A Less Costly Treatment for Stomach Disorder

Joe and Teresa Graedon’s “The People’s Pharmacy” (Jan. 1) included a question and answer on the use of Viagra to treat diabetics’ stomach problems, known to us diabetics as gastroparesis, wherein the stomach does not empty properly, a neuropathic complication of the disease.

While they report that Viagra is being studied as a remedy for this problem, its cost ($8 a pill) and complications for many of this country’s 16 million diabetics with heart disease makes this potential alternative highly impractical. Missing from the Graedons’ answer is the everyday use of the commonly prescribed drug Reglan (available generically as metoclopramide HCL). Taken 30 minutes before meals and at bedtime, it is an inexpensive treatment for this common digestive condition.

--DANIEL M. ANZEL

Santa Monica