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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

oh my goodness - is this level of indigestion normal???!

35 replies

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 13:28

So I've been having indigestion/reflux/heartburn etc on and off the entire pregnancy and have been taking gaviscon for it which so far has helped (as well as little and often and milk and all the other things they say you should do). I'd say up until now it has been a daily inconvenience with times of being a complete nightmare, but never has it been so bad as now

I'm 29 weeks and last night I was up half the night with constant burping/hiccoughing/general painful and odd noises coming up my throat and a feeling of indigestion that gaviscon did nothing to help. I ended out discovering that it was worse when I lay on my lhside and swapping to my rh side made it a bit better, so can only assume it's babies positioning at present (there was alot of movement going on in there yesterday).

Today has been equally bad and I've barely been able to eat anything in any quantity (just feels like there's no space so can only manage a few mouthfuls). I'm also still making loud painful gutteral contantly and in the past couple of hours or so have been getting a strong almost burning pain accross the very top of my ribs (along where the bottom of my bra is) and have had to resort to undoing my bra and moaning alot to DH .

This is so painful and uncomfortable. Is this normal and just what I've got to look forward to over the next 2 - 3 months? Will it be constant or is it an on/off thing? If it is babies position is there anything I can do to try and wiggle her about in there?

Sorry for moan.

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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LunaticFringe · 06/12/2010 13:30

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Original poster

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 13:36

I ate as normal yesterday - I pretty much eat the same things at the same time every day or I risk bad indigestion. I'm actually in real pain now - feels like some kind of body part is sticking in my innards really hard and I'm close to tears. Don't know what to do....

OP posts:

tabbycat7 · 06/12/2010 13:36

Have you tried a teaspoon of bicarb in a glass of water? It tastes revolting but it did the trick for me :)

Original poster

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 13:37

I have an aterior placenta so maybe that's making this worse...

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Original poster

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 13:38

rats tabby I don't have any bicarb at home and snow outside so I can't get anywhere to buy it

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tabbycat7 · 06/12/2010 13:39

Have you tried doing anything to get baby to change position?

LunaticFringe · 06/12/2010 13:40

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tabbycat7 · 06/12/2010 13:41

Baking powder has bicarb in it. :)

SaraL77 · 06/12/2010 13:43

I'm 32+1 and have had pretty bad indigestion/heartburn on and off for the last few months so I sympathise- it can be so frustrating. I have found that I can't eat as much (I haven't put on as much weight this pregnancy- so a hidden plus?!) and have to eat less than I would like to prevent it, so the things I do are:

see how bad the ingigestion is- if it's mild I try half a glass of milk, if more severe then I take gavisgon advanced (the liquid stuff is the only way to go)

I stop eating before I think I'm full so my stomach isn't overloaded- I try and eat more smaller meals each day- so I'll have a smaller dinner but often have a bowl of cereal as I'm hungry around 10pm just before bed.

I sometimes use a pillow to prop me up in bed if it's bad, and almost always take my bra off in the evenings- before or after dinner as I think the braline is right on my stomach now my stomach has been pushed up by baby! It definitely helps!

try to avoid acidic foods like oranges, orange juice, tomatoes and tomato based sauces, fatty and spicy foods, caffiene, chocolate (sob)

doing some or all of these things should help but you may find your doc can give you something that works better than gaviscon if not?

good luck and hope it eases soon!

Original poster

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 13:48

Thanks tabby - I have baking powder so might try that (although I have had to cut out foods using baking powder as it makes me really bloated and windy which could actually make this worse so am a bit ). How do you try to move baby btw?

lunatic I feel OK otherwise (aside from having a nasty cold). It really feels like maybe she's just sticking a leg/arm in somewhere painful which perhaps could be causing all the indigestion etc (???). Don't really think it's enough to ring mw about

Thanks for that sara. Have to admit to doing most of it already, but will try and eat smaller amounts (don't think I could fit anything else in after my tiny lunch yet anyway). Up until now I've been wolfing down food to help with pg nausea (am still on anti sickness pills) so it's a bit odd to suddenly be unable to eat...

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LunaticFringe · 06/12/2010 13:56

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thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 06/12/2010 14:00

Is you baby breech? Sometimes this can make it worse.

I have it really badly with all my pregnancies and this time it was really bad - I got through a litre of gaviscon in a week - and went to get a repeat prescription but it was refused as I'd had too much.

I spoke to my GP on the phone and he prescribed Omeprazole and it is just fantastic. I can't recommend it highly enough. I wish I'd had it much earlier. It takes a day or two to really take effect, but you can eat and drink anything (I couldn't even drink water without reflux) and you really don't have to touch gaviscon at all.

