# Is this a common occurrence?!? (creative suicide attempt) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651 "2009-08-07T16:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/21 "2009-08-07T22:52:08Z")
> [@Vlad\_Igor](#): > > Huh?? Tylenol = acetaminophen the same way Tylenol 3 = acetaminophen + codeine or kleenex [(R)] = facial tissues. I’ve never been aware of anything other than acetaminophen in Tylenol. I have performed HPLC chromatography on Tylenol tablets and haven’t seen evidence to indicate that there’s anything else besides acetaminophen and inert binder. > Vlad/Igor I’m not saying Tylenol necessarily contains anything other than acetaminophen and binder. I’m just saying Tylenol is only one brand of acetaminophen so it’s possible it does while other brands don’t thus the liver failures. What I’m saying is the cite from **Nunavut Boy** doesn’t really disprove what **Irishman** said. I don’t know one way or the other. There’s some other drug or chemical at the tip of my tongue that does contain such an ingredient, but I can’t remember what it is. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/22 "2009-08-07T23:00:54Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > There’s a common urban legend that if you hit a nitro pill with a hammer you’ll get a firecracker-like pop and flash. I have no idea whether it’s true, but it _sounds_ plausible. So of course if you take a buncha nitro pills, it’s like swallowing a stick of dynamite, right? There was a comedian Robert Schimmel who said that after he got put on Nitro after his heart attack his friends said “Hey let’s throw a pill and see what happens”. To which he replied, “Here’s what will happen, I’ll have another F%^&# heart attack and be one pill short” ---
**Author:** ![scarbrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@scarbrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scarbrow)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/23 "2009-08-07T23:35:04Z")
Based on the rash of recent stories about an FDA panel wanting to eliminate pills that mix acetaminophen with other medicines, I have to believe a lot of these OD’s are from people who don’t realize their Vicodin and their cold medicine are the same medicine as their tylenol, and take them all at once. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/24 "2009-08-07T23:40:26Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not saying Tylenol necessarily contains anything other than acetaminophen and binder. I’m just saying Tylenol is only one brand of acetaminophen so it’s possible it does while other brands don’t thus the liver failures. What I’m saying is the cite from Nunavut Boy doesn’t really disprove what Irishman said. I don’t know one way or the other. I don’t think I’m out of line asking for a cite that there is indeed a type of acetominophen that also contains an emetic. I’ve certainly never heard of one and I have seen and read about many cases of acetaminophen ODs. A google search of ‘emetic acetaminophen’ get me nothing. I find it highly unlikely that such a product exists. Besides, **Irishman** posted that **Tylenol** contains an ingredient that causes vomiting, which is definitely not the case. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/25 "2009-08-08T00:09:47Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > There’s some other drug or chemical at the tip of my tongue that does contain such an ingredient, but I can’t remember what it is. Creomulsion (a dextromethorphan syrup) used to contain a small amount of ipecac as an inactive ingredient, perhaps to counter recreational guzzling of an entire bottle. I seem to recall Delsym (another DXM syrup) also containing it at one point, but it’s ipecac-free now. Guaifenesin also reportedly acts an effective emetic at large doses-- and just happens to be in a good number of DXM medicines. Overall, the only time I’ve run across ingredients that seemed designed to counter overdosing have been in products that have recreational abuse potential. Some Tylenol-branded formulations (cold medicines and the like) may have guaifenesin or other drugs that make it difficult to overdose, but I’ve never seen plain Tylenol (or any other acetaminophen) contain anything which would induce nausea. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/26 "2009-08-08T00:58:48Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Somebody on this board lost a spouse to Tylenol induced liver failure. It’s very possible to die from it. I couldn’t let this go uncorrected. And I heard somewhere that they were possibly going to have the tylenol removed from a lot of meds? I hope that is true, because I hate having to sit there and count the tylenol in my meds to make sure I don’t thrash my damned liver … when I don’t NEED the fragging tylenol for what I am taking my meds for. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/27 "2009-08-08T01:00:17Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > I dunno **gotpasswords** , in the 60’s when living in Phoenix, AZ, I remember PSAs warning kids not to touch blasting caps. They would first show someone touching the wires of the cap, and then a flash of a white screen, and then show stills of kids with their eyes, hands, heads, etc., all bandaged up, some missing fingers…you know the drill. Never saw one as a kid, but later handled one in the office about 20 years later which was to be used for some Navy work. I asked the ordnance guy what would happen if it went off in my hand–turned out the PSA was pretty accurate. You’d survive, minus some body parts. I guess an M-80 could do the same thing, but there is a difference between detonation and deflagration. Saw pretty much the same type of PSA in western NY in the 60s and early 70s. Although I can remember seeing a kid who had a couple fingers blown off because of firecrackers when I was in hospital in 1966 … ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/28 "2009-08-08T01:17:48Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > Tylenol != acetaminophen. Tylenol is only one brand of acetaminophen. I don’t know if it has anything in it that would induce vomiting, but it’s very possible it does, while people are dying from other forms of acetaminophen such as that mixed with opiates. No, it has no such ingredient. A former boyfriend of mine a few years after we broke up attempted suicide by Tylenol brand acetaminophen. Swallowed a whole bottle of them, about 100 pills. Never vomited. Lucky for him, part 2 of his master plan was to drive his car into a brick wall at 80 mph. Apparently, in the ER while attending his injuries they figured out he’d swallowed a bunch of pills, too, pumped some of the out of his stomach, then used something else to head off the liver damage. It was touch and go for awhile, but he managed to survive without needing a liver transplant. So no, there’s nothing in Tylenol brand to make you puke if you take too many. I should mention this was his second suicide attempt - for the first one he’d used asprin. That WILL make you puke if you take too many, making a lethal OD much harder to achieve. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/29 "2009-08-08T01:19:59Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And I heard somewhere that they were possibly going to have the tylenol removed from a lot of meds? I hope that is true, because I hate having to sit there and count the tylenol in my meds to make sure I don’t thrash my damned liver … when I don’t NEED the fragging tylenol for what I am taking my meds for. I had the doctor prescribe medicines that had the lowest dose of acetaminophen in them if I couldn’t get them without it, when I was on a lot of medications. My liver was already getting enough of a workout. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/30 "2009-08-08T01:32:26Z")
