Heartburn. ugh.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Managed to get to 28wks without a hint of it. Then started getting it a bit in bed - a couple of peppermint rennie at bedtime sorted it out nicely.

Now 30 + 3 and the last few days i have had it randomly throuh the day and last night was horrendous. As if I needed something else to keep me awake!

What is good to take? Please dont suggest gaviscon, I dont think i can bear it.

Also, anything food or drink wise thst will help?

I've had it all pregnancy and take Orange Rennies, they work really well for me and taste like sweets. Can get them in Asda, Waitrose, sainsburys etc

I have found Zantac work really well. You should try them.

sounds weird but chewing gum. I'm 32+6 and suffer horribly. I find chewing gum helps. I've no idea why though.

At work and getting it quite badly now - will try the gum to start and go to boots at lunchtime. Thanks.

Rinitidine. Boots will have it on the shelves as either Rinitidine 75mg or Zantac 75s - exactly the same product but the former will be a fraction of the price of the latter. It has saved my sanity for the last 3 weeks - was feeling sick all day and then being violently ill all night - gaviscon didn't touch it and it's MINGING anyway. With the rinitidine I still have to be careful not to over eat or to eat too late, I need to keep a glass of milk by the bed and I still burp loads at night but other than that I am SO much better.

I won't mention what helped me as you asked people not to! In terms of food and drink though milk and yoghurt have also been helpful for me.

Ranitidine is pretty good, and if that doesn't work, go to the doctor and they'll prescribe Omeprazole.

I liked the Sainsburys fruit flavour antacid tablets

Milk here too! I totally empathise, I had never had heartburn before becoming pregnant. It was so bad last week I kept being sick in my mouth at work. The glamour!

Acupuncture works v well for me. One session clears it for months. A lot more expensive than Gaviscon though...!

Ditto here for never having heartburn before pregnancy. Or any kind of sickness - used to smugly boast about having the stomach of a rhino :-/

I have felt like sick is making its way up ogrof its own accord. Its horrendous. But gaviscon makes me reach. Bleurgch.

I bloody forgot the chemists at lunch, will pop out again soon.

Someone at work is eating soup which smells awful. Uhh.

"Tums" have been great. They help with nausea and heartburn. And are mixed fruit flavours

I take lansoprazole, and did during my pregnancy with DD as well. My OB didn't seem to have a problem with it, and DD is fine (she'll be 3 in August) as far as I can tell. Unless exposure to it during pregnancy causes stubbornness or selective hearing in toddlers...

Ranitidine or olmeprazole.

Right now I'm eating so many antacids I should buy shares in Bayer :( they don't really help much with serious heartburn. The sodding things are about ten quid for a tiny pack here as well... Grr!

Both are over the counter and dead cheap in boots/supermarkets and both are safe in pregnancy. Check with the in store pharmacist to make sure the particular brand you pick up has nothing else in, just to play safe.

try the cranberry flavoured sachets used to treat cystitis. I always carry these with me (and much much cheaper if you get supermarket own brand). I've taken medication for over a decade for reflux, switch recently from rabeprazole to omeprazole (which works well but not bullet proof). ranatidine is good too but for instant relief the cranberry powders are great. They slightly buffers (balance out) the pH of your stomach acid and are (as far as I can tell through research, by all means check with pharmacist) safe in pregnancy. Also good to have a supply for actually treating wee problems.

I've also discovered a magic combination of 1 x fibrogel +1 cranberry sachet = effective but gentle poop aid. The salts in the cystitis remedy draws water into your bowels which aids the fibre in the fibrogel do it's thing.

Also, the standard recommendations for heartburn are:

-avoid spicy, rich, acidic or fatty foods (especially before bed)

• avoid smoking or drinking alcohol (but not an issue if pregnant probably)
• Keep a food diary to identify food triggers

-sleep with head slightly elevated -avoid constricting clothes (but you can't really do much if there's a baby smooshing your stomach from the inside)

• avoid repetitive bending down motions (ie picking stuff off the floor, cleaning, tying shoes, kneel down or get help instead if necessary)

-if all else fails visit your gp and get something such as omeprozole which prevents over production of acid in your stomach, take a tablet or two once a day and symptoms should be managed

Thanks everyone - couple more questions. Can i take Rennie/Tums AND the ranitidine? When do you take them? I got sainsbury ranitidine, it says take 1 then another one if still getting symptoms. In a day. Do you take them as a matter of course?

Prob shouldn't have had curry for tea last night.....

yes you can combine treatments but best not to take them at the same time.

Take a preventative drug (ranitidine or omeprazole etc) before eating anything that day, this will reduce the formation of acid in your stomach. if you still get symptoms later in the day take something soothing, rennies, gaviscon etc to give more instantaneous relief, neutralizing acid which is coming up your esophagus and/or forming a protective layer which float in your stomach.

the drugs that reduce acid formation take longer to work (ie if you have already got heartburn it's less likely to remove the discomfort) but once they start working their effects are much greater.

omeprazole doesn't work for everyone but there is a special version of it called esomeprazole which works better for some people. you can now get this without a prescription in the UK, its called Nexium. you only get 7 tablets or so when you get it in the supermarket meds aisle but it's worth a try for a few days before looking into a longer term prescription maybe.

Great thank you. Tomorrow I will take the ranitidine in the afternoon i think - just taken one now as it said to take at the first sign of a problem. If i wake up with heartbeat ill move onto the rennie. What a airfield minefield !

I take ranitidine (two) about the same time every day (although it's started creeping a bit earlier as my symptoms seem to be getting worse) and that more or less sorts it, for some reason I'm still really burpy, especially at night!!

Get omeprazole from your GP. It's amazing, the only stuff that will work for me.

Rennies work for me. Gaviscon made me gag! Red apples seem to work too?

At least you made it to 28 weeks without - I've been suffering with heartburn since about 14 weeks! I'm currently taking tums (peppermint Rennies taste like chalk and make me want to puke), but going to ask my mw if I can get prescribed something to prevent it, it's horrible feeling like I'm going to puke 50 times a day

Another one here for orange rennies, and I follow it with chewing gum which seems to work ok. I didn't realise ranitidine was ok in pregnancy so will be running the shops to get some! Its awful though isn't it? Ive had it for weeks now, am 24 weeks. Had it in my first pregnancy too and found it horrendous.