Metoclopramide has a good therapeutic effect on digestive system diseases. It contains domperidone, which belongs to gastric motility-promoting drugs. However, there are still differences between metoclopramide and drugs that help digestion. Metoclopramide belongs to dopamine receptor antagonists, which can promote gastrointestinal motility, help food digest better, and treat delayed gastric emptying. But what is the specific role of metoclopramide? Let's take a look at the relevant introduction below.
1. Metoclopramide can directly act on the gastrointestinal wall tissue, which can effectively promote gastrointestinal motility and accelerate the digestion speed of food, thus shortening the gastric emptying time after meals. Secondly, metoclopramide will expand the diameter of the pylorus, allowing the food initially digested in the stomach to enter the intestine more smoothly. Therefore, this drug is often used in clinical practice to treat delayed gastric emptying (gastroparesis), especially due to chronic gastritis and diabetes. It is concluded that if patients with diabetic gastric emptying delay take metoclopramide properly for 4 consecutive weeks, their symptoms can be significantly improved or cured.
2. Metoclopramide has a very good effect on promoting gastrointestinal motility, so it is also often used to treat moderate to severe functional dyspepsia, such as postprandial epigastric pain, belching, nausea or vomiting, early satiety, heartburn, etc. The general dosage for patients is not more than 20 mg each time, and it can be taken 3 times a day with intervals. However, the course of treatment is relatively long, and 2-8 weeks of continuous medication is considered as one course of treatment. About 75% or more of patients can significantly reduce or cure their symptoms after treatment with metoclopramide. Secondly, symptoms of nausea and vomiting caused by improper eating, peptic ulcer or anorexia, migraine, dysmenorrhea, uremia, hemodialysis, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, undiagnosed conditions, and taking certain drugs can all be treated with metoclopramide.
3. It is concluded that metoclopramide can increase the tension of the entire tissue of the cardia sphincter, prevent food reflux into the esophagus, and thus play a role in preventing and treating reflux esophagitis and strong antiemetic effects. It is a commonly used drug for the treatment of reflux gastritis in clinical practice, but for patients with established reflux esophagitis, the efficacy of this drug is not good.
