Consuming alcohol, Tylenol could lead to liver damage
Q: You’ve warned against taking acetaminophen while consuming alcohol. Just what do you mean? Don’t take the medicine if you’ve had a drink in the past week? Or just the same day? Or don’t swallow the pill with alcohol? I have one drink daily, just one. Also, I’ve taken Tylenol PM nightly for a long time. Should I be worried? What problems might occur?
A: The warning label on Extra Strength Tylenol PM states quite clearly: “When using this product ... avoid alcoholic drinks.” The combination could increase your risk for liver damage. Given your long history with Tylenol PM and a single daily drink, you might want to ask your doctor for a liver function blood test.
One reader shared this scary story: “I knew a young woman who regularly drank vodka and took Tylenol for headaches. Her liver was destroyed, and she ultimately died after a failed liver transplant. This combination can be deadly!”
Q: I received my COVID-1 9 vaccines and booster in my right arm. After each injection, my arm hurt for several days. To this day, I sometimes feel soreness at the injection site of the booster, which I received in October. By mid-November, I’d lost range of motion in my right arm and had persistent pain that interfered with sleeping. My doctor ordered X-rays and physical therapy. I stuck with it for 1 0 weeks but got no results, so I saw an orthopedic surgeon. He diagnosed me with SIRVA and gave me a cortisone injection. My range of motion has finally improved as well as the pain.
A: We are sorry you’ve had such trouble. SIRVA is shorthand for Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. It can happen after any kind of vaccination, including a flu shot. If the shot is applied to the wrong part of the arm muscle, it can cause stiffness and limited range of motion as well as prolonged pain. The injection should go into the thickest part of the deltoid muscle. Vaccinators are supposed to use landmarks to locate the muscle rather than just eyeballing where to give the shot.
Q: After reading an article you wrote about cinnamon, I started adding one half teaspoon of Ceylon cinnamon to the dry coffee grounds in my four-cup brew pot daily. That’s my daily ration of half-caf coffee. Before that, my A1 C had risen to nearly 6 .
Consequently, I was prediabetic, but I do not want to take metformin. I will have my A1 C checked again in several months and hopefully it will be lower. Thank you for offering alternatives to medications. They often come with too many side effects for my comfort.
A: Controlling blood glucose is crucial for good health. There’s good reason to expect your daily dose of cinnamon will help you do that (Clinical Nutrition, April 2019). This effect was first reported from a clinical trial conducted almost 20 years ago (Diabetes Care, December 2003). Ceylon cinnamon is a wise choice, since it does not affect the liver as cassia cinnamon, the most common spice, can (BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Dec. 28, 2017).