Seeking Acid Reflux Advice

Arg, I remember this being one of the most annoying things about pregnancy!! I slept with a whole lot of pillows behind me because laying down felt the worst. Ate snacks instead of meals throughout the day, and drank (sipped) milk every evening. I also found that exercise (for me, yoga and walking) helped to calm those vicious stomach juices. Best to you!

Jen

I am 31 weeks pregnant and use the 150 mg Zantac twice a day. It helped a little but sometimes I still need a lot of Tums. I would think with a history of ulcerative colitis you might want to give your PCP a call if your OB is not returning calls.

I am not a doctor, nor a nutritionist (but I did study nutrition for several years)and recommend Dairy and other Calcium rich foods, too. The Calcium neutralizes the acid. (It´s the reverse of removing calcium deposits with vinegar) ;-)

Calcium rich foods are: Dark Leafy greens like spinach, kale, turnips, and collard greens, Rye bread, canned Salmon, Cheese, Yogurt, Milk, Sardines, Fortified cereals such as Total, Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes (They have a lot of calcium in one serving.), Soybeans, Fortified soymilk or almond milk (Not all soymilk is a good source of calcium, so it's best to check the label.)

Stay away from the Fortified orange juice, as it contains a lot of acid.

Eat smaller more frequent meals, and drink your water.

Hi C.,
Drinking cold milk or ice cream helped the burning for me. Call your primary doctor if the OB doesn't get back to you. He/She should be able to give you advice about what you can take when your pregnant.

Good luck!

My advice...first, contact your regular doctor that treats you for the acid reflux and let them know that you are pregnant. They should be able to advise on the best course of action for your condition. Second, I'd recommend finding a new OB/GYN...you need a doctor during your pregnancy that responds to your calls and needs, in some form, 24 hours a day.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope you are feeling some relief soon.

there are number of homeopathic remedies that can easily fix your problem without any side effects or potential harm to your baby. they do however need to be selected on individual basis - there is no "universal" homeopathic remedy, what works for one person, may not work for another. professional homeopath will do selection that will work for YOU.
to find one in your area use this link:
http://nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/resources/practiti...
Good Luck
V.

Maybe you should have discussed it w/ DR first before discontinuing meds due to internet research -- I'm NOT an OB so I can't speak to what is safe during preg. -- my ob recommended Milk of Mag. to me -- but I drank the stuff due to the reflux and it will cause diarrhea. But that was 7 yrs ago. Just yesterday I was reading the info from my dr. and untreated reflux can lead to cancer -- not to mention the not sleeping because of the burning -- i vomit acid. I now use Prilosec every AM 1 hr before eating and I'm good all day and most nights.

Hi C.,
I'm 38 weeks preggo, and have also been suffering from
acid reflux. I started taking mylanta (mainly the generic form) which helps alot. My ob/gyn suggested it. One thing:
use mylanta sparingly, with tums in between...it seems to work....too much mylanta may cause diarrhea. : )

How did you take the Prevacid? Because medications in that class (Proton Pump Inhibitors, or PPI's) do best when you take them on an empty stomach, then eat half an hour later. Both steps are very important. Your stomach needs to be empty so the medication can pass through without being dissolved and rendered at least partially ineffective by the stomach acid, but it only works when your body is actively producing acid. To get that to happen, you need to eat something. It might be worth a shot to take it that way for a couple of doses and see if you notice an improvement.

I had terrible heartburn during my last pregnancy. I don't know if I had reflux or not but I was in constant pain. It burned so bad and I also had trouble sleeping. My Mom suggested I try baking soda and water. All I can say is it worked like magic. It tastes terrible but you just mix a scoop of baking soda with as much water as you want. I did as little water as possible so I could just drink it in one or two gulps. This is what people used before there was Tums and prevacid and let me tell you, it works better than anything else I tried. Good luck!

Call or email the Santa Monica Homeopathic store they are really great and extremely helpful

Hi,

I was told to drink aloe vera juice and it will clear it up instantly.

Good luck.

Hi C.,
Sorry you're going through this, it's awful I know. I suffered through my pregnancy unfortunately, but after someone gave me Aloe Vera and it's amazing! I don't have acid reflux anymore. I used to swear something was stuck in my throat, I was so convinced I had a barium xray performed and was shocked when there was nothing. I constantly had burning and would throw up, which was just acid reflux. My doctor gave me different things that either didn't work or would work temporarily, but the Aloe took it away. I used Univera Aloe, but I'm sure any aloe drink would help you, you can get it at the grocery store.
Best of luck,
S.