Tylenol causing high blood pressure in women?

[Dr Mordrid]

Sure sounds like it;

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-08-15-painkillers_x.htm

As I've said here before a toxicologist I once worked with was VERY upset when this drug was approved for over the counter use, mainly because of the liver toxicity issues but he had other "bad feelings" about its safety.

Add this and it makes the good Dr. sound like a prophet.

Dr. Mordrid

[Nuno]

Statistic is the art of torturing numbers long enough until they tell us what we want to hear.

Medical studies are getting pathetical by the day. Don´t know what´s better, evidence-based medicine or experience-based maedicine.

I can´t think of a single reason why paracetamol would rise blood pressure (not so with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). And, the ultimate "chic", why would it rise it only in women?

[degrub]

notice in the article, it is about the relative risk changing. And no mention of what the absolute risk is. 2x 1 in a thousand is still pretty small (made up number !)

We Yank's are a very risk averse society. No mention of the benefits provided to the vast majority of people.

i'll take a 1 in a million increase in risk most any day.

[Gurm]

What's wrong with ASPIRIN, asks I?

Tylenol is teh sukc. Doesn't work as well as Aspirin or Ibuprofen, kills your liver if you drink (or even if you don't), now we're supposed to be SURPRISED that it has other adverse effects?

Tylenol ranks right up there with Aspartame, in my mind, on the list of "drugs that never should have been approved but were because their predecessors were problematic".

[Nuno]

Yes. Sure, aspartame surely is a dangerous poison, as it *migh* cause lymphomas on female... mice. Breaktrought scientific evidence, well enough publicited on the media. Well, I supose the study sponsors could use the publicity, who knows.

Paracetamol is an extremely safe, well known, well tolerated drug, on therapeutic dosage (adults up to 4 grams/day). It´s used in pregnant women and children. It doesn´t cause any chronic liver injury, but can cause severe toxic hepatitis if taken in excess (more that 8 grams(day).

Of course it´s not water, so it can be potencially harmfull. Aspirin and Ibuprofen are much more troublesome. They can cause peptic ulcers, bleeding, renal injury, hypertension, on chronic use with therapeutic dosage... sure, much more reliable than paracetamol.

[Jon P. Inghram]

Of course it´s not water, so it can be potencially harmfull.

Water intoxication.

Oh, and too much air is also bad for you.

And too much sun light is of course bad for you, but then again, so can too little...

[Gurm]

Yes. Sure, aspartame surely is a dangerous poison, as it *migh* cause lymphomas on female... mice. Breaktrought scientific evidence, well enough publicited on the media. Well, I supose the study sponsors could use the publicity, who knows.

Paracetamol is an extremely safe, well known, well tolerated drug, on therapeutic dosage (adults up to 4 grams/day). It´s used in pregnant women and children. It doesn´t cause any chronic liver injury, but can cause severe toxic hepatitis if taken in excess (more that 8 grams(day).

Of course it´s not water, so it can be potencially harmfull. Aspirin and Ibuprofen are much more troublesome. They can cause peptic ulcers, bleeding, renal injury, hypertension, on chronic use with therapeutic dosage... sure, much more reliable than paracetamol.

Unless, of course, you don't have enough copies of the gene that causes you to produce the necessary enzymes to break down phenylalanine. If THAT happens (and Phenylketonuria isn't THAT uncommon) then nutrasweet causes:

- Headaches
- Seizures
- Confusion
- Memory Loss
- Vertigo
- Etc.

If you don't have ANY copies of the gene, it's just plain TOXIC.

If Julie so much as SIPS some Crystal Light... POW! Migraine for the next 6 hours, and increased migraine recurrence for weeks afterwards.

But it's a SAFE substance, right? SUUUUUUUURE it is.

Whenever I leave Logan somewhere, I have to tell them that he's ALLERGIC to nutrasweet. Otherwise they'd likely give him some, and we have NO idea what it would do to him. He's already running at a disadvantage - no copies of the gene from Julie. Who KNOWS if I have multiples or not? We won't know until the first time he slips up and drinks a diet Pepsi... and maybe DIES. Good fvcking plan.

And yet it's in EVERYTHING. Sometimes extremely poorly labeled.

So down the pipe comes SUCRALOSE. Which is even BETTER for you, because it's "made from sugar". Except that SOME people metabolize it into FORMALDEHYDE. Whoops! So sorry Ma'am. We didn't put a warning on it because it's "made from sugar(tm)".

And now in retrospect, it turns out the safest non-sugar sweetener of them all ... is SACCHARINE. Yes, that's right. It doesn't cause cancer after all. Whoops!

Screw that. How about some REAL SUGAR?

I'm not saying acetominophen doesn't have its place. Y'know, people who shouldn't have aspirin. Kinda like nutrasweet is a godsend for diabetics. Just keep it away from the rest of us.

[Nuno]

C´mon, if you have Phenylketonuria you´ll know it from childwood, as most food cointains Phenylalanin. It´s just a plain, common amino-acid. You´ll be on a severe diet, and all products containing aspartame display the message "contains Phenylalanin"

Migraine can be triggered by a lots of substance, including chocolate. Is chocolate dangerous for the vast majority of population?

And food allergy can arise from any substance. Certain people can die if they eat shell-fish or peanuts. Are shell-fish or peanuts dangerous?

And so on. You´re extrapolating. If that happens on your family, I´m sorry, but you can´t extrapolate it´s that bad por the general population...

[Gurm]

C´mon, if you have Phenylketonuria you´ll know it from childwood, as most food cointains Phenylalanin. It´s just a plain, common amino-acid. You´ll be on a severe diet, and all products containing aspartame display the message "contains Phenylalanin"

Migraine can be triggered by a lots of substance, including chocolate. Is chocolate dangerous for the vast majority of population?

