I get very severe heartburn and I dont know why?

Question

I have had heartburn off and on for the past year now. I don't eat anything after 6pm and usually go to bed about 10pm. Yesterday I ate dinner at 4:30pm, we ate while out shopping so I didnt have my zantac 150 on me. We got home about 8pm last night and had a slice of ice cream cake for my husbands birthday. I took my zantac about 30m mins prior to having the ice cream cake. I went to sleep about 12:30am and still woke up with serious heartburn to where I actually had stomach acid coming out my nose. I was sleeping on my side too.

Do you think this could be a serious condition that I need checking out? I have been to the doctors already about 6 months ago, and he gave me a years prescription for Zantac!!

Answer 1

you need something stronger than zantac. i have had the same heartburn problems most of my life. OTC prilosec works for some, doesnt for me. prescription prevacid works the best, but aciphex and protonix work too. protonix is available in generic but still need a prescription. you need to learn to avoid the 4 worse heartburn makers, onions, mint, any grease, and chocolate. IM me if you need more specific info

Answer 2

Stop smoking and avoid caffeine (e.g., coffee, colas, caffeinated teas) and alcohol. Avoid acids(e.g. lemon, orange, pineapple, tomato)

Eat small, frequent meals instead of 3 large or heavy meals.

Do not use aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines.  Use acetaminophen (Tylenol) for fever symptoms or minor discomfort.

Prilosec might work better. You can take it once a day, everyday. 30 mins before breakfast. This will prevent heartburn, You can find it over the counter.

If this is not better ask you doctor to do a H.Pylori test on you. It a bacteria that has the same symptoms as gastritis but may cause ulcers.

Answer 3

Hi Patricia,

Sounds like you have acid reflux disease. There is a really good natural remedy for that:

2 Teaspoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in a glass of water, 3 times a day.

After a heavier meal, take a stronger concoction (more vinegar, less water ratio). It does work.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

The serious condition that comes to mind is you accidentally drowning in your sleep from inhaling stomach contents, that seems pretty serious.

Obviously the Zantac doesn't seem to be working, when a treatment doesn't work, you should return to your doctor. You could, for example, have a pyloric (top of the stomach) valve problem which can only be cured by surgery. Or it could be one of dozens of other things.

Good luck.

Answer 5

aids

Answer 6

I would definitely go back to the doctor.

That isn't regular heartburn you got there plus the acid is really going to mess up your esophagus.

Answer 7

It is amazing to me how wrong this been treated by medicine. The fact that you getting reflux so long after your meal is showing that you seriously not digesting what is in your stomach. By taking Zantac, you remove the chance to make good amount of digestive acid to digest your food properly. So the food you eat ferments in your stomach, and when the Zantac wears out, and acid forms to deal with the undigested food  the gases formed by the fermentation pushes the acid into your oesophagus.

Try to have a lemon-lime and bitters before your meal, or a glass of water with lemon juice in it. In old tradition, people used to have a drink called apperitif in older cultures, the purpose for that was to prepare the stomach for the food to come, to kick start the acid flow to the stomach. Traditional apperitifs would be like Jagermaster or Campari, both having bitter herbs in it for kick start the digestive process. As these have rather large alcohol content, swedish bitters been developed to deal with this problem. They taste absolute horrible, the hair stands up on your back from it, but my god, they do work!

I think if your doctor can only give you Zantac, you do not have any structural change in your stomach. Only functional change. This is very easily corrected. If the reflux comes back at night, so you have acid forming in your stomach late at night, try to have a dry toast to "soak up" the acid. It works for many people I worked with. Let me know how you go with this, I am happy to help you with this problem, it can be solved, I did it many times.

Answer 8

get checked for Acid Reflux.  your doctor can put you on Nexium, or you can take Prilosec OTC.  my husband dealt with it for years, and popped Rolaids every hour because of it.  he controls it with Prilosec.  Zantac isn't a Rx anymore.  it's OTC, and may not work for you.  no doctor would just GIVE you a whole years Rx without checking you every month or so.

Answer 9

My best guess is that is could possibly be gall stones, I had the same problem, I was diagnosed with acid refux for two years and after every single presciptions didnt help I finally threw a fit in the emergency room only to be ultrasounded and found massive gall stones.

Try a table spoon and baking soda to relieve the pain, it tastes gross but usally helps within seconds

Answer 10

see your doctor again and check with your family members if they ever had similar symptoms. heartburn tends to run in families and can be part of a greater problem

good luck!