Tums isn't cutting it

[Anonymous]

My third trimester heartburn is off the charts! I've been taking tums as needed, which helps for like 15 mins before the heartburn is back. I've been mindful of how much/what I'm eating, but the burning sensation remains. Has anyone else effectively dealt with this? Is there anything else OTC that is safe and works better? THanks!

[Anonymous]

I think I took Zantac during my 2nd pregnancy. Apparently it's been taken off the shelf. OOPS! He's 5 and seems fine.

Call your doctor and ask. Tums did not cut it for me at all.

[Anonymous]

A small glass of milk helped me tremendously. I’ve heard anecdotally that yogurt could help, too. Tums never worked for me either. Also, tomatoes are a huge heartburn trigger!

[Anonymous]

I’ve had bad acid reflux for years and it can happen during pregnancy. While Zantac is awesome it was removed. Tagamet works similarly. If it’s ok for use during pregnancy which I suspect it is if Zantac was, buy that after confirming. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A small glass of milk helped me tremendously. I’ve heard anecdotally that yogurt could help, too. Tums never worked for me either. Also, tomatoes are a huge heartburn trigger!

OP here - I've been trying kefir to try to get some probiotics in. Doesn't seem to help

[Anonymous]

Prilosec

[Anonymous]

Yes! I've had some luck with a few changes. But I will say - mine was ONLY bothering me at bedtime/overnight. I get it sometimes during the day, but nothing dramatic, and it doesn't bother me really. At its worst, early in the 3rd trimester, it was waking me up 2-6 times during the night (and from a dead sleep, so it was waaaay worse than getting up to pee, which mostly goes with your sleep cycle rhythms). Here's what I did:

1) I try to front load my calories earlier in the day. Big lunch, multiple snacks.
2) I try not to majorly overeat at dinner. I wouldn't say it's small by any sense, but I'm not eating four slices of pizza or anything.
3) Finish dinner before 8pm.
4) After dinner - no more carbonated beverages.
5) If I need a snack before bed, I will have some combination of bread, string cheese, and/or a glass of milk and it's SMALL. And I try to finish that at least an hour before I go to bed.
6) Right before I go to sleep, take three tums, no matter how I'm feeling.
7) I'm propping myself up in bed a bit to sleep. This has been huge - I think it's made the biggest difference of anything I've done. It's not much. I used to just sleep on my side, with my shoulder on the bed, and my head on one pillow. I've added one pillow that's under my shoulder AND my head. So my shoulder is elevated by one pillow, and my head is on two. So I'm a bit sloped, but it's nothing crazy dramatic.

I implemented this all at once a couple weeks back, and have not been woken by heartburn once since. I'm 34 weeks now.

[Anonymous]

How many tums do you take at once? I find the first inkling of a blast of heartburn I eat just one, and then I can slowly keep it up throughout the day without going over the limit (I think it's 7 per 24 hours?). I used to do 2 at a time and find myself stuck at the end of the day.

First pregnancy I took zantac and it was glorious. I am so, so sad now. (32 weeks with db 2).

Also mine is basically incited by all foods and also water, so I wouldn't even bother trying to eliminate foods. If I am going to suffer, I just eat what I want to eat regardless (though it does cut down on snacking/mindless eating, because my brain knows it's not worth the pain).

[Anonymous]

A while back, my midwife suggested papaya enzyme tablets when I was pregnant, and they seemed to help. Not sure if they'd work in your situation but might be worth a try.

(https://www.spiritedbirth.com/post/2018/02/20/treating-pregnancy-heartburn-naturally)

[Anonymous]

Bananas worked for me

[Anonymous]

First pregnancy I would wake up with horrific reflux - like throat burning, choking - awful. A glass of milk was always my go to - it neutralizes the acid on contact. For spot indigestion it was tums 24/7

[Anonymous]

My doctor has me taking Pepcid once a day, twice if needed.

[Anonymous]

I 100% regret not taking prescription heartburn medication (which I was offered) during my pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

Don't mess around with all this other stuff, just get a script for Prilosec from your OB. Works wonders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't mess around with all this other stuff, just get a script for Prilosec from your OB. Works wonders.

This. I lost 3 pounds between 4 and 6 weeks pregnant because my reflux is so bad in pregnancy (it’s one of my first symptoms). I couldn’t eat even the blandest food or drink water without being in pain. I was on a PPI plus two additional reflux medications the whole time.