I will soon be receiving my G4. Can anyone relate their experience with Tylenol, which I take one day a week when I give myself my Avonex injection and or low dose (81mg) aspirin which I take daily.
Acetaminophen, the active pain-killing ingredient in Tylenol wreaks havoc with the Dexcom system. I inadvertently took one once when I was new to my 7+ (G4 has the same issue, btw), and my Dex freaked out -- showed sugars as high as 440 when in actuality I was in the low 100s. If you can avoid it, do so. If you can't, then do not even look at your Dex for a ay until the stuff gets out of your system. Reaction was almost immediate as well -- only took about a half hour for my sugars to go wacky on the Dex after taking one.
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Aspirin 81mg does not affect the Dex; I take one daily as well.
Pain relief: as Michael pointed out, Tylenol and any other acetaminophen-based pain relievers are no longer available to you while you’re on the Dex. For pain relief try something else like Advil.
I have not found taking Tylenol had any effect on my G4, my blood sugars were still consistent with the receiver. I take a baby aspirin every day with no problem. So I think this is another case where "YDMV" your diabetes may vary.
That's interesting. On pg. 20 of 210 in the G4 manual, under Contraindications, it says:
Taking medications with acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) while wearing the sensor may falsely raise your sensor glucose readings.
I guess the operative word here is 'may'. But, they've seen enough of it that it warranted inclusion in the manual, so you are one of the lucky ones.
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And it also says on whatever page to only use the sensor on your abdomen and to wear it for only 7 days. I haven't had a sensor on my abdomen since I started the G4 in November and my last sensor was on my thigh for 28 days :)
I kind of see those as two as very different things. One is a drug interaction that renders the system ineffective, and the others are placement and usage as dictated by FDA approval. I don't believe it says anywhere that it WON'T work if you place it on your arms (as I do) or wear it for more than 7 days. That's just what they are held to sayig to the populace by the FDA. The issue with Tylenol is a known drug contraindication that affects many people with their systems. That's all (IOW, I wasn't saying you were wrong -- in fact, I think the very first thing I posted to your reply was "That's interesting"...).
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I didn't actually think your were saying I was wrong Michael. What the OP wanted to know was " Can anyone relate their experience with Tylenol" which I did. I'm glad you find it interesting, yet another ydmv moment. And yes indeed I do think I am one of the lucky ones, but as you and I both know luck only lasts for so long.
I saw that word “may”. I posted my question in order to get an idea of just how often it “may”.
I have MS, which is the reason for the Avonex. I also have kidney damage and have to be careful with other pain relievers. The side effects have lessened somewhat so, I think that I’ll first see whether there’s a jump in my numbers. I’ve been taking Tylenol an hour before the Avonex injection. Three hours after, Tylenol with an ibuprofen. If there’s problematic readings, I’ll drop the Tylenol the following week.
Thanks, all! Having BGs in the 50s isn’t very much fun; but 27 is just nuts!! Very scary indeed!! Again, thanks.
I think this is something that is worth calling Dexcom and discussing directly with them - they'll be able to give you actual data on how common it is and what you can do if you're forced to use Tylenol. So Advil /NSAIDs are meds that you have to be careful of?
They’re not kidney friendly. I have stage 3 CKD and not trying to do anything to make it worse. I’m pretty tough pain wise. I went through two very painful shoulder surgeries (one required two screws). I have/ had a serious intolerance of ALL of the prescription pain meds! I’d much rather endure one day with the effects of the Avonex than risk diabetic lows.
Your plan sounds reasonable. If your experiment is successful, great. If not, you'll know pretty quickly. The only "loss" is that until the Tylenol clears your system, the Dex will be useless. I recommend not trying it within the first 24-hours of insertion -- I often get wonky results the first several hours - up to 24 or so - with a new sensor, while the system's gets "used to" you. After that, Dexcom G4 is a wonderful help! I'm partially hypo-unaware and very sensitive to high BGs (even over 140 or so!). I had a BG in the mid thirties a couple weeks ago with no knowledge, except the Dexcom screaming at me! Sure is better to have my first "indication" of a bad low to be Dexcom warnings, rather than, say, death!
Like your sense of humor. I find that quite often when my BG fall below 70, I’d better waste no time in treating, as it seems to plummet!
Thanks for the advice.