Chronic heartburn- HELP!!

[Cullercoats88]

I am currently using gaviscon or rennie to help with the pain. It only started yesterday and I had been exceptionally sick (I'm 30 weeks) so hadn't been able to eat a great deal since Friday evening...today I managed to have some porridge and now the heartburn has kicked in again. Is there any magical cure or should I just chew a rennie when needed!??

Ranitidine tablets work wonders for me. Within half an hour I feel better.

I think certain foods can trigger it. I had it really badly around weeks 16-18 but I get it anyway in life if I don't monitor my diet. For me, pregnancy or not, the trigger is gluten. Oats contain gluten. I started eating toast again in pregnancy cos I couldn't stomach anything else. That's when the acid got bad. I was spitting it up constantly. For relief, peppermint tea can help. Also, weirdly, fruit helped. But I'm off gluten again and the acid has pretty much gone.

Thanks yes I may start keeping food diary if it continues!! X

^^ to looking into if it's caused by a food trigger. Also I suffer really badly with heartburns even when not pregnant but in pregnancy it's horrendous. I had it more or less constantly with first pregnancy from abou12-13 weeks onward and have been having it again this time around since about the same time. I find that the gaviscon dual action tablets (the ones you suck/chew) are the best for instant soothing rather than the Rennie tablets which I find a little weak in comparison.

Also heartburns tend to get worse if you haven't eaten in a while so try to find some foods you can tolerate well and maybe something very small you can have occasionally between meals to prevent the heartburns gearing up and getting worse. I find a dry cracker (not too rich) works well for that for me. And of course water, lots of room temperature water (for me cold water doesn't seem to help much).

As I'm sure you know it's generally acidic or rich food that tends to trigger heartburn so maybe see if you have been having a lot of that lately.

The best thing I've found is to soak a towel in cold water and wrap it around my middle/bump.
A glass of milk sometimes works for me but only before it really gets going.

I've been suffering from it a lot but find that if it is already quite bad then rennies/gaviscon just make me sick.

Hi I suffered with heartburn since day one of my pregnancy..the further on I got the less effective the rennies became..they made me feel sick too..the Dr prescribed ranitidine! One at night and one in the morning..absolute godsend! x hope you get some relief soon x

I found gaviscon liquid way more effective than tablets. I also found mint and fennel tea very helpful x

At 30 weeks it's more likely to be related to the baby constricting your stomach than a specific food, so I'd ditch the food diary. Things that worked for me last time round were eating my main meals at breakfast and lunch, and a light meal (no meat or fatty food) at 5pm, nothing later. That way my stomach was fairly empty at night when I was lying down. Also go to your GP and get ranitidine on prescription. It works by suppressing stomach acid. Rennie and gaviscon just neutralise the acid, so your body goes into overdrive producing more acid to counterbalance this. That's why taking them too often can be counter productive.

Thanks all!!
Yes I read that the baby is pushing against the oesophagus which causes heartburn- having never experienced it before in my life, it was quite an uncomfortable shock I must admit!!
My sickness has eased and I have eaten much better this afternoon. I did find about two weeks ago I was binging on chocolate everyday, now I'm really off sweet things and have been munching on raspberries and dried cranberries most the day.
Will try gaviscon and not rennie as that seems most reccomended!!
Thank you x

Drink milk and have rennies before meal and after! That seemed to work for me. Also eat smaller meals more often

Omeprazole (prescription from Dr - just needed a phone call though not face to face consultation). I've been taking it for about 3 weeks now (36+2) and it's been amazing. One little pill once a day and I've had no heartburn or reflux since. Transformational.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/indigestion-heartburn-pregnant.aspx

Thanks for that link taura that would explain my sickness aswell!!!

Ranitidine from the pharmacy (own brand is cheaper than Zantac) or a prescription for omaperazole. You shouldn't put up with it. Plus you shouldn't take risks, I've had two family members diagnosed with barrets oesophagus, caused by acid reflux.