Heartburn help

Hi,
Just approaching my 26th week and having constant heartburn.  It's really bad in the evenings and was wondering what would be safe to take...if anything. I didn't want to rely on medications but this is some serious heartburn.
Thanks a bunch

[chey101]

TUMS...i took 2 a night when i was pregnant with my daughter and didn't have barely any heartburn.
in the case that tums dosen't work, like when i was pregnant with my son the doc told me to take, i think it was zantac, but the doc can write u a precribtion for it.
your baby is probably gonna have lots of hair.

[susanelizabeth]

I also get a lot of hb 9I'm 28 weeks) and I take Tums - the dr. said you can almost not take too much, it's very safe.

[susanelizabeth]

meant to ask - why would baby having a lot of hair be associated with hb?  Just curious.

[chey101]

i guess it's just a myth but i had so much hb with my son and he had sooo much hair, i mean he's just about 8 months now and has already had about 5 hair cuts. he needs it cut just about every 6 weeks.
lots of other i know also had tons of hb and had a baby with lots of hair.

[susanelizabeth]

Cool.  I had never heard that and I was born with a lot of hair too and I'm having a little girl....  I hope she does have a lot of hair, I think that is so cute....

[msklar]

I had two kids with lots of hair...but no heartburn....

[timework]

Thanks so much for the advice.  I headed out to the drug store right now!!!!

[Sadler 24]

hello,
our son logan is now 13 days new! he has tons of hair and i don't remember having that much heartburn, only towards the end probably the last month of my pregnancy, my first son mitchell was bald when he was born, i had no heartburn with him, and my other son austin had very little hair when he was born and i had lot's of heartburn with him, so i guess you never know!
good luck to you!
jen

[nurse12hr]

Ranitidine (Zantac) is  not uncommonly used during pregnancy, as are antacids (such as Tums, etc).  
Usually your doctor gives you a list of common OTC medications they prefer you to use when you begin your prenatal care.  If yours didn't, you can quickly call and ask the nurse.  

Sometimes the pharmacist can help you out with recommendations, too.
Don't try to drink milk to calm your heartburn; plain old water is the best thing. Milk, while it seems to help right away, often causes MORE stomach acid to be produced.
Also you can try elevating the head of your bed with something, or sleep with more pillows to try to prevent the back up of stomach acid while you sleep.

[Still_AndiJ]

I agree with Christie, Zantac is the preferred med if tums don't help. You can get the OTC strength of 75mg or you can get an rx for 150mg dose. I have suffered with GERD since I was a young child and have always had good luck with zantac taken on a daily basis.

And as far as the hair myth, it is just a myth. I had major heartburn and a nearly bald baby, same with everyone else i know : )


Andrea

[slsa2000]

Christie, correct me if I am wrong, but I think that my Dr. said that the more Tums you take, the more acid your stomach produces. That was with my first pregnancy, not this one, so I am not positive. Good Luck!! Shannon

[nurse12hr]

I just did a quick search and came up with this, and other bits of info of a similar nature:

"How do antacids work to fight heartburn?

Antacids neutralize acid in the stomach so that when the fluid from the stomach comes back up into the esophagus, it's less acidic. The benefit of an antacid is that it works immediately. You don't have to wait for it to be absorbed by the body. It works quickly. The bad news is that it doesn't last that long and you may end up having recurrent heartburn and need to take antacids more frequently"

People tend to think of antacids as harmless, and thus wind up taking way too many of them.  You can overdose on any type of antacids.  It is always important to follow label directions, and see your doctor if routine doses do not alleviate symptoms.

[slsa2000]

Thanks Christie. That is what I thought. Although, I still find myself taking Tums more often than I probably should!! lol Shannon