What you should know about Reglan:
Reglan (metoclopramide) is a prescription drug often prescribed to treat gastrointestinal problems in children and adults. Reglan is most often used to control gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or to reduce nausea and vomiting. Physicians will often use Reglan for both children and adults suffering from reflux, gastroparesis, and other conditions related to the stomach such as heartburn, decreased appetite, and prolonged fullness after eating.

Reglan works by affecting the lower esophageal sphincter pressure, which then helps to improve gastrointestinal emptying. The FDA has only approved Reglan for short-term treatment (between 4 and 12 weeks) of these conditions, and only after conservative methods of treatment have failed. Unfortunately, prescription trends prove that many patients are prescribed Reglan for longer than 12 weeks (often for years), which is against FDA recommendations. We believe the manufacturers of Reglan are well aware of these extended prescription trends.

If you have been taking Reglan (metoclopramide) for over 12 weeks you are at risk of being diagnosed with Tardive Dyskinesia.

Reglan side effects:
REGLAN (metoclopramide) can cause Tardive Dyskinesia, a serious and often irreversible movement disorder. Tardive Dyskinesia is a horrible, devastating syndrome that can last a lifetime. It affects victims physically and mentally. It cause involuntary movements of the tongue, mouth, face, lips and even arms and legs.

Side effects include but are not limited to:

• Jaw movements
• Abnormal facial movements
• Tongue movements or protrusion
• Rapid movements of the arms, legs,
   and trunk
• Dystonia
• Mental depression
• Unexplained abdominal pain
• Swelling of the tongue, throat or hives

In some established cases of Tardive Dyskinesia, Reglan (Metoclopramide) have been shown to mask the signs and not become apparent until discontinuation of the drug.

Signs and symptoms:
Both the risk of developing Tardive Dyskinesia and the likelihood that it will become irreversible are believed to increase with the duration of treatment and the total cumulative dose.

There is no known treatment for established cases of Tardive Dyskinesia. Those diagnosed with Tardive Dyskinesia may have a lifelong battle.

Even when Reglan (Metoclopramide) is stopped, the patient should not assume they will recover. Symptoms of Tardive Dyskinesia can be permanent. There are drugs that can be prescribed to treat Tardive Dyskinesia, but these drugs have their own risks and side effects, and cannot cure the condition, but only limit the symptoms somewhat.

Reglan in the news

• Reglan Warnings and Precautions
• Reglan: New Warnings from the FDA
• 2/26/2009 FDA's MedWatch Safety Alerts

Other drug manufacturer cases

Gadolinium

OSPs (OsmoPrep, Fleet, Visicol)

Reglan

Levaquin

Steven's Johnson Syndrome

Avandia

Bertram Law Firm