Acid Reflux just sucks!

[Cadence]

That is all.

[progmom]

1. you too???

I have gone through all of the Tums in the house.

Ugh.

[Cadence]

3. I'm about to go get my second dose of tums

in the past three hours. How many of those things can you eat before something bad happens?

[LynneSin]

35. I use Pepcid Complete

seriously - it's so much better - it's like a Tums & an Pepcid wrapped into one!

[cry baby]

2. I have that!

it sux fer shur!

[Cadence]

5. It does and that stupid Nexium doesn't work! n/t

[cry baby]

18. That didn't work for me either

I take 2 75 mg. zantac twice a day. That takes care of most of it, but I still don't go anywhere without my tums.

I started having this problem while I was pregnant with my 1st. I drank Mylanta out of the bottle.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. Elevate the head of your bed

stay away from sugar and bread...it all helps!

Feel better

[progmom]

6. are you speaking in rhyme today?

will it help the pain go away?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. I didn't even see the rhyme

but I end up doing that all the time

[Cadence]

8. You're the second person that's told

me to elevate the head of the bed. I guess I better try that.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. Acid reflux is particularly active when you lay supine

that's when it gets gravity to help it reflux back up into the esophagus...it probably wakes you up at night causing you to cough as well. So elevating the bed helps with that...but honestly, the best thing you can do is stay away from bad carbs too

[Radio_Lady]

14. We put concrete blocks under the casters at top (head) of the bed...

Doctor suggested raising the bed up 6-inches and the concrete blocks just about make that possible. It's a little weird at first, but you get used to it. Put locked casters on those little rubber cups, and also rubber or other padding under the concrete blocks if installation is on carpet.

You can find information about esophageal reflux on the internet. Search for it on google.com. Good suggestion: Try not to eat anything for about three hours before you go to bed. OTC Prilosec works so well the drug stores had a run on it and were out for weeks. I think manufacturing has caught up with that.

Good luck!

[Radio_Lady]

7. Talk to your doctor...

Prilosec (omeprazole), saved my life in 1991. Now it's over the counter, and I recommend it highly. It works amazingly well! Look it up on the internet.

[Cadence]

9. O.k. I'll look into it.

Thanks. :hi:

[Nite Owl]

13. I'll second that.

Kids thought I was having a heart attack and took me to the er. I felt too bad to argue about it. Fortunately it was something a pill a day could handle.

[cry baby]

19. Prilosec works well, but the instructions say you can only take

a round of it every 4 months.

[Radio_Lady]

28. Right. That's because their legal department doesn't want to...

.. get sued. Read my other posts about it. It's been around quite a while, and there were connections about it causing stomach cancer in rats. Now it's been around long enough to go to an over-the-counter situation (more than 18 years, I believe). The experience with is has been so phenomenal that the company COULDN'T KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND -- Drugs stores were out of stock for weeks, but I think the manufacturing has caught up now.

Feel better!

[cry baby]

30. I'll feel better... when I take another round of Prilosec!

I took prevacid for about 2 years and my doc took me off that cause he said there wasn't enough study to say what it would do to me in the long term. That med really worked, too.

thanks!

[Radio_Lady]

37. Don't know anything about Prevacid --

Doctor put me on intravenous Zantac in the hospital. I tried it in pill form when I was released, but it didn't work for me. Prilosec does the trick.

[Robeson]

11. I use to have it. It was so bad that I could only get about 2 good....

...nights of sleep a week. Tried all the drugs, Prilosec, etc. None fully worked. Then I had the stomach surgery to correct it, and it was the best thing I ever did. Hope you don't have to go that far, but you will not regret it, if you have to.

[Radio_Lady]

15. I read about that surgery, but it seemed too extreme to me.

Glad you had a good experience with it. You're the only person I have ever spoken (written?) to who has been through it.

