Description and Brand Names

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

US Brand Name

1. Reglan

Descriptions

Metoclopramide injection is a medicine that increases the movements or contractions of the stomach and intestines. It is used to help diagnose certain problems in the stomach or intestines. This medicine is also used to prevent the nausea and vomiting that may occur after surgery or after treatment with cancer medicines. Another medicine may be used with metoclopramide injection to prevent side effects that may occur when it is used with cancer medicines.

Metoclopramide injection is also used to relieve symptoms (such as nausea, vomiting, heartburn, a feeling of fullness after meals, and loss of appetite) that are caused by a stomach problem called gastroparesis in patients with diabetes.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

This product is available in the following dosage forms:

• Solution

Before Using

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered:

Allergies

Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.

Pediatric

Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of metoclopramide injection in the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established.

Geriatric

Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of metoclopramide injection in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more likely to have side effects such as tardive dyskinesia, confusion, or drowsiness, and age-related kidney problems, which may require an adjustment in the dose for patients receiving metoclopramide injection.

Breastfeeding

There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding.

Drug Interactions

Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are receiving this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication or change some of the other medicines you take.

• Amineptine
• Amitriptyline
• Amitriptylinoxide
• Amoxapine
• Aripiprazole
• Aripiprazole Lauroxil
• Asenapine
• Brexpiprazole
• Cariprazine
• Chlorpromazine
• Chlorprothixene
• Citalopram
• Clomipramine
• Clozapine
• Desipramine
• Desvenlafaxine
• Dibenzepin
• Doxepin
• Duloxetine
• Escitalopram
• Fluphenazine
• Fluvoxamine
• Haloperidol
• Iloperidone
• Imipramine
• Levomilnacipran
• Loxapine
• Lurasidone
• Melitracen
• Mesoridazine
• Methotrimeprazine
• Milnacipran
• Molindone
• Nefazodone
• Nortriptyline
• Olanzapine
• Opipramol
• Paliperidone
• Periciazine
• Perphenazine
• Pimavanserin
• Pimozide
• Prochlorperazine
• Promazine
• Protriptyline
• Quetiapine
• Risperidone
• Sertindole
• Sertraline
• Sibutramine
• Sulpiride
• Thioridazine
• Thiothixene
• Tianeptine
• Trifluoperazine
• Triflupromazine
• Trimipramine
• Venlafaxine
• Vilazodone
• Vortioxetine
• Ziprasidone
• Zuclopenthixol

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.

• Acepromazine
• Alfentanil
• Alprazolam
• Amantadine
• Amobarbital
• Anileridine
• Apomorphine
• Baclofen
• Benperidol
• Benzhydrocodone
• Benztropine
• Biperiden
• Bromazepam
• Bromocriptine
• Buprenorphine
• Bupropion
• Buspirone
• Butabarbital
• Butorphanol
• Cabergoline
• Calcium Oxybate
• Carbidopa
• Carbinoxamine
• Carisoprodol
• Carphenazine
• Chloral Hydrate
• Chlordiazepoxide
• Chlorzoxazone
• Clobazam
• Clonazepam
• Clorazepate
• Codeine
• Cyclobenzaprine
• Cyclosporine
• Dexmedetomidine
• Diacetylmorphine
• Diazepam
• Dichloralphenazone
• Difenoxin
• Digoxin
• Dihydrocodeine
• Diphenhydramine
• Diphenoxylate
• Doxylamine
• Droperidol
• Enflurane
• Entacapone
• Estazolam
• Eszopiclone
• Ethchlorvynol
• Ethopropazine
• Ethylmorphine
• Fentanyl
• Flibanserin
• Fluoxetine
• Flurazepam
• Fluspirilene
• Fospropofol
• Furazolidone
• Halazepam
• Halothane
• Hexobarbital
• Hydrocodone
• Hydromorphone
• Hydroxyzine
• Insulin
• Insulin Aspart, Recombinant
• Insulin Bovine
• Insulin Degludec
• Insulin Detemir
• Insulin Glargine, Recombinant
• Insulin Glulisine
• Insulin Lispro, Recombinant
• Iproniazid
• Isocarboxazid
• Isoflurane
• Ketamine
• Ketazolam
• Ketobemidone
• Levodopa
• Levorphanol
• Linezolid
• Lorazepam
• Magnesium Oxybate
• Meclizine
• Melperone
• Mephobarbital
• Meprobamate
• Meptazinol
• Metaxalone
• Methadone
• Methdilazine
• Methocarbamol
• Methohexital
• Methylene Blue
• Midazolam
• Moclobemide
• Moricizine
• Morphine
• Morphine Sulfate Liposome
• Nalbuphine
• Nialamide
• Nicomorphine
• Nitrazepam
• Nitrous Oxide
• Opicapone
• Opium
• Opium Alkaloids
• Orphenadrine
• Oxazepam
• Oxycodone
• Oxymorphone
• Papaveretum
• Paregoric
• Paroxetine
• Pentazocine
• Pentobarbital
• Perampanel
• Perazine
• Pergolide
• Phenelzine
• Phenobarbital
• Piperacetazine
• Pipotiazine
• Piritramide
• Potassium Oxybate
• Pramipexole
• Prazepam
• Primidone
• Procarbazine
• Procyclidine
• Promethazine
• Propofol
• Quazepam
• Quinidine
• Ramelteon
• Rasagiline
• Remifentanil
• Remoxipride
• Rivastigmine
• Ropinirole
• Rotigotine
• Safinamide
• Secobarbital
• Selegiline
• Sirolimus
• Sodium Oxybate
• Sufentanil
• Suvorexant
• Tacrolimus
• Tapentadol
• Temazepam
• Terbinafine
• Thiethylperazine
• Thiopental
• Thiopropazate
• Tizanidine
• Tolonium Chloride
• Topiramate
• Tramadol
• Tranylcypromine
• Triazolam
• Trifluperidol
• Trihexyphenidyl
• Trimeprazine
• Zaleplon
• Zolpidem
• Zopiclone
• Zotepine

