I was about to enter my seventh month of pregnancy, and I was working a Sunday shift at Live 5 News. Photographer Corey and I stopped by my favorite little sandwich place in Mount Pleasant, Mozzo Deli.
I always get the same sandwich everytime, The Milano, which is breaded eggplant, spinach, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese in a grilled wrap... my fave! But I ventured from the norm and went for The Godfather, which includes Genoa salami, ham, pepperoni, lettuce, tomato, onions, sweet and hot peppers, and oil and vinegar. And I got it on ciabatta bread! I ate the whole thing and it was delicious!
I have never experienced heartburn before, and I didn't know practically everything on that sandwich could trigger it!
The chest pain kicked in at about 4 p.m. It felt so extreme! I wasn't sure what was going on. I wrote my news story, left work, and called husband William in the pharmacy to tell him about my symptoms. He said I was presenting the symptoms of heartburn, and many pregnant women come in with the same complaints. It is basically my stomach acids traveling back up my esophagus, giving me the burning sensation.
He suggested to chew up some Tums. I took four! No relief and things only got worse! The burning sensation traveled up to my throat and it just felt like pressure and burning for HOURS!
With some online research on pregnancy heartburn (and the okay from my medical expert hubby), I tried several remedies including: more Tums (have a medical expert check the label some ingredients in some brands may not be good for a pregnant person), drinking water, drinking milk, standing up on my feet, chewing minty gum because saliva can neutralize stomach acid. The feeling was only worse when I laid down, so I "fell asleep" propped up on pillows. FINALLY, by 1 a.m. the feeling had gone away... THANK GOODNESS!
I barely ate anything the next day for fear of a relapse of the worse pregnancy side effect yet! (for me at least) Click here for some treatments from The Bump. My advice is eat slow and don't overeat! William also says Zantac or Ranitidine, an acid reducer, is safe during pregnancy.
Good luck to all the preggos out there, hopefully you can avoid the burn!