Original poster

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 14:01

I'm a bit about ringing mw in general tbh - I'd probably have to be pouring blood out of my bits and unable to move before I rang them.....Probably not the best tactic to take but even if they asked me to go and see them I can't get there due to snow. I'm going to try some yoga stretches and pray they move the little one and I feel a bit less in pain.

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Original poster

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 14:04

I have no idea what position baby is in thereisalight - I don't know how to tell these things . I always thought up to now she was breech as I feel most movement lower down but in past day after lots of movement now feel them a bit higher up, but maybe it was the other way around... . Think if this carrier on much longer I'll be forced to ask GP for some stronger medication like you have

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LunaticFringe · 06/12/2010 14:04

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thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 06/12/2010 14:05

Honestly - give your GP a ring and see if he can leave a prescription for Omeprazole at reception for you for when the snow clears.

If your baby is breech, gettin gon all fours with your bottom higher than your head should work, only you won't be able to do that with the reflux.

Original poster

snowangels1 · 06/12/2010 14:06

No, didn't mean it as a joke, sorry. Just meant I'm really bad about ringing them for things like this and I just put up with stuff until my appointment unless it's really really really serious looking. Sorry, didn't mean anything by it and it's no funny matter.

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bibbitybobbitysantahat · 06/12/2010 14:07

I don't actually think this level of indigestion is normal. Iirc correctly severe discomfort can be a sign of preeclampsia - I am sure there was a Mumsnetter this happened to a few years ago. I really would err on the side of caution and get yourself checked as soon as you possibly can.

thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 06/12/2010 14:08

This is my fourth and I still have no idea from bumps and lumps which way up baby is - I've just been told. I do know that I have something (a head?) under my ribs and he's head-butting/pinging them and it isn't pleasant!

LunaticFringe · 06/12/2010 14:10

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thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 06/12/2010 14:13

I don't think you get indigestion as a sign of pre-eclampsia (I don't think we need to worry snowangels, bibbity). There can be pain in your upper abdomen, just below your ribs - but that doesn't mean that this isn't just indigestion - or pregnancy aches and pains or a pokey baby for that matter.

It might be worth giving the non-emergency MW number a ring to put your mind at rest - if that has worried you.

spaceal · 06/12/2010 14:13

I'm 26+4 and have really bad heartburn once a week or so, so painful I'm in tears and can't seem to do anything to ease the pain. The pain is exactly where you describe and I often have to take my bra off too . Usually it goes after a couple of hours, when I calm down a little and realise that it will go eventually. Apart from taking Gaviscon and Rennies (which I find work better), the other thing which at the very least soothes the pain is hot milk with a teaspoon of honey - I discovered this when the final vestiges of a previous attack went when eating a bowl of hot custard. Hot and milky seems to help a bit.

Otherwise, as others have said, small frequent meals so you don't get hungry and also don't make your stomach work too hard.

I've also got a prescription for ranitidine, which is OK during pregnancy, though I'm not entirely sure what good it does...

Scorpette · 06/12/2010 14:14

I second talking to your GP about Omeprazole. I too couldn't even sip water without pain. At 6 wks I started getting unbelievably severe burning agony just under my bra, which one GP kept saying was muscle pain from morning sickness - even though I told her it was like the worst reflux in the world. It was so bad I was in agony 24-7 and spent most days (and nights) trembling with pain on the sofa whilst I cried. DP cried more than once seeing the state I was in. No change of diet helped (I was already eating v blandly due to first trimester nausea and sickness). I finally saw a different GP at 13 wks, who knew straight away it wasn't a muscle thing and prescribed me Omeprazole. She said I had the worst case of reflux she'd ever seen. Just one tiny capsule in the morning and the pain just goes (although if I risk something like a curry it returns a little bit). All my morning sickness seemed to disappear when I took it, so I'll never know if that was coincidental or if the sickness was actually a result of the condition and not actually pg-related.

Gaviscon is like putting a plaster on a wound that needs stitching (ie temporary help) but Omeprazole is like it being stitched daily (IYSWIM).

If your pain is worse on one side, it might be worth asking your GP about gallstones, which can occur more frequently in pg.

I hope you can get it sorted out - don't keep suffering, go see your GP asap. Good luck :)

C4ro · 06/12/2010 14:25

Ignoring the lentil-weavery overtones Spinning Babies is a good website to help work out which way up and round your baby is. I had bad indigestion/ wind the whole time I was pregnant too, not as bad as you're describing but I think some guts just don't react well to be crushed/ cramped/ kicked about.

buttonmoon78 · 06/12/2010 14:39

I've not read the whole thread so I don't know if someone's recommended this before or not - I lived on Mucaine. It's prescription only but there's no limit on how much you can take. My pharmacy used to order it in bulk for me

My sympathies though - it's utterly miserable.

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