Treating Tardive Dyskinesia
Reglan is a drug intended for short-term use to treat illnesses such as GERD and chronic nausea. It has been recommended for use only in short, 4- to 12-week cycles at most. However, studies have suggested that as many as 20 percent of patients on Reglan and derivative drugs have been prescribed them for much longer periods of use.
Reglan has been linked to the formation of Tardive Dyskinesia, a disorder characterized by a delayed onset of uncontrollable body motions. This can encompass facial tics and twitches, such as pursing the lips or being forced to blink rapidly. The motions can become distracting, exhausting and painful over time. Other movements can exist as well, such as in the extremities or fingers. It is highly difficult for someone with the condition to stop themselves from moving.
The seriousness also lies in the difficulty of treatment for this condition. Tardive Dyskinesia can continue for a long time after withdrawal from the medicine that originated it, and in some cases is even permanent. There are some tests that indicate certain medications might be helpful in treating the condition, but this is, of course, an additional expense, as well as an insult — having to be medicated to treat an illness brought on by a supposedly safe medication is never comforting.
Sadly, there are few other options available for controlling Tardive Dyskinesia and its derivative conditions. There hasn't been a serious study into alternatives such as high-vitamin diets, for example.
This is what makes the matter so very serious. When 20 percent of the population taking a drug is put on it for periods beyond the recommended time frame, and when the medicine is known to be linked to an uncontrollable, disorienting physical condition, something has gone very wrong. Clearly, tighter controls need to be placed on any medication that creates an essentially untreatable illness.
