Anyone familiar with heartburn?

[raildogg]

Hey guys, I have never had heartburn up until about a week ago. Last time I ate a whole bunch of pancakes and had heartburn for hours. Yesterday, I had some other stuff and about an hour later, lots of heartburn. I know tums and other similar products are recommended but I want to stay away from medicine.

Have any of you developed heartburn as you got older? Or is it something more than that?

 

[JManInPhoenix]

Getting more heartburn as you get older is normal. I can guarantee I will be reaching for the tums a few hours after I have pizza.

 

[Oyeve]

I'm 47 and have had heartburn all my life. About 20 years ago it was so bad I went to a doc and after an endoscopy it was revealed that I have a hiatal hernia. I am in shape but I have to constantly monitor what foods I eat.

 

[TwiceOver]

I only get heartburn after drinking carbonated water. Only water though, soda does not cause it.

 

[Kaido]

Have any of you developed heartburn as you got older? Or is it something more than that?

For me, it was caused by food allergies & food intolerances. I used to have it all the time and it got worse in my 20's. Made sleeping hard. Turns out one of the foods I apparently can't tolerate is corn, which is actually in Tums (so that made it worse) and in stuff like orange juice (Vitamin C & Citric Acid are corn-derived, so I have to buy the "nothing adding" kind or just make it myself). Same thing with peppers (black pepper, cayenne pepper, etc.) - I can handle sweet bell peppers and stuff, but no pepper powders at all, not even run-of-the-mill black pepper. So as long as I avoid those things, I feel great - zero heartburn. Some other questions:

Do you eat late?

Do you exercise at all?

 

[Kaido]

I only get heartburn after drinking carbonated water. Only water though, soda does not cause it.

That's strange, I wonder if you're having a reaction to an additive in the carbonated water. Depending on the brand, it can have a bunch of garbage in it - potassium sulfate, potassium bicarbonate, disodium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and even table salt. Some of those things are used to reduce the acidity in carbonated water, although not all (flavored) sodas have those ingredients, so that might explain it. And those can cause reactions:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune...009/01/study-phosphates-fuel-lung-cancer.html

For example, Disodium Phosphate's usage & known side effects:

Emulsifier, binder and buffer in evaporated milk, cured meats, sauces, soft drinks, chocolate products. It has been known to irritate skin and mucous membranes.

Of course, disodium phosphate is a sodium salt of phosphoric acid, which is also used in rust removal, so there you go :awe:

 

[TwiceOver]

That's strange, I wonder if you're having a reaction to an additive in the carbonated water. Depending on the brand, it can have a bunch of garbage in it - potassium sulfate, potassium bicarbonate, disodium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and even table salt. Some of those things are used to reduce the acidity in carbonated water, although not all (flavored) sodas have those ingredients, so that might explain it. And those can cause reactions:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune...009/01/study-phosphates-fuel-lung-cancer.html

For example, Disodium Phosphate's usage & known side effects:



Of course, disodium phosphate is a sodium salt of phosphoric acid, which is also used in rust removal, so there you go :awe:

Instead, I just stopped drinking the stuff. I can have 1 12oz can, but any more than that and an hour later I have heartburn. It is the only thing I have found in all my years that causes me heartburn.

 

[gorcorps]

Hey guys, I have never had heartburn up until about a week ago. Last time I ate a whole bunch of pancakes and had heartburn for hours. Yesterday, I had some other stuff and about an hour later, lots of heartburn. I know tums and other similar products are recommended but I want to stay away from medicine.

Have any of you developed heartburn as you got older? Or is it something more than that?

Is there a reason you're turning your back on a quick modern solution that has been researched and tailor made to remedy your symptoms? If the solution was something with side effects I could understand, but Tums don't even qualify as medicine. Seems like a stupid reason to suffer.

 

[Fritzo]

I have chronic GERD, so I'm pretty much an expert on heartburn.

The older you get, the less effective the seal is on your stomach that keeps in your gastric juices. After a while, they're seep up into your esophagus and cause pain/swelling, or (in my case) scaring.

As far as treatments, Tums/Rolaids are your first line of defense. These are enough to ward off simple heartburn.

If you're getting heartburn frequently, omeprazole is your friend. The generic form is around the same price as Tylenol, and works within 30-60 minutes of taking it. It's a good "this food is going to kill me" prep

If you're being kept awake at night, try to stop eating by 7pm, and maybe start a regimen of slow acting acid reducers like cimetidine before going to bed for a couple of weeks.

Foods that set off my heartburn:
- Starchy or overly sweet foods
- dry/dense meats (chicken breast, pork chops, etc)
- tomato sauces or salsa
- foods with lots of vinegar
- heavily seasoned foods

I'm actually going to have to go in to get my esophagus stretched because I let my heartburn go too long and it caused the opening to my stomach to shrink from scar tissue, meaning food often gets "stuck" if I eat too much or too fast, resulting in severe pain and vomiting up the stuck food.

 

[brainhulk]

Floppy LES

 

[Hacp]

I have chronic heartburn. It happens whenever I am hungry or full. I've learned to always have tums and omeprazole on hand.