> [@](#): > > …then used something else to head off the liver damage That would be N-acetylcysteine (NAC). This [nomogram](http://www.utoronto.ca/kids/aceta.htm) guides when NAC treatment is to be used. FUN FACT: NAC is also used to digest large quantities of mucus when performing TB testing. ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/31 "2009-08-08T02:24:47Z")
Acetaminophen (APAP) in Tylenol or any other pill containing APAP is metabolized by adding glutathione to it in the liver. The product is filtered out by the kidneys. If more APAP is ingested than there is glutathione in the liver, APAP is oxidized to a highly reactive form called NAPQI. NAPQI will easily attach itself to any protein or even DNA, causing aseptic inflammation in the liver, and leading to hepatic necrosis. From there, it’s a short walk to the morgue. NAC acts the same as glutathione, preventing the formation of NAPQI. Inadvertent overdose of APAP-containing analgesics is the reason for the FDA’s desire to withdraw APAP from most of those analgesics. Vlad/Igor ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/32 "2009-08-08T06:09:20Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > A former boyfriend of mine a few years after we broke up attempted suicide by Tylenol brand acetaminophen. Swallowed a whole bottle of them, about 100 pills. Never vomited. > > Lucky for him, part 2 of his master plan was to drive his car into a brick wall at 80 mph. Apparently, in the ER while attending his injuries they figured out he’d swallowed a bunch of pills, too, pumped some of the out of his stomach, then used something else to head off the liver damage. It was touch and go for awhile, but he managed to survive without needing a liver transplant. Wow. So apparently swallowing a whole bottle of Tylenol and then driving into a brick wall at 80 mph is actually less dangerous than just swallowing a whole bottle of Tylenol. Now I’m curious to know whatever became of the guy. (And whether he was wearing a seatbelt.) ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/33 "2009-08-08T06:23:19Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > I’m not saying Tylenol necessarily contains anything other than acetaminophen and binder. What you meant to say was acetaminophen != tylenol. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/34 "2009-08-08T11:10:18Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Wow. So apparently swallowing a whole bottle of Tylenol and then driving into a brick wall at 80 mph is actually less dangerous than just swallowing a whole bottle of Tylenol. > > Now I’m curious to know whatever became of the guy. (And whether he was wearing a seatbelt.) Yes, he _was_ actually wearing his seatbelt! I don’t know if it was because he was so habituated to buckling up in a car, or if he thought it would make it look more like an accident (which, apparently, it didn’t to the first responders - maybe that’s what prompted them to check for pills…?) As to what happened… he spent some time in a mental hospital, got better, and last I heard he had gone back to laying flooring for a living and was getting on with life, though I haven’t heard from/of him for quite awhile. I’d do an internet search, but his name is sort of the Polish equivalent of “John Smith” so the number of hits would be staggering. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/35 "2009-08-08T12:50:52Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > What you meant to say was acetaminophen != tylenol. That may have been more clear. Tylenol is to acetaminophen as Smirnoff is to vodka. If someone said Smirnoff puts something in their vodka to help prevent alcohol poisoning, it wouldn’t be a good rebuttal to prove that people get alcohol poisoning from vodka. ---
**Author:** ![Uncertain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Uncertain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncertain)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/36 "2009-08-08T17:50:27Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > What you meant to say was acetaminophen != tylenol. Perhaps that would have been clearer, but has equality ceased to be a symmetric relation? ---
**Author:** ![Uncertain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Uncertain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncertain)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/37 "2009-08-08T17:58:35Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Suicidal people aren’t usually rational by definition. By the definition of what? Whose definition of “suicidal person” makes reference to irrationality? The claim that most suicidal people are not rational is open to debate. “By definition”, aside from being literally incorrect, makes it sound as though your opinion on the matter is a fact, easily derivable by simple logic. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/38 "2009-08-08T20:20:50Z")
> [@Uncertain](#): > > By the definition of what? Whose definition of “suicidal person” makes reference to irrationality? > > The claim that most suicidal people are not rational is open to debate. “By definition”, aside from being literally incorrect, makes it sound as though your opinion on the matter is a fact, easily derivable by simple logic. Well, it’s “fact” when concerning the law. A medical professional can force you to accept treatment if you express suicidal intent, where rational people are allowed to decide whether they want medical treatment. A common tactic used by ambulance crews to treat suicidal people who refuse treatment is to get them to admit they want to die. As soon as they say that, the patient is no longer allowed to refuse treatment, and they’ll go as far as getting police involved to enforce it. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/39 "2009-08-08T22:03:52Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Tylenol has an ingredient to make you throw up if you take too many. Wouldn’t the emetic have to be listed in the ingredients? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-occurrence-creative-suicide-attempt/505651/40 "2009-08-08T22:58:02Z")
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