What damage could have been done by long term paracetamol use?

[leila762]

Up until a couple of weeks ago for a couple of months the only opiates I could get hold of contained paracetamol(A.P.A.P). I was taking codeine tablets which contained paracetamol (500mgs of paracetamol per tablet).

I was taking 6 of these tablets twice daily, meaning I was taking a total of 6g of paracetamol per day. The maximum advised dosage of paracetamol is 4g in any 24 hour period.

I would be interested to hear if anyone knows what damage I could have done to myself. I know this is alot of paracetamol and I am no longer taking them now.

I have had no visible side effects as such, but could I have caused damage to myself in the longterm?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[samoroasty]

If you caused yourself any irreversible damage, you would probably feel something by now.

2 months exceeding daily the maximum advised dosage of anything is pretty serious. Your body will most likely regenerate if you discontinue usage, but my best advise is don't start again on that regime. Paracetamol is hepato-toxic, and a single overdose can bring on a long and painful death.

Good thing you stopped it. If you have any concerns about your health you should tell a doctor that you took all these pills in the last couple of months due to dental surgery or a muscle lesion (as an alibi), and that you're concerned about the status of your liver.

How much codeine was there in each pill? If they're anything like the codeine & paracetamol pills I know, there's 30mg of codeine and 500mg of paracetamol. You should be thankful you didn't get addicted bad enough to the codeine that you would keep on taking the pills despite their obscure possible outcome.