Oh, don't be sorry about coming onto the site at all. That's what we are here for.....to listen, support and hopefully answer a question or two.

Tylenol is not a good thing to take, obviously, when you have liver disease. But, other pain relievers can cause problems as well. It is better to find out what the liver specialist or gastrointerologist suggests for pain or fever. Each patient is different. It would depend on such things as blood platelet count or history of ulcers or other factors as to whether or not another pain med can help.

I took large doses of Tylenol daily for many years plus I had a glass or two of red wine in the evening along with the Tylenol in hopes it would help me relieve some of the pain of my Dystrophy that I have had for close to 23 years. I had no idea that I was destroying my liver until I ended up in the ER with serious gall bladder attack and pancreatitis........all due to cirrhosis of the liver.

I can now take one or two Tylenol when I absolutely have to have something for pain but not to exceed 2 tablets of regular strength Tylenol in 24 hours. Helps only a little bit. I can't take the NSAID drugs such as Aleve or Advil due to my very low blood platelet count (Thrombocytopenia). Of course, alcohol in any form is forbidden. So, I mostly have to deal with the pain from Cirrhosis as well as pain caused by RSDystrophy without the benefit of drugs.

If your husband doesn't have the problems associated with low blood platelets, perhaps he would have more choices as to what he can take for pain. Again, it is best to not take anything without first discussing it with his doctor.

Welcome to the site and I am sure that some of the others will add or subtract from this. We have all had different experiences with our liver disease (cirrhosis) and have had to deal with liver issues in many different ways. I surely hope you find some good answers here. Hugs and prayers............CarolLentz

I have cirrhosis too and NSAIDs are not good to take. Like Carol said depending on his platelet count and all maybe he could take aspirin.
I did quite a bit of online research on this topic, and the general consensus among doctors is that acutally Tylenol in lower doses is safe and the best thing to take. It will take Tylenol or any drug longer to clear his liver, and so I would keep that in mind as well. If it says every 4 hours, I would actually do every 8 hours or so. And only for very short term. The key here is to not overload the liver and overdose (again) and absolutely NO alcoholic beverages while taking Tylenol. This is just the best info that I have read.
I would check with your doctor.
Personally I use Tylenol but very rarely. Maybe a few times a year. Usually like Carol I deal with a headache or pain rather than take anything. The pain or headache eventually goes away. But again, check with the doctor. You want to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection too.

At this link you will find a variety of opinions from studies and doctors.
Unfortunately, no prospective, long-term studies have assessed the safety of long-term use of acetaminophen in patients with cirrhosis. In such patients, the half-life of oral acetaminophen is double that in healthy controls, but hepatic injury and renal injury are rare when the dosage is limited to less than 4 g/d.5,22 This assumption is supported by a double-blind, 2-period crossover study of 20 patients with chronic stable liver disease (8 with cirrhosis), who tolerated acetaminophen at a dosage of 4 g/d for 13 days without adverse effects.23

The prevailing mechanism of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity includes altered metabolism via CYP activity in combination with depleted glutathione stores that cause accumulation of a hepatotoxic intermediate, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) (Figure 1). Studies in patients with cirrhosis have shown that CYP activity is not increased and glutathione stores are not depleted to critical levels in those taking recommended doses of acetaminophen. Glutathione stores are variable in patients with and without underlying liver disease but generally have not been found to be depleted in cirrhotic patients.14 On the basis of these data, the longer half-life, and very limited clinical studies, our recommendation (expert opinion) for long-term acetaminophen use (>14 days) in cirrhotic patients (not actively drinking alcohol) is for reduced dosing at 2 to 3 g/d.14 For short-term use or 1-time dosing, 3 to 4 g appears safe; however, with the new FDA guidelines in mind, a maximum dosage of 2 to 3 g/d is recommended.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861975/

From the same page:

