Side Effects

Reglan Drug Side Effects

Current package labeling warns of the danger of the movement disorder tardive dyskinesia with chronic metoclopramide (Reglan) treatment. The development of this neurological disorder is directly related to the length of time a patient is taking Reglan and the number of doses taken. Those at greatest risk include the elderly, especially older women, and people who have used the drug for an extended period of time.

Serious neurologic Reglan drug side effects include:

• ocular deviations
• blepharospasm
• cervical dystonia (torticollis)
• Parkinsonian symptoms
• Akathisia
• neuroleptic malignant syndrome
• tardive dyskinesia

Tardive dyskinesia is characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements of the extremities, or lip smacking, grimacing, tongue protrusion, rapid eye movements or blinking, puckering and pursing of the lips, or impaired movement of the fingers. These symptoms are rarely reversible and there is no known treatment. However, in some patients, symptoms may lessen or resolve after metoclopramide treatment is stopped.

Reglan acts in the upper end of the digestive system and works by speeding up the movement of the stomach muscles, thus increasing the rate at which the stomach empties into the intestines. It is used as a short-term treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease in patients who have not responded to other therapies, and to treat diabetic gastroparesis (slowed emptying of the stomach’s contents into the intestines). It is recommended that treatment not exceed twelve weeks, however it is estimated that around thirty percent of patients who are prescribed products containing metoclopramide take the medication for a much longer period of time.

Metoclopramide is available in a variety of forms including tablets, syrups and injections. Names of metoclopramide-containing products include Reglan Tablets, Reglan Oral Disintegrating Tablets, Metoclopramide Oral Solution, and Reglan Injection. More than two million Americans use these products.

Recently published studies suggest that metoclopramide is the most common cause of drug-induced movement disorders. Another analysis of study data by the FDA showed that about 20 percent of patients in that study who used metoclopramide took it for longer than three months. The FDA has also become aware of continued spontaneous reports of tardive dyskinesia in patients who used metoclopramide, the majority of whom had taken the drug for more than three months.

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