Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

UPDATE: It has been brought to our attention that the young woman featured in this post may have been misdiagnosed. There is some controversy about whether she was suffering from dystonia, her illness was psychogenic, or it was a hoax. We are currently researching the matter and will provide an updated post as soon as possible. A YouTube video originally posted with this story is no longer available.

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder that can be disabling. Those who suffer from the condition experience muscle contractions that cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The causes are not completely known or understood, but it is believed to be either inherited or caused by factors such as birth-related or physical trauma, infection, poisoning (such as lead poisoning), or reaction to drugs (such as Reglan, also known as metoclopramide, a common medication to treat heartburn, GERD and gastroparesis). For one athletic young woman, the cause was likely due to a seasonal flu shot.

25-year-old Desiree Jennings, who was training to be a professional football cheerleader, got a flu shot in August. Ten days later she began suffering from dystonia. Now she cannot walk or talk without difficulty. Oddly, she can run seemingly normally. While running she can talk normally, too. She can even walk backwards without the excessive movements. But when she stops or begins to move forward, the jerking movements come back.

Reactions to the flu shot like Jennings’ is rare, but the risk of developing a type of dystonia is greater with some medications. For example, the Food and Drug Administration earlier this year issued a black box warning on Reglan after reports of patients who took the medication began suffering from a type of dystonia known as Tardive Dyskinesia. Up to 20 percent of consumers who took Reglan for more than 12 weeks contracted the disorder. Now the drug’s label warns users against long-term use, but the warnings come too late for too many who are suffering just like Jennings.

Related posts:

• Woman files suit against Reglan for causing serious movement disorder
• Man suffers permanent disability from heartburn drug
• Women suffering from movement disorder sues Reglan maker Wyeth
• Long term use of Reglan linked to serious movement disorder
• Reglan side effects leave young boy with serious movement disorder

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 11:10 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.