I was up Googling how to get rid of heartburn in the middle of the night a few years ago and came across this. If you find yourself in the exact same position this is the instant cure I found that works.
If there's anything I've learned about being a grown up it's that there's a lot of weird shit that goes on inside your body as you age. Holes get bigger, muscles get smaller and plantar warts appear even though you aren't a teenage boy on a swim team.
Add random heartburn to that list. I used to think I had some type of rare and special disease but as it turns out .............. I have gas. Gas in itself isn't all that bad. Especially if you make your living by belching the alphabet (which I do not).
It's when you can't get the hell rid of the gas that it's a problem. When it just builds up and builds up inside your tiny little locked down stomach.
There's no movement going on in my gut or intestines. You know how your stomach gurgles throughout the day? I have no gurgling. There are no gurgles. I'm gurgleless. I bend, I stretch, I move around. I even hop on the spot in an attempt to burp myself (which actually works). I do Yoga poses entitled "Wind Releaser" and twist back and forth trying to force some kind of movement out of my stomach and convince it that everything's O.K. No one is attacking it.
I have no stress, I'm not bothered. Unless you count how stressed and bothered I am by the excruciating pain in my methane filled gut.
And then I burp (or otherwise) and everything is fine with the world.
The other thing I get the odd time, which is equally excruciating, is heartburn. I have a very important sounding condition called, gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD for short. Basically it means angry acid makes its way out of my stomach and up towards oesophagus.
Table of Contents
What's GERD?
Gerd's a condition that allows acid from your stomach to travel up your esophagus causing heartburn. The muscle that separates your stomach from your esophagus relaxes at the wrong time which allows acid to escape and make its way up your throat. The Mayo Clinic knows all about GERD - read about it here if you weirdly want more information on it.
To help stop the symptoms of GERD I take a medication. Because of that medication I don't get heartburn symptoms from GERD a lot, maybe 2 or 3 times a year but it's always when I'm sleeping (that just makes it more noticeable because the acids can make their way up) and it always wakes me up wondering what the hell is going on, and did why did I eat a pot of blazing fire in the middle of my sleep?
How to Get Rid of Heartburn?
There is one thing you probably have at home right now that will help to instantly get rid of heartburn: mustard. A teaspoon of regular, squeeze bottle, mustard can instantly take the pain of heartburn away.
You can also:
- Stand up.
- Chew gum to dilute the acid and help wash it away. There's also bicarbonate gum that will neutralize the acid!
- Drink a spoon of apple cider vinegar.
- Chew Gaviscon tablets.
- Eat a piece of candied ginger. (this works great if you're nauseated as well)
Why Does Mustard Work?
Mustard acting as a remedy for heartburn isn't just woo-hoo hooey, there's a scientific reason behind why it will stop your pain immediately. Mustard is the perfect natural cure for heartburn because it's alkaline. Therefore, it will neutralize the acid in your stomach.
Yes. A teaspoon of mustard. Regular old, Heinz or French's mustard. Eat it. If it bothers you imagine there's an Ikea hotdog underneath it. The first time I did this I remember almost gagging. The hotdog thing helped me out a lot. Now I kindda enjoy my teaspoon of mustard.
Heartburn at Night
If you get heartburn when you're sleeping, run to the kitchen and take a teaspoon of mustard. Before you get back into bed plump up your pillows and lay down with your head and chest as elevated as possible. You don't have to be sitting straight up but the higher your head is the harder it is for acid to travel up your throat.
I've heard of and tried all of the other tricks. Salty water, soda water, cider vinegar, Gaviscon, Tums .... all of it. And the only thing that has ever, actually, truly worked instantly ... is mustard.
Discovering mustard works as a home remedy was almost as shocking as when I discovered my frozen yogourt tampon cure for yeast infections.
It does NOT work 100% of the time, but it works most of the time. So if you're up in the middle of the night right now, stop reading already and go and eat a teaspoon of mustard to see if it helps.
I've had gut issues for as long as I can remember. I don't think I stress about stuff or get tense, but my stomach thinks otherwise. My stomach thinks I stress out A LOT and it, being the extremely thoughtful organ that it is, gets angry for me. Angry like a nest of wasps made out of acid. So my stomach takes care of all the stress and anxiety I feel, without having to bother my pretty little head about it.
I'll believe in my mind that I'm moving along fine in life not being bothered by a thing when my stomach will start to tighten up. Then I'll feel a bit bloaty maybe. Then I'll notice my stomach is tightening, hard as a rock and ballooning to approximately the same size as a Water Buffalo. You know how when a country thinks conditions are unsafe and it's under attack, it'll go into lockdown? My gut goes into lockdown. Like North Korea.
