Soulboy Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 I have always suffered off and on with heartburn at night. I know certain foods trigger it (pastry, potatoes, bread etc) as well as some drinks (wine, cider etc). However, it used to come and go occassionally - but at the moment I seem to be suffering just about every night. I am not a lover of taking medicine, but the Zantac, Gaviscon etc are all doing overtime at the moment. Any advice anyone? And could it be food intolerance? Cheers, for any help or pointers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Wikipedia has a good section on heartburn, and it saves me writing pages and pages :grin: Heartburn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia If it affects you at night particularly, it can be helpful to sleep slightly upright.. put some pillows behind your back. Of course H2-receptor antagonists,such as zantac are good, but i prefer proton-pump inhibitors such as Zanprol.. if you take these for a week or two, you stand a good chance of the area healing and giving you some long term relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Thanks for that Dave. The Wikipedia is spot on with what I suffer with including a constant tickly cough which I suspected is caused by it - especially when I eat. But I wasn't sure as I sometimes get asthma as well. Are the tablets you mentioned (proton pump inhibitors) prescription only? And are there a few different brands? I have already discovered that the Ranitidine type tablets are much cheaper if you go own brand as opposed to Zantac. Thanks for the info so far. Cheers Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 There is only one PPI (proton pump inhibitor) available over the counter and that is Zanprol it's omeprazole 10mg.. it's good, but not at the ideal strength.. If you need treatment then you should be looking for 20mg caps/tabs.. which you will need to see your GP for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 thanks for that Dave. I will try the Zanprol and see how I get on with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byron13 Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 Thanks Dave been having my own problems with heartburn so timely advice! Just got some Zanprol as well so will see how it goes.......... Ta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 I get a lot of stress heartburn, and i find it excellent!! Take it for a few days mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobK Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 There is only one PPI (proton pump inhibitor) available over the counter and that is Zanprol it's omeprazole 10mg..it's good, but not at the ideal strength.. If you need treatment then you should be looking for 20mg caps/tabs.. which you will need to see your GP for Can't you just take 2 of the 10mg ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 You could, but i'm not supposed to recommend it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted January 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Bloody Marvellous! Got some yesterday (they are £10 for 14 though!) took 2 just before dinner and had first unbroken nights sleep for a good while. And the pack does say you can take 2 to start with, then cut it down to 1 as soon as possible. Cheers Dave Excellent advice as always........first a watch and now heartburn - Good old TSN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Good news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted January 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Testing the Proton Pump Inhibitor (sounds like anti freeze for a crap foreign car) last night with the following light snack for myself: M&S family Cheese and onion pie (x1) Chips (lots of them) Veg (mixed) Beer (2 large Efes) Wine (2 glasses of Cloudy Bay) Chocolate (1 Dairy Crunch) Now remember, I didn't want to eat all this stuff, it was just for the experiment as normally I would have had really bad heartburn afterwards. 2 Zanprol and not even a sign of heartburn! I am just wondering how much more scientific investigation I will need to do before it passes my clinical trials, as you can never be too careful with your health can you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopsta Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 looks like a perfect batchelors meal to me.... nothing wrong at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Does it also matter what time of day you eat your last meal at? If you eat late and go to bed with your stomach still churning???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Does it also matter what time of day you eat your last meal at? If you eat late and go to bed with your stomach still churning???? The later I eat the worse it is in general Cruiser, and I think thats the same with everyone. Its not stomach churning though - its acid with comes back up your asparagus (or something) and you wake up choking and coughing on stomach acid.......all very pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_hargreaves Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Starch is a killer for heartburn. Which all the foods you mentioned are high in. It plays hell with your stomach acid causing the heartburn. I get it from eating white bread sometimes so i've stopped eating that and I have no problems whatsoever now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 You may have a mild ulcer or chronic gastritis . The cause may be Helicobacter Pylori. A largely benine bacteria in the gut but which for some causes chronic repeated heart burn (gastritis) and ulcers. Its easily treated with ordinary antibiotics but your diet can prolong the sypmtoms. I had this for several years despite being diagnosed. It was hell and I was seriously worried. The anti biotics didnt work by themselves. For me, Zantac didn't work but Gaviscon helped but I had to take loads and it makes you constipated. :mad: I still had the symptoms. I eventually found a way to reduce the symptoms to the extent that I rarely suffer these days. First off it took a short regime... Stop drinking strong coffee on a regular basis. It really does f uck with your gut. I found this was the most potent part. After 3 months of relative relief a single large cup of