Reglan - Disproportionate Response
Tardive Dyskinesia continues to be a rather irritating fly in the ointment for the makers of the gastrointestinal drug Reglan. Reglan was developed as a high-end version of recent over-the-counter medications used to treat heartburn. Capable of treating the most stubborn cases of the condition as well as persistent nausea, Reglan is a very useful tool in alleviating patient distress. However, there are increasing concerns that its use may be dramatically outweighed by its risks, particularly since many doctors seem unable to abide by the packaging warnings explaining the nature of Tardive Dyskinesia.
Studies indicate that up to 20 percent of Reglan prescriptions go beyond the 12-week prescription guidelines. This seems natural enough; some acid reflux conditions are incredibly persistent and require continuous medical intervention to manage. However, documentation by the FDA indicates that the chance of Tardive Dyskinesia goes up in relation to both the amount of medicine prescribed and the duration of exposure to the medicine. Still, a typical prescription for Reglan is four 10-mg pills per day for weeks, if not months, on end. This is a more or less constant degree of exposure to the medicine.
Further, there's the fact that Tardive Dyskinesia has no known cure and frequently is permanent. While the condition is potentially able to resolve itself and desist without any long-term damage, it is just as likely to stick around and leave the patient without recourse: Not only do they have to discontinue the medical treatment that may have been the only relief they could find, they now are subject to uncontrollable muscle spasms and ticks in their extremities.
Many of the lawsuits filed against the makers of Reglan and its generic derivatives have focused on the lack of information available. There are plenty of cases of warning literature out there, but they are apparently being kept out of patients' hands, leading many to wonder just what the remaining value of prescribing Reglan is.
