Reglan
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Let's face it, there are commercials on the television every day regarding heartburn, acid reflux and many other gastrointestinal disorders. A pill or tablet is shown as the solution and it is meant to be taken right before or even after a meal to resolve the discomfort.
Well there are prescribed medications that are meant to help with these situations as well as some more sever disorders. Reglan, or metoclopramide, is used to treat GERD or acid reflux disease as well as to control diabetic gastroparesis and prevent surgical and chemotherapy patients from enduring the nausea and vomiting that are commonplace under both situations.
Each of these situations has its level of severity but none seem to be as bad as one of the side effects that can come about as a result of using Reglan. There has been an increase in reports that patients that have used Reglan for a prolonged period of time - more than 12 weeks - have been at risk for a Parkinson's like disease called tardive dyskinesia.
This condition is induced by medications and using neuroleptic drugs for long periods of time. Tardive dyskinesia is a very serious disorder and may be irreversible and permanent. The symptoms of this disease include extreme twitching and jerking movements, grimacing facial expressions, repetitive chewing, sticking the tongue out and swinging the jaw.
In 2009 the Food and Drug Administration required the makers of Reglan to add a Black Box warning alerting patients to the risk of contracting tardive dyskinesia with prolonged use of Reglan. The FDA is also requiring the manufacturers of Reglan to provide a risk evaluation and a medication guide that explains the possibility of contracting tardive dyskinesia through prolonged use of Reglan.
No one should have to suffer form the seriousness of an illness like tardive dyskinesia and especially not to control heartburn or acid reflux. The FDA only steps in and requires companies to add Black Box warnings when cases start to increase and their validity can be confirmed.
The problem is by the time reported cases mount and the FDA continues issuing increased alerts, more and more people are becoming unnecessarily to a potentially permanent nervous disorder that will forever change their life. It a patient ends up with tardive dyskinesia and it does not reverse itself, this person may be unable to work in the future. Besides suffering from an uncomfortable and life altering illness, the patient's earning capacity and the ability to provide for his or her future or the future of their families could be diminished or even non-existent.
Do you suffer from any of the gastric disorders listed above for which you took Reglan and suffered side effects? Have you contracted tardive dyskinesia as a result of using Reglan? You should take the time to speak with one of the attorneys at Napoli Bern Ripka to decide exactly what your rights are as a victim. Call 1-888-LAW-IN-NY for a free consultation. You should do it for yourself as well as for your family.