Coming off calcium carbonate
January 20, 2006 by kate baggott
Filed under Infancy
For the last half of my pregnancy, I had such terrible stomach acid that I stopped eating after 5pm and still had to sleep propped up on five pillows. I ate Rennies and Tums as if they were candy. I was so uncomfortable, that stomach acid was one of the reasons why my midwife and I decided to induce the baby at 38 weeks.
One of the reasons that my acid may have been so bad is that I was on a low-activity regimine due to placenta praevia for much of my pregnancy. The lack of exercise made my digestive system less efficient and, like the rest of my body, it lost its tone.
Delivery made my situation much, much better, but it’s still not good. After dealing with so much acid for so long, things are damaged and will need time and exercise to recover. Since I just remembered that I can get up and walk as much as I like now that I am no longer pregnant (habits, once formed are tough to break), the exercise is coming, but I still have trouble eating bread or anything with even a small amount of fat. Plus, I am worried that I have become dependent on calcium carbonate tablets like Rennies and Tums.
True, I don’t think there’s a lot of harm in chewing two chalk tablets every night before bed, but I’ve heard “the more you take, the more you need” so often that I am a bit concerned. So, I am tapering off my use and hoping, that will help my digestion recover too.
How did you deal with stomach acid during pregnancy and do you still have problems now that you’ve delivered?
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] Acid indigestion – My stomach acid was so bad for the last three months of pregnancy that I had to sleep propped up on five pillows. Now that I’ve delivered the problem is much improved, but I still need a dose of Tums or Rennies calcium carbonate tablets four of five nights a week. [...]
[...] Both my sister and a friend of mine are due to pop out their second children any day now. I suspect, at this point in their pregnancies, they are so full of baby and stomach acid that they can’t lie down properly. I remember too well the discomfort that caps itself off with the pain of childbirth followed immediately by adjusting to life with two children and having absolutely no time for myself. There was just work and more work. For about a week when the baby was 5 weeks-old, I had no idea who I was. [...]
[...] Acid indigestion – My stomach acid was so bad for the last three months of pregnancy that I had to sleep propped up on five pillows. Now that I’ve delivered the problem is much improved, but I still need a dose of Tums or Rennies calcium carbonate tablets four of five nights a week. [...]