This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

(Bumped this old (March 2011) thread of mine on 8-18-13) - see explanation at the end.

Ho-hum...another day, another doctor, another diagnosis. Since I hadn't been diagnosed with a new chronic, incurable disease for awhile, I went in for an Endoscopy on Tuesday for this nighttime reflux thing I've had for a few months (it appears to be "gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD; a condition in which backward flow of acid from the stomach causes heartburn and injury of the esophagus").

I basically knew that, since it explained how it fills my lungs and chokes me in the night. I sleep propped up, and I'm working on a way to raise the head of my bed, which my doctor has suggested for a long time. (I'll have to rearrange all my furniture and do it myself.)

Anyway, with an inside look at my upper GI system, my doc dx'd a hiatal hernia and gave me a scrip for Reglan to take at night, along with the OTC Prevacid I take that's been helping a lot. I picked up the scrip today, read the insert, and holy crap! Look at the Warning and Side Effects! There's no way my medphobia is going to let me take that med for something this minor. The doc gave me long-term refills and didn't even mention the Warning, SEs or address the fact that I'm nigh onto being one of the female "elderly" who are at greater risk.

Yikes! I'm going to try raising my bed first.

metoclopramide (Reglan) info

WARNING:
Taking metoclopramide may cause you to develop a muscle problem called tardive dyskinesia. If you develop tardive dyskinesia, you will move your muscles, especially the muscles in your face in unusual ways. You will not be able to control or stop these movements. Tardive dyskinesia may not go away even after you stop taking metoclopramide. The longer you take metoclopramide, the greater the risk that you will develop tardive dyskinesia. Therefore, your doctor will probably tell you not to take metoclopramide for longer than 12 weeks. The risk that you will develop tardive dyskinesia is also greater if you are taking medications for mental illness, if you have diabetes, or if you are elderly, especially if you are a woman. Call your doctor immediately if you develop any uncontrollable body movements, especially lip smacking, mouth puckering, chewing, frowning, scowling, sticking out your tongue, blinking, eye movements, or shaking arms or legs.

I typed the side effects list below directly from my drug insert because I couldn't find the exact one online, but there's lots more out there than this.

Side Effects:
Drowsiness, dizziness, tiredness, trouble sleeping, agitation, headache, and diarrhea may occur... Tell your doctor immediately if these unlikely but serious side effects occur: mental/mood changes (such as anxiety, confusion, depression, thoughts of suicide), decreased sexual ability, inability to keep still/need to pace, muscle spasms/uncontrolled muscle movements (such as twisting neck, arching back), abnormal breast-milk production, enlarged/tender breasts, swelling of the hands/feet, changes in menstruation in women.

This medication may cause side effects that look like Parkinson's disease. Tell you doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: shaking (tremors) slowed/difficult movement, muscle stiffness, mask-like facial expression.

This drug may infrequently cause a serious (sometimes fatal) nervous system problem (neurologic malignant syndrome)...

And here's info about Tardive Dyskinesia, an incurable neuro disease due entirely to taking meds.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tardive/tardive.htm

What is Tardive Dyskinesia?
Tardive dyskinesia is a neurological syndrome caused by the long-term use of neuroleptic drugs. Neuroleptic drugs are generally prescribed for psychiatric disorders, as well as for some gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Tardive dyskinesia is characterized by repetitive, involuntary, purposeless movements. Features of the disorder may include grimacing, tongue protrusion, lip smacking, puckering and pursing, and rapid eye blinking. Rapid movements of the arms, legs, and trunk may also occur. Involuntary movements of the fingers may appear as though the patient is playing an invisible guitar or piano.

WARNING:
you will move your muscles, especially the muscles in your face in unusual ways. You will not be able to control or stop these movements.

...but on the bright side, think of the entertainment value.

Thanks for posting Euphoniaa. Your discovery demonstrates that we need to be our own health advocates and learn as much as we can about prescribed medications and such. Many of us trust our doctors, but no one forces us to put a pill into our mouths. The details are often in the fine print that comes in the doctors prescribing information pamphlets and it's good to read them even if it sometimes takes a medical dictionary to translate. Doctors are supposed to read these, but sometimes it may have been a while since they read them and they forget. I had an interesting experience with this when I was diagnosed in '99. I was considering which of the three ABC meds to go on and my neuro was very pro Copaxone. I mentioned that it was found to be clastogenic, meaning that it was found to cause breaks in DNA in a mutagenesis assay. He didn't believe me and asked where I had heard such information. I simply stated that it was in the doctors prescribing information pamphlet that he had given me. There was a noticeable moment of silence after that.

