I suffer heartburn and am on Nexium. It is prescription, but if I miss even one day I want to stab my chest with an icicle to cool it down! For an OTC med try Gas-X. It is minty and helps fairly quickly with heartburn. I have almost never had gas in my life but we stay stocked up because it is a great heartburn reliever.

Good luck, I know those long nights all to well!

Yes, am a sufferer, too. But am allergic to some otc stuff. I just take a pinch of baking soda in a glass of water to neutralize the acid. Works well, and I figure it's got to have fewer side effects than meds do. (Note: while I do have high blood pressure, I'm not sodium-sensitive, so it doesn't aggravate my BP).

When I gave up carbs, my excess acid disappeared. These days I've been more lenient, so it comes back sometimes. I agree with Azzalea about the baking soda. I also keep Walmart's version of Tums handy.

I agree with the baking soda also. I also use Pepto or Rolaids, but if they don't work, baking soda and water have never failed me.

Hope you feel better and can get some sleep.

I too suffer from heartburn, depending on what I eat. I take a Walmart brand (Equate) OTC Acid Reducer, Ranitidine(Generic Name) on label. It costs $4.00 for 65 tabs. It really helps me in just a few minutes and lasts all day.

My DH uses apple cider vinegar, one tablespoon, honey, one tablespoon and some warm water and it works for him.
I have tried it several times and found it effective.
The most effective cure for me is to lose weight.
If heartburn is an on going problem it might be wise to see a gastroenterologist to get checked for Barrett's disease or syndrome.
Another helpful hint is to elevate the head of your bed on six inch blocks.....pillows don't work but the blocks help a lot.
Good luck and let us know how you are doing, please.

Oh yes. I take a prescription pill twice a day. I am supposed to raise the end of my bed but it is a sleigh bed so we can't without harming the frame. Like you, I have some night time trigger foods and then can only get angry at myself. I usually eat some vanilla ice cream slowly to cool it down, take tums or another pill and prop myself up with pillows on the couch.

Hi all, Thanks for the feedback, I'll give some of those a try.
I'm sure weight has something to do with this, but I do have a hiatal hernia that is the main cause of my heartburn. Have seen a gastroenterologist and they check my throat out whenever I have a colonoscopy.
I do take 20mg of Omeprazole twice a day. I use the Equate acid reducer that is comparable to Gaviscon.
Have used Mylanta, but no relief there for me.
I had thought of talking to the docs about the surgery, but someone I know had that surgery and it was a really tough one.
Our bed is king size, so no to raising up the legs.
Guess I need to say no to the peanut butter after 1 pm and lose some weight too.
Kathy G in MI
BTW: I slept in the recliner that night, not good sleep at all.

(((KathyG)))

Could you maybe try using a wedge shaped pillow that would elevate your head and chest area when you sleep in the bed?

I'm sorry the recliner didn't help, either. I actually sleep better, and wake up very refreshed, when I sleep in a recliner. I 'make up my bed' on it just as if it were a real bed. Sheets and blanket and jammies.

I take a prescription drug, Aciphex, for my acid reflux. It's a little miracle. I had to try all the other medications before the military clinic would approve it, but once they did there's been no going back. I no longer have an acid reflux problem. I can eat anything and everything. I've been on it for about seven years now - seven years with no reflux pain.

I understand it does use up the body's calcium, so I take extra to counteract it.

It's something you may want to ask your doctor about.

Caroline,
Thanks for the drug name. Will check it out, cost and reactions. Do you have a hiatal hernia? I think that could make the difference.
Kathy G in MI

I not only have GERD, I have Barrett's. I've learned to - not go to bed until about 3 hours after I've eaten - even a small snack will get the gastric acid going.
I have the head of my bed elevated, and also sleep on a wedge-shaped pillow, and then two others - almost sitting up at first, then later in the night I sometimes pull out the wedge pillow.
No big heavy meals - small frequent meals.
No caffeine, chocolate (ok, maybe sometimes), no peppermint, no "hot" spicy foods - - ever. I drink only decaf liquids. (All that stuff interferes with the upper stomach sphincter allowing acid to reflux).
Losing weight would probably help me - keep meaning to try that!
I also have a gastroenterologist, have endoscopies done every 2 years, and am on a prescription med - Tums and the like don't even begin to cut it.
Not fun, but neither is acid reflux at 2 a.m.!

I am newly in the Baking Soda (just a pinch at a time) camp these days and that cures it. Not "medically correct" most likely, but the alternatives have their own side effects. Usually it is things that recuringly upset me, so I really try to avoid them.