Tylenol has been recalled because of reports that acetaminophen causes iver injury. There have been reports of deadly overdoses of people taking acetaminophen products. A panel recommended to lower the doses of regular strength Tylenol and have extra strength Tyleonol available through prescription only.

My daughter, JLHanna, a 22 year old college student and I, a 48 year old out of work due to a severe back injury, had a discussion about why it has taken so long for the FDA to come to this conclusion. I have been using Tylenol products for years.

1. Do you think lowering the dose of Tylenol will help prevent injury to the liver?

Me - I definitely think that lowering the dose of tylenol will prevent injury to the liver because by lowering the dose that means that less acetaminophen will be in our systems.

JLHanna - Lowering the dose of tylenol will help to prevent liver damage if people only take the reccommended dose. I, for one, rely on tylenol to get rid of my frequent headaches and pain and sometimes take it once a day. Many other people do the same but take much more of it then I do. Noticing they are not having the effect from the tylenol they use they may take more then the dose on the label.

2. Do you use Tylenol and what do you normally use it for and is the dose you presently take effective?

Me - I use Tylenol, sometimes on a daily basis. I take it for pain because I have bulged discs in my back and arthritis. The dosage of Tylenol that I take would be one either regular strength Tylenol or one extra strength Tylenol per day. I normally do not take more than that unless my pain is really severe. I am lucky because I can usually tolerate a lot of pain. I am unfortunate in the way that I cannot take other pain pills because of the severe side effects I get from them. I do find that taking the one Tylenol per day is very effective and helps me get through the day.

JLHanna - I am in severe pain quite often and sometimes need to take one extra strength tylenol to get me through the day. I also get severe headaches and need to take 2 extra strength tylenols just to make the headache manageable. I never take more then two extra strength tylenol in one day unless I am sick. When I get sick the pain increases ten fold and I need to take tylenol every 4 hours.

3. After learning about the effects Tylenol has on the liver, do you think you will continue using it?

Me - I have chronic pain with bulged discs in my back and arthritis so, unfortunately, yes I will still continue using it. I have tried many, many pain pills such as Arthritis Tylenol, Advil, Aleve and Aleve Arthritis. Advil seems to do about the same as Tylenol although I have found Tylenol does work quicker and better. Tylenol and Advil are the only pills I can take that I don't get too many side effects from. I have tried Tylenol Arthritis and it gave me headaches and stomach problems. I tried taking Aleve Pain and Aleve Arthritis pills. I found Aleve was affecting my mood and when I was taking it, I wanted to kill everyone in sight. I was also getting severe panic attacks when taking Aleve medicine. I tried Tremacet. I took one recommended dose of Tremacet, which was two tablets and I was literally stoned on those two tablets for five days straight. I tried Percaset. Percaset was terrible. I was so high on Percaset, and the dose I was taking was 1/4 tablet, way less than the recommeded dosage. I also tried Naproxin and that pill gave me chest pain and nose bleeds. It is a shame too because the Naproxin was the one drug that was starting to work.

JLHanna - I will continue using tylenol as it works the best for me. I refuse to go to the doctors about my pain because I know what the pain is from and I don't want to go on anything stronger.

4. Do you think the FDA should have looked into this long before now?

Me - If there are any drugs on the market that cause death because of liver injury, yes, definitely the FDA should have looked into this long before now. Why do people have to die before they look into these things or until it is brought into the lime light?

JLHanna - I beleive tylenol is one of the most widely used pain killers on the market. People use tylenol for everyday pain releif so i think they should have looked into this long before now.

5. Why is the FDA just looking into this issue now?

Me - I think the FDA might have just become aware of the seriousness of acetaminophen and that is why they are looking into it now. Perhaps there have been more deaths than normal and that has caused them to look into it.

JLHanna - I am not sure why the FDA started looking into the seriousness of acetminophen. It could have been that there were was many more people with liver failure, or more deaths.

Conclusion

Me - I think that everything we do in life, whether it be eating, drinking, drinking booze, taking over-the-counter drugs or prescription drugs all has to be in moderation. Overdosing on anything is definitely not a good thing and I think people need to become more aware of what they are putting in their systems.

JLHanna - Yes, everything we do needs to be in moderation.