stomach pain and heart burn

hi, I got a heart burn problem from last 1.5 years. When it was first occurred, I took medicine and it was became ok after a week, but due to my mistake i ate spicy food. So it started pain and I got severe pain whole day for few days, I went to a doctor and he suggested me to do a ultra sonic,. So I did it ,report was very normal. I was continue on medicine. But i didn't felt well any time. after few days, doctor again told me for an ultra sonic, for a confirmation. SO i did it again, but the same normal report. All the things normal. But i have same heart burn effect right now too.
When my stomach is full of food, then no problem, but when it starts emtying, i have a problem, another problem also developed was when I sleep, If i turn little bit on right or left side, I gets the pain. I have to sleep straight. So can you suggest what problem I Have???

mady

Hello and welcome to HealingWell.  You may want to check out our resources at the top of the forum.  Here is the link:

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=1483795

Again a warm welcome,

Kitt

Hi Mady,

You should see a gastroenterologist and have an endoscopy done. This will show how much damage you have to your esophagus and you can decide how best to treat it.

You can make lifestyle changes to reduce your acid exposure. Change your diet to contain less acid triggering foods, such as red meat, fried foods, etc. If you are overweight, then exercise and diet to get down to a healthy weight. If you smoke or are around people who smoke, get away from the smoke.

Avoid eating anything within two or three hours of going to bed. Do not drink a lot of liquid near bedtime. You want your stomach empty when laying down since if there is any food in your stomach, it will make more acid. For dinner, eat a light meal that will digest quickly. When you eat, chew your food fully so that it will get out of your stomach quickly. Eat small meals more often rather than big meals that will fill your stomach. If you eat meat, eat it as early in the day as possible since it takes a long long time to digest and leave your stomach.

Place some blocks under the bed to elevate the top of the bed 8" or more. This will keep the acid in the stomach at night instead of leaking up into your esophagus. Sleep only on your back or your left side, never sleep on your stomach or your right side.

During the day, never bend over. If you need to reach something down low, squat down instead of bending over. When your stomach is full after eating or drinking a lot, avoid jumping around or driving in a car, as this can splash the acid out of the stomach and into your esophagus.

Usually someone with GERD has a deficient LES valve, so your stomach is sort of like a glass full of acid with no lid on it. To keep the acid inside you want to keep the cup not too full and you don't want to tip it over or the acid will spill out.

The lifestyle changes will help a lot, but usually will not cure the problem. In those case you will also need to take medication to reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces. This is where the gastroenterologist will be able to tell you what medication to take.

speden