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.

• Didanosine
• Mivacurium
• Succinylcholine

Other Interactions

Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Using this medicine with any of the following is usually not recommended, but may be unavoidable in some cases. If used together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use this medicine, or give you special instructions about the use of food, alcohol, or tobacco.

• Ethanol

Other Medical Problems

The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Abdominal or stomach bleeding or
• Intestinal blockage or
• Pheochromocytoma (adrenal gland tumor) or
• Seizures or epilepsy—Should not be used in patients with these conditions.

• Asthma or
• Cirrhosis (liver disease) or
• Congestive heart failure or
• Diabetes or
• Hypertension (high blood pressure) or
• Mental depression, history of or
• Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, history of or
• Parkinson's disease—Use with caution. May make these conditions worse.

• Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency (an enzyme problem) or
• Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) cytochrome reductase deficiency (an enzyme problem)—May increase the risk for side effects affecting the blood.

• Kidney disease—Use with caution. Effects may be increased because of slower removal of the medicine from the body.

Proper Use

A nurse or other trained health professional will give you this medicine in a hospital. This medicine is given through a needle placed in one of your veins or as a shot into one of your muscles.

Your doctor will give you a few doses of this medicine until your condition improves, and then switch you to an oral medicine that works the same way. If you have any concerns about this, talk to your doctor.

Precautions

It is very important that your doctor check your progress while you receive this medicine to make sure that it is working properly.

Tell your doctor or nurse right away if you have any of the following symptoms after receiving this medicine: convulsions (seizures); difficulty with breathing; a fast heartbeat; a high fever; high or low blood pressure; increased sweating; loss of bladder control; severe muscle stiffness; unusually pale skin; or tiredness. These could be symptoms of a serious condition called neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS).

Check with your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms: difficulty with speaking; drooling; loss of balance control; muscle trembling, jerking, or stiffness; restlessness; shuffling walk; stiffness of the limbs; twisting movements of the body; or uncontrolled movements of the face, neck, and back.

This medicine may cause tardive dyskinesia (a movement disorder). Check with your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms while using this medicine: lip smacking or puckering, puffing of the cheeks, rapid or worm-like movements of the tongue, uncontrolled chewing movements, or uncontrolled movements of the arms and legs.

This medicine may cause some people to become dizzy, lightheaded, drowsy, or less alert than they are normally. Make sure you know how you react to this medicine before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy or not alert.

