Hideous reflux - any tips?

[lemoncurdcupcake]

Am 25 weeks, so quite a bit to go. Experiencing really hideous reflux, especially in the evenings/night. The last two nights I woke up after a few hours choking on it. Was genuinely horrible.

I have...

• propped pillows under my mattress to try and elevate it so I'm not lying flat
• using extra pillows
• stopped eating within 3-5 hours of going to bed/lying down
• take Renee. Have also got gaviscon liquid but my goodness it is disgusting
• I'm on a pretty strict diet as everything seems to make me feel nauseous (still!) and when I looked for foods to avoid reflux most of it seems 'safe'. Coffee and oj were the only real red flags, both of which I have in small quantities with breakfast (coffee also watered down). So was hoping that wasn't going to be the thing causing 11pm reflux!
• someone recommended camomile tea but that made it worse!
• Drinking milk offers some short term relief, but doesn't last long.

Anything else I could try at this stage?

My midwife on my last pregnancy told me to get the hardcore gaviscon, the one you have to ask the pharmacist for (not just off the shelf). They asked me if a GP had sent me, I said no but midwife did & they sold it to me. Although it tastes awful it really helped.

Omeprazole.

@Topjoe19 i was worried more gaviscon might be the answer 😂😭 thanks for the tip. This pregnancy is like one bleugh after another.

You can get Omeprazole over the counter at Boots. I had it on prescription in pregnancy but when I ran out and couldn't cope I found out anyone can get it from a pharmacist.

Honestly, I wouldn't mess about with Gaviscon. It just didn't touch the sides with me. Go straight to the good stuff.

@FMc208 @Ihaveoflate oo haven't heard of this stuff! Thanks will give that a try. Choking down gaviscon to not have it really make that much difference isn't filling me with joy.

Gaviscon peppermint flavour was a gamechanger for me. The aniseed one is horrible but the peppermint one is much palatable. I discovered ot when I was 6 months pregnant and had just spent the morning spitting stomach acid into my bin at work, it was so bad.

The chewable multi action gaviscon is less disgusting and works better than Rennies, which lose their potency very fast. Buy in bulk in homebargains. Milk makes it briefly better then much worse. Buy shares in gaviscon. Don't do like I did and eat yoghurt for lunch during labour. Thankfully the hospital could give me little blue cup of disgusting anti-acid. Good news, it stopped instantly when the baby was out!

Thanks @Paaseitjes this and the Omeprazole is giving me hope. I thought I was going to have to start sleeping sitting up.

You should check the omeprazole with your midwife. I think it's safe, but it's not quite an over the cover medicine. Also don't take extra calcium supplements if you're popping the rennies

@Paaseitjes I wish I could get hold of a blooming midwife. Badger notes gets a 0 star review from me. There's a conversation section but I can't edit anything or start a chat. There are no numbers on there to call. I tried calling a number from a letter I received this week and got a national/central office rather than my local actual midwife. It's quite a long time between appointments really and if you have a question it feels like you're on your own! Plus the way it lists appointments and your records for me is just full of 'no details given'. A huge downgrade from my last pregnancy with paper notes.

I was going to call my GP and check, seems to be an easier route!

Your GP will prescribe Omeprazole, I think it’s a slightly different version you get over the counter. I increased the dose three or four times in my last pregnancy, each time it was just sorted on a phone appointment.

You need gaviscon advance after dinner and before bed. Knick the coffee and OJ totally on the head. No chocolate, onions/garlic or cooked tomato as a minimum.
if you hate the liquid gaviscon you can get it in chewable form.

Hi OP! Can second that Omeprazole is 100% worth getting from your GP. Gaviscon didn’t touch the sides for me.

@Sa11yCinnamon thats good to know you can get the dose increased! I’m only 15 weeks but suffered pretty much from the start with terrible reflux and indigestion.

GP has prescribed omeprazole to try, thanks for the advice all.

I really have been trying with the gaviscon, advanced super strong peppermint. It makes me wretch every time. So grim. After nausea and morning sickness till midway through the second trimester I don't want anymore wretching 😂 esp as it doesn't feel like it's actually helping.

First pregnancy with any issues at all, feel like a right diva 🙈

Thanks for the advice gang!

Hope it helps! X

@Sa11yCinnamon haven't taken a renee in two days!!! I thought perhaps yesterday was a blip because I didn't eat anything after about 2pm, but it's happened again today. All day! Talk about a game changer!!

I found yogurt helped. Milk gave me a bit of relief, but yogurt was better. I left a pot by my bed and ate it when the reflux woke me up.
Thick, plain yogurt was most effective.

Get prescription meds! I had this in both my pregnancies and it never went away after dd2

In between the meds you can try love heart sweets! Yummy and effective

Yep only thing that worked for me was omeprazole, bought it from Boots like a PP suggested

I had bad reflux when I was pregnant. I was seeing an acupuncturist and mentioned it to her at my next treatment.

It completely stopped after the acupuncture treatment. I couldn't believe it, it was like flicking a switch.

She was an excellent acupuncturist.

So glad it helped!!

I’m just about to put in my first prescription request for this pregnancy 😄

Sadly it hasn't lasted long! Still taking the tablets but the reflux is back 😔 had dinner with the fam the last two nights (we tend to eat around 5/530) and was back to being woken up with it/having to sleep practically sitting upright last night. Haven't gone to bed yet today but it's already very uncomfortable.

So gutted, I thought this was going to be a game changer.

Going to call the GP in the morning and see if there are any other options. In the meantime I'll go back to trying not to eat after 3 or 4 o clock, keeping portions small and avoiding anything likely to trigger too much acid.

Definitely felt my appetite increasing now I'm in the 3rd trimester. Such fun!!!

Go to the Dr and get some omeprazole! I suffered for way too long trying to manage it naturally and nothing worked - not even the thickest gaviscon, sleeping upright, etc. Two days on omepraxole and I felt like a new woman!

This was hideous for me in my first pregnancy and the second time round I just took omezeprole all the way through and it almost completely prevented it. Don't suffer!