Paracetamol

[babybombo]

I've been taking between 4 to 6 paracetamol a day for about a week now due to severe headaches.
On the packet it says not to exceed taking 8 tablets every 24 hours so I thought what I'm doing would be ok but my friend said that taking paracetamol so regularly can be bad for you, is this true ?
What exactly can it do?

[daffy654]

Excessive paracetamol causes liver damage. I think the amount you have been taking would be ok though. I would see your GP to find out the cause of your severe headaches though.

[banjosister]

Hey Babybombo,

Ditto Daffy.

Go to the docs asap - could be sinus headache which paracetamol will not touch, where is the pain?

BB xx

[Eve]

Has it been looked into why you're having so many severe headaches? If not I'd see your GP asap.

Have you had any head injury or a recent cold or other illness?

There are certain things which trigger my migraines, was having them almost daily, once due to being on the Dianette pill and another time once I cut out artificial sweetners they stopped.

[ethandron]

i agree with everything that has already been said. also, make sure you're drinking enough water. dehydration, even mildly, can cause awful headaches.

[amonty1144]

Also get your eyes tested, that also causes headaches if you have eye strain or use a computer regularly

[babybombo]

Thanks for the answers.

I was thinking that it may be migraines as when I get these headaches I am really sensitive to light, and they seem to make my headache worse until I close my eyes or go somehwhere dark.

Banjosister- The pain is usually on either side of my head, most often my right, at the front.

Thanks for all your answers, think I may go to the docs as they are starting to get in the way of everyday life.
Thanks again all
x

[beanebabe]

The paracetamol could actually be causing the headaches! It is like withdrawal symptoms! If you try to stay off them for a day or two things might improve (it happened to me, I think they call them rebound headaches). If it is that bad you should go to your GP.

[theprof]

Yes, you should see your GP as soon as possible. The dosage you''re taking should not be followed for longer than about four days without the advice of a doctor due to the risk of liver damage

In the meantime, if you feel there's an unacceptable delay in seeing a GP, it might be best for you to take soluble aspirin or ibuprofen instead as long as you've never suffered any gastric problems in the past. Both aspirin and ibuprofen can be taken for longer periods than paracetamol before any toxic symptoms arise.

to answer your last question, in simple terms, paracetamol can irreversibly "poison" the liver due to its interference with normal liver function.. Once it's done,there's no going back and depending on the damage caused, it may even be lethal.

[chazza]

I agree with the above, see your GP, it could be something as simple as teeth grinding during the night, or needing (stronger) glasses.

As someone above mentioned, taking paracetamol every day can cause headaches so it may be a vicious circle

[babybombo]

Hi all, thanks for your replies.

I went to the doctor today and when I described where the pain was and how it felt the he said that it is actually probably problems with one of my teeth.
I chipped one of the upper back teeth about 6 months ago but it has never caused me pain (or so I thought) so I didnt bother fixing it.
But as the pain seems to be from the top of my jaw and then to my head, it my actually be the tooth.
Something about the nerve cells in my tooth being damaged when I fell so that the actual tooth is hurting but I'm not getting pain signals from it to my brain but the pain is travelling up and giving me headaches.
How complicated!
So guess who's off to see the dentist! =[

Thanks again for all your answers, the doctor said the same as you theprof, to take ibuprofen, so I have been ever since.

Thanks again for all the answers!
x