NHE

So let me get this straight -- after thorough evaluation, the expert medical advice you have received is that you might risk permanently spouting breast milk, sticking out your tongue, puckering up your lips, and shaking your swollen hands at the general public, but thank god you won't have that pesky reflux.

Today I saw a TV ad that I have seen before, but this time because of this thread I took particular notice. This was an ad by a law firm seeking clients for a class-action suit apparently. The ad invited people who had taken Reglan and suffered Tardive Dyskinesia to call their telephone number or see the website www.injurycenter.com (which I have not checked out) because the law firm could represent them in a lawsuit.

I assume the lawyers advertise if there are many possible clients and if there is a good chance that they will win.

It seems to me that caution is advised with this drug; this strong medication should be absolutely necessary, it should not be taken nonchalantly.

@euph - I'm sorry about your diagnosis! I sympathize with your medphobia, as I'm the same way. Have you tried a diet for GERD? I just goolged and came up with this: http://www.gicare.com/diets/gerd.aspx I've never heard of a healthy diet causing any parkinsons-like side effects, so it may be worth a shot.

@NHE - I'm still laughing at your doctor's ignorance-induced awkward moment. Doctors don't handle educated patients very well, due to either hubris or apathy. Not sure which. But moments like the one you just described can offer a doctor a dose of his own medicine, so to speak, and make him realize he doesn't know everything. Hopefully he starts reading his own material.

Thanks for your input guys! Sorry it took me awhile to reply, but I've been pretty busy – plus I spent yesterday at my g-son's 2nd b-day party an hour away.

**Karazhan & Bluesky: Yes, the list of physical contortion effects goes on and on. I was moderately amused and intrigued myself by the description of "air guitar" type movements. The more I read the list, though, the more disturbing it all sounds.

**lyndacarol, when I was googling Reglan in general there appeared to be as many lawsuit websites for it as there were med info websites. The first one that I pulled up gave a lot of info, altho they're no longer taking new cases. http://www.reglansideeffectslawsuit.com/

Metoclopramide (Reglan) has been around since 1985 (25 years), but only got the Black Box Warning in Jan., 2009! That's another reason I'm not interested in any of the Brand New, Improved Easier-to-Use MS Meds (and the 'old' ones haven't been around all that long either). It often takes a long time for the most serious problems to surface.

**NHE, I've had similar doc/prescribing experiences. On my first visit with her, my previous neuro started writing scrips for symptoms I didn't even have (pain & spasticity) and actually fired me for not taking them! For some reason she was absolutely furious that I refused to take the Baclofen, scolding me like a child in front of an intern, and ordered me to leave & go find another neuro if I wasn't going to mind her. She was also the one who had said, "You have MS. Pick a med. It doesn't matter which one."

*ikulo, I learned a few things from the diet you linked, altho I've already adjusted my diet a lot in the last year. I gave up Diet Coke entirely, and try to stop eating 2 hours before I go to bed. I swear by a healthy diet and lots of exercise anyway. But...looks like the GERD diets leave out some of my favorite "healthy" foods, too. Still, it will be worth it to re-evaluate.

Plus here are two things I just started using, thinking they might settle my stomach, and they're mentioned on your diet site:

**Avoid chewing gum and hard candy. They increase the amount of swallowed air which, in turn, leads to belching and reflux.
**Avoid peppermint and spearmint.

No more spearmint & peppermint gum, I guess.

And on the Good News front, I was finally tested for something and was not diagnosed with it! I found out on Friday that biopsies show no stomach cancer or ulcers.

Just bumping this old thread from March because it's pertinent to the thread I just posted on generic drugs. The "High Court" ruled that generic drugmakers don't share the same liability as the companies that came up with the original version of a med - in particular this one - metoclopramide (Reglan). Yikes.

http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-17092.html
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Aug. 18, 2013 update: Okay, I'm bumping this OLD thread of mine (from March 2011) because:

1. I see a new poster is taking Reglan with quite possibly extensive side effects that are similar to MS symptoms.

2. And...I had looked it up because I have to continue taking Prevacid (Lansoprazole) even after hiatal hernia surgery -- and even though there have been many recent posts of concern about these OTC acid reducers (like Prilosec/omeprazole). My own current symptoms could possibly be from extended use of Prevacid (it should only be taken 2 weeks at a time, every four months. I've taken it for years now...).

3. And...I'm concerned that, with all the new generic meds coming out, people understand the problems with reporting to the FDA on the generic version of a med. As shown above, the liability for a proven dangerous med may not extend to the generic version.

So, good health, good meds, good information and good moods to all tonight.

ugh I was just reading about td today, yuck. side effects suck.