This medicine will add to the effects of alcohol and other CNS depressants (medicines that make you drowsy or less alert). Some examples of CNS depressants are antihistamines or medicine for hay fever or colds; sedatives, tranquilizers, or sleeping medicine; prescription pain medicine or narcotics; medicine for seizures or barbiturates; muscle relaxants; or anesthetics, including some dental anesthetics. Check with your doctor before taking any of the above while you are using this medicine.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Side Effects

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor or nurse immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

Rare

1. Convulsions
2. difficulty in breathing
3. fast heartbeat
4. high fever
5. high or low blood pressure
6. inability to move the eyes
7. increased blinking or spasms of the eyelid
8. increased sweating
9. loss of bladder control
10. seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there
11. severe muscle stiffness
12. sticking out of the tongue
13. tiredness
14. trouble in breathing, speaking, or swallowing
15. uncontrolled twisting movements of the neck, trunk, arms, or legs
16. unusual facial expressions
17. unusually pale skin

Incidence not known

1. Abdominal or stomach pain or tenderness
2. black, tarry stools
3. bluish-colored lips, fingernails, or palms
4. blurred vision
5. chest pain or discomfort
6. chills
7. clay colored stools
8. confusion
9. cough or hoarseness
10. dark urine
11. decrease in the amount of urine
12. decreased appetite
13. decreased urine output
14. difficulty in swallowing
15. dilated neck veins
16. dizziness or lightheadedness
17. dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up from a lying or sitting position suddenly
18. extreme fatigue
19. fainting
20. fast, slow, pounding, or irregular heartbeat or pulse
21. fatigue
22. feeling of warmth
23. fever with or without chills
24. fluid-filled skin blisters
25. general feeling of tiredness or weakness
26. headache
27. inability to sit still
28. increased need to urinate
29. incremental or ratchet-like movement of the muscle
30. itching of the skin
31. large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or sex organs
32. light-colored stools
33. loss of appetite
34. loss of balance control
35. lower back or side pain
36. mask-like face
37. mental depression
38. mood or mental changes
39. muscle discomfort
40. nausea and vomiting
41. need to keep moving
42. nervousness
43. noisy, rattling breathing
44. painful or difficult urination
45. pale skin
46. palpitations
47. passing urine more often
48. pounding in the ears
49. pounding, slow heartbeat
50. rapid heart rate
51. redness of the face, neck, arms and occasionally, upper chest
52. restlessness of the arms legs, hands, or feet
53. rigid or stiff muscles
54. sensitivity to the sun
55. shakiness in the legs, arms, hands, or feet
56. shortness of breath
57. shuffling walk
58. skin rash
59. skin thinness
60. slow movement
61. slow or irregular breathing
62. slow reflexes
63. slowed movements
64. slurred speech
65. sore throat and fever
66. sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth
67. stiffness of the arms and legs
68. sweating
69. swelling of the face, fingers, feet, or lower legs
70. thoughts of killing oneself changes in behavior
71. tic-like (jerky) movements of the head, face, mouth, and neck
72. tightness in the chest
73. trembling and shaking of the fingers and hands
74. troubled breathing at rest
75. unusual bleeding or bruising
76. unusual tiredness or weakness
77. weight gain
78. wheezing
79. yellow eyes or skin

Get emergency help immediately if any of the following symptoms of overdose occur:

Symptoms of overdose

1. Confusion about identity, place, and time
2. drowsiness

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

Incidence not known

1. Absent, missed, or irregular menstrual periods
2. blurred or loss of vision
3. cough
4. decreased interest in sexual intercourse
5. diarrhea
6. disturbed color perception
7. double vision
8. halos around lights
9. hives or welts
10. inability to have or keep an erection
11. itching
12. loss in sexual ability, desire, drive, or performance
13. loss of strength or energy
14. muscle pain or weakness
15. night blindness
16. noisy breathing
17. overbright appearance of lights
18. redness of the skin
19. sleeplessness
20. stopping of menstrual bleeding
21. swelling of the breasts or unusual milk production
22. swelling of the breasts or breast soreness in both females and males
23. trouble sleeping
24. tunnel vision
25. unable to sleep
26. unexpected or excess milk flow from the breasts
27. unusual weak feeling

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Portions of this document last updated: April 01, 2024

Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/metoclopramide-injection-route-intravenous-route/before-using/drg-20073053