I would appreciate it if those with fibromyalgia would consider answering the following questions. I have contacts at the Med School who are interested.

Have you ever taken Tylenol?
In what form?
When did you begin taking Tylenol?
Do you take Tylenol now?
How often?
How much?
How long have you had fibromyalgia (with or without diagnosis)?

smile

Yeah, Smile. I take Tylenol. (Tylenol 3 works better - when I can get it) How often? That depends. In a (relatively) pain-free stretch I won't take anything at all. In a bad patch I'll take it everyday - even twice or three times a day - usually with aspirin. Why that way? Aspirin is faster but Tylenol lasts longer so if I use them together I get better results. Hope that helps. BTW, on a scale of 0-10, I won't take anything til the pain hits 4 or 5. 1 - 3 I just ignore. Oh, and I've had it for about 20 years.

Tylenol does nothing for me. I might as well just sip water. I've had FM for at least 10 years that I know of.

I guess I didn't make myself clear. I am trying to discover whether fibromyalgia could result from taking tylenol. Some current research indicates that tylenol lowers the pain threshold of frequent users and I am curious about whether fibromyalgia might result from taking tylenol. As I recall, fibromyalgia began about the time tylenol became an over the counter drug.

Here's the questions again. Maybe if you could copy them into your post and answer them that way it would be easier.

Have you ever taken Tylenol?
In what form?
When did you begin taking Tylenol?
Do you take Tylenol now?
How often?
How much?
How long have you had fibromyalgia (with or without diagnosis)?

I have been trying to get some serious research going here about fibromyalgia. It seems to be ignored in the research community, maybe cause they don't seem to know where to start.
Thanks for your help.
smile

[ April 29, 2005, 02:06 AM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

Oh, I see where you're going with it now. I don't think Tylenol caused it, but I'll ponder your questions and ship them back to you.

Thanks Unique. I don't think I have Fibromyalgia though sometimes lately I wonder.
What has spurred my curiosity is that recent research has shown that tylenol relieves pain in the short run, but increases it over the long run.
For example, if you have persistent headaches and you take tylenol today it may releive the headache for a few hours, but if the headache returns, the pain will be worse.
That is a common, but little publicized, effect of many pharmaceuticals.
I thought the incidence of fibromyalgia increased drastically about the time tylenol became the analgesic of choice.
Maybe I'm nuts.
smile

Oh, I see where you're coming from. You could be right about that.
I know I wouldn't be a good subject for a study like that because I have atypical reactions to medicine. You know the little 'also reported in .7% of the subjects' part on package inserts? That's me. When I first started having big trouble with pain I only used aspirin - until one day I used so many mg. my ears were ringing so loud I couldn't hear the air conditioning unit in my window; I was afraid of cutting myself and bleeding to death. That's when I started to use Tylenol & aspirin together. It was about 1996. Tylenol helps (somewhat) but it's slow to kick in. Aspirin kicks in fast, but it doesn't last as long. So there you have it.
That sounds like an interesting focus of research to persue; I'd like to hear what protocols you'd use to discover correlations.
I have heard and seen research on pain relievers losing effectiveness for people over time - that people need higher doses to get the same effect - but I hadn't heard of them actually making the pain worse. That's awful! Do you have any links to data where I can check that out? I'd be interested in knowing more about that.
Bioethics - a whole new realm of science for manufacturers to ignore.

Hi, the concept of pain returning after being relieved is called "rebound." I get hissing and ringing in my ears when I take Ibuprophen (sp?) like Aleve and Motrin. I also used to take Excedrin at least 4 times a day, and that caused the tinitus too. I had to find new doctors when we moved here to CO. I told the doctor that I got a diagnosis of FM right before I got the diagnosis of breast cancer. I said that I was better able to accept the BC diagnosis then the FM because cancer can be determined by xrays, etc. and FM seems to be a phantom condition. She said that cancer was actually easier to treat then FM. She was willing to prescribe pain meds on a regular basis and I take them on a regular basis. I've let go of the concerns of addiction because I don't increase the dose, and the meds do not lose effectiveness for me. It works for me. This morning is a good example of FM. I woke up with aches and pains all over, and I did nothing strenuous yesterday. Unique, aspirin can be so corrosive to the stomach and intenstines. It kicks in faster when combined with caffeine. Caffeine tends to make things worse for me. Research ignores FM because it can't be read with a blood test, and because more women than men are diagnosed. Now, if the reverse was true, then money would be spent on research to improve the quality of life for men! LLL

Smile, do you want to share your symptoms that make you wonder lately if you have FM? Please tell your researchers my experience that Tylenol does nothing, because I think that's important too. I thought the drug of choice for FM pain was NSAIDS or ibuprophen (sp.). I think it's a coincidence that the increase in diagnosis came along with an increase of Tylenol as an aid. But, I am no doctor or researcher!

Hmmm. I've been given NSAIDS, too. And THEY don't work for me. AT ALL!! Ibruprofen makes My stomach feel like my intestines are being pulled out through my navel with vice grips. It follows peristalsis and literally makes me pass out from the pain! I forget all about FM because the ibruprofen pain is so much worse! Naproxen did work when I had tendonitis in my elbow - and I was so surprised! I was like, 'hey, this stuff actually DOES do something!' Just not for my FM.