starbucks black coffee set me back to where I was. When I quit coffee completely my symptoms improved without relapse. I wasn't a big coffee drinker by the way... and tea doesn't cause problems. Don't drink fizzy drinks or lager. very acid. For a period of 2 months at least don't eat pastries, fatty food, curry, lots of bread. Eat bland food for a few weeks - pasta, cereals, banana. There is a test for HP, speak to your doc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 The later I eat the worse it is in general Cruiser, and I think thats the same with everyone.Its not stomach churning though - its acid with comes back up your asparagus (or something) and you wake up choking and coughing on stomach acid.......all very pleasant. Osophagus (sp) Surely then, you need to eat at a much earlier time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted February 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Thats probaly Ukrainian for 'you shouldn't eat so many pasties and drink a bit less cider' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thats probaly Ukrainian for 'you shouldn't eat so many pasties and drink a bit less cider' You saw through the diplomatic talk then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Tone_ Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Guys After a few months of getting heartburn I now have a dull pain just below my osophagus - having spoken to someone suffering the same appears I have a gallstone - has anyone had this op? After eating I get heartburn and it feels like my food is stuck, really quite uncomfortable! I read up about it and I dont like the idea of the surgery but then if thats the only way out - better do it before the pain gets really bad.... And to top it got an ear infection which is fecking painful!! Tone :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 The symtoms came back as soon as I stopped with the Omeprazole. So the GP referred me off to the hospital for an endoscopy. I elected not to be sedated which was a bad decision lol! They also did some biopsies for the bacteria Mort mentioned above (which was negative). Its strange seeing things prodding out of your stomach while fully conscious. Anyway, slight ulcers probably caused by stress (I have got some important finance exams in 6 hours) - But nothing really to worry about. Just need ot manage it without relying on the PPI' all the time. So change of diet, mix and match use of PPI, Ranitidine and Gaviscon. And most importantly - reduce stress. I just wish someone would take all the old people in Nissan Micras off the road - who I always get stuck behind when I am late for a meeting. That would help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidicks Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 (edited) Interesting thread - I read this a few weeks ago and it gave me the push I needed to go to my doctor, as I've been having some significant heartburn problems recently. For the last 5-years or so I've had sleeping problems, sufficient to get me referred to the local sleep disorder centre and spend a couple of nights wired up to various machines to monitor me while I tried to sleep. No significant issues were identifed and I was simple told to lose a few pounds to see if this helped (I'm 6'2" and 14 stone, so losing a bit of weight wouldn't hurt, but I'm not morbidly obese by any means). At the time, I was conscious that I was drinking a lot at night (I'd have a bottle of water by the bed and would normally drink 500ml or so on most nights), but although it sounds obvious now, it is only more recently that I realise that I wasn't actually waking up thirsty, but instead waking up with a bad taste in the back of my throat which I was trying to get rid of by drinking. As I tend to get home from work quite late, I also tend to eat quite late and then need to go to bed fairly soon after, but I am not sure this was a significant part of the problem as the problem was still present at weekends when I could leave a much longer gap between eating and going to bed. A few months ago, I managed to improve my sleep by taking a chewable Rennie tablet before going to bed, but as time went on this wasn't sufficient and I ended up waking up one, two, three times a night and needing to take further tablets. This was clearly not sustainable! I did wonder whether my condition might be stress related, as work has been particularly busy recently, but the lack of sleep was causing me problems and providing a vicious circle: - Lack of sleep made me feel really tired at work, which was led to increased stress because we were so busy, which led me to be drinking a much greater quantity of strong coffee to try and be sufficient alert to sort out the work which presumably aggravated my stomach causing the heartburn to be worse, leasing to less sleep etc etc. My doctor has prescribed Lansoprazole - One 30mg tablet first thing in the morning, an hour before food - and I have to go back to see him after a month. Depending on how things have gone, we would plan to reduce this the dosage for the next month and then review. Depending on the outcome, an investigation with a camera down the throat might be required!! So far I'm a week in to the tablets and have had zero signs of heartburn. The first 2 nights were fairly disturbed sleep (but not linked to heartburn, probably 'just one of those things') but since then I've slept better than I can remember having done for a number of years, and feel so much better! It's great when you get to 5pm in the office and realise that you're no longer struggling to keep your eyes open at the desk and in meetings! Although I've managed to keep up karate training for 3 days a week, I'm hoping that I will now have much more energy to focus on this and also to start spending some time in my gym when I get back from work, rather than just crashing on the sofa and watching TV. Sidicks Edited April 9, 2010 by sidicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulboy Posted April 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Sounds not too dissimilar to me Siddicks. And seems to be quite common. Try some Gaviscon Advance liquid at bed time too. It works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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