tylenol pm & slow metabolism

[MICHIE5]

does anyone know if taking a sleep aid slows down a persons metabolism?

[CherylB]

I would have to say no, but that is because I'm losing so well so far. I take Ambien and Benadryl every night, or I can't sleep. If I take the Ambien and not the Benadryl, I wake up 4 hours later. If I take Benadryl and no Ambien, I nod off sometime after sunrise, for a couple of hours.

So, I don't think you should worry about that. Sweet dreams!

[sugarless4life]

I doubt it, but anything is possible I guess. Just try and speed up your metabolism through regular exercise and that will help !

Betty

[Blood Sugar 101]

Don't take any more Tylenol than you absolutely have to.

There is very strong corellation between lifetime dose of all painkillers and kidney failure. Tylenol has the lowest overall toxic lifetime dose. This is mainstream medicine. Here is a journal article the quantifies exactly how much painkiller correlates with damage.

NEJM -- Risk of Kidney Failure Associated with the Use of Acetaminophen, Aspirin, and Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs

I can't take any painkiller EXCEPT Tylenol because the NSAIDS worsen my tinnitus (caused by a prescription NSAID). I only take it when I really need pain control and when I take it I take the smallest dose that works, which is often 1/2 of the 325 dose.

It is really irresponsible for the drug companies to be selling Tylenol as a sleep aid.

Melatonin, works very well without side effects. 1/4 of a single 3 mg tablet is all most people need.

[Houston Heather]

If you are not in pain, don't take the Tylenol. If NOTHING else, it makes things difficult for your liver.

I'm with BS 101 on the Melatonin. But, if you have to take an over the counter thing, not a supplement, plain old Benadryl is the same ingredient as the "sleep aid" in all the OTC sleep medicine. They just fancy it up and charge more.

Also stop caffeine after noon or so.

[laureninva]

There is a post on the Playground about melatonin - many people including myself take it nightly. There are no side affects/addiction issues and I sleep like a rock and wake up at 4:30am for work feeling great! You can buy it in 3mg and 5 mg tablets in the vitamin section of the store. According to what folks on the Playground said, the majority took 3mg per night, some took 5 (that's what I take). Melatonin also has some other benefits, its said to have cancer-fighting properties and some other things that I can't remember off the top of my head. You can probably google it for more info.

[chiody]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

Don't take any more Tylenol than you absolutely have to.

There is very strong corellation between lifetime dose of all painkillers and kidney failure. Tylenol has the lowest overall toxic lifetime dose. This is mainstream medicine. Here is a journal article the quantifies exactly how much painkiller correlates with damage.

NEJM -- Risk of Kidney Failure Associated with the Use of Acetaminophen, Aspirin, and Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs

I can't take any painkiller EXCEPT Tylenol because the NSAIDS worsen my tinnitus (caused by a prescription NSAID). I only take it when I really need pain control and when I take it I take the smallest dose that works, which is often 1/2 of the 325 dose.

It is really irresponsible for the drug companies to be selling Tylenol as a sleep aid.

Melatonin, works very well without side effects. 1/4 of a single 3 mg tablet is all most people need.

Hmm,

Here's some of the results from the study, aspirin was the painkiller NOT affecting end stage renal disease, tylenol was the damaging culprit along with NSAIDS....

__________________________________________________ _______

This study questions the safety of long-term acetaminophen use (more than 2 pills per day, or more than 1000 pills overall) and of consumption of large quantities of NSAIDs, but it suggests that aspirin use confers little or no excess risk of renal failure. Public health authorities should consider more careful oversight of the long-term use of acetaminophen in the general population. Possible options include using warning labels on packaging or requiring a prescription to purchase large amounts of acetaminophen. Any such decision must consider the substantial beneficial effects of this analgesic drug and the possible adverse effects of restricting access to it, such as a switch by habitual acetaminophen users to other medicines, including NSAIDs, whose safety may also be questionable. Meanwhile, people requiring large quantities of analgesic medicines and those at high risk of renal failure may be best advised to use aspirin for pain control.

[CherylB]

The OP was asking if sleep aids affect metabolism. Does anyone else have an opinion on that? I haven't found it to be a problem.

[Houston Heather]

Chi, my pharmacist said I should ONLY take asprin now. Lithium + NSAIDS = fried kidneys.

