Worst heartburn ever (and I've had heartburn before) - help!

[Anonymous]

I'm 30 weeks, and like an idiot I indulged my chocolate ice cream craving last night at midnight. I woke up this morning with the worst heartburn I've ever felt, and that's saying something. This is an order of magnitude beyond the heartburn I have previously felt during this and my last pregnancy. Usually I take Tums and avoid certain foods and try to ignore it and it goes away. But what else can I do? It hasn't gotten any better yet. I feel like my throat/chest is on fire, and every so often I burp and hot acid floods into my throat, yeeeeoww. Does Maalox or Pepto or stuff like that really work well (better than Tums)? The smell of either literally makes me gag, always has, but I might try to choke some down if it actually does work... I know I can call to discuss a prescription if it continues like this, but for now I want to try anything OTC I can think of... suggestions welcome. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Check with your dr. first, but my OB told me it was ok to take Zantac (OTC) daily during my second pregnancy for heartburn. It is AMAZING stuff - espcially compared to the Tums I took throughout my first pregnancy which didn't do much for me.

[Anonymous]

Prilosec, or a generic version. Try some ASAP. I suffer heartburn anyway (usually take Nexium daily) so of course it's really bad during pregnancy. The first time around, nothing really helped me except constantly swigging Mylanta, etc. This pregnancy, Prilosec has been a lifesaver - so much so that I'm wondering if I'll still need the Nexium eventually. I take it every morning and have practically zero heartburn (34 wks now)...though the second I forget a morning, I'm instantly reminded. Give it a shot.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the replies. I've never had to deal with this before so I don't know what the meds out there are. Zantac and Prilosec hadn't occurred to me. I think I'll go get some Zantac -- sounds like that is best for short-term (HOPEFULLY short-term) problems. Plus I'm really happy that it's a pill and not a funky-flavored liquid, which I was dreading!

Thanks again. Wish me luck.

[Anonymous]

Also I will never ever ever ever ever eat chocolate ice cream at midnight ever again. So help me.

[Anonymous]

My doctor told me to stay away from Pepto and to try the liquid forms of the other anti-acids Maalox, Mylanta, etc. She said if that did not help Zantac or Prilosec would.
Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I too had REALLY bad heartburn...I could describe how bad, but I will spare you the disgusting details!

My doctor had me start out taking 75 mgs. of Zantac twice a day EVERYDAY. She said the trick is to stay AHEAD of the game...take it BEFORE you have the heartburn. That definately helped, but still had some heartburn attacks, so she suggested I go up to 150 mgs. of Zantac twice a day...that did the trick! Now I only occasionally get heartburn, at which time I then chew some tums or Rolaids.

The BEST advice she gave me was to stay ahead of the game. By taking the Zantac morning and night, and NOT waiting to have heartburn, it was MUCH easier to treat.

[Anonymous]

When I had awful heartburn during my third tri, I added another pillow to prop up my head at night. It helped a lot, especially when I would eat late at night (ice cream!).

[Anonymous]

Someone told me to try Apple Cider Vinegar (Bragg's or another similar kind, it's unpasteurized but perfectly safe in pregnancy) for heartburn and it actually seems to be working. I wouldn't say I'm 100% cured but I'm down to only a handful a Tums per day, versus exceeding the maximum dose on the bottle pretty much daily. Mix with water and a little honey, I think it tastes pretty good.