I suffer from bad acid reflux. How should I sleep to help improve symptoms?
Friday, June 4th, 2010 at
10:13 am
I’ve been to the doctor this past week after being very ill and was diagnosed with acid reflux. I have been losing sleep because I wake up with acid in my mouth and throat and I am so sick of it! My sleep is horrible and it is really affecting my daily tasks. I notice when I sleep on my right side I notice MORE fatigue than when I sleep on my left side. Is there a certain way to sleep?? Also, I’ve been taking Mylanta Ultimate Strength for my sour stomach .. been working so far any further suggestions?
Tagged with: Acid • from • help. • Improve • Reflux • should • Sleep • suffer • symptoms
Filed under: Acid Reflux Symptoms
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sleep with your head up higher.
Many people take over-the-counter antacids for a quick ease of acid reflux, but for most people, a proper diet is the best solution for overcoming acid reflux.
Acid Reflux Diet Myth
Myth 1: Drink milk
A lot of people try drinking milk to ease acid reflux before sleep. But often, milk ends up causing acid reflux during sleep. To understand the whole situation, we have to realize that the problem roots from eating too much at dinner time. Eating a big meal at dinner causes excess stomach acid production. Drinking milk could be a quick fix to the acid reflux problem. Unfortunately, milk has a rebound action and would eventually encourage secretion of more stomach acid, which causes the acid reflux. To solve the problem, try adjusting your diet by eating a small meal at dinner and have a small snack such as crackers before sleep.
Myth 2: Avoid coffee, citrus fruits and Spicy food
We have been told for years that coffee, acidic fruit as well as spicy foods can aggravate acid reflux. Therefore, we should avoid these in our daily diet in order to reduce acid reflux. A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in May 2006 showed that none of these myths hold true. Researchers from the Stanford University found that the only two behavioral changes can reduce symptoms of acid reflux – eating less and elevate your head while sleeping.
Acid Reflux Diet
First of all, try to eat small, frequent meals instead of three big meals a day. Small amounts of food each time would exert less workload on the stomach and therefore requires less acid secretion for digestion. Make sure to include foods that are high in complex carbohydrates in each meal. These foods, such as rice, breads and pasta, are able to tie up excess stomach acid and are often easy on the stomach.
Avoid high-fat meals such as those from the fast food chains. High fat foods will remain in the stomach longer, thus causing the need for more stomach acid in order to digest them.
But remember, don’t overeat! Eating too much of any foods will stimulate the stomach to secret more acids for digestion.
Avoid or limit alcohol
Maintain upright position during and at least 45 minutes after eating
Try elevating the head of bed six to eight inches when lying down.
Don’t think that beverages just quickly flow through your stomach without affecting acid production. Surprisingly, a lot of beverages stimulate acid secretion such as beer, wine and pop. The worst of all is beer. It could double your stomach acid within an hour.
If you were diagnosed with acid reflux, that doctor should have given you clear instructions on medication, sleep, and told you to call or make an appointment if those initial measures did not work. This is not just annoying, it can cause serious damage to your esophagus, even eventually to cancer. Lack of sleep puts you at other risks as well.
You may need prescription or other medication to control how much acid you make, not just Mylanta to neutralize it. You must discuss this with your doctor at once.
As for sleeping, one thing that may help immediately is elevating the head of your bed. Not propping it up with pillow, but actually raising the head end on blocks or bricks or books or special little plastic cups that you put under the legs at that end.
Also, avoid eating for several hours before reclining or lying down,
However, you really, really need to have another discussion with your doctor.
prop up a couple of pillows and sleep at and incline so your head is higher than your stomach..that way the acid can come up the esophagus…
You need to talk to another doctor. Preferably a Gastoenterologist. I suffered from the same thing for years. Reflux can lead to an erosion of the esophagus. Also to a condition called Barretts Esophagus which is precancerous. I have been taking daily meds for almost 2 years now. No more symptoms.
Get your doctor to test you for an hiatus hernia,this causes bad reflux and needs to be treated with nexium once a day