Digestive issues, metoclopramide, and acupuncture

There are many different reasons for stomach upset and/or digestive problems.  This blog is on the gastroparesis and FDA’s new black box warning for a drug used to treat many digestive symptoms, and the alternatives that are available to you.

The wave like motion of the stomach and the intestines  help food move thru the digestive tube (includes the esophagus all the way to the end—but for this blog I mean from esophagus to the end of small intestine) and get processed for absorption and further movement down the tube.   Sometimes for one reason or another the movement, or peristalsis is inhibited and food doesn’t move thru the digestive tract.  The result is a nauseous feeling, bloating, vomiting, acid reflux, or a feeling that food just sits there.  In short, the stomach cant empty food properly.  The causes are mostly unknown but there are some things that can set off this problem:  gastric surgery that damaged the vagus nerves,  some anti-depressant, and uncontrolled diabetes to name a few.

A person with gastroparesis can experience that they get full very fast, they may start to loose weight due to lack of eating, they may have heart burn or GERD, vomiting undigested food.

Metoclopramide or Reglan, is a drug that is commonly prescribed for these conditions if your physician feels that the symptoms are due to gastroparesis and should be used for short term only such as 3 to 6 months, as it can bring serious side effects such as Tardive Dyskinesia.   I saw a patient about 7 years ago who although he came in for a different problem, I wondered if he is chewing gum every time I see him and when I asked he said its side effect of a drug he is taking for his digestive problems.  I looked up the drug and noticed that the drug should only be used short term, yet he was never told that or taken off of it after the initial few months!!  I told him about the cause of his lip-smacking and constant chewing like motion.

This side effect, which is essentially Parkinson’s like symptoms, is not an acceptable side effect!  Its crazy.  Who wants to swap one symptom for another, specially such a serious symptoms?

The reason FDA decided to give the black box warning is because so many physicians prescribing this drug did not take their patients off of it by three to six months, so they decided to step in and remind them.  Tardive Dyskinesia is not reversible, but some people will improve or have their symptoms lessen once off the medication.

Here is the alternative:  Summit Healing Arts Acupuncture!

Acupuncture has the ability to restore the wave like motion back to the stomach and the intestines and I have seen symptoms go away very fast.  Nothing modulates positively the vagus nerve like acupuncture.  Life is complicated enough as it is, why make it more difficult.  Get the treatments you deserve.  The ones with pleasant and beneficial side effects.