Annoying heartburn while on prednisone.

I have constant chest pain and I think it's heartburn from the prednisone. I'm not 100% sure because I never really had heartburn before. I had acid reflux the first time I was on prednisone though. I take antacids and the pain goes away temporarily but when I eat it comes back again.

Any tips on how to deal with this? Last night I was up until 5am in pain.

oh yeah, definitely noticed that lying down makes it worse. Was tossing and turning all last night. :( Finally fell asleep at 7 and woke up at 10.

I think I'm predisposed to heartburn type things because my dad has GERD. He gave me a pill called Tecta this morning but didn't make much of a difference.

Slippery elm does wonders with getting rid of that.

Predisone can cause Heartburn, yes. My nephrologist just told me to be very careful when taking anti-acids, especially Protonix and Omeprozole because they deplete you blood magnesium levels, and us UCers have a hard time keeping magnesium as well as Potassium.

Gaviscon works great and is not magnesium depleting.

Also be aware that Predisone is a potassium wasting med, so be sure to eat a high potassium diet. Also, follow a GERD related diet, that should help you lots while on Predisone.

I have GERD and I have found my chiropractor to be very helpful.

Things you can do to alleviate your condition are..

Raise your bed six to eight inches..it does help, because when you lie down flat that's when the acid reflux occurs.

Best not to drink anything that is too hot or anything that is too cold.

Best not to eat anything that is too hot or too cold.

I find standing up to eat some of my meals quite helpful.

Dont eat after 6pm in the evening.

Dont drink and eat at the same time, it aggravates the problem, better to eat first, drink later.

Coffee, alcohol and peppermint products, make it worse, although everyone is different.

Make sure you sit upright at your computer, and also when watching the television.

Exercise is beneficial, especially swimming.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! Greatly appreciated. :) Except it's so hard to not eat after 6pm... the prednisone also makes me have awful hunger pains. So evil... wants me to eat, but hurts me when I do eat.

bananagirl said...
i actually had a lot of chest pain on pred but it wasn't always heart burn. i got an x ray and i had costochondritis. it feels like you're having a sword stab you in the chest and come out your back.

Wowww that's a new one I haven't heard of before. Seems like anything with "itis" at the end of its name is awful!!

Actually my heartburn has greatly decreased. Maybe my body got used to the pred or something? Yesterday I didn't experience any. :)