Managing nighttime acid reflux

I bought a wedge pillow by Sleepnitz on Amazon. It's very comfortable, 7.5" high at the highest end.

Adjustable bed cured me of sleep gerd. I also know to not eat pnut butter or ice cream after 5pm. Discovering triggers was huge. I had chemical pneumonitis once from inhaling hydrochloric acid from one severe heart burn attack when asleep. (Woke me of course but by then I had inhaled some.)

I have an adjustable bed…life saver!!!
I’ve learned not to eat 4-5 hours before going to bed. But in the rare cases I do, I tilt the head up and the GERD is gone.
Something else that helped me was having a food sensitivity test done and eliminating all foods that I was sensitive to. I’ve slowly introduced them and don’t eat the ones that cause me to have GERD.

Could you share where you got a food sensitivity test?

My functional medicine doctor ordered it. The name of the lab is
The Great Plains Laboratory , LLC. Of course I had to pay for it, as well as the FMD.

Stopped taking the medication after suffering for years with awful acid reflux. Have bed raisers under the box spring and always keep upper body raised. Finally after years of suffering the gerd has disappeared.

Amazon has several style bed wedges for this purpose. Just search on their site 😉

In 2008 Mayo diagnosed me with IBS because of non-typical acid reflux. With diet and meds, I’ve been fine until a year ago. Had severe acid reflux, some bloating, and occasional constipation. Kept to strict no-fat, sugar, caffeine, or acid along with omrapazole, etc. After 3 months it improved and took gas-X occasionally which helped. After a few months of improvement, I no longer have acid reflux during day, but in middle of night I bring up mucus and feel acid. My head is elevated. Have tried Pepcid and Gavascon. Dr suggested MiraLAX 2-3 times a week. Stomach X-ray showed some bowel movement still remaining. Anyone have info on dealing with this night mucus?

Wedges are suggested so you can sit up, well-supported, even though in bed….it really is about letting gravity help carry your food/drink down through your digestive system…laying down too soon after eating can bring on reflux and/or mucus…time varies, but i have heard don’t lie flat for about 1 1/2-2 hours after eating..seems to help.

Hi @pza - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Glad to hear you got a diagnosis at Mayo Clinic in 2008 so you know you are dealing with IBS due to non-typical acid reflux. Nice that you've been fine till a year ago with diet and meds, too.

Since you are now having acid reflux during the nighttime, I moved your post here to this existing discussion so you can connect with others with similar experiences:

- Managing nighttime acid reflux https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/suggestion-fudiplication-new-medical-intervention-first-question

Hoping that other members here can make suggestions on what may have helped them or a loved one with bringing up mucus in the middle of the night and feeling acid. Please meet @ripley @bebold @shooei @dancing1 and others in this discussion.

pza - Of the head elevation, famotidine (Pepcid), aluminum hydroxide and magnesium carbonate (Gaviscon) you've tried, did you get any relief at night from your symptoms? Have you had a chance to try the polyethylene glycol 3350 - PEG 3350 (Miralax) 2-3 times per week your doctor suggested?