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Are you on Synthroid? That's the thyroid medication I'm on, but I wasn't told not to take Tums...will have to ask the doctor about that the next time I see him.
I don't know if you've already tried it, but if you raise the head of your bed an inch or so it can really help. I know it sounds kind of dumb, but I had bad heartburn too, and after we did this it's almost non-existent.
My FI had heartburn for most of his life until he found Omeprazol (sp). You can get it from wal-mart and he hasn't had ANY problems for a year.
Oh wow. I'm surprised your doctor would suggest such a heartburn med while you're pregnant. Honestly, I'd take your thyroid meds and then wait 20-30 minutes and take tums. I, too, have a thyroid condition and take levothyroxine. I also get heartburn and take tums. I never really paid attention to the directions suggesting to take the levothyroxine on an empty stomach. I'll have to keep that in mind.
I had crazy heartburn a few months ago and scoured the net for relief.
Apples and gum. Eat an apple. Or chew some gum. I ate a Gala apple and was surprised it worked!
I would find out from your doc if he meant you can't take tums at all, ever or just for a few hours after you take your thyroid meds. I can't see how taking tums hours later would effect absorbtion.
@mmsva: Same here. I haven't had issues with taking tums later. However, could the doctor write you a prescription for a heartburn medication that is allowable during pregnancy AND work with your thyroid meds?
@realeastcoaster: I'm on Levothyroxine, but that's the generic form of synthroid so yes.
@beekiss: Yeah, I've been taking the meds for 13 years now and I've ALWAYS been told to not eat for an hour after taking the meds and definitely no iron / calcium for at least 6 hours.
@Vitsippa: Thanks! I'll try that :)
@mmsva: I'm allowed to take tums... just not until 6 hours after I've taken my thyroid meds, when I no longer have heartburn. It's a vicious cycle.
This isn't medical advice, but you could talk to your doctor and/or pharmacist about these things:
Nexium (esomeprazole) is a pregnancy category B medication. It is only available via prescription.
If they must be both taken, levothyroxine and calcium supplements typically need to be separated by at least 4 hours (some say longer) because the absorption of levothyroxine is decreased in the presence of calcium. If you regularly need this combination of medications, the levothyroxine dose may need to be adjusted to account for this difference in absorption.
Hopefully this helps and your heartburn gets better. Be sure to talk to a healthcare professional though :)
@EvaBostonTerrier: haha of course! I was more asking for the advice like realeastrollercoaster gave me... the old wives tale kind of stuff :)
I've never taken Tums, so i have a question. :) Do the regular tums have the calcium or are you taking the stronger ones? We talked about them today at my doctor's appt and she just mentioned that the regular ones are fine but she suggested not taking the stronger ones b/c there was a limit to how many you can take a day. Anyway, if the regular has calcium too then i guess it doesnt matter since that's what's affecting your thyroid medication.
I had horrible acid reflux during my first trimester. The OB I was seeing before I switched to my midwife prescribed Zantac which is also for heartburn. Maybe you could get a prescription for something that won't interfere and see if it helps. I only took it as needed even though it said to take it daily. It worked really fast so waiting for it to kick in wasnt an issue.
I've always heard a cold glass of milk does wonders for some people. Ice cream works for some people too. I read that a glass of lemonade, made with luke warm water, salt and ginger in the mornings also helps keep the heartburn at bay buring the day...that's if you can keep it down! ick!
Maybe you could try these? They're natural and specifically for pregnant women.
http://www.mommysbliss.com/products/4-pregnancy-heartburn-comfort
I went to see our new niece at the hospital today (one day old and precious), and we were talking about how the new mom had killer heartburn and the baby doesn't have much hair. Apparently those things are connected. New mom said her doctor recommended eating peanut butter to help with the heartburn.
@Thrakena: Funny you should say that, my mother told my father that she had horrible heartburn and that she knew we had lots of hair. Sure enough, my sisters and I had thick amounts of dark hair.
So I know you're looking for tips that help OTHER than the medicine that your doctor suggested - but I just wanted to provide you with a link for a group called MotherRisk in Toronto, Canada.
http://www.motherisk.org/prof/index.jsp
They are an amazing resource of information dedicated to studying and collecting information on the safety of taking medication during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. They collect and review studies from scientific literature, as well as conducting their own studies on drug exposure during pregnancy. They present statistics and numbers with references etc.
They really are an incredible wealth of information. They have a hotline that you can call as well (canadian so it would be long distance I imagine), so you can speak directly to someone about your concerns. They will talk with you about the numbers and studies they've collectged - and will help you make an informed decision about specific medications during pregnancy.
