… Stop eating…
Well, not exactly, but I did work out that if I stop eating certain foods, that my heartburn went away.
Heartburn is a symptom of the gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, in which stomach acids surge upwards from the stomach into the oesophagus, and can cause a burning sensation up through the chest into the throat.
I actually spent 2 years taking tablets for it, at a cost of about A$30 per month, due to the severity of it, but after removing milk, chocolate and cheese from my diet, I appear to have got rid of the major problems of heartburn.
Whether this applies to other people or not, would be interesting to find out.
For a while, I did manage to keep certain foods from my diet, but I like cheese and chocolate, so that did not last long. So I was back to the tablets.
However, I did find another great aid. A new pillow: A Reflux Wedge or Heartburn Pillow Wedge. I never expected this to work, and I must admit I would never have purchased one. But a friend had one, and they found it uncomfortable, so were getting rid of it. They suggested I try it, and it worked !!
They are not cheap, the equivalent of 10 weeks worth of tablets, but I have now gone for about 3 months without taking any tablets, so I am really happy. I have seen cheaper versions, but not sure about the comfort levels of some of them.
The one I have has the following dimensions, and I use it with a normal pillow, much like the picture below:
The height at the lower part of the wedge is important for comfort, being so low. I have seen some that are much higher, and I would assume not as comfortable. The quality of the foam may also carry a lot of importance.
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Hospital Treatment:
An operation has been available, called “Nissen fundoplication” but involves a hospital stay of up to about 10 days, however, new technologies have brought about the Laparoscopic technique involving only a minimal operation and a 2 or 3 day hospital stay.
More details from
Books on Heartburn and Gord:
- Secret Cures For Asthma and Heartburn by James Gordon MD Vatcher
- Coping with Heartburn and Reflux by Dr. Tom Smith
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