In light of full disclosure to everyone out there who isn't pregnant, who might be, or to those who prefer to suffer in silence, I need your help!
I have never really had heartburn before about mid-pregnancy, a few months ago. It's a common symptom of pregnancy, especially third trimester and one I was fully expecting to endure. It's pretty obvious why it happens; the baby takes up space where your stomach once was, and all the little openings and closings between your mouth and it are all relaxed ('cuz of that pesky Relaxin)...there's really only one natural result: heartburn.
It's gotten worse over the past week or so, but what really bothers me is that I can't pinpoint what foods are exacerbating it. So far, I've noticed that garlic, onions and pizza really do it, but besides that, it's pretty much everything else at some point! What's super weird is that I eat a lot of Indian and Ethiopian food, which some people might consider spicy and a likely culprit, but that doesn't bother me at all! The only foods that I think are "safe" are cereal, bread, and some plain meat...but, even then, some of those bother me!
I can take Tums, and I'll be asking my doctor tomorrow what else I can take during pregnancy, but I'm not very interested in taking too many drugs for this. My question for everyone out there is what foods cause you trouble, and what made it feel better? The Internet hasn't been very helpful on this issue, so I covet your responses!
5 comments:
I've had heartburn since the very beginning, so I can totally relate. I've found that foods like chips and cheese dip make it worse, and that it's generally worse at night. Progesterone, the hormone of pregnancy, "loosens" the valve between your stomach and esophagus. So anytime you eat, you have the chance of refluxing some of your food into your esophogus. That's why you have a hard time pinpointing which foods cause it.
My OB gave me a list of "approved" medications, and pepcid is on the list. So I've been taking the regular dose pepcid (10 mg) as needed (about once a week) when it gets really bad. It especially helps at night.
Pepcid is pregnancy category B, which places it in the same safety column as Tylenol and prenatal vitamins. I wouldn't hesitate to take it once in a while if you really need it. The relief is amazing!
I took Pepcid until it didn't work anymore. I finally broke down and got a prescription from my doctor because I was sick of it!
I didn't notice many obvious culprits. Even water gave me trouble.
I'm not big into pills. I used my inhaler, benydrel and heartburn meds daily while pregnant and both kids were healthy. Don't suffer needlessly!
i've noticed that tomato-based sauces are big culprits in my heartburn, and that it's much worse when i'm lying down at night. also when i eat later at night, which i do a lot. ultra-strength tums have been doing the trick for me (and have extra calcium!), but my friends at work (lots of pregant women there) swear by zantac.
amy
Hi Beth,
I totally know what you are talking about. Tomato based things seemed to make the heartburn worse, as did anything with peppers in it. But then again, sometimes apples gave me heartburn. I ate Tums before dinner and immediately after, which seemed to help. Not eating too close to bed (or nap) time helped as well. There is hope though, because as soon as I had Henry, all the heartburn disappeared. (BTW, this is Jenna from Calvin, I happened to find your blog through Nate Bierma's.)
Dude, I had heartburn/gas/bloating for the first 5 months straight. it's finally calmed down.
TUMS is good, it's also good calcium. i found that staying upright for at least an hour after dinner helped.
usually acidic things=bad. eating too fast doesn't help either. try to eat as slow as possible. although i've found myself naturally slowing down in that process anyway.
-becky
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