Here's the information they've collected on proton pump inhibitors (prevacid being one of those).
http://www.motherisk.org/prof/updatesDetail.jsp?content_id=838
If you can't find relief elsewhere, and you find that the heartburn is really interfering with daily life, then perhaps you could review this information with your midwife and see what she thinks based on the information provided?
Hope you are able to find some relief soon!
I have terrible heartburn right now as well so I feel your pain.
For Old Wives Tale remedies-I dont have much here and not much works for me except making sure I dont lay down for hours after I eat. Also, any liquid entering your stomach causes more acid to be produced, which in turn causes heartburn. So if you are drinking anything, even water or milk before bed, you're prone to heartburn.
I have read that Zantac is safe to use, as it is a Category B drug during pregnancy. I dont know if that is something you are comfortable with. From a report I read ...
"While limited data exists in humans on the safety of histamine-type II (H-2) receptor antagonists, ranitidine (Zantac®) is the only H-2 antagonist, which has been studied specifically during pregnancy.
In a double-blind, placebo controlled, triple crossover study, ranitidine (Zantac®) taken once or twice daily in pregnant heartburn patients not responding to antacids and lifestyle modification, was found to be more effective than placebo in reducing the symptoms of heartburn and acid regurgitation. No adverse effects on the fetus were reported. (Larson JD, et al., “Double-blind placebo-controlled study of ranitidine for gastroesophageal reflux symptoms during pregnancy.” Obstet Gynecol 1997; 90:83-7.)
A study on the safety of cimetidine (Tagamet®) and ranitidine (Zantac®) suggests that pregnant women taking these drugs from the first trimester through their entire pregnancy have delivered normal babies. (Richter JE., “Gastroesophageal reflux disease during pregnancy. Gastroenterol Clin N Am 2003; 32:235-61.)"
I had the WORST heartburn during pregnancy. I would cry my eyes out at night because it hurt so much. I drank a lot of milk-it still came up but it didn't burn. And sleep sitting up. Yeah, I know how uncomfortable you already are but it was like the lesser of two evils. Should I sleep sitting up and not have heartburn but be REALLY uncomfortable, or lay down, have heartburn and be not really that comfortable but somewhat comfortable? ugh-I am so sorry for you. The heartburn was one of the worst parts of being preggers.
I've had pretty awful heartburn for most of my pregnancy, and when tums don't cut it, I take Zantac as recommended by my OB. She also told me if that stops working, she can prescribe a pregnancy-safe med. Sounds like you're seeing a midwife, not an OB, so maybe talk to a GP you trust if you want to go the medicine route?
For natural remedies, I've heard that papaya extract can help. You can find it at natural food and supplement stores. A pregnant friend swears it works, but I haven't tried it since most of the brands' labels say to talk to a doctor before taking it if you're pregnant, and my OB said why mess with it when I can just take Zantac. I've tried a couple of the other natural remedies, like eating apples, drinking a mix of apple cider vinegar, water and honey, drinking milk, etc, and none of them work for me. Hope that helps a little!
A friend of mine who was pregnant at the same time I was drank lots of milk and ate lots of ice cream. My mom had it BAD when she was pregnant with my brother (I hear boys or babies with lots of hair are the ones that cause heartburn- who knows! I had a girl with no hair and had nausea, not heartburn) and she said she'd just wake up in the middle of the night and sit in an armchair and read because lying down made it worse. Sometimes she'd fall back asleep sitting up in the armchair.
My daughter had TONS of hair when she was born! And I had the worst heartburn like I mentioned. She even had it on her shoulders and back. I was like "OMG SHE NEEDS A WAXER!" lol! It has since fallen out. But check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/health/20really.html
<<Other studies have shown that in pregnant women, high levels of estrogen and other hormones can relax the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus, causing heartburn. The same hormones, other studies show, can influence fetal hair growth.??
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So I have a somewhat complicated situation. I was getting really bad heartburn so I was taking tums for it like any other normal person. It was worse in the morning because due to my thyroid medicine I can't eat for a certain amount of time after taking my medication (has to be on an empty stomach). So I was using the tums mainly in the morning. I mentioned this to my thyroid doctor yesterday who then told me I couldn't take tums or other heartburn medicine with calcium in it because it was surpressing the absorbation of my medication. She said to pick up some OTC prevacid or other 24 hour heartburn aid. I brought this up with my midwife today and she said she wasn't comfortable with me taking that because it's a "Group C" OTC drug, meaning there are no definitive answers as to how it impacts pregnant women or the fetus.
Anyone know of any helpful tips? Sorry it's long!