And food allergy can arise from any substance. Certain people can die if they eat shell-fish or peanuts. Are shell-fish or peanuts dangerous?

And so on. You´re extrapolating. If that happens on your family, I´m sorry, but you can´t extrapolate it´s that bad por the general population...

I'm not "extrapolating". Julie did her thesis on this subject. It's FAR more widespread than you might like to think. Diet soda contributes to the rise of ADHD, but nobody will admit it. The cola companies pay HUGE sums to lobby and to cover up this problem. Nutrasweet is just plain BAD. It ****s with brain chemistry, and some studies have linked it to pre-diabetic conditions (your body THINKS it's sugar, so you make more insulin but there's no actual sugar for the insulin to bond with). Giving nutrasweet to kids is a RECIPE for their immature brains to just go all haywire. Studies showing that it was linked to ADHD and retardation in children have been condemned by the cola industry, and covered up. Much of what you find online is alarmist crap, but the research Julie did was before the prevalence of the web for all information, and was mostly obtained from medical journals and other collegiate resources.

I'm playing devil's advocate with acetominophen, but nutrasweet is THE DEVIL.

Ask some people who have ditched diet soda how they feel now. Damian quit diet soda (at Julie's urging) and he can concentrate better now, and doesn't get the headaches. Funny that, hmm?

As for phenylketonuria, I'm of course exaggerating. People with full-blown phenylketonuria have NO copies of the requisite gene. People who simply don't have ENOUGH copies get what Julie has - a sensitivity to nutrasweet and phenylalanine.

[cjolley]

If God had wanted man to ingest acetaminophen he would have put it in the bark of willow trees.
Only asprin for me said I in the early '70s.
I don't know why, but I never have trusted that stuff.

[Nuno]

Gurm: I do admit that aspartame can have some kind of effect on people´s health. Good thing is that we still have a choice - So if someone thinks aspartame is bad, the option is very simple: Do not take it.

I do eat a lot of aspartame and I don´t feel anything special. Actually, I do - if I would take all the sugar I replace for years with sweetners I would weight 20 Kg (44 lb) more. Wich would certainly increase my risk to have diabetes, high colesterol, hypertension, and a early cardiovascular death.

So nothing comes for free...

[Gurm]

Gurm: I do admit that aspartame can have some kind of effect on people´s health. Good thing is that we still have a choice - So if someone thinks aspartame is bad, the option is very simple: Do not take it.

They don't REALLY have a choice sometimes. When you take your child to daycare, and what they serve there is sugar-free Kool-Aid, you haven't been given a choice, and the 4-year-old doesn't know any better.

And unless you're a "list-of-ingredients" sort of person, how will you KNOW if the product has nutrasweet? It's not always labeled well.

So yes we have a choice. But, just like "high fructose corn syrup" (highest glycemic index of any form of real sugar, and thus horrible for you) it's in EVERYTHING nowadays.

I do eat a lot of aspartame and I don´t feel anything special.

Stop eating it. For a couple weeks. I'm serious. If you don't have improved concentration I'll be REALLY surprised.

Actually, I do - if I would take all the sugar I replace for years with sweetners I would weight 20 Kg (44 lb) more. Wich would certainly increase my risk to have diabetes, high colesterol, hypertension, and a early cardiovascular death.

The aspartame is already raising your diabetes risk. As for the others, try ... y'know ... not eating so much sweetened food. Or try natural fruit sugars. I'm real big on the "take responsibility for being a fatass" idea.

[Technoid]

I'm with Gurm on this, Aspartame almost makes me womit

[Nuno]

The aspartame is already raising your diabetes risk.

How? I´m not really aware of that. Basically you get (type 2) diabetes for genetic backgroung plus getting fat. I was refering to the increased risk by excessive weight/obesity, not because you eat sugar or something else.

As for the others, try ... y'know ... not eating so much sweetened food. Or try natural fruit sugars. I'm real big on the "take responsibility for being a fatass" idea.

The question is caloric intake. Aspartame is virtually non-caloric. Natural fruit sugars are as caloric as sacarose. I estimate I eat around 200-500 Kcal less per day by using sweetners.

Example: Can of Coke: 100-120 Kcal. Coke light: Virtually 0 Kcal
Coffee with 10g of sugar: 40 Kcal. Coffee with 2 tablets of aspartame: Virtually 0 Kcal.

I do usually drink 1 coke and take 4-5 coffees a day, so start adding

[Gurm]

How? I´m not really aware of that. Basically you get (type 2) diabetes for genetic backgroung plus getting fat. I was refering to the increased risk by excessive weight/obesity, not because you eat sugar or something else.

There is evidence that consuming mass quantities of aspartame can have an impact on your diabetes risk.

The question is caloric intake. Aspartame is virtually non-caloric. Natural fruit sugars are as caloric as sacarose.

That'd be "sucrose", methinks.

And actually, the glycemic index matters a whole lot more. Fruit sugars are low on the glycemic scale. High fructose corn syrup is obscenely high. Sadly, that's what's in everything nowadays. Sucrose isn't low, though.

I estimate I eat around 200-500 Kcal less per day by using sweetners.

Example: Can of Coke: 100-120 Kcal. Coke light: Virtually 0 Kcal
Coffee with 10g of sugar: 40 Kcal. Coffee with 2 tablets of aspartame: Virtually 0 Kcal.

I do usually drink 1 coke and take 4-5 coffees a day, so start adding

Cut back. Seriously. 4-5 coffees a day, long term, is really bad for you. Trust me on this - I used to drink that much coffee or more. And it REALLY messed with my metabolism, to the point where I'm STILL not back where I need to be, although I'm getting there.

But seriously - it's EASY to burn 200-500 calories a day. Go for a jog... or have sex.