so sorry for your loss. if you are blaming yourself,stop! this was not your fault. you did not force this person to do what they did and it was NOT your responsibility to be their baby sitter either. they 'chose' to do this. the corabo of darv and alcohol is probably what ended up getting them in the end. just what was the cause of death?
darvocet has sooo much tylenol that is extensively metabolized within that liver,add any alcohol to that,which is also extensively metabolized in the same liver,and you have someone who is basically killing off their own liver,bit by bit,and piece by piece. when the liver cannot keep up with the gluthethione(the chemical needed for simple metabilization) that helps metabolize things that pass thru it,it starts to kill off liver tissue and cells. there is a very set safe limit for tylenol as per day in 4000mgs,and for the everyday chronic usuer,that safe limit goes down to only 3000mgs per day. it all comes down to how quickly that gluth can replenish itself,that is what has set those 'safe" parameters.
my DOC and what got me into the world of addiction way back in the early 80s WAS the very same thing,darvocet. the sick thing here besides that addiction itself,is i was actually born with an actual kidney and liver disease that just ran in our family that none of us knew about. i found out at age 40(i am 47 right now) when my son became deathly ill that i actually had this disease too. could have knocked me over with a flippin feather at that point. luckily for me,despite the huge overuse and abuse of the darvocet i had been doing back then,i had been completley clean and sober when i had found this all out for well over ten years at that time. but everytime i think of just how much tylenol i was putting into my body at that time in my life,and sometimes drinking as well it just really makes me sick.
tylenol is just not the innocuous little wonder pain med that we were told it was for soo many years. it hasn't been til more recently that the real truth about its destructive properties has come to light. it not only effects the liver,it also does affect the kidneys as well. anytime you go over that safe limit,you are causing damage to liver cells. it just kind of comes with the territory ya know? and if alcohol or anything else you are taking is also being metabolized within the liver,that safe limit for just that tylenol intake per day goes down too,since it uses that same chemical to metabolize too.
anything that gets metabolized within our livers has to be monitored for that safe intake level and not corabined with any alcohol,ever. the overall damage to the kidneys can actually cause whats called analgesic nephropathy( a form of chemical induced renal failure). trust me when i say that there are many many people who are on that transplant list waiting for new livers and kidneys,solely thru the usage of too much tylenol or the corabo of tylenol and alcohol,and also other OTC painkillers. they ARE there. you just have to very careful to always stay within those safe guidelines,always. occasional use,4000mgs per day, everyday or chronic usage,3000mgs. anything above that,espescially on a very consistant basis,will cause damage. i watched my son go thru the hell of liver failure and transplant back in 99-2000 and believe me,it was horrid and his was not self inflicted damage but from a congenital bunch of crap that he was just born with(did not even know he was even sick til things hit the fan and he was down to only 20% of his liver function left. thats how well the body can compensate for damage,but only for so long). i would not wish that on anyone,of any age ever. he was only 12-13 at this time. doing okay now thru the wonderous miracle of transplant.
again,i really am so sorry on the loss of someone so dear to you. just please watch what you put into your bodys. it does take its toll at some point. take care, Marcia
