Dangerous Drug and Recall News

Millions of people have gastrointestinal problems that lead to heartburn, but there are some whose problems are so severe that their symptoms are debilitating.  For many of those patients, several forms of medications have not proven to be effective, and that led to the prevalence of one drug that was introduced to the American market in 1999 by Baxter Pharmaceuticals.  This drug is known as Reglan.

Reglan is only available via prescription, and it works by providing a ‘boost’ to the reaction time of the muscles in the upper digestive tract, which results in food emptying into the intestines from the stomach after it’s ingested.  This speed of delivery helps patients avoid the painful symptoms of heartburn.  The active ingredient in Reglan, metoclopramide, was actually approved by the FDA in 1985, but Reglan was the highest-selling brand name that depended on metoclopramide to perform its basic functions.

Unfortunately, reports of Reglan side effects eventually began to surface, and initial examples of these side effects included:

• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Exacerbation of Parkinson’s Disease

However, one side effect began to dominate reports given its extreme severity, and that is known as Tardive Dyskinesia, or TD.  TD is a rare condition that remains somewhat of a mystery to the medical community, which only creates more problems for those who suffer from it.  Symptoms of TD include uncontrollable movements of different parts of the body that include:

• Tongue
• Mouth
• Face in general
• Limbs
• Trunk

TD is progressive in nature, which means that these movements increase in rapidity to the point where basic daily functions become impossible to complete.

In response to these reports, the FDA required Baxter to perform a ‘REMS’ study, which stands for Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Study.  The goal of a REMS study is to determine whether the benefits of a drug outweigh the risks and therefore decide whether that medication should remain on the market.

While this is occurring, defective drugs lawyers around the country are answering inquiries regarding the possibility of filing a Reglan lawsuit.  If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of using Reglan, you may have the option of pursuing a legal claim.  In order to get this process started, you simply need to contact a defective drugs attorney to review your situation.  Try to gather as much information as possible regarding when you started using Reglan, how long you used it, what side effects/symptoms developed and what medical care you needed as a result.

At that point, your attorney will be able to provide you with an opinion as to whether or not your claim would be valid, and if so, he or she will manage your situation for you so that you can focus on your recovery.  Therefore, you have only something to gain by inquiring about your rights, so get that process started today.