Long Night....

[Djmohr 6,965]

On Sunday's we usually go to my 87 year old Father N Law's house to watch Packer football and spend some time with him.

Then we take him grocery shopping after the game. Yesterday while in the car, my brother N law calls to tell us that Jim's sister walked into the ER yesterday morning. She was feeling like crap for a couple of days and it was getting worse.

They took one look at her and knew she was in trouble. She suffers from chronic pain and takes alot of pain medication. We have been after her years because she takes too much and does not follow doctors orders.

Well, they quickly did some tests and determined she was in complete liver failure. When they did the toxicology tests, they determined she had massive amounts of acetaminophen in her system. To the point where they thought she tried to commit suicide.

She walked in at 11am, by 6:00pm she was no longer coherent and at 9pm last night they put her on life support. She is also a type 1 diabetic and was dealing with ketoacidosis, brain swelling and her kidneys had 0 output so they put her on dialysis. She was dark yellow and her face and body were swollen to the point where neither my husband and I did not recognize her. We only knew it was her because her husband was in the room. It was very scary and sad.

They gave her a 10% chance of making it through the night but said if she did, they would put her through the process to get a liver transplant. So today, they have a team of doctors assessing her to determine whether or not she will qualify.

We are currently taking it hour by hour at this point in time. I have to say I prayed last night as hard as one could not only for her but Dad, Brother and husband. All of them are in shock that taking too much acetaminophen can do this.

I do not know if they will approve her for a new liver or not or if her body could even survive the surgery at this point. Having chronic pain myself, I get why she took so much. You will do anything to get out of pain. I learned my lesson when i was told all the medications i was taking took a toll on my kidneys and ended up with stage 3 kidney disease. I have learned to deal with my pain in other ways, some days it works, some days not so much.

I read so much about people in chronic pain and see so much on forums regarding people taking more pain medication than they should.

A tylenol overdose can happen to anyone and i am here to tell you it is a horrible thing to have your liver failure. A team of doctors and administrators literally decide your fate. The decision is not as simple as "yes, i will do a transplant" - someone decides for you. We are praying that she gets through this and if she does, she will be able to follow the very strict instructions of living life after liver transplant. Following instructions on medications.

[genn 460]

My prayers are with you and your family and especially with ur sister in law. I pray for nothing but the best outcome!!!!

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[laceemouse 631]

Oh no, so sorry.

[blizair09 3,250]

I am very sorry. I know this is a tough time.

[Who'sThere 331]

Prayers for you and your family. A teenager at my church a few years ago had a severe headache that lasted several days. She kept taking tylenol. Her family came to evening services without her, and when they returned home she was very ill. She had gotten worse and worse little by little and apparently the signs aren't there until it's too late or almost too late. She didn't make it.

I don't say this to scare you more. (I'm so glad your sister in law went it. This girl didn't. I think her being tiny and so young didn't work in her favor.) My purpose is to reiterate how very serious this can be. People tend to think otc meds are safe not matter. They are still medication and people should take them as directed.

Again, prayers for your SIL and your family!

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[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

Prayers for your family!

[heidikat72 935]

Prayers for your family. and yes, a lot of people don't realize that something as simple as tylenol/acetaminophen can do serious damage if taking too much over prolonged periods of time. There is a reason why the combination prescription drugs - narcotic with high doses of acetaminophen in one tablet (600mg of acetaminophen or more) were taken off the market several years ago because of the risk of severe liver damage when taken for prolonged time periods for chronic pain. I was appalled however at discovering that doctors were getting around it and ignoring the safety risk by telling patients to just double up on the lower dosage - my brother's doctor did that and I insisted my brother change doctors.

The liver damage from acetaminophen is serious and it is imperative people do not exceed the dosing instructions on the bottle.

[Babbs 14,680]

@@Djmohr I'm so sorry! Here's hoping she can pull through!

My mom lived in chronic pain, also. She also abused prescription drugs, and went overboard with them many, many times. I know it ultimately was the cause of her heart failure and untimely death, but I never have blamed her. I don't have chronic pain (fortunately), so I have no room to judge anyone where that is concerned.

Please keep us posted. You and yours are in my thoughts today.

[Montana Gal 448]

@@Djmohr, I am so sorry this is happening! My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[LittleBill 2,231]

I will be praying for your entire family as well.

[Malin 470]

I am so sorry to hear this...but you're absolutely right, people do not realize what OTCs can do. A girl in my high school committed suicide by taking a lot of Tylenol. Praying for strength and grace for your family.

[Syaniya 319]

Prayers for you and your family.

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[Hammer_Down 631]

There's not much positive that can be said about experimenting with OTC and preascription drugs as a teenager, but I guess one positive thing I learned is that anything with acetaminophen in it is be avoided for recreational purposes.

I hope you are all getting some form of support, either from each other or from your family and friends during this difficult time. Whatever the outcome, you know where to find a sympathetic ear from people who care about you (right here). Remember to take care of yourself, even when it's the furthest thing from your mind - your loved ones will need you, and you deserve it.

[mrsNilla 304]

So sorry that you and your family has to go thru this!

As a sufferer of chronic pain I can relate. A big problem is that drs are very cautious of prescribing strong enough meds so that people can be able to function with their pain. I will never be pain free and I no longer have false expectations of achieving that. That said, my meds make me function and don't blur my mind in the process. I also have non-med procedures to help along with the meds.

The flip side is recognizing the possible abusers. They are very good at selling their stories to get their fix. Some real patients pay a price for that.

I apologize for hijacking your thread, but this topic is something I feel very strongly about. Thank you for raising awareness.

All the best to you and your family!

Nilla

[kblanc 53]

How is everything going?

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