[Robeson]

16. Actually, they do it with scopes and small incisions now....

...so its not nearly intrusive as it use to be. In the old days, they literally had to open you up from the front, from chest to stomach, and it was so intrusive, it was a wash as to whether to do it or not. But now, they can do it with scopes and over a video monitor, so that all you have is about 5 separate half inch long incisions. Really wasn't a big deal at all.

[Radio_Lady]

24. Good to know...

Prilosec was first given to me in 1990, when they had proof it caused stomach cancer in large concentrations in rats. But I didn't care. I was so miserable I would have eaten rat poison if I knew it would help.

Fifteen years later, the drug has been released over the counter and they have that much more experience with it. My GI doctor says few now believes it increases a human's risk of stomach cancer. They give it for -- I think the name of the disease is Zoller-Ellison's Syndrome -- where the stomach pours out an huge amount of hydrochloric (stomach) acid. It's still working very well for those poor souls who have this condition.

[Lex]

17. I used to have it bad, and when I started to eat

more low-carbish (no sugar and very, very little white starches), my acid reflux went completely away. Within 2 days or so.

Not kidding.

[cry baby]

20. I might try that, I'm pretty addicted to sugar. Coffee is supposed

to be bad for reflux, too.

Unfortunately for me, I like sugar in my coffee.

[Lex]

21. I still drink plenty of coffee with no problems now

but it really used to aggravate my reflux.

Try some packets of "Splenda" (in the yellow packet)--they aren't bitter like sacchrine and sweeten coffee and tea without a bad aftertaste.

[soothsayer]

31. I found that, too! But now I take prilosec so I can have my carbs!

[webjamn]

22. I used to get it

until I altered my diet. I no longer eat red meat (beef and pork) and I rarely eat dairy products. Plus I cut out very fatty foods. It works like a charm for me.

[Radio_Lady]

29. I eat lots of tofu...

...believe it or not, I think it's causing an estrogen effect due to the phytoestrogens in it. (This is not a good thing because I am in menopause and the radiologist thought he saw thickened uterine walls, but he's not sure.)

I have a second pelvic ultrasound set for tomorrow morning. I'll know more after that.

[Schema Thing]

23. I had it for the first time in my life only a few years ago

Of course I first used a tums type antacid, and that helped some.

But at some point after a few days with continueing reflux problems, I went to brush my teeth in the morning and found that my tongue had a black plague coating it. It scared me silly.

"Whoa momma, this is it" I thought, "cancer, extremely fast acting, painless, cancer of the throat and mouth. It's been a good run, but now it's over". I thought about my loved ones, and then did an internet search to find out just what kind of cancer I had.

Turns out that if you drink red wine close to the time you take Tums, the two can react with each other and form an odd black (scary!) substance in your mouth.

OTC Zantac works great for me.

[cry baby]

25. You definitely needed a tongue scraper!

Pepto Bismol did that to me once. Your story is funny!

[Radio_Lady]

27. Ever eat fresh beets at a dinner meal?

Turns your urine red in the nighttime. That scared the heck out of me one day!

Both Zantac and Prilosec are available at Costco in large sizes, over the counter. Best way to buy, IMHO.

[leftofthedial]

26. yup

it's frigging awful

[soothsayer]

32. Where did this plague suddenly come from? nobody used to

have this. What's causing it?

[Lex]

36. Too much sugar and refined carbs in our diet now.

If you stop eating them, the acid reflux will go away.

The per person consumption of sugar has gone up astronomically in the last 30 years.

[SCDem]

33. Worst thing about pregnancy

was the acid reflux that came with it. Luckily I was only pregnant for nine months!

[Minstrel Boy]

34. Zantac, Losec, Gavescon

I know 'em all.

Some nights, can't sleep on my right side without wanting to vomit, or need to sleep upright, like the frickin' Elephant Man...

[immoderate]

38. Eating an apple helps.

Pectins do something. Staying away from coffee after breakfast helped.

--IMM