Heartburn Hell - I'm sure this has been asked before but...

[BeckyBendyLegs]

...I am desparate. This is my third and I've had heartburn with the other two but I swear not this bad (unless my memory is playing up). I have it morning, afternoon, and all night. Gaviscon is my best friend but I don't want to overdose on it! Any tips on how to minimize heartburn? I notice that bread makes it worse so I try to avoid bread and pasta seems to settle better than anything else but I can't eat pasta all the time, hardly nutricious. I am 34 weeks and the thought of 6 more weeks of constant acid burning and mouth watering every time I lie down is hard to think about at the moment!

I had to stop lying down with my DD, I slept propped up, I couldn't even switch positions.

No advice (except perhaps a glass of milk when it gets too bad, sometimes worked for me), just sympathy!

er... focus on how much more painful the birth will be than the heartburn is now?

sorry, but i had horrendous heartburn, labour was a doddle in comparison

I hate to say it but...same for me! My last labour was 2 hours so was a doddle in comparison too.

I had terrible heartburn with both my DD and DS. With DD I coped with milk / sitting up and watching what I ate but with DS I thought I was suffocating sometimes. I went to GP and tried peptac but had constant diarrhoea so couldn't cope with that either . Ended up getting omeprazole from GP and taking it every couple of days and was much much better. I was so glad I didn't keep suffering in silence. Heartburn went as soon as DS was born (after a really easy labour too!)

I have a reflux so I got bad heartburn before I was pregnant never mind now. One of the things I was advised to do was to elevate the head of the bed by putting large books or yellow pages under the feet to raise it. Pasta is still nutritious and although not balanced is still a lot better than junk food. Gaviscon is my best friend too and I'm only 10 weeks!

Ranitidine. Am close to starting this up again myself at only 23 weeks.

as vlc says, ranitidine (zantac)
perfectly safe to take in pregnancy.
Get your doc to prescribe or can buy over the counter.

Saved my sanity in 3 pregnancies

Are you sure it is heartburn? Because Epigastric pain presents with the same symptoms, only ante heartburn meds don't do anything! It is a sign of Pre Eclampsia.

When was your last antenatal check? How is your blood pressure? Have you had any protien in your urine? Any headaches that don't shift? Visual problems?

Info on Epigastric Pain

Thanks everyone! I'll keep battling on and look out for zantac to take for the worst days and keep drinking gallons of milk and taking gaviscon too.

Differentnameforthis I had a check on Thurs and blood pressure is relatively low (always is - pregnant or not) and urine ok. No headaches. I think it really is just pregnancy heartburn in my case but good to know that it could signal something more serious for anyone else suffering.

You have my sympathy OP! I have it too, I swear its worse than my 1st pregnancy. I swig Gaviscon from the bottle- never bothered with the spoon. GP gave me Peptac- not quite as good as Gaviscon. My DH has never had it in his life so can't identify. It feels like there's battery acid in my throat. A glass of milk helps and there's always Rennie in my handbag.

I will try some of the other solutions suggested here, in the meantime- my heartfelt sympathy to you and all fellow sufferers. xxx

Poor you. I'm suffering too, and midwife recommended fennel seed tea. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but sometimes I force myself and it does seem to help. You can get it at places like Neal's Yard, and are supposed to drink a cup 30 mins before eating. Good luck!

No advice, just sympathy. Had heartburn in all 3 pgs, was also a Secret Swigger of Gaviscon. Honestly, it was like having a drink problem - I had bottles of Gaviscon at the side of my bed, in my desk drawer, a little one in my briefcase..... I never quite got to hiding the empties tho'!

I know the man who ran the clinical trials that got gaviscon licensed for pregnant woman. I liked him before I found this out, but I looooved him after

Poledra - me too, I have bottles of Gaviscon everywhere (not the tablets though, they are grim)! It's awful, you just get over the heinous morning sickness and the bloody heartburn kicks in.

Milk is the only thing that works for me. And unfortunately chocolate makes it really bad. I do hate being pregnant.

I don't have heartburn as much as you do, OP, but when I do it's horrendous!
I too am a great fan of Gaviscon as it seems to relieve it instantaneously. And it's the only thing I can glug from the bottle at the moment!
I also find those bottled milkshakes help - you know those Yahoo or Friji ones - yummy; am quite addicted, in fact!

milk makes my heartburn worse? I can't stand gaviscon - so am surviving this pregnancy on rennies during the day and a ranitidine at night. The ranitidine is wonderful - stops my heartburn from starting in the first place - and much more pleasant to take!

warm milk warm milk warm milk, the warmer the better.

I'm not alone! The fennel seed tea is an interesting suggestion...haven't heard that before. Might be worth a try.

My worst time is when I go to aqua natal on a Thursday afternoon - ooooh then it is bad, really bad.