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Pregnancy

advice on heartburn

33 replies

pud1 · 03/10/2007 13:11

my heartburn is really starting to get me down.
i have been suffering since about week 16 ( am now 22 weeks)and although it is driving me mad in the day i can live with it with the help of bottles of gaviscon. what i would like some advice on is how to prevent it waking me at night. i have got enough with leg cramps waking me up. i am waking up every night with ( sorry in advance) sick in my mouth. i am sure this is all to do with the heartburn. is any one else suffering with this.

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sabinar · 03/10/2007 13:17

hey pud, I hear your pain!

I had a similar problem and have had to eliminate all kinds of things from my diet to get it under control. There were some fairly obvious ones like orange juice and other acidy things, but the real kicker in the end was tea... I just can't drink cups of tea any more. Took me a while to figure out that was what was causing me so much trouble, but switching to hot chocolate has made a world of different.

perhaps there is something similar in your diet that might back a difference?

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JARM · 03/10/2007 13:19

for me its squash and marmite that sets it off - also bread too close to bed time.

2 rennie tablets just before bed is helping me.

I feel the pain, honestly, im 32+2 now and suffering BIG time!

Heartburn = hairy baby, just so you know!

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FrenchmumOf3 · 03/10/2007 13:23

For me it's lots of water - how wierd?! Have great thirsts and gulp down two huge glasses, bend over to pick up ds and am suffering for rest of day. I have suffered all my pregnancies with heartburn but this one I've had the least, I think it's because I've been very determined not to over-eat. Haven't been doing puddings, which I'm sure helps at night. Try this?

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pud1 · 03/10/2007 13:24

i think i may have to do some diet experiments like you said. i have never suffered pre pregnancy and have always told my oh to stop being a baby when he has complained of heartburn. may be this is lifes way of getting me back. i really do hope its not tea that makes it worse though cos i love my tea ( even though i am on decaf at the moment as advised by midwife)

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goingfor3 · 03/10/2007 13:24

Peppermint tea really helped me when I had it with DD1.

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pud1 · 03/10/2007 13:26

did you all have hairy babies

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FrenchmumOf3 · 03/10/2007 13:31

Hairy all over or just hairy head?!

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pud1 · 03/10/2007 13:33

Either ( now i am worried)

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FrenchmumOf3 · 03/10/2007 13:35

Well mine all had lots of very thick hair if that's what it means? Thankfully just on their head!!!

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sweetheart · 03/10/2007 13:36

slightly off topic but just wanted to let you know (if you didn't already!) that gaviscon can be given by prescription when your pregnant - and it's free!

Wish I'd known that as I had the same problems as you in pregnancy and spent a bloody fortune on the stuff!

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sweetheart · 03/10/2007 13:37

Oh and yep - I had babies with lots of hair!

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yelnats · 03/10/2007 13:37

Sleep with a pillow under your calves to help with the cramps and sleep on your left side to help with the heartburn at night.

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yelnats · 03/10/2007 13:38

I had terrible heartburn with both babies and mine had very little hair.

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DaisyWhoooo · 03/10/2007 13:40

It might be worth going to see your GP. There's a drug called ranitidine which actually supresses the production of acid in the stomach and is considered safe to take in pregnancy. You can actually buy it from Tesco's (under the name of Zantac) but you may feel happier getting the OK from your GP - plus you should get it free on prescription!

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Lizzzombie · 03/10/2007 13:47

Oh Pud you poor poor thing.
I lost weight in my pregnancy due to violent heartburn. I basically lived off cheese sandwiches for the last 2 trimesters. Its awful. I worked out that I'd drunk 2 litres of the stuff by the time LO arrived!

I found drinking fizzy water helped a bit, and eating dairy milk chocolate.

Also, popping heartburn tablets constantly - my research found that Tescos fruit flavour were the nicest.

I also slept practically sitting up, which seemed to help a bit.

Take heart in the fact that as soon as the baby is born the heartburn disappears. The day I got home from hospital I had the biggest curry and 2 cans of stella (?!) I'd not drunk a drop the whole pregnancy as it brought on heartburn.
My baby had very dark hair when he was born, but it all fell out over the first 3 months and is only now growing back at 8 months. So not sure about hairy baby theory.

Goodluck x

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pud1 · 03/10/2007 15:28

Lizzzombie - i will definatly try the dairy milk chocolate. i take it you have to take large quantities for it to have the full effect lol

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mandler · 03/10/2007 16:19

I feel your pain pud. I have had it all throughout as far as I can remember and with two weeks left it is still here. I have been guzzling Gaviscon but looking back maybe I should have tried something stronger so do talk to your GP.
My mum had awful heartburn with me and I was born with a huge mop of blonde hair, I also have a hairy DH so who knows, there may be some truth in it. Will let you know in a ciouple of weeks!

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beeper · 03/10/2007 16:27

lol if having bad heartburn is linked to a hairy baby then why was my DS not a werewolf.

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Rynny · 03/10/2007 21:35

I had terrible heartburn too - Rennie Soft Chews sorted me out - they are yum! And my DS wasn't hairy at all!!

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Jossiejump · 03/10/2007 22:09

I have been prescribed Asilone as Gaviscon didn't work (tried all formulas). The hospital wouldn't give me ranitidine unless I was bringing up blood!!

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elkiedee · 04/10/2007 01:34

I found Gaviscon vile and didn't find a total solution. I put on about 3 lb in pregnancy so was a stone lighter immediately after the birth, because I found eating hard due to sickness and acid. What eased it most for me was icepops.

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Northumberlandlass · 04/10/2007 08:01

I could manage the days with Rennie but I had lots of problems at night, although it was mainly the last trimester. I found propping myself up a night, so much that I was almost sleeping sitting up helped loads ! I was told that the valve that usually stops the acid coming back up from the stomach loosened during pregnancy and therefore when I lay flat the acid came gushing up (which was how it felt). I was up 5/6 times a night until I tried sleeping upright.

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saskia71 · 04/10/2007 08:33

My heartburn is dreadful at night, but sleeping more or less upright has helped me as well (propped up with a huge cushion).

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MamaD · 04/10/2007 09:16

sleeping sitting up, milky drinks, gaviscon smoothies (the only way I could stomach it lol) and eventually was prescribed pantoprizol (sp? that's how it sounds) by the hosp as it is better for baby than ranitadine/zantac. Had to take 1 tab every morning, suffering or not.

I used to have heartburn a lot pre pregnancy as well, but 2 yrs I still am free of it - so pantoprizol is like a miracle drug for me.

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MamaD · 04/10/2007 09:18

oh and I did have a hairy dd! - all over, but that was prob more to do with her being prem / v small (it all fell out within 6 weeks - including her lovely moppatop!)

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