Re: OT -- tylenol...
From: cathy:- (anonymous@medispecialty.com)
Sun Jan 6 19:09:04 2002
Hmmmm... I think we've got one of those cross-boder terminology
differences. I've always used "Tylenol 1" = "regular strength Tylenol"
which is 325mg pill (this is the dose my 60lb almost-8-yr-old takes) and
"Tylenol 2" = "extra strength Tylenol" which is 500mg per pill, and
"Tylenol 3" is 250mg of Tylenol plus some amount of codeine. Or maybe
it was 500mg of Tylenol plus codeine -- like I said I haven't taken it
in awhile because I don't react to codeine. The combination is because
if you are one of the 70% of people that are receptive to codeine, then
the combination is significantly more effective at a lower dose that
either one would be by itself. I think that percoset is another
tylenol-codeine blend, with a different ratio. One of the problems
though is that over time you will develop a tolerance to codeine and you
need to gradually up the dose to get the same effect, and so if you take
tylenol-codeine combos then you start to overdose on tylenol. If this
works for you then you need to keep this in mind for the long haul that
you might need to experiment and adjust things more than once.
Here in the States if you buy the generic acetominephen it will only
cost you like $4 for 500 of the extra-strength, where exactly the same
drug if it's a prescription will cost you 2-3 times that. It's like
I've taken advil for cramps since I was 15 and it was a prescription
drug. (It does nothing for me for pain, but it will stop cramps like a
switch and slow down the heavy beginning of my period to a trickle.)
When I took the prescription version the pills were 400mg each and I
always felt like 1 wasn't enough and 2 was too much so I was very happy
when the over-the-counter came out and it is 200mg and I take 3. One
time a doc offered me a prescription for 600mg pills, and I asked him if
that was any different from taking 3 of the OTC strength, and he said,
"No, and it's a lot cheaper that way, too." I think that there are
patients out there who don't feel happy unless they leave the doctor
with a scrip -- and rather than argue the doctors just give them the
scrip and they happily go off and spend 2,3,4 times what they could have
gotten exactly the same drug for if they had bought the
over-the-counter. At least that's how it works in the US, anyway.
At Sun, 6 Jan 2002, Jayne wrote:
>
>Hi Cathy,
>
>Thanks for all this information. I take Tylenol 2's with codeine not the
>extra strength Tylenol as they do nothing for my pain at all.
>
>What I was confused about was how come 3 x Tylenol 2's with codeine are more
>beneficial than 2 x Tylenol 3's with codiene wouldn't it be the same dosage?
>
>I always watch to see how my bowel reacts to the codeine and I am always
>told to drink LOTS of water while taking it especially after pelvic surgery.
>I really don't think the codeine makes me constipated though.
>
>Actually my Tylenol 2's don't cost that much, about $14 a month (for 180)
>compared to about $8 (for 100) for regular extra strength. There really
>isn't that much difference in price if you go by quantity.
>
--
cathy :-)
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