GERD & Pregnancy

Hey,

I was diagnosed with GERD ~10 months ago and have been taking omeprazole pretty much straight through since then. (40mg daily 30 -60 minutes before breakfast) I had an upper endoscopy done in April that showed Grade 1 esophagitis so my doctor has kept me on the meds. I'm currently 8 weeks pregnant now and still taking the omeprazole after researching and discussing with my OB that it's pretty much safe to take.

The past few days though I'll be feeling fine then all of a sudden I'll swallow and it will have that familiar burning feeling and leave a sour taste in my mouth. I understand pregnancy making things worse but I didn't expect it while being on the omeprazole. I called my doctor yesterday and he said to add famotidine 20mg at night. I did it last night, then this morning I woke up, took the omeprazole and waited almost an hour before eating some saltines (because of pregnancy nausea) and still after eating those it's the same with the acid when I swallow and the sour taste. I'm even getting the hoarse voice as well. I'm not sure what else I should do or what else I can take to help combat this. I have to be safe with the pregnancy but also do not want to end up with ulcers or barrett's esophagus or anything. Can I also use tums or should I give it a few days, or just make an appointment with my doctor?

I also have IBS w/ chronic constipation that I usually use Miralax for but since getting pregnant have been switched to 100mg colace 3x a day, and of course a prenatal vitamin. Thank you for any help and advice.

Likely, if the famotidine didn't help, the Tums won't either. I went through a bottle of them, and a bottle of Maloxx that I carried in my purse, too. Find out if DGL licorice is safe for your baby. It does a much better job for me than omeprazole, and I don't have to remember it before the problem starts. The lozenges are chewable and convenient. For the nausea, try dried, candied ginger. It works in minutes if not seconds. My o.b. nurse friend said they recommend it for pregnancy nausea, so I wonder why they didn't tell you(?). Molasses (like Grandma's unsulphured) works amazingly well for constipation. Two teaspoons to two tablespoons is the amount that you would use per day (start on the low end), and you can add it to any food/drink.

Hope you feel better soon. Pregnancy should be a good time, not a sick one.