No evidence-based guidelines exist on the use of analgesics in patients with liver disease and cirrhosis. This review underscores the paucity of prospective studies that have assessed the safety of various analgesics in patients with advanced hepatic dysfunction. It has been an unspoken standard of practice by hepatologists alike to err on the side of caution, recommending 2 to 3 g/d of acetaminophen. Because the FDA may recommend limiting acetaminophen to a maximum daily dosage of 2.6 g, we have provided a uniform recommendation and a practical guide to approaching analgesia in the cirrhotic patient (Figure 2), which has been reviewed and agreed on by hepatologists within our group practices (unpublished survey of 10 hepatologists). An important caveat is that the care of patients with cirrhosis must be individualized, and analgesic options may vary depending on a number of factors, such as nutritional status, adherence, renal function, and liver transplant candidacy.

thank you all SO MUCH for answering. I will most certainly get him to see the doc and find out what's best. He's going to the ER tonight if it doesn't get any better. Thank you all again!

Rosey

Do go see a good specialist. They are worth their weight in gold.

I am home recovering from a liver resection needed to remove a tumour on the left lobe of the liver.

Before I went in I had chronic pain under my right scapular. I still seem to have it. I think it is referred pain from inflammation of my diaphragm.

I was told in the hospital that I could take up to 2 grams of tylenol per day to control my pain during recovery. It works great and I have not so far used half that much.

Longer-term I thing it is OK for rare use.

I broke my back 19 years ago and have dealt with chronic pain in various ways since then. I have used everything from aspirin to narcotics. What I found is that nothing really works all the well on balance. You can get rid of the pain and then seem to replace it with something else; depression, sleep difficulties, personality changes. None seem to make your life better.

So I have just developed strategies to ignore the pain for long stretches.

I am somewhat convinced that my NASH Cirrhosis was made worse by using the drugs, but who really knows?

You and your boyfriend have a long road a head, go out and get the best medical care you can get and listed to those doctors.

I have found the people here are knowledgeable and helpful but I still check things out with my Doc. I am fortunate in that my Doc is an old friend and I can call anytime.

All the best.

Definitely a doctor question.

As with Carol, I'm allowed to take small doses, Standard max for people is 4G, I'm allowed to take up to 2G if needed.

For me, absolutely no NSAIDS (Aleve, etc.) and no aspirin.

We're all different, so your doctor should be the one to decide what type and amount any med you're allowed.

As with anything, each individual is "different" and will react differently to anything we put into our bodies. I take Tylenol Regular Strength only once a day and only then, when I need it. When the pain from the dystrophy (which the kind I have is called The Pain Syndrome Dystrophy" and is also crippling and won't go away totally, never) gets so bad that all I can do is sit and cry, I then weigh the value of taking a dose of Tylenol against how much I can actually tolerate before going totally nuts...The human body is only equipped to handle so much pain and then, our nervous system takes over and we can be in a world of hurt when that happens. Best to keep it under control if possible....Bio feedback, meditation and lots of prayer and "looking the other way"........all can be used to help "deal" with pain and will work in varying degrees......I have had nerve injections and nerve isolation therapy but to no avail.....They won't even try the injections any more. Too dangerous.

It is all relative as to what each patient can tolerate. I cannot take Ibuprofen nor can I take any asprin based pain killers. No decongestants and only an occasional Benedryl tablet. Absolutely no alcohol and very limited sodium/salt. Plenty of clear water but not so much in the way of pop or carbonated beverages or coffee or tea (even decaf). That is the mantre I live by and have for many years now. So far, so good. I am holding my own although my liver is compensated. I do the best I can do. When I get a high fever (which I have reached 104 degrees a number of times and that "ain't good" in an older person) it is best to control that with Tylenol........this according to my Cleveland Clinic liver specialist.

Again, it is best to work closely with a good doctor that you trust to know as much about you and your "physical being" as possible. I hope your boy friend finds just that as soon as possible.

Hugs and prayers...........best wishes..........CarolLentz