since christmas ive had really bad acid indegestion. only got it really rarely in the past, say 5 times a year. now im having to neck some gavistcon every night before bed and mid day if i have my lunch late i need it if i cant get to some food quick.
any ideas, experiences?

Stomach ulcer?

Too much stodge? Eating pastry is guarenteed to kick off bad indigestion for me and most folk do eat richer food over the seasonal period.

Try cutting back all processed food (including bread) for a few days. Plenty veg and fruit. Replace bread with either pitta or wraps.

have you gained weight in past few months?

I had similar issues, lost weight, problem went away.

If you're worries go see your Doc

Could be hiatus hernia leading to weak lower eosophagul sphincter. I've got one, go to doc ask for proton pump inhibitors (lanzoprazole or omezeprole(Spelling)) if this works then start losing weight and do self diet control tests to find out what brings it on . With me its bread, cereal, any pastry, biccies and the like, I can eat meat, cheese fruit and veg no problem.

Things like coffee, chocolate, peppermint and most digestif alcohol all add to the problem. They all relax the stomach – and especially the lower eosophageal sphincter (LES), which gives intially the feeling that its easing your digestion, but when the LES relaxes it lets acid up into your eosophagus and burn city happens..

For short term relief I use fruit smoothies made with organic soya or rice milk have one of these fro brekky and avoid toast and cereal , eat normally but have super early and only drink water after 7pm.

Also do not sleep on your right, if your LES is weak due to Hiatus hernia then if you sleep on the right you are tipping your stomach contents into your neck.

Christmas over-indulgence will have exacerbated your propensity to suffer from this problem. Go to your GP and get him/her to give you some acid blockers. These should alleviate the symptoms until they go away (relatively) permanently.

Then get out there and get fit again (assuming you got yourself into an unfit state over the holiday).

yep,ive been off the bike over xmas and havent really overdone it at xmas.prob my most sensible one so far??
main thing is when i have a beer around 9pm, by the time i go to bed it burns like crazy.gaviscon sorts it right out tho…real quick.great stuff,dont want to be necking it every night tho!

as toys19 says go to docs and get the meds i use them every morning if i dont i am usually in pain by mid afternoon and gaviscon wont sort it i am on them for life, as my body over produces acid

gazman

As toys19 says a trip to the docs will no doubt sort it out very quickly. Either a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), the most effective drug (they pretty much stop the stomach producing ANY acid), or a H2 antagonist.

You can buy the later over the counter (ZANTAC – Ranitidine used to be prescription only) in lower dosages but quite expensive for a few days supply. But make sure you speak to the Pharmacist though if you are taking any other medications. Some "anti acids" and other drugs do not mix well or at least should not be taken at the same time.

It could potentially be weak LES but would probably (?) need an Upper GI endoscopy to confirm, which I doubt a doc would suggest unless the problem goes on for a couple of months and doesn't respond to quick course of PPI or H2 jobbies.

If it persists you really need to get it sorted. Left untreated for a long time acid reflux can result in to damage the oesophagus leading to cellular changes leading to a increased risk of cancer (Barretts' Oesophagus)

I suffered from recurring / persistent indigestion 12-18 months ago … I did quite a lot of googling. 😆

GJP – With the greatest respect yours is a good psot but I would urge you to slow down with the cancer word there – Barrett's Oesophagus is a precursor to Oesophagial Cancer in some ridiculously low percentage – its a long way from acid reflux to cancer, don't scare the horses.

Medication is not the first answer – diet is the first place to go along with lifestyle.

As has been posted – most likely reason is Chrimbo over indulgence coupled with the late night bevvy!
My suggestion would be to cut out the trigger foods for a bit (i.e. booze at night), and trial the gaviscon for a bit. If the indigestion (which is a different symptom from reflux) continues, visit the Doc for some 2 months of PPI.

If the symptoms come back after this, the doc'll decide if you should continue a longer course of PPI, or have the gastroscopy.

Or maybe you're cursed for giving dodgy pressies??

DrP

I've got barrett's oesophagus as a result of ignoring those symptoms for ages. The advice to see the doc is spot on, acid inhibitors like lanzoprazole are the answer defo. They are not the same as gaviscon. You can also look at dietary side of things, but see the doc, this is v common

I had Gastric Reflux a few years ago- felt like a huge weight on my chest. Awful. If its re-occurring why havent you been to the Docs earlier?