For several months, Gentrie was unable to eat solid food, and in at least one occasion was rushed to the hospital for her severe vomiting and dehydration. It wasn’t until she was had a CAT scan that doctors finally discovered the cause of her painful condition. Gertie was diagnosed with pediatric gastroparesis, a condition in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents. Gastroparesis is often associated with diabetic patients. Doctors believe Gertie’s condition was triggered by a virus.

There are few treatments for severe gastroparesis. It is often treated with medications such as the prescription drug Reglan, also known as the generic metoclopramide. But Reglan carries a risk of severe side effects, especially with long-term use. The drug now carries a black box warning of the risk of developing a neurological disorder known as Tardive Dyskinesia in which the muscles move involuntarily.

Gertie was treated with various medications, including Botox, but nothing seemed to help. She was even fitted with a gastric tube to help her gain weight, but her frail body rejected it six times. As a last resort, doctors decided on a new treatment, implanting in her a gastric pacemaker that would trigger her stomach muscles to contract and encourage digestion.

With the help of singer Miley Cyrus, Gentrie’s family raised enough money to cover the cost of the pacemaker. It was implanted in July and just last week, Gentrie was finally able to have her first meal in eight months. What did she choose to eat? A Wendy’s hamburger.

SOURCE: Reglan Side Effects › Teenager finally finds relief from gastroparesis

Another chronic sneezer, 22-year-old Caileen Wendel of Pennsylvania, says she sympathizes with Johnson because she has suffered from the same sneezing symptoms for five years. Doctors were also baffled by her condition and after 40 emergency room visits, Wendel finally found a doctor willing to try something new. Dr. Larry Geisler with St. Mary’s Hospital in Langhorne, Pa., prescribed the anti-nausea drug Reglan (metoclopramide) with Benedryl. Within five minutes, Wendel’s sneezing stopped.

“I don’t know if it’s a fix-all, but it happened to work and it worked for Caileen,” Dr. Geisler told NBC Philadelphia. It is a blessing that Wendel’s treatment is working, giving her life back. “To be able to stop something that I have no control over is probably one of the best feelings in the world,” she said. Both Wendel and Dr. Geisler hope that the same combination of medications can help Johnson.

Wendel says her symptoms return from time to time, and when they do she gets back on the combined Reglan-with-Benedryl meds and the sneezing stops. But, staying on the drug long term is not an option for Wendel. While Benedryl is available over-the-counter, Reglan requires a prescription, and carries a black box warning, issued earlier this year by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The warning was issued after the FDA received numerous reports of a serious movement disorder known as Tardive Dyskinesia in people who had taken Reglan. Studies have shown that people who take the drug for more than 12 weeks are as much as 20 percent at risk for developing the condition.

SOURCE: Reglan Side Effects › Reglan may calm chronic sneezing fits, but long-term use risky