Possible side effect? Advice needed.

maggie · Post by **maggie** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:28 pm

Good Morning everyone,

I think I may be getting heartburn/reflux from eating only 3 meals a day. My meals are larger than before because I have cut out snacking in between. I know sometimes I have eaten to excess, but not always.

I have started getting pretty bad heartburn/reflux, bad enough that it has woken me up.

Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone have some advice for me on this?

Thank you,
Maggie

harmony · Post by **harmony** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:57 pm

Hi Maggie,
Have you changed the kind of foods you are eating, or are you eating the same meals but in larger quantities?

I'm prone to heartburn. After some detective work I have determined that it has more to do with what kind of foods I eat rather than how much I eat. But, how much I eat is still part of it. My current stress level has an effect on it too. I have the most trouble when I eat heavy dairy and meat dishes. A big plate of lasagne will do me in almost every time. If I leave out the cheese or leave out the meat, then I am fine. There is something about the combination that gets me. Too much coffee (or caffeine in general) and stress will get me too. When I was pregnant, drinking milk gave me terrible heartburn. It might still, I don't drink it much anymore.

With the exception of a short time in college, it has never been bad enough to need more than the occasional Tums. I usually have the problem of it keeping me up at night. I never had the chance of it waking me up, because I never got to sleep.

I guess my humble advice would be to (if you aren't already) take something over the counter for heartburn, and try to notice if it is worse eating (or drinking) certain foods and better eating others. Good luck. Heartburn stinks.

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:51 pm

I used to get it... but now just occasionally.

The big thing for me is to not eat too much too close to bed time. The more that's in there when I lay down, the worse it gets. That's what my Dr. said anyway and it's worked for me. So, either eat earlier, or less food at your last meal.

maggie · Post by **maggie** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:01 pm

harmony_55805 wrote:Hi Maggie,
Have you changed the kind of foods you are eating, or are you eating the same meals but in larger quantities?

No, except the no sweets.

I'm prone to heartburn. After some detective work I have determined that it has more to do with what kind of foods I eat rather than how much I eat. But, how much I eat is still part of it. My current stress level has an effect on it too. I have the most trouble when I eat heavy dairy and meat dishes. A big plate of lasagne will do me in almost every time. If I leave out the cheese or leave out the meat, then I am fine. There is something about the combination that gets me. Too much coffee (or caffeine in general) and stress will get me too. When I was pregnant, drinking milk gave me terrible heartburn. It might still, I don't drink it much anymore.

Really, milk? I always though milk helped with heartburn.

With the exception of a short time in college, it has never been bad enough to need more than the occasional Tums. I usually have the problem of it keeping me up at night. I never had the chance of it waking me up, because I never got to sleep.

I guess my humble advice would be to (if you aren't already) take something over the counter for heartburn, and try to notice if it is worse eating (or drinking) certain foods and better eating others. Good luck. Heartburn stinks.

I am going to watch it for a while and see when it is worse. I am thinking that has more to do with the quantity of food v. what type of food.

Thank you for your suggestions. I appreciate it very much.

Maggie

maggie · Post by **maggie** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:03 pm

~reneew wrote:I used to get it... but now just occasionally.

The big thing for me is to not eat too much too close to bed time. The more that's in there when I lay down, the worse it gets. That's what my Dr. said anyway and it's worked for me. So, either eat earlier, or less food at your last meal.

I am thinking it is quantity as well, although I am not positive. I am going to pay attention to it for a while and see if it is worse when I eat certain foods or not.

What did your Dr. suggest you take if anything?

Thanks for your help!

Maggie

harmony · Post by **harmony** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:03 pm

Yeah, I would never had guessed milk or dairy for me either. I used to be a big milk and cheese person (that's a given when you grow up in Scandinavian country), but then we found out my son was mildly allergic to milk (most likely inherited from his Norwegian blooded grandpa of all places), so we try to limit it and started using a milk alternative. It wasn't until then when I noticed a connection to my heartburn. I still eat meat and cheese dishes, I just try not to overeat them now. (I choose to overeat other things instead. haha.) The majority of my immediate family has had some issues with milk, so I guess I am finally joining them.

Too much coffee on an empty stomach will result in an altogether different form of discomfort. My husband and I affectionately call it gut rot. I seem to have it at the moment.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:14 pm

I started having problems with heartburn/acid reflux out of the blue about a year ago. I found that it was highly associated with the quality of the food I eat, though I do have some issues with dairy products.

I found that drinking a glass of water (can be a rather small glass) within 30 minutes following a meal helps. So does eating a wedge (about 1/4) of an apple.

maggie · Post by **maggie** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:58 pm

Thank you all for your advice. I started having heartburn with reflux Saturday night, it continued all day Sunday and Sunday night, into Monday morning. It was coming and going, but pretty constant. Lots of burping, I know, gross.

So Monday night I had a very light dinner, and had no milk products all day Monday. By Monday night, I felt much better, today I haven't had any.

Thank you for all your help.

Maggie

harmony · Post by **harmony** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:49 am

Maybe there's a burping bug going around. I was up all night with something similar, but without the obvious stomach acid. Weird. I figured it was either the pizza from the weekend, or the coleslaw on Sun and Mon, or both.

Make sure you "test" the milk thing. Try lighter meals with milk products and see if you are still OK.

I noticed you said it started on Saturday night. If you ate richer food or more food than your body was used to on the S-day, it could have triggered the heartburn. I have noticed that my stomach has "shrunk" in a relatively short time, and I just can't eat like I used to without being physically uncomfortable.

I'm so glad you found relief. Hope it continues.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:13 am

I think milk can aggravate it more than help it. Although, things like yogurt (because of the bacteria present) can be helpful. But you don't need one of the yogurts that are designed to be helpful.

To quote Michael Pollan: don't eat anything you see advertised on TV and/or claims to have health benefits.

maggie · Post by **maggie** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:39 pm

Thank you harmony. I will try the lighter meal with milk. I really love my milk and would hate to have to give it up.

Thanks again!

Maggie

maggie · Post by **maggie** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:40 pm

wosnes wrote:I think milk can aggravate it more than help it. Although, things like yogurt (because of the bacteria present) can be helpful. But you don't need one of the yogurts that are designed to be helpful.

To quote Michael Pollan: don't eat anything you see advertised on TV and/or claims to have health benefits.

Thanks so much for this. I would have assumed no milk, no yogurt. I love yogurt, so I am glad to hear this.

Thank you for your help.

Maggie