 

[PliotronX]

Try eating a pint of plain yogurt with cinnamon or honey for flavor every day or as frequently as you can. I tend to avoid antacids because they will unfortunately kill the good bacteria in your digestive tract known as acidophiles. These are the active cultures in yogurt and there are more of live cultures in plain yogurt because sugars in flavored yogurt tends to kill them but any yogurt is good for you. Working out speeds your metabolism and I encounter less heartburn with regular activity.

 

[slightlyhuman]

I went through a bad run earlier this year. I've had heartburn the last few years and have always had to take a daily zantac(150 usually). Around April this year I always had this feeling like a pill or piece of food was stuck in my throat. It DROVE ME NUTS. I developed a phobia of taking pills because of it and it really made me miserable 10 hours/day.

I finally went and got an EGD done in June and found out I have a hernia like the user above posted. It freaking sucks. I got prescribed protonix which helped a HUGE amount but brought on other problems(bloat, no relief from belching). I quit the protonix because the symptoms it brought made me feel pretty crappy.

About 2 months ago I started taking several pills every morning at work. As of now I have gone well over a month and have not had to take ANY zantan/prilosec/tums/protonix/insert heartburn relief here. I did change a few habits that definitely contributed to my issues such as eating late, and eating shitty greasy foods all the time. I still eat just about what I want but do try to be mindful.

The pills I take monday-friday(on sat/sun I usually just take a multivitamin):

2 garlic pills
2 fish oils(3-6-9)
1 magnesium sulfate
1 vitamin B
1 vitamin a/d
multivitamin
alpha brain(nootropic)

It has changed my life as far as heartburn goes. I would have horrible heartburn for 5-7 hours a day while at work. It made everything miserable. I still get the pill like feeling in my throat occasionally but all in all, I feel a hell of a lot better than I used to.

GL

 

[Oyeve]

Try eating a pint of plain yogurt with cinnamon or honey for flavor every day or as frequently as you can. I tend to avoid antacids because they will unfortunately kill the good bacteria in your digestive tract known as acidophiles. These are the active cultures in yogurt and there are more of live cultures in plain yogurt because sugars in flavored yogurt tends to kill them but any yogurt is good for you. Working out speeds your metabolism and I encounter less heartburn with regular activity.

true this. I only take the occasional tums and avoid pepcid AC and the like. You will get sick more often as these control the level of acid your system produces. Other than digesting food these acids kill bad bacteria. So, if you need an antacid pop a tums. It will only help quel the acid in your esophagus and not cause your system to not produce acid. Its also high in calcium, which my old ass self needs more of.

I got my hiatal hernia in my youth from drinking 20+ cups of coffee a day. The caffeine relaxed my esophageal sphincter to the point that the muscle doesnt close therefore giving me GERD.

 

[MarkXIX]

I battled it for years and for a long time thought it was the common tomato acid type foods (pizza, spaghetti, etc.). Then, one day I read an article on a health website that suggested it could be dairy.

I started thinking and realized that I typically drink a glass of milk with spaghetti (don't ask, something I started as a kid) and that pizza was covered in cheese. Once I stopped consuming dairy products in the few hours right before bed, my problem solved itself and I can eat tomato based foods again before bedtime without issue.

 

[chelhxi]

Mine stopped once I stopped eating gluten.

 

[sdifox]

calcium carbonate is your friend.

 

[slag]

I've had heartburn since about 21, however, since I started using a CPAP device at night for my sleep apnea, the heartburn has completely gone away. These past few months at work have been super stressful with ACA looming and the work IT has been putting in, so I have had a couple bouts of it when severely stressed and tired, but for the most part, it has completely gone away.

 

[moonbogg]

Two things that caused heart burn severe enough to drop me to the floor. Alcohol and tobacco. No longer drink, so heartburn is rare, but when I get it its while I am using tobacco (dip tobacco) and is rare.
Back when I drank, if I drank a single Mike's hard lemonade, I would be rolling around in pain and had to get a bottle of pepto right away. After drinking, smoking a cigarette would light the fire in my gut.

 

[Hacp]

Yes it sucks. Once you pass 22, your body starts to break down and you get old. I hate being old.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I stopped over eating and it went away.

15 posters = 15 cures

 

[Kneedragger]

I get heart burn at super random times. I can eat chocolate and pizza one day with no worries then the next time it's a different story. I also get heart burn like clock work if I eat Reeses cups. Something about the peanut butter I guess. I can eat spicy food all day but on random days I get heart burn.

I notice that when I add prebiotics to my daily diet I seem to have less issues. Maybe the placebo effect? I also notice that food seems to take forever to get digested and I will feel bloated all day.

Just started with Good Belly last week and like it more than yogurt or pills.

 

[Leyawiin]

I keep Seltzer water in my fridge. If I get an acid stomach I drink it and have a good belch. Nothing it but water and carbonation.

 

[Markbnj]

If you didn't have a problem with it before, and that has changed and now you are having a problem with it, you should see a doctor.

 

[Fritzo]

I keep Seltzer water in my fridge. If I get an acid stomach I drink it and have a good belch. Nothing it but water and carbonation.

That's the equivelnent of smacking your TV to make it get better reception :biggrin: