Looking for a way to make it stop

kassidybl · April 2014

FTM here at 31wks. A job I had about 5 years ago gave me stomach ulcers and that alone made the heartburn horrible. Then I got pregnant when my DH asked me to marry him.

Needless to say, the heartburn has been unlivable. Early 2nd trimester, my OB gave me the ok to take 40mg of Famotidine (Pepcid) for the rest of the pregnancy if it helped and TUMS to treat breakthroughs. Well, it went decently well the second trimester...but this one has been much worse. Even with that, I can't eat past 7pm if I don't want to wake up with horrid heartburn and 3 times out of five, it causes me to throw up in the middle of the night.

Last night was the worst. I didn't eat anything after 4:30pm, because lately 7 has been causing me heartburn now, didn't drink anything after 6. And still I was up all night with the worst heartburn I've had all pregnancy...and to be honest, it's still going on.

There aren't 'specific' foods that cause it, because if I didn't eat whatever caused me heartburn, I wouldn't be able to eat anything at all. Even water gives me heartburn no matter how much or little of it I drink. I've been having to miss work due to the nausea the heartburn causes, which I can't have happen (I run a vet clinic) and right now, I'm at my limit.

Sorry this was so long, I'm just at my wits end.

Rrrrrachel · April 2014

I'm interested to know what method your husband used to propose that you wound up pregnant

ililheatheri · April 2014

I can literally eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and have a glass a milk and still instantly get heartburn. Third tri has been the worst for heartburn and GERD for me. I drink like a quart of milk a day to help calm the burning. I also take tums but I feel like they do nothing. I sleep elevated, last night I even slept on my couch propped up in the corner. If I lay down completely or just on a pillow, I wake up with vomit in my.mouth so I definitely feel your pain. Stay standing after you eat, And try sleeping more upright! And just remember, give yourself pep talks. My whole drive to work I'm like... I'm not going to throw up... no way I'm just gonna take deep breaths and relax. Haha

Good luck!!

bewilderingstar · April 2014

I know a lot of girls are using Zantac. I have had great results with it. I take it only when I feel the heartburn coming. I only take the 75mg serving but a lot of the gals on here take 150mg.

My doctor told me at my last visit that it was totally safe btw.

kassidybl · April 2014

Rrrrrachel lol, thank you for the laugh. We think what happened is I missed a pill or two just before he happened to propose. And according to the OB's timeline, it ended up lining up exactly around when he asked. He was a little freaked out by it, because I still took about a month and a half of birth control after that since implanting happened when the break between boxes happened.

As to everyone else, I do sleep elevated. The only time I don't wake up with vomit in my mouth is when I'm in the corner of the couch/livingroom futon sleeping...but then I just have to live with excruciating back pain. Though I might see about switching to Zantac to see if that helps any...

becomingmommyagain · April 2014

I've had major heartburn with all my pregnancies. This time, I started talking to the doc early on about it and fortunately they prescribed Protonix. Its only recommended for 3rd tri because you can only take it for a short amount of time (3 months I think) so reserving it for the worst time is idea. It's used to treat GERD and neutralize the acids so the esophagus can heal.

I started taking it at 26 weeks. It has been a miracle drug for me. Prior to I was being woke up at 3am choking on acid bile unable to catch my breath. If your heartburn is severe, I'd definitely push the issue with your doc.

HeyAmberNicole · April 2014

Zantac (no matter the strength) just did not work for me. I was living on Zantac and Tums. Because I was eating so many each day (7-10 daily) my OB became concerned about a calcium overload which could cause nervous system issues.

So they perscribed Prilosec. It is amazing! I love it. It started working within 24 hours. I take it every morning and have no issues at all. Sometimes if I eat a late, heavy dinner I can feel the burps come on when I lay down so I just pop a couple Tums and go to sleep.

Hope you find some relief!

nikkiuk · April 2014

Ugh, feeling your pain with the ulcers. I've been battling them suckers for years and taking OTC Omeprazole (when I get up in the morning, at least an hour before I eat) for years too - they pretty much do the trick - my OB has been fine with me continuing to take them during pregnancy because they work. I sometimes need two Rolaids before I go to sleep propped up on 4 pillows, sometimes Gaviscon. Zantac didn't do a thing for me and I find Rolaids are much, much better than Tums.

darkangel42 · April 2014

None of the meds work for me so I have to minimise it with diet even though the pain can be really intense.

