Reglan Leaves ‘Em Wriggling
Twitching, Spasms Associated with Heartburn Drug
Anyone who’s a regular reader of my columns knows I’m neither the president nor a member of the FDA Fan Club. The Food and Drug Administration and I disagree on a bevy of issues, and I don’t suspect that’s about to come to a conclusion any time soon.
But just as Montagues and Capulets, Republicans and Democrats occasionally (and I emphasize occasionally) agree on issues, so too do I and the oft-derided FDA. Here is one such occasion.
Not long ago, I wrote an article about heartburn and how certain drugs that help treat heartburn wind up adding to insult, rather than treating injury, leaving one saddled with side effects. The latest evidence of this comes from the FDA, as they’ve called out a heartburn treatment drug called Reglan. According to FDA studies after a number of complaints had been filed, Reglan leaves people twitching and lurching uncontrollably, especially when taken over a long period of time.
Though the FDA hasn’t ordered the drug removed from the market, they’ve done the next best thing: ordered Wyeth, the maker of the drug, to label all bottles containing Reglan with the infamous “Black Box Warning,” alerting consumers to its spastic side effects.
Of course, heartburn is related to digestion. When food isn’t digested properly, heartburn results due to a buildup of gastric acid. Food isn’t the only trigger for heartburn – others include stress, obesity and certain pharmaceuticals – but it’s definitely the most common trigger, not to mention a common problem – one in 10 Americans experience it at least once a week!
The FDA estimates that approximately 2 million people are currently taking Reglan; this finding will likely bring that number down quite a bit.
Wyeth’s notoriety has been more in line with infamy than esteem lately; this certainly won’t do much to revive the public’s confidence.
So if drugs like Reglan, Prilosec and Nexium are out, then what’s in? In other words, how can one NATURALLY treat heartburn?
Well, one can start by eliminating those foods that ignite the inferno in the first place, like overly spicy foods. Spicy foods aren’t bad necessarily, but spicy foods don’t agree with everyone’s stomach. So do some deductive reasoning for starters.
Then try some tea. I drink tea every day, and I’m convinced tea is part of the reason why heartburn is such a non-issue for me. Any organic herbal tea will do, but natural health experts suggest fennel tea. Adding some ginger to it helps as well, as ginger is a natural relaxant for the body’s digestive tract.
One more tool of the trade for treating heartburn is orange peel extract. Researchers don’t know why it works; they just know it works, as it’s believed to help clear the lining of the esophagus when taken over a period of days. The recommended dosage is 1000 mg every other day for 20 days.
Heartburn’s rough as it is; do you really want to be twitching like a mad man to boot? By following the advice mentioned above, your issues with heartburn will go down in flames.
Source:
MSNBC
WebMD
Associated Content
eHow
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Posted: March 4th, 2009 under Heartburn, Prescription Drugs.
Tags: black box warning, Reglan, Wyeth
Comments
Comment from PiterKokoniz
Time April 7, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Hello !!
I am Piter Kokoniz. oOnly want to tell, that your blog is really cool
And want to ask you: is this blog your hobby?
Sorry for my bad english:)
Thank you!
Piter Kokoniz, from Latvia