Tuesday, June 2, 2015
An Aleve blast from the past, and a question
It's been eighteen years since this woman stopped gulping down eight Tylenol every day and instead started gulping down two Aleve every day. So my question is, did she ever actually go to a doctor to look into her daily back pain issues, or did she just continue to take over the counter masking drugs until her liver finally exploded?
(BTW, I found this ad while searching for the recent obnoxious Stereotypical Italian Mom With the Nasal Accent who loves to make Sunday dinner for her family but doesn't like back pain or asking for help. I'll post that one when it shows up on YouTube because....ugh.)
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This is a very legitimate question to ask. I don't think too many people realize how dangerous it is to just pop acetaminophen every time you're in pain. You remember Nicolette Larson, the singer? She died of cerebral edema (excess fluid buildup in the brain) triggered by liver failure. Why? She was depressed and taking too much Valium and Tylenol PM.
ReplyDeleteUntreated depression can be fatal in more ways than one. And just because a drug is sold over the counter doesn't mean you can take as much as you want without it hurting you.
There's a point at which we all have to realize we can no longer self-medicate something, and we need to see an expert.
Oh, and as it so happens, Nicolette Larson died in 1997. Commercials like these, which implied Aleve was just a convenient alternative to popping eight Tylenol a day, may not have killed her, but they didn't help educate anybody, either.
On my third day of grading in Louisville, I was also on the third day of a nagging headache which would simply not go away. I was also on roughly my eighth Advil. Finally one of my tablemates pointed out that the free coffee we were provided was basically just hot, dark water and suggested I hit the Dunkin Donuts down the street to get a caffeine fix. Problem solved.
DeleteWow, that's scary. I confess, I'm a caffeine addict, too. So badly that not only will I get a headache from going without it for too long, but I'll projectile vomit, too. Learned that from spending 24 hours as a guest at someone's house, not realizing that the Sugar Free Dr Pepper they had on hand that I was drinking was also caffeine free.
DeleteOK, so it would probably be a good idea not to be so caffeine-dependent. But going cold turkey is obviously not the way for me. I either have to cut down or wean myself off it slowly. Yeesh.
I should have known better- I visited my godparents in San Francisco in 2000 and was exhausted and headachy the entire first day-- I thought it was jet lag-- then they casually mentioned that they had served me decaf that morning. Once I got a couple of cups of real coffee in me, I was fine.
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