Ever since I started my new diet 4 days ago, I've had terrible heartburn every night. Normally it hits me in the middle of the night when I'm trying to sleep but it's been burning for a good 3 hours now...

Any reason why this would happen?

depends on what your diet is.

You know, chest pain is nothing to be taken lightly...

could be a lot of reasons.  I saw your diet post...what did you actually decide to eat?  

Quoted: Ever since I started my new diet 4 days ago, I've had terrible heartburn every night. Normally it hits me in the middle of the night when I'm trying to sleep but it's been burning for a good 3 hours now... Any reason why this would happen?

Because of your new diet, lol.  Seriously.  Take some Tums and if that doesn't work try Pepcid AC.

Quoted: could be a lot of reasons.  I saw your diet post...what did you actually decide to eat?

I decided to dump all sugars and sweets and just eat sensibly. Nothing fatty, nothing fried. Salads, chicken, vegtables, fruits, etc.

I'm hoping this is some kind of sign my diet is working.

You may need acid reflex medication

Quoted: You mat need acid reflex medication

Try taking a tagement every evening for a while.  It should help.


... but, I'm NOT that kind of "doctor" so be wary of medical advice on the web.  

Quoted: Quoted: You mat need acid reflex medication Try taking a tagement every evening for a while.  It should help. ... but, I'm NOT that kind of "doctor" so be wary of medical advice on the web.

acid reflux / tagamet

(Prilosec & Zantac are also useful, in addition to Maalox & Mylanta)

Along with being an occasional heartburn sufferer,I've sold prescription heartburn medications for over 10 years and some of the advice you're getting here is on the right track.

If you want to stick to over the counter meds, Prilosec will offer you the most acid control of any of the others mentioned, and it's effective for 24 hours.

For immediate relief though (not sustained, but just fast relief), you might want to go with TUMS.

What I usually do if I get hearburn is immediately start taking tums.  If the heartburn persists more than a day, I step it up to something like Pepcid AC (better than tagamet) until I can get a hold of some prescription samples and/or a prescription for Prevacid or Aciphex.

So let's review here...

Heartburn onset - Start with TUMS
Persists - Pepcid AC until I can get a prescription (or samples from a doctor) of Prevacid or Aciphex.

Why not take Prilosec OTC?  Simple answer, cost!

My insurance company will pay for Prevacid, Aciphex, or even Nexium.  If I had to buy the OTC medication, I'll spend more money than I would on the prescription of a drug that is virtually the same.

Of the prescription drugs currently out there... Prevacid is the most widely studied and has the most FDA approved indications.  I like it's safety profile better than any others.  Aciphex seems to have the fastest onset of action, but the difference is negligeble when you're treating a chronic illness.  Nexium is just a slight variation of Prilosec that was made to prolong the sales of the prescription form of prilosec, whose patent expired a few years ago.  Nexium = Prilosec + more $$$.

A glass of milk before bed, no food within 2 hours of bedtime, and a fluffier pillow to elevate your head/chest slightly wouldn't hurt, either.

So let's review here... Heartburn onset - Start with TUMS Persists - Pepcid AC until I can get a prescription (or samples from a doctor) of Prevacid or Aciphex. Why not take Prilosec OTC?  Simple answer, cost!

Or you could just take Ranitidine (Zantac).  Works great for me.  Get the store brand Generic Ranitidine and you'll save quite a bit.

I forgot to answer why you might have it.

I can tell you that if you're feeling it mostly while you're laying down, it's from one of the following reasons:

1)  You have an overproduction of acid in your stomach, and laying down allows this acid to churn up into your esophagus.  Lying down allows more of the acid contents from your stomach enter the esophagus, hence you feel it more at night.  TUMS helps neuturalize this acid, but it's only temporary.  Pepcid and Tagamet reduce the amount of acid being produced, but not by much.  Prevacid, Aciphex, and Nexium provide the greatest amount of acid reduction.  That is how these drugs help.

2)  You may also have Transient Lower Esophageal Sphyncter Relaxation.  Again, as mentioned above, those drugs treat accordingly.

One thing a doctor would advise you is to incline yourself when you sleep so that your top of your chest is elevated higher than your stomach.  This could be easily accomplished with pillows.  However, with proper medication, you won't need to do this.  Take the right meds and you'll sleep well through the night.

Try Prilosec OTC.....