I can't absolutely and completely guarantee that this is going to work for you but I can tell you it's worked for a lot of other people (you'll see proof in the comment section) and definitely works for me when Kim Jong-un rears his ugly head (and weird haircut) in my gut.
A spoon full of sugar may make the medicine go down, but a spoon full of mustard can destroy a dictator.
If you have another proven heartburn trick let us all know. Not something "you've heard works" or something you've read about please, only things that have actually, for real, worked for you. The Internet is a big fat liar so everything you read on it isn't always true. Except this mustard trick. It's true.
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Linda J Howes-Smyth
I usually do the teaspoon or so of baking soda in a glass of water. Works for me. Interested to try the mustard sometime. The WHEELHOUSE comment was definitely interesting.
Chandra
I have had great results with fermented pickle juice, (Bubbie's Dills) for any stomach condition; indigestion, acid reflux, & nausea. Even when pickles are gone 😱, there is a jar with juice for this health issue, until I can get more pickles.
Lynn
Well I be…
Husband has terrible heart burn , I say chronic he disagrees.
I only wish I could get him to try spoon of mustard !
whitequeen96
My 89 yr. old mother had awful heartburn but I didn't want her to use prescription stuff because it can cause problems for some people, and the rebound heartburn when you stop is dreadful. I bought her 100 little mustard packets (like you'd get at a hot dog stand) and she took one every night and had relief within 5 minutes.
This is so counter-intuitive, and the poor dear's memory was gone, so I had to re-convince her to do this every night. It was a hard sell!
Rebecca Mueller
Pickled ginger has proven very effective for me. Almost immediate relief. Helps that I love it!
Debbie Rivera-Collins
I was having a lot of reflux several years ago. I tried everything, even mustard. It worked sometimes but not always. I was researching acid reflux and discovered that it is caused by Hypochlorhydria https://www.healthline.com/health/hypochlorhydria (not having sufficient acid), which is contrary to what I have always been told. I was speaking to someone about it and they told me to try Bile Salts and Betaine HCI Pepsin with Bitters. I have been taking it for years and it absolutely has helped my reflux tremendously. I just purchased a bottle of Super Enzymes which has Betain HCI, Ox Bile Extract, Papain, Bromelain, and Pancreatin. I figured I'd try it and see how it compares to the salts and Betain since I will only have to purchase one product and not two. Anyway, I highly recommend trying these types of supplements.
Carol
Karen, I'm not surprised that you used 'nauseated' instead of 'nauseous' but I'm glad I didn't have to get irritated because another person has used the wrong word again. You are way smarter than the average.
WHEELHOUSE
Sorry, but I think you're a bit confused here.
Firstly Mustard is not alkaline, it's acidic. As is cider vinegar (obviously). The reason those two work is because sometimes the stomach has too LITTLE acid in it so your tummy dumps acid in to raise the level. Unfortunately some of that acid comes up your throat. When you add mustard or vinegar you are helping to raise the acid level in your stomach which causes it to rebalance and settle down.
In other cases, you may have eaten foods that caused too MUCH acid (like spicy foods, BBQ, etc) and the acid is coming up your esophagus. Taking alkaline cures like bicarbonate and chewing gum reduces the acid gain rebalancing the levels resulting in a tamping down of acid reflux.
The fact that mustard always works probably point to the fact that you have chronically low stomach acid (not that mustard is a cure all for everyone).
Just thought you should know.
The Team at @WHEELHOUSEcntr
whitequeen96
Very interesting - thanks!
John
Yes! I suffer on and off from this, though now I'm more of the strong, silent gerd type, ha. This said, there are two sphincters long your esophagus, UES (upper) and LES (lower). When the stomach acid is too low, the LES gets a signal to relax a little, and if there is pressure in the stomach, it takes the path of least resistance up the esophagus. By lowering the pH of the stomach, the LES gets the signal to tighten up again. Mustard, ACV, Betaine HCl all lower the pH of the stomach to help the LES tighten back up. This said, years of being a lazy little a-hole due to improper pH, it may take a little time to repair the functionality of the LES, so adding acid after a large meal will help this function as well as help you digest your food better. (If your stomach isn't as acidic as it should be, you won't digest your food correctly, leading to more gas and bloating as well as poor absorption of certain minerals and such - see others comments regarding the -prazole and bone density to help piece these clues together.) And yes, sometimes the acid is too acidic and too much, and this burns different, for lack of a more vivid and entertaining way to describe it. Baking Soda can help calm this, but be advised, this is a very small percent of the time and it is almost always the fact that the stomach is not acidic enough. As for experience, one night I was seemingly peacefully sleeping when my stomach decided to stage an uprising. The acid not only made it past the LES, but the upper a-hole decided to allow a hall pass through it too, and before I knew I was in the middle of a hostile takeover, I breathed in. The. Absolute. Worst. Thing. To. Do. Ever. F.M.L. I truly thought this was it, the wheezing, the panic, the confusion, the gasping for air... Me ill prepared and certainly whatever the polar opposite of caffeinated is... given the fact I was soundly sleeping just sixty seconds ago. Baking Soda, some sort of antacid liquid drink, then Stay Calm Magnesium mixed with Baking Soda, anything to at least alkalize the acid that was coming up... I made it through, took over an hour to calm everything down enough to prop my body up on a couch with pillows to pretend to obtain the rest of the quality zzzzs needed to be functional the next day. So yes, I did a crap load of research then self inflicted R&D until I figured out a few things. I wish you all luck, great articles, binge reading all about chickens right now. Love the info and humor!
