How do you control your heartburn?

I don’t eat late at night. Also, avoid foods that are a problem. I take Prilosec.

Drink Kefir. Another DLer said on the Kefir thread to drink it before going to bed and it has worked for me.

I had only moderate success with Zantac and Prevacid, but my doctor switched me to Protonix and my heartburn is completely gone.

Junk food is the culprit. And, eat tiny meals only when hungry. No acidic foods.

Apple cider vinegar is very good to use but you have to do the above first.

It will disappear.

Unfortunately, antacids make you fat.

And, antacids are bad because they REDUCE the acid in your stomach..which we need.

Apple cider vinegar works. As long as the food is clean

Proton pump inhibitors and H2 antagonists can worsen heart disease, cause bone loss, and increase recurrent infections. Figure out what is causing the problems and fix your diet. An occasional Tums or other calcium tablet can be taken but even those can cause problems if taken too often or in large amounts.

Apple cider vinegar, probiotics, a healthy diet with moderate amounts of healthy fat, will all help. Don't eat late and don't eat too much at one sitting.

Fix the problem - don't put a bandaid on it.

Tried them all. Only Nexim name brand prescription 40 mg 1 hour before breakfast helps. Had to fight with my insurance company for 4 months to get it.

High dose Zantac. After 25 years of treatment, doctors have moved away from proton pump inhibitors (Prilosec) because they have been found to be bad for you - and returned to the basic Zantac (ranitidine). But diet has been important too - no pizza, minimize junk, reduce coffee, increase fiber and veggies. Strangely, it’s better at 50 than it was at 30 - not sure if it’s overall healthy eating or age but my endoscopy results have gotten much better.

I've had major major heartburn most of my life. I would guzzle gallons of milk, and bottles and bottles of antacids every month. Then I started eating raw, probiotic sauerkraut every day. I also drink the brine from sauerkraut as a probiotic tonic. I used to need 4 or 5 antacid tablets a day and now I use NONE. I can also take a shot of raw, undiluted apple cider vinegar, or eat a plate of hashbrowns smothered in ketchup with no issues. This kind of stuff would've been unthinkable before sauerkraut.

Bad diet created acid reflux, heartburn....if diet is not improved, it will never go away. It may not go away if too much damage has been done (no HCA left in your stomach).

Heal with food, not drugs.

The excess calcium in Antacids also promotes calcification of tissues such as your arteries, brain (look up brain sand), and endocrine glands.

DAMN R12. That is serious shit.

I don't mean to sound self righteous but poster arguing for better diet are right. I had severe heartburn for years. It went away the very week I changed my diet and eliminated fried foods. That, more than my appearance, has helped me keep my diet on track. My heartburn used to be so bad I couldn't sleep.

After the heartburn is under control, you can still do fried foods a couple times a week

I avoid watching the news.

Get the H. Pylori test at your internist.

Your heartburn might be able to be solved with a course of antibiotics.

Really glad to see so many votes already for apple cider vinegar - another vote from me! Absolutely love the stuff for my heartburn - it really does work; far better than any antacid. Just make sure it's decent ACV.

I have heard about the H.Pylori test and antibiotics for it being very helpful, though - I may even do that sometime, just to be sure.

If you are doing apple cider vinegar you have to make sure it's unpasteurized, "with the mother". Most people recommend Bragg's.

Not me, but my husband.

The man used to pop TUMS every night. Then I got him to join me on the ketogenic diet. This meant giving up beer, as well as many other things. (Now he drinks vodka)

One night, about two months in, I realized that he hadn’t asked me to buy more TUMS and I hadn’t seen him take any lately. He was kind of surprised when I pointed it out.

He’s lost 25 lbs, is fitter than I remember him ever being (in 20 years together), and has taken antacids ONCE since January.

Not sure if it was giving up the beer or what. But he doesn’t get indigestion or acid reflux anymore. (And the keto diet is high in fat)

I take omeprazole daily. If I miss a dose, within 12 hours I can feel the acid reflux burn and, sometimes, even nausea. If I subtracted alcohol, coffee, and spicy food from my diet, I probably won't have to add this daily pill.

Boner pills cause reflux.

And (some) acid blockers are associated with dementia.

Ginger tea helps.

Lose weight, OP. You sound fat

There's a down side to everything.

Do you have to drink the apple cider vinegar or are the pills effective as well?

Kefir works like a charm, it's true.

The pills are too concentrated, they can burn your esophagus and innards really badly as they dissolve. R26, you aren't swishing the stuff like a fine wine or anything. The less contact it has with your mouth, the better. I try to throw it down the back of my throat. If you are really worried you can swish with milk, or baking soda in water, afterward to neutralize the acid.

Also the pills don't have all the pectin and goodness that makes ACV probiotic and good. For digestive issues the vinegar MUST be unpasteurized, raw, with MOTHER. The mother is what heals your guts.

Dumb question, but how does something as acidic as vinegar CONTROL heartburn?

H. Pylori and celiac disease are 2 causes of chronic reflux, OP.

Don't eat dinner and lie down within 3 hours. Heavy meals, chocolate, dairy are the real culprits. For me. I tookk meds for years and realized it was making my situation worse. It's what you eat and your habits.

OP, have you tried raising the head side of your bed? I have acid reflux and my doctor told me to raise it about 6 inches, which I did. It does feel weird to slide down a bit while sleeping but the incline has really helped with the acid reflux. Even though my acid reflux was never that huge I still noticed a difference only after a few nights. My doctor told me some people don't even realize they have acid reflux since the acid doesn't always come up to the throat, like is the case with me mostly.

