Ugh, heartburn!

[puncturedbicycle]

Going on 14ish hours of heartburn now, more annoying than agonising.

Took the dog for a walk last night, had two pints in the pub and when we got home I snacked on a little bit of cheese (neither is a daily habit I should add ). Went to bed with heartburn, woke up with it, not sure what to do about it. I have some tablets but they never work so I thought I'd ask for suggestions.

Cheers. x

[Moggie]

Try lukewarm boiled water.

Hope it goes soon as its horrible isn't it.

Moggie x

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Moggie]

Hi Moggie. Thanks for that. I've never heard of this remedy. Yes, it is horrible in its own grinding way. I'm not in agony or anything, but it's the relentlessness of it... xx

[Moggie in reply to puncturedbicycle]

You give babies warm boiled water so that they bring up their wind and if I sip half a glass full for a couple of hours it makes a difference.

Moggie x

[Beverleyb in reply to Moggie]

Hi Moggie,I have a hiatus hernia I take tablets for this and gavisgon yet I still get heartburn,so glad I read your tip will try it,thanks Bev x

[beaton in reply to Beverleyb]

Gavisgon is over rate. It one of those items drug companies give doctors as incentives.

[Clutter in reply to puncturedbicycle]

You've my sympathies. The only time I'm ever pleased to throw up is when I have painful, burning heartburn. x

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Clutter]

Yes, it can be absolutely horrible can't it. Today it's just a low-level nagging burning, but it is really annoying as time goes on. x

[Silver_Fairy]

Hopefully it's gone by now but eating an apple often helps, no idea why though.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Silver_Fairy]

Hi. Thanks. Well, sadly it ISN'T gone eight days later. I seem to wake up with heartburn most days and it kind of comes and goes throughout the day. I've been taking apple cider vinegar every morning which is soothing though absolutely horrible to take, bleurgh. Funny enough I did have a couple of apples last night before I read your suggestion, just as a snack (not a treatment ) but it had no positive effect unfortch.

I'm lucky in that this is more of a nagging discomfort and not a terrible ordeal, but over a week of fairly steady heartburn is enough thank you.

If it isn't any better by the end of the week I may resort to extreme measures and cut a few things out of my diet to see if it helps. I was free of dairy and gluten for a long time and while this doesn't seem a straightforward response to either (I have eaten both with no ill effects) it is possibly a result of eating them (either one of both) too much/too regularly.

[galathea in reply to puncturedbicycle]

gaviscon? Well I am not surprised the heartburn has not gone. Te chances of it being caused by excess acid, if you are over 40, or if you have hypothyroidism, are actually pretty slim. More than likely you need extra acid not less.... In the form of betaine hcl..... Have a look at this page for an explanation.....drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Hypochl...

[puncturedbicycle in reply to galathea]

Hi galathea.

Did you mean this comment for me? I don't know about Gaviscon - I don't take it because I have never found antacids to be very helpful, or not for long anyway. As I said above, I'm taking acv and that has soothed it a lot and seems to actually get rid for a while so I would agree with you. I haven't actually got any hcl at home, but next time I go to the health food shop I will buy some.

[galathea in reply to puncturedbicycle]

No, sorry it was Beverley b who said she takes gaviscon. You are doing the right thing with the cider apple vinegar, do you know you can get in in capsule form?

The betaine is really good too. Our local independent does swansons and lamberts brands and the local holland and Barrett do a digest-aid which has betaine in it. You need 3 of the hand b to one of the lamberts brand.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to galathea]

No I didn't know you could get acv in a capsule. Hmm, I will have to think about that. My usual effort is to try to find liquid alternatives to pills because I already take so many pills, but in this case the vinegar is so horrible that I may relent and take a pill! It definitely does seem to help though, even immediately after taking it is it very soothing, which is the opposite of what one might expect.

Thanks for the suggestions. I go to a really good shop in Kew and I feel confident they will have a good quality capsule, but it's good to know that some brands require you to take more pills. I'm so tired of taking them, I will absolutely choose the kind with the least required number of things to swallow!

[Silver_Fairy in reply to puncturedbicycle]

My partner suffered heart burn for years. When we tried eliminating certain foods (including going gluten free) we found it was soya (including soya lecithin which some say doesn't cause problems). It caused heartburn and digestive problems. It's everywhere! He, especially, cannot have bread from most places as it includes soya in the flour they use. M&S bread, the ones they bake in store, doesn't, as a very helpful member of staff looked it up for me.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Silver_Fairy]

V interesting. Poor man! There are so many things you can react to and it can be really difficult to put your finger on what is triggering the reaction.

I don't know if you're into it, but I used to make a v easy non-knead spelt sourdough which was mild and tasty and incredibly easy to make. I just used to stir it together and put it in the fridge overnight, then bake the next day. But sometimes you want to just buy a loaf.

[Silver_Fairy in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Unfortunately he cannot eat too much wheat either, so tends to go without. I have tried baking gluten free but Im rubbish at cooking! Spelt is as bad too.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Silver_Fairy]

As much as I like baking and I make a lot of very edible stuff, I have never got the hang of gf bread! I can do great gf cakes and biscuits but my bread and pastry were a miserable failure.