I ride the paratransit service. I see plenty of people on dialysis and it is awful.

The orange asprin - the coated generic brand, work great for me.

I don't take them regularly, but if I was on a weight loss journey and taking something I could skip, I'd skip it.

I cannot stop my medication, or I'll die. But I know if I did I'd lose another 20 pounds or so right quick.

[Blood Sugar 101]

Originally Posted by chiody

Hmm,

Here's some of the results from the study, aspirin was the painkiller NOT affecting end stage renal disease, tylenol was the damaging culprit along with NSAIDS....

__________________________________________________ _______

Yes, the title of the article in Journalese would suggest the authors are looking at how these different drugs were associated with renal failure, not necessarily concluding that they all were.

However, aspirin has its own set of side effects not the least of which is a tendency to cause ulcers and promote hemorrhagic stroke. Just today I read that some health authority is now recommending that people NOT take a daily baby aspirin to ward off heart attack unless they already have symptoms of heart disease because they are finding that the side effects of aspirin for normal people are higher than the risk of heart attack.

[droppin]

I take a sleep aid every night, I have for a awhile now or I dont sleep. I am still losing weight with no problem

[chiody]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

Yes, the title of the article in Journalese would suggest the authors are looking at how these different drugs were associated with renal failure, not necessarily concluding that they all were.

However, aspirin has its own set of side effects not the least of which is a tendency to cause ulcers and promote hemorrhagic stroke. Just today I read that some health authority is now recommending that people NOT take a daily baby aspirin to ward off heart attack unless they already have symptoms of heart disease because they are finding that the side effects of aspirin for normal people are higher than the risk of heart attack.

And Dr. Oz just recommended 2 baby aspirins mashed up daily to prevent heart attack/strokes etc...... BTW, I take his advice with a grain of salt....

Who was that health authority if I may ask?

[Rdm]

Diphenhydramine HCl slows the central nervous system down producing a sedative effect so metabolism is prolly affected as well.

[Houston Heather]

Yeah. I'm allergic to cats, and a cat lover. A large black cat sleeps in my bed on a nightly basis. When I need a Benadryl (sometimes I have to wake up at 2 AM to get a food delivery), I figure it's helping with the cat allergy.

My prescriptions are documented to mess with metabolism, so I just focus on clean eating, active lifestyle, and thank God for every pound lost! I am the only patient in my doctor's practice who has lost weight on lithium.

[Blood Sugar 101]

Originally Posted by chiody

And Dr. Oz just recommended 2 baby aspirins mashed up daily to prevent heart attack/strokes etc...... BTW, I take his advice with a grain of salt....

Who was that health authority if I may ask?

This was the finding of a UK review panel, endorsed by Dr. Stephen Nissen a highly regarded cardiologist.
As reported by this week's Diabetes in Control"

Risks of Daily Aspirin May Outweigh the Benefits

"Although aspirin thins the blood and helps prevent clots, it is not risk free, according to the U.K. review led by a panel of experts. For example, the researchers looked at two large studies of people with diabetes (one with 1,276 participants and the other with 2,539) and found that those who took 81 to 100 milligrams of aspirin daily were just as likely to have a heart attack or stroke in the next four to seven years as those who did not.

"Aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and other problems -- some of them serious. People who take aspirin daily are two to four times as likely to have upper gastrointestinal problems, such as an ulcer with complications, than those not taking aspirin (even if the aspirin is buffered or has a protective coating to limit stomach problems).

"Although aspirin can prevent clots, which cause about 80 percent of strokes, it may increase the risk of hemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by bleeding in the brain.

"'This article synthesizes what many people in the field are beginning to feel: the risks of daily aspirin therapy exceeds the benefits in people who have not had a heart attack,' says Dr. Steven E. Nissen, the chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio."

====

Dr. Oz is far too busy being an extremely highly paid TV celebrity doctor and bestselling (though probably ghost written) author to keep up with research on a daily basis. That time consuming and thankless task is left to the unpaid drudges of the blog world.

I have yet to meet any doctor who keeps reads the actual research. If they keep up at all--and many don't--they do it by reading newsletters that summarize the most publicized pieces of research in only a sentence or two (often incorrectly) and report almost exclusively on studies (paid for by drug companies) that tout the effectiveness of an expensive drug (often with manipulated results).