I don't drink anything fizzy, have full-fat milk with/after dinner, drink peppermint tea after eating anything (more for digestion in general but it's still your food system so can't hurt), have a handful of plain almonds when it's really bothering me and have been told celery and bananas also help but haven't tried it.

Between a glass of milk and a handful of almonds, it does take out the worst of the pain for me so it might be worth experimenting.

Justabean3 · April 2014

anniemore said:
Water can definitely cause heartburn -- I read one trick was to take breaks from water when you're having bad heartburn and make sure you're swallowing more saliva because it neutralizes the acids in your stomach.

The worst things for me have been sugars (fruit, bread, refined sugar), spices and broccoli. I know any of those in my last meal will make things hard to manage.

See if your Dr is ok with with Zantac 75. I've been doing 1 pill in the morning and 1 pill before bed. If I have breakthroughs in the middle of the night I will take 1 Rolaids ultra strength. Seems to be doing the trick for me for now..

The saliva part is true. That is why they recommend paci's to babies with reflux, it encourages saliva production

I try and eat peppermints or I sucked on them. I was vomiting daily at the end with my first. I are very slow and very very small meals

lookame3639 · April 2014

Ok...maybe your situation is different since you have stomach ulcers(I have crohns disease ad intestinal ulcers) and this may sound really odd but if my stomach is empty I tend to have heartburn. I have to be careful about going to long without eating or else I'll start to feel sick and then I start burping stomach acid into my throat. With my DS I had horrible heartburn and required the prevacid daily like you. This little girl it isnt as bad but I still have to watch it.

hbird0723 · April 2014

So sorry you are going through this! My job caused the same for me last year. That and buying our first home and my dad passing away. I love Tagamet it works really well but you aren't supposed to take it while pregnant. I now take Zantac 2 times a day sometimes and that seems to help. I also started to notice a pattern with mine like I get it in the middle of the night and around dinner so about 3 or 4 I take one and then if needed before bed that way I am taking it before the problem begins even though the medicine says you can take it when you already have it. That doesn't work for me. Also I saw someone said something about peanut butter and milk and those are actually 2 things that can set heartburn off that surprised me. Milk turns into an acid during digestion and for whatever reason peanut butter sets me off too and a friend if mine who has heartburn trouble said the same thing. The going a long time without eating is a big one too. When I first found out I had GERD before I was pregnant I used to think staying away from food would help but that made it worse. Small meals every couple hours has helped a lot. Also the chiropractor has helped a lot too. Anyway just was looking over at third tri board and saw this and thought maybe some of this could help. Good luck you are not alone!

hbird0723 · April 2014

Oh and try cinamin applesauce

JulieSmiles · April 2014

My doctor recently put me on Prilosec because my heartburn was so bad. You may talk to your doctor about something like that.

Turkygurl · April 2014

I was having the same issues. Heartburn no matter what I ate. I started with just tums (nope), then Pepcid AC (nope), then Zantac 75mg (nope), then Zantac 150 (nope), then Pepcid + Zantac (nope). Finally after vomiting up blood due to the heartburn, I talked to the Dr about it. They prescribed me Carafate. It's a liquid that you take 3-4 times a day that coats your esophagus and stomach to help lessen the irritation of the ulcers and allow your body to digest the food. I was able to then take a Prevacid once a day in combination with the Carafate. After a month on the Carafate, I was able to stop and only take the Prevacid once a day before bed and a Zantac 75 around lunchtime. I haven't had any heartburn since the Carafate helped heal the ulcers. I would check with your dr.

danicgraves · April 2014

I had unbelievable heartburn throughout my pregnancy. Omeprazole was the only thing that took it away. I got it over the counter, and still used tums on bad days, but it worked miracles for me.

dragonfly711 · April 2014

I'm taking Zantac 75 mg twice a day. The heartburn just sits at my sternum. Always burning. Someone told me Tums were not the best to take due to having something in them of course I can't think of what it is now.

Mittens14 · April 2014

If it weren't for Zantac 150's I wouldn't have made it through either of my pregancies. Pepcid, rolaids, tums, etc. none of them do ANYTHING for me. I take Zantac daily when the heartburn starts and within a half hour it's gone and stays gone. There's only been two occasions that I've had to take a second one in the middle of the night. My sister took pepcid for her pregnancy and it did nothing for her, so Zantac may be what you need.

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