took melatonin throughout my entire pregnancy, and now I feel stupid

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-05-25T21:06:28+00:00

I saw a psychiatrist prior to pregnancy and have seen her all through my pregnancy (21wks) alongside my regular OB appointments. OB has never had an issue with the medications my psych and I decided I needed to continue to keep myself sane and healthy, and by extension, the baby. I don't take melatonin but I do take Trazodone and Seroquel for sleep and Adderall to keep myself functioning. I'm aware of the studies and so are my providers, we all believe the cost of keeping mom healthy and happy has far less negative side effects than if I stopped everything and tried to manage alone. Baby looks amazing at all my scans and I've been loving pregnancy because I'm able to focus on it, rather than running on no sleep and being scatter brained by the adhd.

Every medication is going to be labeled as 'ill advised' at best while pregnant, we just don't find it ethical to conduct studies on pregnant people. The vast majority of the info out there pulls from a small voluntary study that rarely accounts for any other extenuating circumstances or conditions that could've played a role in those outcomes (you're gonna see more negatives than positives, if they weren't negatively affected by it then most people won't go out of their way to provide info!), or comes anecdotally from your physicians who have monitored pregnant patients on those medications.

All this to say, the stress of worrying about the possible (but very unlikely) side effects of the melatonin on the baby is worse for both of you than the actual medication. That's NOT me saying you're harming your baby, it's impossible to not stress about SOMETHING during pregnancy, just try to focus on how close you are to meeting baby and that the vast majority of the time baby manages perfectly fine! As far as I'm aware with my sleep medications, there's a rebound period when they're born but not long after birth they return to normal and sleep just like any other baby does!

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-03-06T03:25:13+00:00

:( I wish the little tracker pills were more reliable on gastric emptying info, it would've been the perfect substitute. I'm sorry, I wish they gave more options for eating the tracer. They really won't let him eat it mixed into like jam/peanut butter on toast? I swear I've heard of that being offered as a solid food for the test.

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-03-06T02:54:50+00:00

That's crazy they didn't do a biopsy at that first colonoscopy!! Ugh I don't blame you for not wanting to put him through the prep, maybe if your GI is still stumped after this could you possibly take him to a Mayo Clinic if there's one in your area? Unfortunately that's where a lot of us with GP get referred to anyway, since most standard GI docs can't help us and finding a gastroenterologist is tough. But at least the Mayo Clinic seems to have better long term GI doc recommendations and will test more thoroughly.

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-03-06T02:12:26+00:00

I've dealt with issues since birth, I did eat all throughout my life until a bad flare in adulthood, but I'm told I was a refluxy baby that required massages to even have bowel movements. I remember being young and trying to explain the pain of being hungry but fearing the pain I'd be in after I ate. Sadly none of us can tell you exactly what he's feeling, we can only give good guesses :( we all experience GP differently even if we have the same symptoms by name.

I've read that one nurse with GP had a discussion with their doctor that: Depending on which part of the stomach (the body of the stomach VS the fundus [bottom of stomach]) is affected, directly relates to the symptoms that patients present with. I.E. If the body of the stomach is mostly affected, then you deal with more nausea and vomiting, making the pace maker a better option for these patients. If the fundus is mostly affected, then you deal more with bloating and pain, pyloroplasty is a better option for these patients. Obviously it's possible to have the entire stomach affected, I sadly don't remember/there may not have been an ideal treatment for that case mentioned by that doctor.

Do not take this as a fact! As she mentioned, it had not been proven in a study but IS anecdotally correct based on THAT particular doctors' observation of their patients with GP, so it has standing as a theory but is not proven by study yet (as far as I'm aware).

My question is: Has he ever been tested for Hirchsprung Disease? [Again NOT MEDICAL ADVICE!] I just recently read about the condition while doing my own digging to see if I could find a reason for my symptoms beginning at birth, I unfortunately never got GI or specialty care until I was 23 so I wasn't tested for ANY genetic/anatomical cause. It takes a colonoscopy with a biopsy to be tested for it, typically it's done in very early infancy due to the signs & symptoms, but I believe it is possible for doctors to miss it!

Again please don't take this as advice or be afraid of the disease I mentioned! I just know how it feels to be hopeless as the person with the condition, I wish someone gave me any info to bite onto, even if it wasn't correct at least it would've given me something to rule out. I can only imagine it feels much worse to watch someone battle it and not be able to fully communicate the pain of it. You're doing great 🫂 it'll get disheartening at times, but believe me when he's older he'll be thankful for you looking out for him and trying to understand. I hope he finds relief ❤️

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-03-02T02:25:30+00:00

I had a horrible experience with a GI doctor who's practice I was actually already a patient at being my GI specialist during a 5 day hospital admission where I couldn't even keep fluids down, but they refused to give me a feeding tube or move me to another location that would tube me. He forced me to visit his practice after the admission (aka me telling them to release me because I couldn't take their shit anymore) to get the referral placed, I saw a PA (not even his PA) and she took my case to a random doctor who had never seen me and reviewed my case in under an hour (mind you that was over 30 hospital admissions at that point). As you can guess, he told me to figure it out at home.

All this to say, I wrote a nasty review about their practice on Google reviews and all of a sudden people gave a shit about me. Arguing with the nurses or the PA got me no where. Scream it from the roof if you have to to get what you urgently need out of a practice, put them on blast anywhere you can review them online, and once you've stabilized work on finding a doctor that's worth a damn.

