GERD, ugh! How can I prevent reflux at night? ?
Saturday, February 18th, 2012 at
5:01 pm
The past couple nights, I’ve woken several times choking on my own stomach acid. This has been an occasional problem in the past. I know that losing weight would help, but what can I do in the short term to prevent it? Propping the head of my bed is not an option. How many hours before bedtime should I refrain from eating?
Filed under: Heartburn Questions
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I have the exact same problem and what has really worked for me is to take one Prilosec pill each night at bedtime. I used to majorly scarf down tums and would get horrible acid reflux and I too would be woken up in the night choking up my own stomach acid. Prilosec is a miracle pill for me and when I take it every night I have no problems at all and don’t even need to ever have a tums tablet. Prilosec is safe for pregnancy and was recommended by my doctor.
Stopping eating two hours before laying down is best. You can drink water up to half an hour before bed.
Try laying on your left side. Due to the orientation of the stomach, this allows gravity to help keep acid in the stomach.
You can prop yourself up with multiple pillows.
I suffer the same thing, so I can feel your pain. Antacids (calcium carbonate/magnesium carbonate) can help for the short-term when you are desperate, but taking them long term can apparently make the symptoms worse, as your stomach will tend to make more acid to counteract the alkalis you are swallowing.
Avoiding food three or so hours before bed can definitely help, as well as avoiding liquids for two hours. Less matter in your stomach will mean less chance of gastric acid getting up in your throat. If you drink coffee or alcohol, or if you smoke, avoid those in the evening too as they can make it worse.
If it is really bad, get it checked by a doctor, who can prescribe you drugs if necessary, to reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces. Hope this helps, I understand your pain (I’ve resorted to sleeping upright in a chair when I’ve been desperate to sleep!)
just eat a couple Tums or Rolaids.