heartburn

[cedarseven]

since i've started trying to conceive, a couple of months now, i have had heartburn every few days.
anyone suggest any natural remedies?
I've quit coffee months ago, cut way down on
chocolate, and i still get it.
i'd appreciate any help, it sure hurts.
cindy

[Erin Pavlina]

A lot of foods give me heartburn. Sweet potatoes, orange juice, bell peppers, etc. Once I figured out that eating these foods was going to give me heartburn I decided that if I was going to eat them there had to be ground rules.

For example, I don't eat these things right before bed. You don't want to lie down after eating something that gives you heartburn. I also eat these items very slowly, in small pieces, hoping to be able to chew them as thoroughly as possible.

Besides chocolate, what else could be giving you heartburn?

[cedarseven]

hi erin,
good point. i try not to eat anything past 7pm and then i don't go
to bed until 12 or 1. i put onions and garlic in almost everything, i'm of east indian heritage, i like to use spices alot. However i've
cut these things out recently. maybe it just takes awhile.
orange juice definately for me is a no-no. i can only drink a tiny glass in the morning and only with food.
cindy

[Janine]

My husband gets a lot of heartburn, but there are some behaviorial changes you can make to lessen it. One is not to eat large meals. It puts pressure on your stomach and the contents squeeze out. Fatty food can make it worse, too, because it slows your digestion and leaves all that food in your stomach longer. You should sleep on your left side so that the tube that leads from your stomach is pointing upwards. If you're on your right side, the tube points down and gravity makes it easy for stomach juices to leak out. Also, you can raise the head of your bed a little so that gravity helps keep food down in your stomach. You can put a brick under each leg, or do what my husband did and get a foam ramp. It makes him feel like an old person, but it works well, AND it has stopped his snoring. The ad said it would, but I didn't really believe it. Oh, and stress always makes it worse for my husband.
Janine

[Erin Pavlina]

Stops snoring huh? Now that would be worth something!!

Great advice!

[cedarseven]

wow, janine. thank you for your suggestions. i had no idea about sleeping on your left side. i always sleep on my right side so i don't have to listen to my husband's snoring!! i'll try the left side tonight. I always eat small meals, and eat very slowly, so slowly that friends usually get up and walk away( they like to tease me!)
i'm really busy with work right now, so i think that work stress is contributing to this heartburn.
cindy

[sophie]

Cindy- a really good natural remedy is to chew raw almonds as needed. I have had a bit of heartburn too, mostly at night, but by using an extra pillow and chewing almonds it is under control! Hope you find this useful.

[Erin Pavlina]

never knew that about almonds. And we just bought some raw almonds the other day! Cool!

[duckie1978]

I have severe heartburn, actually my doctor says it is esophogitis and put me on medication for it. You might want to check in with your doctor to make sure it is heartburn and nothing more. Mine actually got so bad that i went to the E/R because I was getting chest pains, I thought I was having a heart attack. I felt like such an idiot after the doctor ran all these tests only to find out it was heartburn.

I have found that the best things are eating small foods (like you already do) and cutting back on the spices (I, too, live off garlic). Also elevating your head like previously suggested will help a ton! they sell the foam triangles to put under your mattress between it and the boxspring but all you really have to do is get a really thick book, like the phone book or a textbook, under the top of the bed. I also drink a lot of soy milk when I eat acidy stuff and when I get heartburn. It helps a lot more than the meds.

[cedarseven]

thanks everyone!
your suggestions have been very helpful. i didn't think about the almonds. i eat a handful every day, but now that i think about it, i never eat them AFTER the heartburn. I stole my husbands pillow last night, it's bigger!, and i really had a restful night.
and soymilk, it's nice to find things besides medicine that make us feel better.
again thanks,
cindy.

[cedarseven]

oh yeah,
don't you just love garlic.
i dream of roasted garlic spread on crackers.
yum.
cindy