Terrible heartburn and only 21 weeks - help!

[DuggeesWoggle]

Only 21 weeks and the awful heartburn I had last time has already kicked in. It will likely stay with me until the baby is born so another 4-5 months of this. I have a short torso so not much room for my internal organs once my womb is above my belly button and obviously the relaxin in my system won't be helping. I never usually suffer with heartburn so it's just a pregnancy thing. It's like fire, I hate it.

Anyone got any tips on reducing the effects? It seems to be triggered so far by:

• eating spicy/rich foods (no surprise there)
• cheese (again no surprise but I bloody love cheese )
• stomach getting too empty
• pretty much everything I'm eating full stop

I don't want to end up chugging down the gaviscon like last time but I am already taking antacids maybe 4-5 times a week.

What has anyone else found effective?

Go to the GP and get a prescription of ranitidine or omeprazole.

Mine started earlier than this! Had a couple of weeks of omeprazole until that stopped working then used ranitidine until the end of my pregnancy which really really helped. I was crying in pain before being prescribed the meds, gaviscon didn't touch it.

Do you drink tea?

That was the culprit for me and the only fun I had left.

Give up the tea.

i really struggled with this from early on. I took a zantac (ranitidine) and super strength gaviscon liquid before bed and i sucked on sugar free (to try save my teeth) polos in bed. i felt carb loading really helped but no one would prescribe me anything for months. was 34 weeks when finally got prescription for strong ranitidine and gave birth 2 days later!!

Thanks for replies. Was hoping to manage it with diet as best I can before going down the medication route, especially as I'm not that far along.

I don't think it can be tea as I don't tend to get it in the mornings that bad which is when I enjoy my 2 allotted cups! Mind you it would be a cold day in hell before I gave up tea however bad it got!

I suspect it means I will have to give up all the nice things - cheese, chocolate, chilli, rich meaty dinners, buttery crumpets... Aargh will life even be worth living without buttery crumpets?

I am most grateful and thankful for this baby, coming as she does after a miscarriage but I have to say I bloody hate being pregnant!