Any experience with GERD? Chronic cough? During pregnancy?

[DesertBlossom]

I'm trying to self-diagnose myself here. For years (a decade?) every so often if I had a coughing fit, it sounds like a deep seal bark. It doesn't happen often, but it's there. 

The last couple weeks I have had an awful cough and after googling symptoms of different types of coughs, I'm inclined to think it's GERD. The last couple weeks my kids have had mild coughs and colds and I've have felt mildly under the weather, but nothing really outside the normal "exhausted and tired" while being pregnant with my 7th baby. But my cough will not go away, and when it started it was an intense pain deep in my chest. I get heartburn with every pregnancy and I have used every single remedy under the sun. I do "natural" stuff for as long as it works and then take OTC meds if it gets to that point.  

This pregnancy I thought I was handling it okay. It had started to get bad and then someone suggested lemon water, so I started drinking that in the evenings and my symptoms improved significantly. But now this cough....  I swear I've got permanent esophagus damage or something. It's awful. 

About a week ago I started taking generic prevacid and think it's helping. The burning pain when I cough is gone, but the cough is still there. And I don't feel any symptoms of heartburn, just the cough. 

Anyone deal with this?  

[gardenmom5]

I had this after pneumonia in pregnancy.  ime - antacids can make things worse in the long term.   it sounds counter intuitive, nevertheless I've found it true more often than not for myself - the stomach actually isn't being efficient in producing acid, and it causes the heartburn.  I drink water with lemon juice.  (no sugar, sugar requires more acid to digest).  usually it will settle things down.

If it's no where near a mealtime - I will take 1/2 tsp of baking soda in a glass of warm water.

the western diet really increases acid levels in the body, and lowering them has a positive impact through the body.

[DesertBlossom]

15 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I had this after pneumonia in pregnancy.  ime - antacids can make things worse in the long term.   it sounds counter intuitive, nevertheless I've found it true more often than not for myself - the stomach actually isn't being efficient in producing acid, and it causes the heartburn.  I drink water with lemon juice.  (no sugar, sugar requires more acid to digest).  usually it will settle things down.

If it's no where near a mealtime - I will take 1/2 tsp of baking soda in a glass of warm water.

the western diet really increases acid levels in the body, and lowering them has a positive impact through the body.

I have found lemon to be the most helpful actually.  I wish I had discovered that 6 pregnancies ago. But I thought I read a long time ago about reflux in pregnancy being a physical thing-- that flap keeping stomach acid down not working right or something. I can't remember.

[Carol in Cal.]

I found lemon a little too harsh when I was pregnant, so I used organic apple cider vinegar whenever I had heartburn.  I would put about a tablespoon into a cup of water and sip it slowly, and usually it settled things right down.  

I do have GERD now, and I take Prilosec for it when it's bad.  That helps, and it also prevents the reflux from being acidic enough to burn.  But what really cures it for me is drinking tea made from a lot of fresh ginger steeped in boiling water until it's down to room temp.  I don't mind the taste, but those who do sometimes add a little local honey.