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Home > Archive > Heartburn Support > February 2005 > was just prescribed Reglan -- concerned about safety
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was just prescribed Reglan -- concerned about safety
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| News Reader 2005-02-12, 1:36 pm |
| Hi there,
I was just prescribed Reglan. I haven't picked up the prescription yet,
but I just started to read about it and I'm a little freaked out about
the potential neurological side effects. That, coupled with its high
cost, is making me hesitate...
Are there any other promitility drugs out there that are safer?
I'm also supposed to have a gastric emptying test soon... maybe I'll
wait and see how that turns out before I actually start the medication.
I don't generally feel full after meals and I don't have heartburn, but
I have had an "irritated throat" (I don't really know how to describe
it) for quite a while. It started out as a "lump in my throat" feeling,
then became an general rawness that would bother me mostly around
dinnertime, then (most recently) became an all-the-time sore throat
feeling.
Endoscopy and barium tests showed reflux. I've been on Prilosec (10mg)
for a few months. No big help. Have also tried Carafate.
In addition to the Reglan, the doctor also suggested increasing to 20mg
of Prilosec.
I'm not sure why she suspects an emptying problem, and I'm willing to
do the emptying test to see if that is the problem, but the drug
worries me. Also, I've heard that taking the PPIs (and now I'll be
taking MORE) can make it worse because there's less acid to digest the
food, so it stays in the stomach longer.
What's the general thinking on this?
Thanks very much!
- m
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| News Reader 2005-02-12, 1:36 pm |
| Didn't have either of those tests (yet). Just had the upper endoscopy
and the barium test. The doctor suggested that I might as well do the
quick, painless, least invasive test first.
The tests I *have* had *do* show evidence of reflux.
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| Howard McCollister 2005-02-12, 1:36 pm |
|
"News Reader" <SLCUUVKKQKKI@spammotel.com> wrote in message
news:1108091271.181923.75110@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Didn't have either of those tests (yet). Just had the upper endoscopy
> and the barium test. The doctor suggested that I might as well do the
> quick, painless, least invasive test first.
>
> The tests I *have* had *do* show evidence of reflux.
>
A gastric emptying test is unnecessary. You already had a barium swallow, so
they know (or SHOULD know) how your stomach empties. UGI is more useful for
stomach emptying than it is for esophagus problems. If you have diabetes,
there might be some usefulness to the test, but to go that route before even
understanding how your LES and esophagus are functioning is silly and
pointless. GERD needs to be ruled out. Ambulatory pH test and esophageal
manometry. Skip the Reglan, skip the gasgtric emptying test and let's
concentrate on one thing at a time, and address the most likely things
first.
HMc
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| Howard McCollister 2005-02-12, 1:36 pm |
|
"News Reader" <SLCUUVKKQKKI@spammotel.com> wrote in message
news:1108091271.181923.75110@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Didn't have either of those tests (yet). Just had the upper endoscopy
> and the barium test. The doctor suggested that I might as well do the
> quick, painless, least invasive test first.
Right...even if it's pointless, at least it doesn't hurt
>
> The tests I *have* had *do* show evidence of reflux.
I'd be curious to know what that evidence is. UGI is pretty useless in the
diagnosis of GERD, and EGD is diagnostic only if it shows acute erosive
esophagitis, stricture, or Barrett's esophagus.
HMc
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| News Reader 2005-02-12, 1:36 pm |
| The barium swallow was very quick and seemed to focus only on the very
upper part -- I didn't do the version that takes a long time and waits
until things pass through the stomach.
My understanding was that the gastric emptying test is more accurate
than the barium test in terms of determining how fast the stomach
empties.
| |
| Howard McCollister 2005-02-12, 1:36 pm |
|
"News Reader" <SLCUUVKKQKKI@spammotel.com> wrote in message
news:1108098932.696992.64110@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> The barium swallow was very quick and seemed to focus only on the very
> upper part -- I didn't do the version that takes a long time and waits
> until things pass through the stomach.
>
> My understanding was that the gastric emptying test is more accurate
> than the barium test in terms of determining how fast the stomach
> empties.
>
Uh huh...your doctor certainly seems to be taking a rather bizarre path
toward your diagnosis. Good luck...I hope you get the problem sorted out.
HMc
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| Hi m,
Like yourself I had a sore throat for years with no heartburn prior to
diagnosis. When I do eat something that I shouldn't have I have a sore
throat, together with laryngitis, but heartburn only mild and occasionally.
I have been on Reglan and PPIs (2 x 20 mg pantoprazole, one hour before
meals) for over two years now. The recommended dose of Reglan for me was 3 x
10 mg 30 minutes before meals, but I have cut this down to 1-2 x 5 mg (break
the tablets in half) every day 30 minutes before breakfast and dinner. I
discussed this with my doctor who was in agreement. Occasionally, I do need
to take a higher dose.
I would immediately stop taking the tablets if I did start to have symptoms
of such as peripheral neuropathy and see my doctor. Remember that the
side-effects in the patient's leaflet are the sum of all side-effects
experienced by hundreds of patients in clinical trials. This does not mean
that you will get all or any of these side-effects.
You have to weigh up the pros and cons between side-effects of medication or
potentially oesophageal cancer or lung fibrosis, sinus infections, etc., due
to uncontrolled GERD.
With respect to the gastric emptying - after the endoscopy the doc said that
my stomach was virtually static. The same thing showed up on ultrasound of
my intestines (n.b. I have Crohn's disease with an ileostomy, adhesions and
possible intestinal endometriosis, in addition to GERD).
All the best,
Vanny
"News Reader" <SLCUUVKKQKKI@spammotel.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:1108078946.399388.10180@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Hi there,
I was just prescribed Reglan. I haven't picked up the prescription yet,
but I just started to read about it and I'm a little freaked out about
the potential neurological side effects. That, coupled with its high
cost, is making me hesitate...
Are there any other promitility drugs out there that are safer?
I'm also supposed to have a gastric emptying test soon... maybe I'll
wait and see how that turns out before I actually start the medication.
I don't generally feel full after meals and I don't have heartburn, but
I have had an "irritated throat" (I don't really know how to describe
it) for quite a while. It started out as a "lump in my throat" feeling,
then became an general rawness that would bother me mostly around
dinnertime, then (most recently) became an all-the-time sore throat
feeling.
Endoscopy and barium tests showed reflux. I've been on Prilosec (10mg)
for a few months. No big help. Have also tried Carafate.
In addition to the Reglan, the doctor also suggested increasing to 20mg
of Prilosec.
I'm not sure why she suspects an emptying problem, and I'm willing to
do the emptying test to see if that is the problem, but the drug
worries me. Also, I've heard that taking the PPIs (and now I'll be
taking MORE) can make it worse because there's less acid to digest the
food, so it stays in the stomach longer.
What's the general thinking on this?
Thanks very much!
- m
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