[Wifey]

Is Tylenol Pm the same thing as Benadryl only with Tylenol? If so yes it does slow it down for some weird reason.

[Rdm]

Originally Posted by Wifey

Is Tylenol Pm the same thing as Benadryl only with Tylenol? If so yes it does slow it down for some weird reason.

The dipenhydramine HCI is the same in Benadryl & Tylenol PM. As I posted above it slows the central nervous system down-not weird at all-you can Google for more info.

[Blood Sugar 101]

Benedryl doesn't always make people sleepy. It is capable of producing "paradoxical reactions" which make people feel hyper.

My son was one of the people who had that reaction. I gave it to him once when he was a young toddler and he spent the rest of the night going from one end of the crib to the other banging his head against the boards. VERY scary. The doctor explained the "paradoxical" thing to me.

[chiody]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

This was the finding of a UK review panel, endorsed by Dr. Stephen Nissen a highly regarded cardiologist.
As reported by this week's Diabetes in Control"

Risks of Daily Aspirin May Outweigh the Benefits

"Although aspirin thins the blood and helps prevent clots, it is not risk free, according to the U.K. review led by a panel of experts. For example, the researchers looked at two large studies of people with diabetes (one with 1,276 participants and the other with 2,539) and found that those who took 81 to 100 milligrams of aspirin daily were just as likely to have a heart attack or stroke in the next four to seven years as those who did not.

"Aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and other problems -- some of them serious. People who take aspirin daily are two to four times as likely to have upper gastrointestinal problems, such as an ulcer with complications, than those not taking aspirin (even if the aspirin is buffered or has a protective coating to limit stomach problems).

"Although aspirin can prevent clots, which cause about 80 percent of strokes, it may increase the risk of hemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by bleeding in the brain.

"'This article synthesizes what many people in the field are beginning to feel: the risks of daily aspirin therapy exceeds the benefits in people who have not had a heart attack,' says Dr. Steven E. Nissen, the chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio."

====

Dr. Oz is far too busy being an extremely highly paid TV celebrity doctor and bestselling (though probably ghost written) author to keep up with research on a daily basis. That time consuming and thankless task is left to the unpaid drudges of the blog world.

I have yet to meet any doctor who keeps reads the actual research. If they keep up at all--and many don't--they do it by reading newsletters that summarize the most publicized pieces of research in only a sentence or two (often incorrectly) and report almost exclusively on studies (paid for by drug companies) that tout the effectiveness of an expensive drug (often with manipulated results).

Thanks for the "heads up" information regarding this "cast in stone" logic for prophalactic aspirin therapy so heavily promoted as of late.

I pretty much figured Dr. Oz's contentions to be of the "party line" in nature for business and marketing reasons.

[Diana]

Makes me wonder why we believe half of the things our government tells us to do... we all need to research these things. Blood sugar 101, I always love your posts...

[Leo41]

The thing that really bothers me about this post is the increasing concern (among a lot of LCF) with metabolism--thanks to recent books about this.

Every human body functions differently, and our unique metabolism is not as easily manipulated as folks would lead us to believe. It's the latest marketing ploy in the diet game, from my perspective. Our metabolism is much more controled by our body than by any conscious action on our part.

We should focus on the variables that we can control--i.e., what we put into our mouths and how much we move physically.

On aspirin: Some years ago, I was tested for a blood clotting disorder (since two of my siblings died in their late 30s, early 40s of blood clots), and fortunately tested negative. At the time, I asked the hematologist about taking a daily baby aspirin because my own PCP was pushing that as important for 'cardiac health.' The hematologist said, "Absolutely not. Do not take any medication unless there is a specific necessity for it. You have no risk factors that would indicate a need to take aspirin, and taking it would do more harm than good."

When I recently heard Dr. Oz touting the benefits of aspirin for everyone, I was reminded of this experience. I know he's a practicing heart surgeon, but I find him spouting conventional wisdom (that isn't 'wisdom') most of the time. I would beware of following any 'TV doctor.'

[Blood Sugar 101]

Originally Posted by Leo41

When I recently heard Dr. Oz touting the benefits of aspirin for everyone, I was reminded of this experience. I know he's a practicing heart surgeon, but I find him spouting conventional wisdom (that isn't 'wisdom') most of the time. I would beware of following any 'TV doctor.'

