Trying to avoid heartburn

[boogiemonster]

With my last pregnancy I was in agony for almost the last half with vicious heartburn. WATER would aggravate it.

Does anyone have any suggestions for natural, safe cures for pregnancy heartburn? I've heard about following an alkaline diet...any pointers? Can one do this on a vegetarian diet?

It's still some time down the road before I need to worry about this, but I'm trying to have some foresight. TIA for any insight!

[LittleLlama]

I'll have to look into it again because I suffered pretty badly last time and I just don't remember what I did to help :

I know that not eating after a certain time, like two hours before bed made an enormous difference at night. I would wake up and pop a couple tums at least once a night just to be able to get some sleep but after just setting the limit on when I ate (and makng myself go to bed on time) I didn't need anything hardly at all.

[scheelimama]

I've already been dealing with this, this time. I can't seem to handle garlic in any amount whatsoever (even when it's the 12th ingredient on the list!) I never had it this early with my others, it was more the last half like you said. And like Sarah, I couldn't eat or drink too close to bedtime. It was like it all wanted to come right back up (not as in throwing up, just reflux/heartburn). I've heard that milk products help a great deal, but I can't have milk products while pregnant, so I never tried that route. Also, Tums are my best friend for this, and I always take the maximum dose of 4 for best results.

[renaissanceed]

I'll be following this thread closely. Last time I tried papaya enzymes, Tums, probably other things too and nothing seemed to help. Can't have milk here either due to lactose intolerance (although mine actually improves with pregnancy).

For me, the only thing that helped was when the baby dropped around week 36. However since that's usually just a first pregnancy thing, I'm not counting on it this time.

[*Lindsey*]

I had horrible heartburn with both my kids. I also found it really helped if I didn't eat about 1-2 hours before bed, and Tums were also my best friend.

I was like the OP and even water would do me in.

BTW, both my kids had a good deal of hair, so that old wives tale was true for me. How about the rest of you?

[boogiemonster]

Totally. My wee one had a crazy amount of beautiful hair.

[LittleLlama]

Originally Posted by mommy2Gabriel03

I had horrible heartburn with both my kids. I also found it really helped if I didn't eat about 1-2 hours before bed, and Tums were also my best friend.

I was like the OP and even water would do me in.

BTW, both my kids had a good deal of hair, so that old wives tale was true for me. How about the rest of you?

Oh yeah, long and silky!

[*Lindsey*]

Interesting!

[yogamama74]

I take digestive enzymes and try to combine food so it digests better i.e. not so much starch with protein. If I eat protein, I try to eat lots of non-starchy veggies. If I eat potatoes or rice, I try to avoid eating it with meat. Usually works for me, but with crazy cravings....aargh....

[mommybytheWord]

Originally Posted by mommy2Gabriel03

I had horrible heartburn with both my kids. I also found it really helped if I didn't eat about 1-2 hours before bed, and Tums were also my best friend.

I was like the OP and even water would do me in.

BTW, both my kids had a good deal of hair, so that old wives tale was true for me. How about the rest of you?

Not for me!: I had the wort heartburn for months. I thought I was going to die. That was with all my other preg and they all were bald!! Very little hair! I have heartburn already so I'm geissing that this one will be bald for years!!

[GinaRae]

I've had terrible indigestion already and so far Nux Vomica (homeopathy pellets) is taking care of it. Let's hope it continues!

It's safe in pregnancy, give it a try.

[Isaac'sMa]

To help alleviate heartburn at night (in addition to suggestions of not eating 1-2 hrs. before sleeping) you can put blocks under the head posts of the bed to elevate it slightly. Sometimes the incline can help.

[scheelimama]

Yogamama, would you mind expounding on your strategies for keeping heartburn away? What enzymes exactly do you take? Can you tell me more about combining the foods?

I'm really suffering here with heartburn/acid reflux. It's awful. I want to cry. The morning sickness is mostly over, but the acid reflux is so bad it makes me want to throw up. I can't hardly eat/drink anything without a burning sensation in my chest and a feeling like it's all coming back up in my throat. I know citrus is counter-indicated, but it's one of my favorite things right now and with my awful food aversions/ms, I've had at least one orange a day. Aside from that, I don't think my diet has been too acidic. I don't have any milk products, but I eat mostly carb/alkaline things and I still get acid reflux. I've been taking tums twice a day. I never had it this bad even in the 3rd trimester with my others. I'm going to talk to my dr. about it whenever I finally get my first appt., but that's still 2 weeks away. I need to try some different things in the meantime. It's gotten increasingly worse over the past week, and I'm wondering if it's due to increasing levels of progesterone, but since the ms is getting better, I would think those levels would be starting to even out. Ahh....

[LittleLlama]

Originally Posted by GinaRae

I've had terrible indigestion already and so far Nux Vomica (homeopathy pellets) is taking care of it. Let's hope it continues!

It's safe in pregnancy, give it a try.

I'll have to try that one for later. I've been really queasy lately so I got the, um, ippecan.... somethingsomething that is for nausea and vomiting with excessive salvation. which I've had with a seriousness but that took right care of it.

[LittleLlama]

Um, that's salivation. My soul is fine