Help! Heartburn, I'm miserable

[1hautemama]

The flames of hell are raging in my chest! Can one take too much heartburn medicine? Right now I alternate between Gaviscon tablets and Zantac 150. They both work, but only for a bit. It does not matter when, what, how much I eat or drink. I am sick of cousous, tofu and aloe juice-BLEH!
Is there anything short of giving birth that will make it go away? PLease?
I have 4 weeks left...It feels like an eternity

[mama2q]

I feel ya! Last night I thought stomach acid was going to erupt through my nose at one point. Pepcid helps somewhat. I can't take tums or rollaids since I get kidney stones pretty easily. But try some Pepcid.

[rmzbm]

I'm right there with ya, UGGH! It's horrible! I ALWAYS have terrible heratburn when preg.

[Marieke]

Back with my first pregnancy someone on livejournal who was very into natural living and such recommended a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Of course getting that down was the trick but supposedly it should help with neutralising the acid (don't ask me how that works, but that was the idea).

For me for now Tums/Rolaids have worked, but I still have just under 4 weeks on the clock officially, who knows what they might bring in the heartburn department this time around.



Marieke

[lilkat]

I'm with you. It's sometimes so bad my ribs and teeth ache, and if I'm not careful, the reflux wakes me up to vomit a few hours after I go to sleep Tums works for me for a while, as do raw almonds. I caved one night and took Zantac, but it didn't help at ALL, so I haven't taken it again. I'm guessing you've tried the common "remedies": small, frequent snacks instead of meals, no food or drink a few hours before bedtime, elevating the head of your bed and/or using pillows to elevate your upper body, sleeping on your left side? All of those things help me, but don't get rid of the heartburn entirely And now that we've got the crib set up and side-carred, the head of our bed isn't elevated anymore and my reflux is noticeably worse I'm going to make sure we buy a big, comfy recliner before my next pregnancy so I can sleep sitting up

If you find any more things that work for you, please let me know!

ETA: my mw told me about the apple-cider vinegar trick; she said to take it in the morning and it'd trick my system into stopping the production of acid, cause the vinegar is so acidic. Didn't work for me, though

[~ani~]

heartburn is the worst.

[nugglemama]

During the day I take papaya enzymes as needed. I got mine at the pharmacy and there is no maximum # you can take. At night before bed I do liquid gaviscon (hate the tablets) and chase it with tums an hour later if the heartburn isn't gone. That usually gets me through the night so I don't have it creaping up my throat all night.

[CherryBomb]

I've heard great things about papya enzyme. I take cal-mag capsules and it works wonders, too. I take 3 a day and if I feel heartburn coming on I take a couple extra and it kills it.

With dd1 I didn't know the wonders of cal-mag and suffered through heartburn so horrible I cried all the time from the pain

[lilkat]

Is it possible to get too much calcium? It seems to me I read somewhere that it is possible... I'd love to try the cal-mag supplements, but there's so much calcium in the Tums I've been taking, I'd worry that it'd be too much... Anyone know?

[1hautemama]

My best friend told me that she took so many Tums and Zantac when preggers that there were calcium deposits in her placenta. The babe was fine, 9lbs, healthy, all that good stuff...but a calcified placenta? Yikes! That kinda scares me, so I take the Gaviscon in the a.m., then I take the Zantac at night just before bed. I still get the bile creeping up my throat at 4 a.m., and it just sucks. And it's pure hell fire in the chest for most of the day. Am I suffering unneccesarily? Is it ok to pop those things in more than two, three times a day? The apple cider vinegar, ick, I don't know. That scares me, too. Why can't a glass of chardonnay be the best thing for heartburn?

[Mumse]

I'm taking the max Zantac I can take, and Pepcid does nothing for me. Also following all the other recommendations -- small meals, elevated bed, etc., but I can have reflux even when I am standing up straight -- however, I have noticed a HUGE improvement since I tripled my daily B6 -- from 150 mg a day to 450 mg a day. I did that for a week with much improvement (the Zantac was actually enough), then stopped for a few days (back to 150 mg) and withing 24 hours the reflux was back all day long.

Maybe a HUGE amount of B6 would help you, too?

[KristyDi]

I've found chewing gum helps a little. It's not a total fix, but it is something new to try. I've heard that Big Red is the best (no idea why that would be). I don't know, but it is what I've been chewing b/c it's what I happened to have in the house.

Heartburn/reflux really sucks.

[Jes'sBeth]

it's pretty brutal eh!

I take the max dose of zantac twice a day and then take tums at night if I'm still suffering. I wasn't aware that gaviscon was okay while pregnant... might pick some of that up too! I'm really tired of reflux! The zantac is REALLY helpful to me but I find it wears out before it's time for the next dose.

[Bellejar]

If you have a midwife or doc, there are better working drugs available. I am on a prescription for prevacid working great at this point.

[hipmummy]

Originally Posted by nugglemama

During the day I take papaya enzymes as needed. I got mine at the pharmacy and there is no maximum # you can take. At night before bed I do liquid gaviscon (hate the tablets) and chase it with tums an hour later if the heartburn isn't gone. That usually gets me through the night so I don't have it creaping up my throat all night.

Ditto on the Papaya. Low acid foods and believe it or not stay away from water. Drink seltzer or sparkling water not as heavy as still h2o. Also adjust your sleep position to more of an upright position. No coffee or tea even if it is decaf. I had to take zantac 2 or three times but felt so guilty. I found certain foods kept it at bay like peas an asparagus.

[New_Natural_Mom]

I'm right there with you...twice this week I woke up in the middle of the night ***TMI ALERT*** b/c I threw up stomach acid in my mouth. Yikes. I have heard good things about papaya enzymes, but I have been taking tums. That one post about calcium deposits is scary, but I don't take that many.

I don't have any other answers for you - sorry!!

[NJ*Doula]

Full fat milk works pretty well, and you can take it on top of Tums/Rolaids.

Try not to drink water with meals, take your bra off, sit up nearly straight but with a slight backward curve in your back (as in, not hunched over at all, stretched back just a touch is better) and try to prop yourself up a bit to sleep. Sometimes a hot pack right below the boobs helps me, but I have no idea why.

[1hautemama]

Seems to me the hot pack tucked under boobs would feel good no matter what. I also have no idea if Gaviscon is bad for you during pregnancy...Is it? I take it b/c it's the chewable I can tolerate. Thanks for all the feedback, mamas. Now I am off to bed, with a warm towel under my boobs