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Based on personal experience, it can last for eternity without making changes to your diet, elevating the head of your bed, taking medication for acid reflux, etc. Stress also makes it worse.
There are some serious health conditions that could mimic heartburn so it's important to see a doctor if you have serious chest pain or if it interferes with your daily life.
Based on personal experience, it can last for eternity without making changes to your diet, elevating the head of your bed, taking medication for acid reflux, etc. Stress also makes it worse.
There are some serious health conditions that could mimic heartburn so it's important to see a doctor if you have serious chest pain or if it interferes with your daily life.
Zantac is cheap and over the counter and it is pretty good for mild heartburn cases but sometimes you need Nexium which is quite expensive in the US if your insurance doesn't cover it.
You need medication to make it go away but you need to make life changes to avoid future episodes. Portion control and eating at least 3 hours before going to bed is a must. Also eating oily foods in moderation. Sometimes you start disliking certain foods after you get sick over and over. I can eat fried foods in moderation but sometimes I find them repulsive. Oh and chocolate is a huge trigger. A snack size bar I can deal with it but more than that can mess up my body for days.
It lasts until you sit up. If you have heartburn, find a comfortable chair to sleep in, you'll be fine. Or at least better.
Here are some preventatives for heartburn.
1. No food the last four hours or so before bedtime.
2. Less food, period, if you are above ideal weight. No more seconds. You can lose enough weight to make a difference in a couple of months, just by cutting down your portion sizes.
3. Identity the specific foods that seem to trigger heartburn, and avoid them late in the day.
Forget about making the sailboat payments for the stockholders of the pharmaceutical companies who make heartburn medicines and pitch them on TV. You don't need to take a drug that makes it safe to eat two helpings of lasagna at 11 pm.
If you don't do anything about it heartburn can last for hours and hours. Best thing to do is to first try some of the over-the-counter type meds and see if any of them work for you, like Zantac or Tums. If they don't help or take too long to work you might want to talk to your doctor about getting something by prescription. Things that can help is to eat small and more frequesnt meals, not eating a few hours before bedtime, no caffiene or sodas, and sitting up or propped up in bed or a chair when you are sleeping.
Doc advised me to continue taking OTC acid reflux med for the rest of my life; even though the mfr claims one should not take the med longer than two weeks.
I eat what I should and when I should; but if I stop the med the reflux returns. As long as the med eases the condition I'll continue taking it.
Doc advised me to continue taking OTC acid reflux med for the rest of my life; even though the mfr claims one should not take the med longer than two weeks.
I eat what I should and when I should; but if I stop the med the reflux returns. As long as the med eases the condition I'll continue taking it.
How long have you been taking OTC pills?
Have you taken prescription drugs like Nexium?
Have you been tested for H. pyroli?
I would consider getting a second opinion. One thing is taking OTC once in a while but if you take it on a regular basis it probably means it is not going away. Sometimes things can get pretty bad. I lost 20 pounds once like in two weeks because I couldn't eat. Even water gave me acid reflux. I was very weak, and I even had a blackout once. The only thing that worked at that point was Nexium.
I've had reflux for 20 years, with a hiatal hernia pretty much that entire time. Took Nexium for several years, other OTC meds for different periods.
What got me having fewer and fewer heartburn attacks? I'd gained weight over the year but for vanity's sake continued to wear the same pants. Once I went up a size appropriate to my new waistline, poof - fewer attacks.
Then I dropped 15 lbs to get back into those pants. Doesn't much matter what I eat, which is good since I have no desire to eat "bland". If I do get an episode, liquid Gaviscon works just fine.
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