YANMD, help with upper digestive thing

November 6, 2022 9:58 AM

I will at some point ask a doctor about this. I'm just wondering if there's any "oh, I get that too" that will put my mind at ease a little about this thing. It's sort of gross, at least to me, so I'm putting it under the fold.

Periodically, I get what I assume is something related to reflux. I don't have heartburn all that often (I did for a while but I've been better about not eating within a while of going to bed) but once in a while, I wake up at say 2 am with what I guess is a surge of stomach acid into my mouth.

It feels, I think, like I have slightly thrown up. I am VERY averse to doing that particular thing and haven't fully done it in a long time so I'm not sure it's exactly the same. It's not like (ugh this is SO gross; I am sorry) solid food but it sometimes tastes of what I've eaten.

I then bolt awake, swallow hard, clear my throat loudly, sometimes take a Tums largely to get the taste out of my mouth, and go back to sleep after a minute or two of calming myself down from the sudden unpleasantness.

I've attempted to adjust this and that. Sometimes it seems like it's more likely to happen when I sleep on my side, but I sleep best on my side so if it isn't happening much, I'm almost certain to go to sleep lying on my side. Sometimes I think it's just related to over-eating or eating too many spicy things, but not always.

Is this probably filed under "reflux"? Do I need to just start eating white rice and bananas at 5 pm for dinner? Argh?

posted by less-of-course to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

That sure sounds like reflux! Acid reflux is exactly that - some of your stomach acid climbing back up your throat. Stomach acid shouldn't really be in your throat, so this is not a good thing, and you're right to bring it up with a doctor. There are a number of potential causes, but in general it's something you want to figure out how to resolve. (This is often pretty easy, we have pretty good meds for it.)
posted by restless_nomad at 10:02 AM on November 6, 2022 [4 favorites]

I was reading about reflux recently and one of the things I read is that one of the reasons you don't want to eat before bed is because the connection between your stomach and mouth stays open when it's supposed to be shut.

So then also that means that if you have this issue, you shouldn't drink water right before bed. Because it will mix with your stomach juices and come right back up into your mouth while you sleep, as liquid does.
posted by aniola at 10:04 AM on November 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

That sounds like acid reflux!

There are a tonne of treatment options, from using a wedge in bed to raise your head; to medications; to avoiding certain foods.

Its not something you want to ignore because long-term untreated acid reflux raises your risk of certain cancers.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

This sounds exactly like the acid reflux I’ve had off and on for decades. As long as you rule out other causes, this can usually be treated effectively without much or any difficulty. Talk to a doctor and good luck!
posted by saltykitten at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

You also might consider doing a sleep study. Your body tries really hard not to die when you stop breathing at night, including a lot of muscle movements that are basically inducing acid reflux.
posted by janell at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

If you sleep on your right side, try the left instead.
posted by fritley at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

I quit having reflux when I went vegan. I suspect it was the dairy that was causing it, but I don’t really know. Just throwing this out there to say what you’re eating can make a difference.
posted by FencingGal at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2022

Your symptom is what my group called 'barficide' in high school, and rather than acid you may be having bile reflux.
posted by Rash at 11:01 AM on November 6, 2022

That is 100% GERD. Mine presented with exactly that symptom.
posted by invincible summer at 1:20 PM on November 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

People mention that this is reflux. It is possible that this is caused by a food sensitivity. I had what you are describing. Then it started happening after every meal. I had developed a sensitivity to all corn products. Before we figured out the problem I was on 11 different medications to manage the issue (and the side effects from the various medications). Other people are sensitive to other foods. A good start would be to write down your meals so you can discover if this happens when you eat one particular thing. There is also something called an elimination diet that you can do, but if it's not happening frequently it may not be helpful.

It could also be generalized, but if it turns out that it's a food, you can just stop eating that food instead of taking lots of medications. Although avoiding certain foods is an Olympic-style sport.
posted by rednikki at 5:53 PM on November 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yes, this sounds like reflux. Fairly easy to manage:

Sleep on your left side.
Avoid eating 3-4 hours before bedtime.
Avoid overeating.
Avoid eating trigger foods, such as chocolate, garlic, onions, peppers, fried foods, citrus, tomatoes.
Avoid alcohol, especially in the few hours before bedtime.
If using anti-reflux medications, read up on possible effects from long term use.
posted by coldhotel at 5:29 AM on November 7, 2022

I get that if I eat carby/sugary things within a couple of hours of bedtime. Protein/fat-heavy things (cheese, eggs, summer sausage) doesn't seem to trigger it for me.
posted by telophase at 12:50 PM on November 7, 2022

Wedge pillow. Wal-Mart has them. That plus a second pillow (when I put my arm under my head) is a game-changer. I also add a towel or pile of fabric next to the wedge pillow so that my arm does not twist backward when not under my head.
Basically it's a nest of pillows and fabric to keep my head at the proper angle without sliding back down.
No medication required.
posted by TrishaU at 12:34 AM on November 8, 2022