The problem with relying on surgeons for health advice is that their training is concentrated (not surprisingly ) on the mechanics of performing complex surgeries. A surgeon does not provide routine care. For heart disease that is the job of the cardiologist, who practices a different speciality.

Dr. Agatston of South Beach fame, is a well known expert on radiological imaging technique--his contribution was to determine a scale for CAC scores. This is important but it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with treating patients or with any internal medicine concerns. His diet advice, therefore, like that of almost every published diet doctor, was made up on the fly and based on very weak science mixed with bits of other popular diet beliefs. He succeeded--and I read this, I did not make it up--because he was very handsome and had a local TV show in Florida that was very popular with ladies, largely because of his good looks.

[Ilpirata]

Originally Posted by CherylB

The OP was asking if sleep aids affect metabolism. Does anyone else have an opinion on that? I haven't found it to be a problem.

I hear you BUT... Tylenol PM should not be taken as a "sleep aid" it should be taken as a "sleep and pain aid". I am absolutely not against taking something if you need to but there is no reason to take the tylenol if all you are after is the sleep benefit. There are other products like simply sleep and unisom that give you the sleep aid without the extra medication.

[Beth Sch]

ARGH!

So, this is why I haven't lost any wt. in two weeks! OMG! I upped my TPM the last few weeks and I actually gained 2 lbs. Nothing has changed at all just me increasing the Tylenol.

Will my wt. loss come back. This sucks. What should I do?

ARGH!

[Rdm]

Beth this might not be the case for you. Your signature lists you as hypothyroid-that can cause water retention problems. IMHO you shouldn't take Tylenol PM for sleep it is an OTC pain reliever for those who can't sleep with pain and should be taken on a limited basis. Being that you are hypo you should see your doc if you are having sleeping problems.

[fawn]

Tylenol is one of the most toxic substances for the liver. Assist your systems in working for you with amino acid therapy. tryptohpan if you can get it. The Diet Cure or The Mood Cure will assist you in normalizing your sleep patterns.

Your body will just become dependent on this "medicine" and "medicines" should only be taken when one is ill. Big Pharma has made this socially acceptable but defies all laws of nature of the human body. Be kind to it or it will surely revolt. Tylenol affects your liver enzymes negatively.


Anything that disrupts liver function most certainly affects metabolism.

Heather, did you know that a cat fed a raw food diet will eliminate allergenic responses?

[Beth Sch]

Fawn! I have taken this for 3 mo. now and upped the dose just this past week and it totally stopped my losses. I actually gained 2 lbs. I'm stopping immediately.

How long do you think it will take me to get back to normal. Called my dr. and he said once it's out of my system that things will go back to normal. OMG! I never knew.

[Leo41]

Beth-

If you're hypothyroid (as I am) that doesn't necessarily mean you're optimally medicated. I am tested every four months, and I've had to have my meds adjusted 3 times within the past 2 years.

You could be retaining water (common in hypos), and if your T3 is too low, you will gain even eating as you do to lose. When my T3 was too low, I gained 10 lbs in 2 weeks even though I was eating the same way as when I lost steadily. Only added T3 kept me from gaining. I will also stall if my meds are slightly off.

It could be the Tylenol, but keep in mind that being medicated doesn't mean that you can't gaining because of your thyroid.

[Beth Sch]

Thanks Leo, for your concern with the T! I am sure it's not that at all! I have lost 23 lbs. in the last 3 mo and was losing right up to the day I started to increase the Tylenol PM. I called the pharmasist and she said YES! Due to the Benydryl in the PM it slows the metabolism down quite a bit! OMG! This sucks! NO MORE FOR ME! She also said to increase working out a bit and I'll go back to normal within a week. I'm not taking that stuff ever again! NO WAY!

[fawn]

Beth, you might grab some sylmarin (milk thistle) and add the juice of one half lemon to 32oz. of water for a nice gentle "helper".....Don't freak out.....you'll be ok!

Your sleep pattern might be helped with 5Htp, tryptophan or melatonin......I would recommend going with the 5Htp first and as others have suggested, make sure you're not having any caffeine in the late afternoon.

Are you by chance waking in the middle of the night? Do you eat before bed? Having a little snack before bed might help. Low blood sugar can wake us up.....