BTW, I suspect I have ulcers as well in my stomach, thankfully none showed in an upper endoscopy, and in my case the coffee has been the worst offender. I'm fairly certain the ulcers came from the overuse of ibuprofen over the years, but the coffee and greasy foods make it worse. I didn't drink coffee for 6 weeks this spring and all tender spots in my belly disappeared. I've also been taking aloe vera and eating foods that are supposed to heal the ulcers, like black grapes.

R31, the vinegar sets up a conducive environment for healthy gut microbia, which in turn control the heartburn by out competing the negative gut flora species that are creating it.

The only consistent piece of advice I can find for dealing with acid reflux is there is no universal solution.

My boss had terrible problems with GERD. To the extent at a work luncheon he passed out from the pain. For him what worked was the Mediterranean Diet, exercise and losing 25 pounds. Part of the diet was no food after 8:00 PM. He still drank alcohol and coffee. He continued to love spicy food - but just spicy food on his diet. The interesting piece is he had tried for years to lose weight but it was the pain from the GERD that really provided the motivation.

I guess as I read this universal advice might be get yourself to a within a normal BMI and leave plenty of time between eating and sleeping.

I stopped drinking & went vegan nine years ago- zero heartburn since

You have an ulcer. Go to your doctor and get a requisition to get scoped at the hospital.

I ended up in the ER with what I thought might be a heart attack but luckily was heartburn. They gave me IV Pepsid and a dose of Mylanta. Pain gone in 30 minutes. But I don't have chronic heartburn. Pepsid seems to work better than Tums for occasional hb.

Try the hollistic therary, Sarsaparilla. It's a natural anti-inflammatory that makes a notable difference for gastrointestinal system and urinary system. I use the below drops shown liquid 3 times a week and it made a world of difference for me. Use 2 dropperful of liquid into about 2 ounces of water, mix and drink. Tastes like Coca Cola but without the fizz or sugar. Be sure to get the non-alcohol type.

I am going to give the Braggs apple cider vinegar with mother a try, can someone tell me how much of it I'm supposed to take each day, and what is the best time of day to do so? Also do I just drink it straight like a shot of whiskey?

Stop eating so much crap and you won't get heartburn. Problem solved.

Fresh cum will soothe heartburn, and a sore throat.

Untrue, I've swallowed multiple loads of cum and still had heartburn

R37 same story here.

Prilosec every night. Absolutely no greasy foods, no soda, nothing carbonated. Mine's now under control.

Can't take Prilosec, it has been associated with hair loss, dementia, and other horrors after prolonged use.

[quote]I am going to give the Braggs apple cider vinegar with mother a try, can someone tell me how much of it I'm supposed to take each day, and what is the best time of day to do so? Also do I just drink it straight like a shot of whiskey?

No, because it's nasty tasting. Take about 2 teaspoonfuls and mix in a large glass of water. Sip it until you've finished the water. You can gradually increase up to about 1 Tablespoonful.

Apple cider vinegar is also great if you have food poisoning. Mix a couple of spoonfuls into a large glass of water and sip it until finished. Then repeat. It will kill whatever mess is in your stomach.

Thanks R48

Zantac(blue) rocks!

I take this mixture 15 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner: 8 oz water, stevia, tablespoon Bragg's ACV, 1/2 tablespoon spurlina, 1/2 tablespoon bitter lemon extract, 1/2 teaspoon potassium citrate and 1/2 teaspoon purslane extract.

I don't know whether it's the ritual or the combination works, but I've found with this combination my appetite doesn't go off the rails. it doesn't do anything for heartburn.

R41 / R47 / R49 is an anti-gay Holocaust denier who's making fun of the "gaysssss" (like he writes it) in a WWII thread.

Is your name Steve Bannon by any chance, you cunt? A Nazi with heartburn would describe Bannon perfectly.

So I started taking 1tsp of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar 2-3x/day for about the past 10 days. I have noticed that I have had increased gas and my stomach was bothering me a bit, then my BM's turned greenish but are solid (sorry for the gory details lol). Did anyone have these effects? It's starting to calm down now, maybe I just coincidentally had a stomach bug? Or was the ACV clearing something out of me? Or is the ACV just doing me more harm than good?

Zantac is not great, Prilosec is better but I guess there are side effects.

Reluctant to try ACV because anything with vinegar in it is a huge heartburn trigger for me, especially salad dressing and mayonnaise. I also avoid coffee, carbonated drinks and fried foods.

I have recurrent GERD and when it flares up, I take a low dose of Zantac (75 mg) for a week or so. But when it was bad, I had to take it every day. Find your triggers - usual culprits are tomatoes, bread, bananas, peppermint and chocolate for me. Don't take PPIs, they are dangerous.

Someone asked above about ACV tablets. I have good luck with them.

Double blind testing proves that apple cider vinegar does not 'work' it in fact is a placebo for certain vulnerable people but can cause burns of the esophagus. It is bad news, which will not stop anyone who 'believes' in it.

R53 it causes problems with the pancreas and ruins your digestive enzymes. Stop with this crap immediately.

Ok I'm stopping R58/59, thanks!

Prevacid rx strength 30 mg before breakfast and dinner. Zantac 150 at bedtime. Perfection