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The reason I am freaked about acetaminophen is that I suffer from migraines. The most effective OTC medicine for me is Excedrin Migraine (a combo of acetaminoph

The reason I am freaked about acetaminophen is that I suffer from migraines. The most effective OTC medicine for me is Excedrin Migraine (a combo of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine). I didn’t realize that this med contained acetaminophen. I also didn’t realize that the product name Tylenol equaled acetaminophen. Only put things together when I heard about people overdosing and examined my medicine cabinet and check product labels. I think I had 3-4 different medications that contained some amount of acetaminophen, mostly cold medications. I know I’ve taken most of them in combination and probably in an unsafe way. I also had no idea the overdose margins were so thin. I’ve taken a shit ton of Excedrin Migraine over my life. And Theraflu. And double doses of Excedrin Migraine after a does of straight aspirin or Tylenol didn't work alone. Given the easy ability to overdose, I am of the opinion that acetaminophen should be sold singly and not in combination with anything else. Even if that means Excedrin Migraine doses come in a two pill combo. This way, people could easily calculate a total daily dose without it being in an unexpected product. It's a miracle I still have a functioning liver.

MichaelGG 10y ago
Why are you medicating with anything without looking at what it is? Read label. If not understood, quickly look up the medications involved. Unless they are marketed very misleadingly (possible - opiates get tons of bad press, Tylenol doesn't), seems like you have zero reason to complain. You voluntarily consumed medications without even reading through the basic info that's on the box! Splitting into two pills? Why would that work? Presumably most people will take both, so the packaging needs to reflect that. It helps nobody except people that are aware enough to know they want the caffeine but not acetaminophen, but not to just buy such a product in the first place.
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  I worked in a pharmacy (not a pharmacist), and this sort of thing is extremely common. I helped a nicely dressed fellow one night, who asked where the Advil was. I showed him, and pointed out the store brand (Much cheaper). The guy told me that ibuprofin doesn't work for him, only Advil. This happens with the cough and cold medicines as well - most are the same combination of drugs, sometimes with or without one, and folks will buy different labeled combinations at different times. When the word got out about tylenol and liver damage, one of the causes they cited was the same situation as above - multiple drug compounds. Migraines. Folks thinking tylenol was the safe choice, impossible to overdose on. Folks generally think the stuff on the shelf is really, really safe. It isn't like they teach this stuff in school. While I might have known to look out, I didn't always know this. And if this sort of information misses you when it was the 'big news'... well, out of luck. I'd much rather the products be in different pills most of the time as I think it means consumers might think a bit more about what they take and match it up with symptoms. Either that, or have many be only available without receipt after asking pharmacist or trained personel.
  - rabboRubble 10y ago
    Exactly... you hear that "Tylenol" causes liver damage if taken incorrectly. What I didn't realize that Tylenol = Acetaminophen = Paracetamol, in a long list of stuff. I had a mix of stuff purchased from a couple of different countries and in 2-3 languages. So yeah label reading was a bit of a challenge.
- rabboRubble 10y ago
  You are quite right about reading the labels. The issue for me was 1) recognition that a particular OTC chemical is risky beyond expectation, 2) knowledge about all the product names that chemical is called (Tylenol = paracetamol = acetaminophen = APAP), and 3) having the knowledge that product A plus product B over period Y is harmful. I am not a pharmacist, so #3 is really beyond my knowledge base and ability even now. Migraine sufferers are sort of known for desperate self medicating. Not an excuse but it happen.
300bps 10y ago
One thing I was surprised to learn is that Excedrin Migraine is identical to regular Excedrin. It's just marketed differently. There are different formulations of Excedrin (ex: Migraine Tension has no aspirin) but the Migraine formula is identical to the regular formula.
- mafro 10y ago
  Nurofen's owner got into trouble over this in Australia recently: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/14/nurofens-maker-admits-misleading-consumers-over-contents-in-painkillers https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/14/nurofens-ma...

MichaelGG 10y ago

Why are you medicating with anything without looking at what it is? Read label. If not understood, quickly look up the medications involved. Unless they are marketed very misleadingly (possible - opiates get tons of bad press, Tylenol doesn't), seems like you have zero reason to complain. You voluntarily consumed medications without even reading through the basic info that's on the box! Splitting into two pills? Why would that work? Presumably most people will take both, so the packaging needs to reflect that. It helps nobody except people that are aware enough to know they want the caffeine but not acetaminophen, but not to just buy such a product in the first place.

Broken_Hippo 10y ago
I worked in a pharmacy (not a pharmacist), and this sort of thing is extremely common. I helped a nicely dressed fellow one night, who asked where the Advil was. I showed him, and pointed out the store brand (Much cheaper). The guy told me that ibuprofin doesn't work for him, only Advil. This happens with the cough and cold medicines as well - most are the same combination of drugs, sometimes with or without one, and folks will buy different labeled combinations at different times. When the word got out about tylenol and liver damage, one of the causes they cited was the same situation as above - multiple drug compounds. Migraines. Folks thinking tylenol was the safe choice, impossible to overdose on. Folks generally think the stuff on the shelf is really, really safe. It isn't like they teach this stuff in school. While I might have known to look out, I didn't always know this. And if this sort of information misses you when it was the 'big news'... well, out of luck. I'd much rather the products be in different pills most of the time as I think it means consumers might think a bit more about what they take and match it up with symptoms. Either that, or have many be only available without receipt after asking pharmacist or trained personel.
- rabboRubble 10y ago
  Exactly... you hear that "Tylenol" causes liver damage if taken incorrectly. What I didn't realize that Tylenol = Acetaminophen = Paracetamol, in a long list of stuff. I had a mix of stuff purchased from a couple of different countries and in 2-3 languages. So yeah label reading was a bit of a challenge.
rabboRubble 10y ago
You are quite right about reading the labels. The issue for me was 1) recognition that a particular OTC chemical is risky beyond expectation, 2) knowledge about all the product names that chemical is called (Tylenol = paracetamol = acetaminophen = APAP), and 3) having the knowledge that product A plus product B over period Y is harmful. I am not a pharmacist, so #3 is really beyond my knowledge base and ability even now. Migraine sufferers are sort of known for desperate self medicating. Not an excuse but it happen.

300bps 10y ago

One thing I was surprised to learn is that Excedrin Migraine is identical to regular Excedrin. It's just marketed differently. There are different formulations of Excedrin (ex: Migraine Tension has no aspirin) but the Migraine formula is identical to the regular formula.

mafro 10y ago
Nurofen's owner got into trouble over this in Australia recently: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/14/nurofens-maker-admits-misleading-consumers-over-contents-in-painkillers https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/14/nurofens-ma...