How do you deal with heartburn?

shorty6788

I've read the articles and recommendations on dealing with heartburn.  I've had heartburn like this with my last pregnancy and its just unbearable.  Everything I eat seems to give me heartburn.  So, let me ask, what do you ladies do to deal with it?  I'm desperate to find a solution.  I know its not my prenatals, because the heartburn can strike at any time.  Its to the point where I'm just afraid to eat because it makes me feel more sick than the first tri nausea  Advice?

cMichelle0423

You can take Tums, Zantac, Mylanta, and Pepcid. I would suggest trying some of those and see which help the most.

DrillSergeantCat

I just got off the phone with my nurse and she said that I can take 2 Zantac 150 a day or 1 prilosec otc a day, but not to take them with Tums because it could cause kidney stones from all the extra calcium. I'm also going to try a teaspoon of baking soda since it's a base, it should neutralize the acid.

eta - I just looked up the baking soda thing. It is not recommended for pregnant women.

nlwz123

Zantac helps me.

modanz1

I got a prescription from my doctor and haven't had an issue since.

tooba22

Zantac 150

ashleyorm

I got a prescription from my doctor and it really helped.  Before that I drank milk....a lot of milk.  It was the only thing that didnt trigger it.

samara267

Drink Kevita. It's fermented coconut water (basically water kefir) with probiotics and it's been my heartburn go to remedy for 2 years, even before pregnancy. You can also eat fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, use apple cider vinegar and take probiotics. 

Zantac and Tums are basically just a bandaid and it makes it worse in the long run. It reduces the acid that causes heartburn temporarily, but then when it wears off your body thinks it needs to produce extra acid because there isn't enough in your stomach so it makes an excess and the whole cycle starts over. Fermented foods and probiotics actually help to balance the acid levels rather than reducing/eliminating them entirely. 

redfallon

samara267 said:

Drink Kevita. It's fermented coconut water (basically water kefir) with probiotics and it's been my heartburn go to remedy for 2 years, even before pregnancy. You can also eat fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, use apple cider vinegar and take probiotics. 

Zantac and Tums are basically just a bandaid and it makes it worse in the long run. It reduces the acid that causes heartburn temporarily, but then when it wears off your body thinks it needs to produce extra acid because there isn't enough in your stomach so it makes an excess and the whole cycle starts over. Fermented foods and probiotics actually help to balance the acid levels rather than reducing/eliminating them entirely. 

That doesn't happen to me. It works and it's over with. It doesn't come back unless I eat something else that causes it.

shorty6788 I take Zantac and avoid red sauces, like spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. Those seem to trigger it for me.

jonesl12

I take 2 cherry tums before bed the past few days ( mine is worst when I lay down at night ) it's helped a ton!

jmjarling

I have completely changed me diet everything i eat i drink skim milk with. But since i changed my diet to organic and no tomatoes everything i eat is homemade.... Lots of greek yogurt and fruit smoothies....plain chicken breast with brown rice lots of raw veggies...my favorite is toasted in the oven sandwhich with meat and cheese only .... I've been heart burn free for 3 weeks!!!!! Took almost 2 weeks to get use to no junk food at all but now it doesn't bug me. My heart burn would make me sick it was so bad nothing would help.

baba35ali

Dollop of toothpaste in your mouth works a treat x

Knottie59802221

I used to take Zantec and it worked wonders my first tri, but now it just seems to make me sick. I find snacking on some graham crackers of all things really helps a lot.

JES5757

I've had terrible GERD and ulcers my whole life, and my little girl is really making things worse .  My rules from my gastro are small meals, nothing gassy, very few raw veggies and fruits and to remember that heartburn is cumulative.  Tomato sauce might not bother you one day, but if you had grapes earlier and are eating raw carrots and THEN tomato sauce, its a recipe for disaster.  I live on greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, toast, chicken noodle soup, scrambled eggs and plain pasta.  I eat cereal (especially baby cereal) to make sure I'm getting enough vitamins, and I sleep basically sitting up.  I'm so sorry you are suffering, heartburn is the worst.

lisjacobson

As JES5757 said, only bland foods! No red sauces, acidic fruits or vegetables, soy sauces. Very plain diet is key. Eating a lot of small, bland meals helps too. Also sleep elevated with 3-4 pillows behind your head every night. Pepcid worked for me with my first but is not working with my second so I am suffering right there with you!

nickilynn0516

Chewing gum. Any flavor I believe, but i have only had peppermint. It really works!

paytonpedro

Tums. Lots of tums.

jrouge12

Tums when it's really bad otherwise I had to first notice patterns of when it was worse to make it better. I find sitting upright in an office chair aggravates it the worst. So I make sure to stand and walk around at work as much as possible. Really sugary things make it the worse (more than spicy or acidic) and foods like yogurt make it better. And although my doctor said ice cream shouldn't help, it does help the pain and the actual heart burn. Maybe try to track when it is worse because I'm sure you might have different triggers than me.

willashbaby

I had been chomping tums left and right and last night before bed I tried a regular pepcid. No heartburn all night and most of the day! I'm trying to take less antacid since it seems to be interfering with my iron absorption. I'll be taking another one tonight!