetaminophen/paracetamol/Tylenol are all the same. My doc recomends it even to patients with severe liver damage. I didnīt get a further explanation on why not ibufen.

[Moniker]

My doctor said that I should use Tylenol during treatment. After treatment is finished, if I have a headache or something, I should use aspirin or Advil, but not Tylenol. Tylenol is best when on treatment. Does that make sense?

[ladybug52]

Everyone probably knows this but here goes: acetaminophen does not help inflammation, does control pain but taxes the liver. Ibuprofen/advil/alleve etc are a class of drugs known as NSAIDs non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs. NSAIDS help inflammation but are harmful to damaged kidneys. Your dr. can tell by blood tests such as creatinine levels and bun creatine ratios whether your kidney function is within normal limits or not.  Drugs such as lasix which are used to control swelling (edema)also tax the kidney. Only your doctor can decide the risk/benefit of a particular drug. Hope this helps.

[way]

My doctor said no tylenol.

[iceboy]

looks safest not to take them at all. I took them for the first 3 months, but found that they make me grumpy. riba sides are enough to handle. I only pop one tylenol now if I have been with out sleep for a long time.

[FlGuy]

Depending on what your trying to do with a pain reliever, you should consider adding plain 'ol aspirin to the mix. Tx gave me considerable headaches for much of the 'tx week'. I alternated and rotated the stuff and avoided all of them when possible. Some of the tx aches and pains are from being sedintary and 'couch potato-itis'. Try stretching, mild exercise (swimming is great), walking, ice packs/heat and so on.  The body is dealing with nasty meds already and probably a less-than-great diet, give it a break when you can.  Docs will tell you to watch the aspirin too, if you are platelet challenged.

[hippygem]

My doctor told me to take paracetamol (panadol), but only sparingly, when I cant tolerate the pain.

The pain I get is mostly back pain, hips, legs, and the right rib side, Im not on the tx, im a relapser.  Stage 2 fibrosis.

Id just recommend that you only take it if you really have to.

Hope everyone is doing alright, I havent posted for a while.

I will have Up Dates on the trial im on here in australia in the middle of September.

The trial is the Iscomatrix Core Vaccine run by a company called CMAX, if you google it there may be more information.

Ill let you know how i go, but all i can say at this time is that I have a lot more energy, not sleeping all the time, less tired, there have been no sx from this vaccine, just pain/swelling and redness in the injection site on the arm.

Catch you all soon



Linda

[NYgirl]

Doc advised NO Ibuprofen because it changes your bloods chemical composition as well.



TWO tylenol will not hurt you.  It's mostly for people who take painkillers etc every 4 hours with tylenol in them that there are these warnings. Things like that. Not LIMITED dosages.

[GrandOak]

nygirl:  Good to see you back in the saddle.  Some got a bit worried when we didn't hear from you earlier this week.  I thought maybe the outages got to you.



My doc said acetaminophen in low dosage would be ok.  Especially since it does counter flu symptoms, which many experience on peg, but fortunately I haven't.  Even recommended Tylenol PM to help with the sleeping problems I experienced since I gave up drinking, but fact it 1 1/2 gallon of water a day has to go somewhere and unfortunately it sometimes decides it's time during the night when I'm trying to sleep.



Pharmacist and doc both warned that acetaminophen is harder on the liver and that ibuprophen or asprin were much easier.  But also warned that one needs to be mindful of platelets since they will thin the blood and could be dangerous with low platelet levels.

[susan400]

I can't take ANY NSAIDS because of past problems with them, so that whole class of drugs is out including aspirin.  So, yes, I take Tylenol, but not in excess.  I also force myself to get on my treadmill every day. Every now and then, I feel too bad to do it and I might skip 1 day, but then, next day go right back.  After having to get back surgery last year and my doctor telling me to walk-walk-walk, I said to myself, do it or have worse joint, disc, muscle problems. So, I did.  Susan

[susan400]

It really depends on the person. If you've had addictive behavior or problems in the past, then, I would advise against it. I did take a drug called Ultram(Tramadol), which is supposed to be non-addictive/non-narcotic, but helped me with pain.  But, since I stopped treatment, it was hard to come off of the Ultram.  I did it, but it wasn't easy.  When you take a drug like a pain med for a whole year, your body can develop a tolerance to it.



Susan

[EquineLori]

I get it now.  Thanks.  I've an addictive personality - can ya tell from the time I've spent here today?  I guess I know that I have more back surgery to face when hcv tx is finished and I JUST CAN'T over-due the hydrocodones.  I'm gonna need them later on.

[EquineLori]

O.K. - so why not take narcotics for really bad sxs?  That's what I do.  Yeah, I was an alcoholic prior to dx and no longer drink.  Is it a substance abuse issue to not take a norco or vicaprofen when needed?

[NYgirl]

Remember the hydrocodones are FULL of tylenol or Ibuprofen.  So whenever you take one you ARE shoving plenty of tylenol inside your body too (and we all know it's best ONLY to take them when absolutely NECESSARY (tylenol).

[EquineLori]

Thanks, I hear ya!  By the way, I'm posting on a Saturday!!!  Someone told me to inject in belly, not thigh.  No narcotics needed today!  Cool, huh?