Reglan: Tardive Dyskinesia "Difficult to Live With"

Somerville, TNGeorgeann T. says watching her husband deal with Reglan side effects has been a difficult ordeal. Georgeann believes her husband is suffering from Reglan tardive dyskinesia, a condition marked by involuntary muscle movements. The link between Reglan and tardive dyskinesia is strong enough that the drug, used to treat heartburn, diabetic gastroparesis and esophagitis, now carries a warning about the risks of developing tardive dyskinesia.

"Edward started taking Reglan about five years ago," Georgeann says. "He's diabetic and has gastroparesis, which has to do with a nerve in the stomach that doesn't work right because of diabetes, so the nerve atrophies. Edward got Reglan by pill form and also via injection, where he would shoot it in his stomach. He was on Reglan for about three years.

He has tremors. He's left-handed and he now has a permanent tremor in his left hand. It's very noticeable when he eats, holds a fork or a coffee cup, holds a pen or anything in his left hand. Both his hand and the item shake. He also has a facial thing that happens. It's not constant; it's intermittent. He rolls his tongue in his mouth and you can see it in his cheeks. He tries to control it but it happens out of the blue.

Edward also has a lot leg-jerk movements that are uncontrollable. It's usually when he's sleeping or sitting down watching television.

We didn't really put two and two together until we heard about this Reglan lawsuit and the tardive dyskinesia and I said to him, 'That's what you've got.' Before that, I thought it was a neurological problem. I thought he was just getting older. We were in the hospital and I asked the doctor about Edward's hand shaking and he said, 'That's from the Reglan. That's irreversible.' He definitely didn't have this problem before he took the Reglan.

Edward goes to the VA now and they don't prescribe Reglan for him. I got all his prescription records and one of his prescriptions was for 3,000 pills. I have proof he's taken Reglan and he has those symptoms.

It's difficult for him, being left-handed with a permanent tremor. He will try to pour coffee and can hardly do it. He hasn't taken Reglan for two years, but the symptoms have stayed about the same as they were. The tremor in the hand might be a little worse than it was. Sometimes the tremors are noticeable; sometimes they are not. But, if he strains his hand and then rests it, it will shake a lot.

People have to stay informed about their medical care and know about the medicines they are taking. I don't know when they found out about Reglan [and tardive dyskinesia] but when people are going to take something for a long time, they should do research. Don't depend on the doctor for all the information.

Edward is a man's man and it hurts his pride and self-esteem when he shakes because people notice it. He looks fine otherwise, but when he is shaking or doing his tongue rolling, people look at him like there's something wrong with him. It's irreversible and it's difficult to live with. He has to live with this tremor for the rest of his life."