Oh, the heartburn!

[because]

Anyone else? Like everything else, this is something totally different than with DD.

It's just killing me. I have it everyday but especially bad when I lie on my right side (I could avoid it except that I nurse DD lying that way sometimes). Today, a huge gush of acid woke me from a nap and made me run to the bathroom thinking I was going to puke. :irked:

I'm a slave to the papaya but I'll take a Tums when the pain is really severe. Milk seems to help a little and I avoid really acidy or sour things, especially before lying down. Also, the baby seems to be balled up high under my ribs so I know s/he is squishing everything and kicking my stomach.

What else can I do?

[Camellia]

My midwife said almonds really help. I've had some luck with them. You could also try almond milk :)

Avoid sugary things also. Sweets give me the worst heartburn.

:hug's I've had bad heartburn with all 3 of my pregnancies. It really sucks. :( Although, this one has been the best and its the one I've avoided sugar with the most.

[ozzyemm]

I,too have heartburn. I got it alot before I was pregnant because I was really overweight, but it is starting up again :p. I have it no matter what I eat! I have soy milk which has calcium, and it does help. I will take tums after I have taken my insulin before bed, because I can't eat after (well, I probably could, but I don't).

[Hollin]

Oy! I feel your pain, I have had reflux so bad several times that I had to stay in bed most of the day. I will have to try almonds and almond milk, tums doesn't even touch the pain for me. I've been trying papaya and I think it has made it less frequent and severe. Is there any sort of tea that would help? I know peppermint tea helps tummies, but I don't know about reflux. I hope that everyone starts feeling better!

[Greenie]

I've always had heartburn at least a few times a week, but with this, it's ALL DAY EVERY DAY. What I was told by a good friend is that anytime he gets it, he takes a spoonful of vinegar. The vinegar is acidic, but it helps digest the food more quickly and it neutralises it. Apple Cider Vinegar tastes the best.

I just try and visualise a disc going down my esophagus, pushing all of the acid into my stomach. It really does help. If it doesn't on the first try, I visualise more discs. Then, once it feels better, I immagine little screws going into the discs to hold it in, and I breathe deeply to soothe myself. It works for me!! :wink

[Wugmama]

OMG it is terrible! I just read something in the Dr. Sears book about getting on your hands and knees to relieve heartburn. It does work while you are in that position, but as soon as you get up again it comes back pretty quickly.

The papaya tablets seem to make me nauseated - does that happen to anyone else? It might just be a coincidence, not from them.

I am afraid to eat too many tums. I had kidney stones my last pg and I thought that somehow the tums caused them - maybe not true. I think that high calcium foods contribute to stones, and the tums have calcium in there which I would think would be harder to digest than other types of calcium since it is solid. Not sure though.

During my first pg, I woke up more than once in the middle of the night with a sensation of choking from the acid coming up - it was really, really scary. I hope it doesn't come to that with this pg, but it probably will for me. It already seems like the heartburn started early and is worse than last time.

~Tracy

[Nature]

Tums didn't do anything for me this time around.. so I talked to my doctor and then tried Maalox. I expected it to work much like the Tums (didn't do crap), but I was surprised that it helped a lot!

[megpaw]

Ugh, I hate it! I had reflux something awful when I was pg with dd's....at least it's not as bad this time. I've been sleeping propped up on a couple of pillows, that seems to help a bit.

[hottmama]

I ate sooo many tums last pregnancy, this time I am getting heartburn some but I know it's going to get worse and more frequent as time goes on. My 2.5 yr. old keeps going "Mommy, why's your heart burning?"

[Wugmama]

Funny question from your little one (above)!

Last pg, I kept telling everyone I was getting 1/2 of my daily caloric intake from Tums - they thought I was kidding.

~Tracy

[beachcomber]

Today the heartburn is really killing me. I feel like my stomach is filled with lava and it's about to erupt. I'm just glad it's not every day! I tried Tums and papaya but they didn't even make a dent, so I bought some of those Rolaids soft chews after checking with the pharmacist (and reading the label) and they work way better.

It's weird. It doesn't matter what I eat some days. I just get heartburn. Oh yeah. I've found that eating popcorn seems to help me a lot. It soaks up the acid.

[asher'smom]

I had terrible heartburn with my first two pregnancies. I would avoid the milk if I were you, it is only a temporary fix and can actually make things worse. I did the papya and Tums as well. I did get great relief from acupuncture.

The great thing for me was that once the babies were out the heartburn was instantly gone. I hope it is the same for you.

[beachcomber]

Argh. I've got it again today. It seems to hit me after lunch and last until bed time. I don't even eat much for lunch and still I get it. Sigh. Oh well. Just a few more months and it'll be the least of my worries! :)