Product Liability Attorney Blog

Warnings about medicines take a long time to get onto the labeling. Pharma companies understandably want to minimize the size of the warnings section on their best medications — why scare off patients? If the medicine works in the bulk of cases (and there is no argument that Reglan does so), why put so much emphasis on a rarity of occurrences? This attitude, coupled with the reluctance to come forward or lack of understanding that some patients display, is the reason that it takes so long for official recognition of certain conditions to come into being. In other cases, the company settles with the plaintiff, which is both parties' right, but on the condition that nothing further be said about the problem. Again, this delays the presentation of vital information to the public.

To this end, consider the following list of side effects from Drugs.com, a popular web source for information about medications. Seek medical attention right away if any of these severe side effects occur when using Reglan:

Severe allergic reactions (rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth/face/lips/tongue, unusual hoarseness); abnormal thinking; confusion; dark urine; decreased balance or coordination; decreased sexual ability; fast, slow or irregular heartbeat; fever; hallucinations; loss of bladder control; mental or mood changes (depression, anxiety, agitation, jitteriness); seizures; severe or persistent dizziness, headache or trouble sleeping; severe or persistent restlessness, including inability to sit still; shortness of breath; stiff or rigid muscles; sudden increased sweating; sudden, unusual weight gain; suicidal thoughts or actions; swelling of the arms, legs or feet; uncontrolled muscle spasms or movements (of the arms, legs, tongue, jaw, cheeks or twitching/tremors); vision changes; or yellowing of the skin or eyes.

You will see that toward the end of the side effect list there is a mention of swelling of the limbs and uncontrolled motions, but not that these are connected with Tardive Dyskinesia. Later in the article from which this quote arises the matter is addressed, but well down the page and after several lists of other matters given more importance. This shows the general lack of urgency in the public mind about the potential risks that this condition can cause when Reglan is taken for too long.

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