Karen
Thanks John! You seem fun to have around. Welcome to my blog! ~ karen
Terry
I was on Prilosec for years 15 at least. I read that applesauce will get rid of it. My husband now keeps little lunch size in the refrigerator for me and he also makes sure I have fugi apples in the fruit bowl, because I love having one every night after dinner. I have not taken a Prilosec tablet in almost 2 years! Maybe that could help someone also.
Thanks for all your tips love reading your blog! Happy Thanksgiving
Ann
Tums. When I was pregnant with my son I had horrible heartburn. So bad that I spent the last month of my pregnancy sleeping in a hideous Naugahyde recliner (the only piece of furniture my husband had when we moved in together). OBGYN approved. It was a lifesaver.
Donna MacDonald
A nurse friend of mine advised me to take two tablespoons of vinegar (any kind). Works in about 30 seconds!
Marsha Marcarian
How about a cure for nighttime leg cramps?
Donna MacDonald
Drink more water - that works for me.
Paula
Look into taking magnesium supplements in the evening or with supper. Another option is to rub magnesium oil on your legs before bedtime. I would probably first try an epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) bath before bed. As with all health advice, check with your GP first. Hope you find relief.
Violet Atkins
CALM magnesium citrate gummies or drink powder. I have RLS (restless leg syndrome) and my hubby gets horrible leg cramps. This CALM stuff is the bomb! Take an hour or so before bed. 😊
ROBIN CARTER
This stuff works! Walmart has it. Also water with electrolytes'
"Theraworx Relief" Fast-Acting Spray for Leg Cramps, Foot Cramps, and Muscle Soreness
Jane
Be careful with magnesium supplements! After I added these to my regime to help with leg cramps, I gradually developed another problem and it took me months to figure out why I couldn’t trust a fart!! Too much magnesium can cause unexpected and explosive derrière issues 😳😬 💩
Ruth O
Try pickle juice. Works for me every time!!
Chandra
Yes 🙌🏻
Laurie
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-fix-a-hiatal-hernia-yourself#other-natural-remedies
Scroll down to the “warm water method”. This can work for some of us. Worked for me and others I have known. If you possibly have a hiatal hernia your stomach is pooching up beyond the diaphragm and releases stomach acid where it doesn’t belong. This method can relocate that puppy back to where it belongs. Easy to try. May need to do it a few days in a row. Acid back where it belongs.
Also, sometimes the problem is low acid…. Especially for some older folks. That’s why apple cider vinegar ( an acid) sometimes works for people.
Be well.
Debbie
Karen your blog is so informative! 🥸
And hilarious. 😂Are you sure you don’t want to go into stand up comedy?
Susan
I have had great success by eating an apple when I have heartburn. It doesn't work for everyone but it does for me every time.
Kate
When heartburn raises it’s ugly head, also try sleeping on your left side. It works (based on the anatomy of the stomach) but now will combine with mustard. Thanks Karen
Nancy
Thanks for the tip!
Susan Claire
This happens to me on a regular basis, just last night in fact. The worst is when I aspirate some of that vile bile-I wake up choking and burning. I have never heard of the mustard trick, but I will certainly try it next time I wake up feeling like I swallowed a volcano.
Rachel
OMG - I know exactly what you mean! This happens to me if I eat within an hour or going to bed, or eat way too much
whitequeen96
I feel like I'm going to die when that happens! My throat shuts tight and I can't breathe - agh! And it actually can cause serious problems, like pneumonia. The mustard trick helps, plus sleeping with the top half of your body elevated (not just your head). Bricks under the head of the bed can help.
Julie
I have this too...i always wonder what this is actually called....i have had heartburn and this ain't it!
Paula
I had exactly the same issues for almost a year and it got worse. It was my gallbladder, I had surgery last week. All better now.