Acetaminophen and kidneys

[dreamer]

Just wondering if taking LARGE amounts of acetaminophen will kill my kidneys?
I mean like everyday, been on them for 6 years now and starting to have pains and other things happen to me.
any advice would be helpful.
~RSM~

[college_dude]

The answer is Yes. It can damage the kidneys if it is taken for a long period of time.

I had a transplant several years ago, and my nephrologist told me to avoid the stuff, because he has had some cases where people had kidney failure because of it.

[dreamer]

college_dude

Yeh have been worryed about that, hopefully I have not done the damage already, I will try to stop. But its hard.
Thanks for your reply.

[Lil'Bit]

Wait, wait, wait...
Many things are toxic to your kidneys BUT really only if you already have kidney troubles. I was diagnosed with a kidney disease not too long ago and the doc told me to avoid ibprofren (sp?) and aleve and aspirin. B/c they are toxic to kidneys, there is a word for this but I forget. Anyway, I wouldn't be so hasty to think kidney failure from tylenol. If it were truly that big of a problem I'm pretty sure my neph doc would have warned me. IMHO.
Lil'Bit

[Oldguy]

Whoa Lil'Bit, Tylenol (Acetominophen) is not only toxic to the kidneys, it is devestation to the liver. It is metabolized in the liver in what is called a second phase reaction that requires sulfonylconjugation (use of sulfur to form sulfate esters) which is derived from sulfur-containing amino acids, mainly cysteine. If there is not enough cysteine (which is the case due to constant use) due to depletion, the products formed are oxidative and hepatotoxic. In order to protect oneself against this, one should take 600mg/day of n-acetylcysteine (normally called NAC). This is the med used intravenously for treatment of acetominophen overdose. I personally quit using tylenol for anything, as its effectiveness against arthritis and inflammation, and expecially fever is rather poor in the permissible dosage. I went back to aspirin. God Bless.....Oldguy

[This message has been edited by Oldguy (edited 04-23-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Oldguy (edited 04-23-2001).]