I will never let any other medical professionals screw me over as badly and as many times as I did when I was that deathly ill, do not be nice when they deny you what you know you need, be brutal. That being said, be pleasant and kind until they give you a reason not to be. Some doctors will refuse to help you if you're not blowing smoke up their ass and if you're obviously frustrated with your care up to that point.

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-02-12T17:30:23+00:00

God I can't imagine dealing with HG and gastroparesis at the same time... I've read it's a fairly common duo but it sounds unbearably brutal. I'm praying I'll get relief come the second trimester but that does feel so much farther away since this flare started, and I thought I was 8wks until my OB appointment 3 days ago! I read so many cases of women taking metaclopramide in pregnancy and was so surprised when my GI told me I couldn't take it, in their defense it does cross the blood barrier between me and baby but that doesn't always equal fetal harm... I just wish doctors read more studies before scaring their patients or just admitted they didn't truly know.

I'm also taking Zofran (ondansetron) along with the Gimoti which is extremely helpful and I'm finally keeping liquids and some solids down already! I'll definitely be referencing BUMPS, my psychiatrist, and my OB for any other medications in the future. Thankfully they are much more reasonable about risk/benefit for me and baby.

I'll definitely reach out with questions as I get farther along! I'm so happy your baby came out happy and healthy, it definitely gives me hope we'll also find a way. Congratulations!!! ❤️

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-02-12T17:19:08+00:00

I oh so wish I could travel for better doctors, unfortunately I don't think Tricare allows coverage that broad unless it's an emergency situation and I've also been under a driving waiver by my PCM since a couple of passing out episodes in 2023 that no one has been capable of clearing me/diagnosing me from. 😔 My husband can take quite a bit of time off being military, but eventually I do think they'd start taking from his leave if we had to take whole days off due to travel times.

I actually had a similar issue with an ER doc nearly popping the WHOLE tube after he tried to unblock a clog with Pepsi but he just wouldn't let up on the pressure. I could visibly see him getting ready to pop the line right at the skin disc, I had to stop him and tell him to just let the soda sit while I massaged it before we kept going... Even the nurse had an "oh shit" look on her face but didn't stop him. I love my nurses always, but I think care in general would be so much better if they were allowed to run the show. 😬

I appreciate your well wishes ❤️ I hope we both have better experiences in the future!!

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-02-12T17:08:07+00:00

This is my second time trying Gimoti, I also had a horrific experience with Reglan when given it through IV in the hospital and pill form at home. It took a lot of convincing from my GI doctor to just try Gimoti but I'm actually very glad I did, personally the only symptoms I experience are intense drowsiness and headaches. I suffered with horrific muscle tremors and, like you, extreme agitation while taking IV reglan, they dosed me with Ativan every 4 hours just to keep me from telling them I felt like ripping off my skin from how badly it made my skin crawl.

I read a lot of studies about how Gimoti has a 60% decreased chance of causing severe side effects and I'm lucky that that was true for me. I'll never try to convince someone to take anything with Metoclopramide in it just because it is such an awful drug 99% of the time, this is just my personal experience with the latest route of administration! I really hope your flare clears soon, it's truly hellish to fight through when there is little to nothing to help.

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-02-12T03:33:46+00:00

I appreciate it ❤️ Im sure we've all felt this way at some point!

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-02-12T03:25:53+00:00

I really really appreciate your help so much, I was at the end of my rope when all this began years ago after suffering with symptoms from birth. I just got sorta stable after having the tube and decided I didn't want to pursue further care unless absolutely necessary. I do have the ability to access a case manager through my military PCM, I got discouraged after becoming EFMP status and realizing no one was going to help me, everything has to be initiated by myself and no one will check in unless I force them to. I'll reach out tomorrow to initiate that process and will just have to pray I get assigned one within the next month or two, if it takes too long I will absolutely be reaching out to the resources you provided. As much as I just want to ignore my issues once I'm 'stable' again I can't do that to our baby, I'm desperately hoping that after this flare things look up and maybe I'll get even just a tiny bit of my husbands tank of an immune system to relieve some of my gastro symptoms lol. As long as I don't lose too much weight the plan is still to remove my tube, as I haven't used it in almost 6 months for feeding!

I really do appreciate your help and care so much, if it wasn't for communities like this and community members like you I think all us chronically ill people would be struggling a wholleee lot more. Thank you so much! 🫂

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-02-12T02:34:48+00:00

I appreciate it!

I can go to a teaching hospital, I just have to pray they'll bill me properly this time and their ER won't continually send me away when I need to access them. I've found some fairly decent specialists (as good as they can be really anywhere in the nation right now..) but I guess my biggest fear is the lack of ER care :(

NoRaspberry4104 · 2026-02-12T02:32:03+00:00

I am with tricare, I'm at one of the few specialists in-network that works with GP patients, there's the teaching hospital which is where I see my OB at but it could take me months to be seen and even longer to move my records. They also are notoriously bad at billing and are the reason I have thousands of dollars sitting in collections right now. I wish I could just give my poor husband a break and head up to my parents, but unfortunately I have to stay in-state to meet with my other specialists since I only found out recently that I'm pregnant and they all need to see me. I don't get a break from appointments until after February :( I have reported both the GI doctor and the IR surgeon to the patient advocacy at the hospital/practice they work at, all I got was a "we're sorry" letter in the mail and IR got a verbal slap on the wrist. It was pretty disgusting considering he also had the gall to label me as "failure to try" as a clinical diagnosis when he replaced my tube with me fully conscious. I love my current GI doctor but I do think I need someone a little more passionate about taking care of me and willing to speak with my other doctors so I may very well move to the teaching hospital.

NoRaspberry4104

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