Reglan for morning sickness: tell me what's bad about it?

doula and mom · 05-04-2006, 10:56 PM

I don't have any clients on it, but I have two acquaintances who are taking it to stop puking while in their first tri. I don't want to be a crunchy nazi without knowing the facts. I've only ever heard of it Rx for breastfeeding supply issues, and I took domperidone (motillium) instead.

AllyRae · 05-04-2006, 11:32 PM

Reglan's a serious drug. It's an anti-nausea drug and one of the side effects is hallucinations. Of course, I didn't know that until after some doctors injected it into one of my IVs because I was so sick after my son's funeral that I hadn't eaten or drank in days and my blood pressure and pulse were dangerously low. Less than 10 minutes after it was in my blood stream I apparently was trying to rip out my IVs and wanting to run out of the room for some odd reason. After they held me in observation, they told me that hallucinations and short-term psychiatric issues can be a potential side effect. I really wish they would have told me as I have extreme sensitivities to medications. I wouldn't even recommend it for breastfeeding issues--it's a serious medication and without being under observation, you might not know you're hallucinating...

JuniperMama · 05-14-2006, 02:45 AM

I tried Reglan for BF supply issues. I was only on it for about 2 days. I couldn't handle it - made me dizzy and sleeeeeeeeeepy. Could not function. I switched to Domperidone and all was much better for my brain and my milk supply.

maxmama · 05-14-2006, 12:28 PM

Can't get domperidone in the States anymore.

Reglan's fine for a lot of people and not for others -- like any drug. I took it to function at work (there's a lot of smell in L&D and the smells killed me) and I was a little sleepy, but not terribly. It worked -- at that point I would probably have eaten poo if I thought I could get through 12 hours without being afraid I would throw up on somebody.

bradleybirth2mom · 05-14-2006, 12:44 PM

No drug should be taken by pregnant women unless it is absolutely vital to the mother's survival. The FDA has said that there is no drug proven safe to be taken during pregnancy. I know the last time an anti-nausea drug was taken in this country, many women and their babies developed early cancer as a result---it was routinely prescribed to about 25% of American women during the time it was popular. I think it was called diethylbestrol---check in Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way or The Birth Book by Sears and Sears to check it out.

maxmama · 05-14-2006, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradleybirth2mom

No drug should be taken by pregnant women unless it is absolutely vital to the mother's survival. The FDA has said that there is no drug proven safe to be taken during pregnancy. I know the last time an anti-nausea drug was taken in this country, many women and their babies developed early cancer as a result---it was routinely prescribed to about 25% of American women during the time it was popular. I think it was called diethylbestrol---check in Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way or The Birth Book by Sears and Sears to check it out.

DES was used to prevent miscarriage, not to treat morning sickness.

Reglan has been used for decades with no evidence of harm to the fetus or mother beyond the drug reactions that anyone can have, pregnant or not.

toddlermama16 · 05-15-2006, 08:07 PM

I was on Reglan for my entire pregnancy. That and one or two others. I had severe hyper-emesis, and I was losing a lot of weigh (at least 25 pounds). Reglan was one of the only drugs that allowed me to somewhat keep down water, and occassionally food. It didn't stop all of the vomitting, but it reduced it from 8-10+ times a day to 2-4. I didn't have any noticable side effects from it.

TurboClaudia · 05-15-2006, 09:37 PM

one of the more common side effects of reglan is tendency toward depression, so if you have depression in any of your prior history, be aware of signs of depression.

i do have a personal friend (and sister mdc mama) who used it very successfully during her third pregnancy for her hyperemesis and just gave birth to that baby a few weeks ago.

and re: DES, it was prescribed preventatively sometimes for morning sickness but also to prevent miscarriage. and from what i know, it was associated with female reproductive system anomalies in the developing babies. a common question on ob/gyn or midwife intake forms is if your mother took DES during her pregnancy with you because uterine and ovarian anomalies.

and keep in mind that it would unethical for the fda to perform randomized, double blind studies on pregnant women and their unborn children, hence the lack of research in this area.

to the original poster, you might consider consulting Dr. Thomas Hale's book "Medications and Mother's Milk". although it deals with breastfeeding and medications, it might give you more info about the classifications of the drugs you are looking at.

wishing you peaceful tummy vibes soon...

~claudia

bradleybirth2mom · 05-16-2006, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxmama

DES was used to prevent miscarriage, not to treat morning sickness.

Reglan has been used for decades with no evidence of harm to the fetus or mother beyond the drug reactions that anyone can have, pregnant or not.

My mistake---I was quoting from memory (which isn't that great during pregnancy!) Despite what it was used to prevent, it still had disastrous effects much later, and some effects of drugs aren't severe enough for us to prove that a drug caused them. I guess I'd rather be a skeptic than be sorry. Also, while all these drug studies and articles say that no one can provide evidence that it has harmed the fetus, they can't prove that it hasn't.

khaoskat · 05-16-2006, 10:11 PM

Hi, one of the major side effects of Reglan are its psychological side effects. The FDA has not approved Reglan for long term use. Currently I believe they do not recommend using it for longer than 12 weeks at a time. Generally in nursing mothers it is recommend to do a 10-14 day course, then take off 14 days, and do another round if you still need to boost your supply.

Many women experience depression, severe depression, from Reglan because it so easily and in large quantities crosses the blood - brain barrier. Also, it can cause some serious permant effects as well. I cannot remember the disease it gives symptoms of, but basically people can end up with permanent nurological issues. Ok the disease is Tardive Dyskinesia, which is characterized by repetitive, involuntary, purposeless movements. Features of the disorder may include grimacing, tongue protrusion, lip smacking, puckering and pursing, and rapid eye blinking. Rapid movements of the arms, legs, and trunk may also occur.

Reglan crosses the blood brain barrier, which in children is not fully formed until approximately 2 years of age. So, the amounts that are in your blood stream will get into the blood stream of the fetus, and cross into the brain.

The difference between Reglan and Domperidon does not have those serious side effects. The one incident that the FDA has mentioned regarding why Dom is banned, has to do with an individual who was given a large/high dose of the drug through IV. While nursing the maximum recommended dosage is 90 MG a day, which is taken 30 mg 3 times a day, or some do 20 mg 4 times a day for a total of 80 mg.

I have done lots of reading/research on this, as I am big into nursing and had to use it with my first DS to re-build a supply that was lost due to a latch that went uncaught.

BTW - www.kellymom.com has a list of common medications and their classification for use while nursing or while pregnant. The key code is at the bottom of the page, so you might have to goto the bottom of the web page then find your drug(s).

Melissa S.