Tylenol PM Guilt

bigheyes

I know we are allowed to use it, but I really hate having to. However, lately it saves me. I did have one night where I took two, and was still up all night. Now I just try to take one on nights where I have to work the next day. I feel rather guilty using it on a regular basis now, but I NEED MY SLEEP!!!!

MrsVictoriaB

I do the same but with Unisom, I do feel guilty but otherwise I'm up all night long and miserable

Epiphany27

Being well rested is healthier than being sleep deprived. Look at it as a good thing.

lucylea

Considering I was on a script of Ambien at the end of my pregnancy with DD Tylenol PM doesn't seem like a problem to me! :-) Sleep is so much more important at this point than the very minor risks involved with taking the Tylenol.  

scorpiomom2005

wow I should get some. No matter what side I lay on it feels like LO is squishing some vital organ and makes it hard to breathe or feels like she's cutting off circulation to something, and I can't sleep more then an hour at a time at this point

bigheyes

It really helps you to fall back asleep once you get up, and it helps with aches and pains.

amyc78741

Same here. I was told though that tylenol doesn't travel through the placenta and that is why it is safe. I don't understand how anything could not go through the placenta, but I keep thinking about it to make myself feel better.

TheJohns

i take ambien and my OB said its important to get as much rest as possible now. he said i can take a whole pill every night and not to feel even a little guilty. i only take half since that knocks me out. tylenol PM doesnt do anything to help me sleep. BTW my practice is super conservative too.

shauna78

I've needed something to help me sleep since early in my second trimester.  If I have any pain (headache, etc) I use Tylenol PM and if I just need a sleep aid I use Benadryl (which is basically the sleep aid in Tylenol PM).  Using just Benadryl helps ease my guilt of taking too much Tylenol.  Either one is perfectly fine though.  I've talked to my doctor many times about it and she has no concerns - as long as you aren't taking more than 4000 mg of Tylenol a day.  Sleep is SO important!

scorpiomom2005

I'd just be worried about actually sleeping through the night and waking up with an extra full bladder, cause I'm already up about 3-5 times a night to pee...it would be awfully embarrassing to have an accident lol

jesh1111

I take a half a benadryl every night, and have been for months. I also feel pretty guilty about it but it does help to skip the extra dose of tylenol and just take the sleep ingredient. 

bigheyes

scorpiomom2005:

I'd just be worried about actually sleeping through the night and waking up with an extra full bladder, cause I'm already up about 3-5 times a night to pee...it would be awfully embarrassing to have an accident lol

I for one have never had a problem with that. I wake up when I have to pee, but I go back to sleep much quicker with Tylenol PM.

*I also like Benadryl, but lately I'm hurting so much lying down that the Tylenol helps with that.

bigheyes

I have also heard that it doesn't cross the placenta. I don't know if that's true or not.

MeggieLou2

shauna78:

I've needed something to help me sleep since early in my second trimester.  If I have any pain (headache, etc) I use Tylenol PM and if I just need a sleep aid I use Benadryl (which is basically the sleep aid in Tylenol PM).  Using just Benadryl helps ease my guilt of taking too much Tylenol.  Either one is perfectly fine though.  I've talked to my doctor many times about it and she has no concerns - as long as you aren't taking more than 4000 mg of Tylenol a day.  Sleep is SO important!

 

This...pretty much verbatim!

kxp004

bigheyes:

I have also heard that it doesn't cross the placenta. I don't know if that's true or not.

Everything crosses the placenta... I would still try to limit it or change to something else occassionally...

Higher usage of tylenol is linked with an increased chance of respitory problems such as asthma, so if your LO is going to be predisposed to have those issues i would try to cut back even more.... not trying to be mean, just stating what I found (especially important to me since my DH has asthma...)

ETA: my book just says "increased chance," so I can't really say how big or small the increase is... that should be noted especially since there is always the possibility of the risk being very small....

On the other hand, I just found this..."Researchers found that 5-year-old children of high-risk mothers who took acetaminophen in pregnancy were 70% more likely to suffer wheezing than kids whose moms didn't take the medicine-cabinet staple. Taking acetaminophen in the was most risky, increasing the odds that kids would have asthma symptoms by 90%." Link here ---> click me!!!

bigheyes

This study shows this to be true for high risk mothers. I'm not high risk. No one in my family has allergies or asthna. But, I may look onto using Benadryl instead.

kxp004

bigheyes:

This study shows this to be true for high risk mothers. I'm not high risk. No one in my family has allergies or asthna. But, I may look onto using Benadryl instead.

"But it's possible the findings are generalizable" to other families as well, he tells WebMD. Five-year-olds whose moms took acetaminophen in pregnancy were also more likely to have trouble sleeping, to have been rushed to the emergency department, and to have used other medications, "all things associated with wheezing in asthmatics," Perzanowski adds."

You should read more than just the first paragraph or two...Regardless of if you are high risk or not, there is still a possible risk increase... Yes, tylenol is a "safe" drug, but whatever you ingest, inject, put in your body, LO is going to get some of it...you don't get to "pick and choose" what passes and what doesn't... I'm not saying don't use it, just be AWARE of how much you are using, how often and what the possible repercussions are... Some studies found strong correlations, some few, some none at all... but it's still a possibility...

bigheyes

I read the whole article, and my doctor says I can take it. I can't worry about about it now. I have already taken it, and I probably won't take it.much again.