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Forum Name: Cardiology Symptoms

Question: Severe reaction to Acetaminophen or IB Profin

demica - Tue May 08, 2007 4:09 am

Hello I'll try my best to give all the details I can. I am a 27 year old woman with a few medical conditions such as Scoliosis and an inverted uterus (or so my mother calls the condition), the latter causes me agonizing pain each month with my cycle and for as long as I can remember I've been taking 600 mg motrins for the pain. I abused this as a child, trying hard to have a normal day, and would some times take several of those pills. As an adult I've decreased to only one, but recently I've had a strange and severe reaction. When I take the motrin's I get no pain relief at all and then within the hour I find myself nauseated and puking up anything and everything - I assume the pill included. After this I feel better. Needless to say I've stopped taking them. However in an attempt to find another pain relieved I switched to a 500 mg Tylenol, but found myself running into another severe reaction. I took three within 3 hours of each other. The first two I took and they helped, all seemed normal except I felt a little light headed. Three hours later I took one more since I was still somewhat in pain and everything snowballed. My heart was pounding, I was told I was hyperventilating, my vertigo was so bad I couldn't focus on anything and could barely walk. I also experienced a numbness that went from my eyes to the back of my skull like a skunk stripe (I could still feel my ears though). I slept it off and felt better. I'd like to know what these reactions are, and if there is another pain killer anyone can suggest. Thank You, Rochelle

John Kenyon, CNA - Wed May 09, 2007 4:00 am

Hi Rochelle - The reaction to ibuprofin (as Motrin) makes some sense, since this drug can really irritate the stomach lining. Some people are more sensitive to it than others, but since you say you "abused" it when you were younger there's a chance that either your stomach lining just doesn't want to see it anymore, or even that you've developed a rare allergic reaction to it. It's probably wise to avoid this drug in light of the history. The apparent reaction to acetominophen is also rather unusual and may have had some other component involved that we don't know about, but you did exceed the recommended dosage by about 50 per cent. That wouldn't normally cause the kind of reaction you describe, but it's possible. More likely, though, it sounds as though you experienced a Panic attack, which would be unrelated to the Tylenol. One reason this might have happened (or even both reactions) is that since you probably have a tilted (inverted?) uterus, your periods are far more uncomfortable than normal, and this could have triggered some sort of reflex response. I would strongly suggest you bring this to the attention of a gynecologist, who may well prescribe a different medication for the painful periods. You obvioiusly are going to need something at least briefly during those times. There are alternatives prescription pain medications that hopefully wouldn't affect you the way the over-the-counter ones have. Tramadol comes to mind as a likely effective and innocuous prescription drug you could use on a limited basis if your doctor feels it is appropriate. I hope this is of some help.

demica - Wed May 09, 2007 6:04 pm

John Kenyon, Thank you for the response. I'll look into getting an appointment as you suggested. As to the uterus condition, well as I said I have only my mothers termenology for it, yours is probably more on the money then hers. Are Panic attacks common in reaction to a drug? I've never had that problem until the Tylenol which is why I ask. Rochelle

John Kenyon, CNA - Wed May 09, 2007 6:24 pm

Hi Rochelle - I'm glad you'll be getting this checked. There's probably something that will work a lot better for you. I certainly hope so! Panic attacks can be triggered by a lot of things, but usually there is some underlying condition or situation that leaves the patient prone to this happening. In your case it could be as simple as the hormonal change that takes place routinely during mestruation. Combine that with the excruciating pain and maybe some stressor that normally might go overlooked, and all of a sudden there's all this strange stuff happening with no apparent explanation. It wouldn't necessarily be directly related to the Tylenol, but possibly indirectly (for instance, a reaction to the extra 500 mg. may have made you feel ill, which could make for a bad coincidence, since it was during your period and also at the height of your physical pain). Sometimes it just takes one straw to set off something like that. It's worth considering, anyway, I think. Good luck to you and please stay in touch.

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