When I was on hellacious amounts of meds, and having nasty problems (I have a bad stomach to begin with) it helped TREMENDOUSLY...

Even taking it every OTHER day made a world of difference...... AND it's not real expensive, now that it's over the counter stuff.

Honestly, It helped me so much I was amazed....

Acid reflux is bad stuff....  Not to mention all the other nasty things it can cause.

Do try something.  I really think it'll help you.

It certainly did for me.

Hope you feel better soon !

John

Quoted: Try Prilosec OTC..... ...... AND it's not real expensive, now that it's over the counter stuff.

If you're insurance will pay for what your doctor prescribes, then the over the counter stuff will cost you lots more.

I can get a months supply of Prevacid (just like Prilosec, but Rx) for $10
How much do you think a months supply of Prilosec OTC is?  I'm betting much more than $10

If you don't have health insurance, the DEFINITELY go with the Prilosec OTC, or find a nice doctor that will give you free samples.  That's what they're for anyway.

But remember, you only need Prilosec/Prevacid/Aciphex/Nexium if TUMS hasn't worked and neither has Pepcid or Tagamet.

Each of the drugs works differently and to different degrees and you should chose the drug based on your bodies need.  If you just go with Prilosec OTC, you may just be overdoing it and gaining no bnefit over TUMS.  

Guys, guys, guys... before anyone else continues to make suggestions... let me fill you in on what I do.

I spend my days educating thought leaders in medicines at major medical academic centers, where your physicians likely trained, on the most effective forms of therapy for various illnesses and disease states.  They do to you what we teach them to do, and what they learn from the clinical trials that we do on our drugs.  Ultimately, your doctor will tell you more or less the same thing I'm telling you here.  I've been actively involved in this area for some time, as other members of my family.  Combined, we have about 25 years of knowledge pertaining to the treatment of hearburn from a clinical perspective, and my opinions are highly regarded by the doctors and hospitals that I influence.

The most important thing to rule out are any other serious complications that may result from GERD.  You may have something more severe than heartburn and all these medicines do is cover up the symptoms, and some prevent the symptoms from occurring at all.

See a physician if you can for a complete upper GI series exam so that they can look inside your stomach and esophagus and make sure there's noting more serious that needs to be tended to.  Most likely it is nothing more than uncomplicated GERD - HEARTBURN.

Prilosec OTC is ~$22-23 @ Sam's (42 pills 20 mg)

can usually scare up $3-4 coupons to bring drugstore prices in the same ballpark

Quoted: Prilosec OTC is ~$22-23 @ Sam's (42 pills 20 mg) can usually scare up $3-4 coupons to bring drugstore prices in the same ballpark

Prescription Prilosec/Nexium/Prevacid/Aciphex can be as little as FREE to maybe $10 per month depending on your insurance carrier.   Think why you have health insurance to begin with.  They want you to go with the OTC stuff so that they (your insurance company) doesn't have to pay for it.  They're only required to pay for stuff  you CANT get over the counter.  Think about is.

Quoted: A glass of milk before bed, no food within 2 hours of bedtime, and a fluffier pillow to elevate your head/chest slightly wouldn't hurt, either.

These are very good recommendations, however there is little data that shows this as being effective.  People suffer from heartburn for many different things, and often times milk can make things worse.  Every patient case is different, and therefore thats why there are many different treatment algorithems.

i like pepcid complete

Quoted: Quoted: Prilosec OTC is ~$22-23 @ Sam's (42 pills 20 mg) can usually scare up $3-4 coupons to bring drugstore prices in the same ballpark Prescription Prilosec/Nexium/Prevacid/Aciphex can be as little as FREE to maybe $10 per month depending on your insurance carrier.   Think why you have health insurance to begin with.  They want you to go with the OTC stuff so that they (your insurance company) doesn't have to pay for it.  They're only required to pay for stuff  you CANT get over the counter.  Think about is.

(some of us don't have prescription coverage)

This is how the Proton Pump Inhibitors work (ie. Prevacid/Prilosec/Nexium/Aciphex)

www.prevacid.com/see_how_digestion_works/how_prevacid_works/windows_high.wmv

Quoted: (some of us don't have prescription coverage)

The go this way...

TUMS

If heartburn persists?

PEPCIC / TAGAMET

If heartburn persists, or does not sustain all day/night relief...

PRIOLOSEC OTC (unless you have prescription coverage, then demand from your MD either Prevacid, Aciphex, Nexium, Protonix)