PSA and TMI regarding TUMS

Petunia844 · August 2012

Ok, sorry in advance for the TMI here, but I wish I had known this could happen with tums and I would have avoided them. I finally caved and took it two nights earlier in the week because nothing else was helping my nighttime heartburn. I would only take it if it was bad enough that it woke me up in the middle of the night. Well then yesterday I was having some...um... trouble going to the bathroom. It took me like all day to finally be able to....um... relieve it. Well, after a day of not the best straining and what-not I had some lovely bleeding both right before and right after I was finally able to go. Like, so much that there was quite a bit in the toilet. It was clearly from the *ahem* back door, so I didn't freak, but did tell my OB about it today. He checked me out (can we say AWKWARD) and was able to see a small hemorrhoid, he was surprised it had caused that much bleeding.

So anyways... apparently tums can cause issues and constipation... thus leading to this lovely episode. Suffice it to say I will just deal with the heartburn or sit up more when I sleep rather than go through that again. So... you've been warned, if you have ANY tendency towards hemorrhoids or bowel troubles, probably want to avoid tums.

nattn · August 2012

TUMS can also cause kidney stones. I stay for away from them now!

mollywobbles13 · August 2012

This is really good to know. I get heartburn pretty much every night but refuse to take anything. I've been thinking about taking Tums but considering I've had hemmroids off and on since delivering Ellie I will stay far away from those!

ct103 · August 2012

Yeah, Tums have the effect on me too, and I do NOT need anything that could make that problem worse at the moment!

No to mention, they don't help my heartburn. They help for a very short period of time, then it comes back even worse. I'm not a fan.

Petunia844 · August 2012

ahaverkamp:
This is really good to know. I get heartburn pretty much every night but refuse to take anything. I've been thinking about taking Tums but considering I've had hemmroids off and on since delivering Ellie I will stay far away from those!

This was me, I was trying to avoid it, but after a few sleepless nights I caved... as horribly embarrassing as that story is to share, I thought it's worth it for nobody else to waste money on them!

krisztina33 · August 2012

Yeesh! Thanks for the heads up! I don't have heartburn, but all of my GI issues over the last year have left me with a headstart in the hemorrhoid department

So I will definitely be staying away from TUMS...

Eveanyn · August 2012

Thanks for the heads up!!

PhoenixBritt · August 2012

Very good to know...I have had horrible heartburn and I assume it will only get worse as the pregnancy progresses but now I know not to turn to tums!!

CdnFarmGirl08 · August 2012

That's interesting. I take TUMS nightly, 2 right after supper all the time and I've never had trouble yet. Here's hoping that it continues not to bother me!

Thanks for the info though!

Petunia844 · August 2012

fingerscrossed8:
That's interesting. I take TUMS nightly, 2 right after supper all the time and I've never had trouble yet. Here's hoping that it continues not to bother me!

Thanks for the info though!

Yea, I know my sister used them with her pregnancies which is what finally convinced me to try them... so it may only be an issue of you have a tendency towards these kinds of problems?

angelacarmen · August 2012

That's so strange, I eat Tums constantly, my heartburn is brutal, and haven't had any issues. I have been told that milk and coconut milk both help heartburn, I've been meaning to try it to see if it works. Might be something to try, Ladies.

ala_1220 · August 2012

Tums have been a lifesaver for me. They are upstairs, downstairs, in my purse, and at work. Don't have constipation issues.

zombiemommy · August 2012

Thanks for the PSA! I use Tums all the time because my acid reflux is often out of control annoying and painful, but those problems all sound way worse. I'll definitely lay off.