We both have the problem and cannot raise the head of our bed as is often suggested for reflux problems. The bed is custom made and we can't get a different one as it just fits in our bedroom. It's the pier wall kind with built in drawers, etc and no adjustments are possible. So we've tried a variety of sleeping arrangements and special pillows without luck. Bud is sleeping on a wedge from Amazon that is (to me) like styrofoam. He doesn't like it but will use it. I haven't found anything as I sleep on my side. The Perfect answer seems like it would be medium firm with a soft covering and long enough to hit your waist or at least somewhere near it. If there is such a thing, I WANT one! We follow all the rules of not eating near bedtime, no spicy food, etc. Ir must be that somebody makes a good pillow/wedge for this common problem.

Hmmm... I am a full-timer so I just park on an incline and I was going to suggest that but it sounds like you are in a house.Sometimes I forget people live in houses that don't roll, lol.Sorry.

I sleep on my left side. That's my only option for several reasons I won't go into. My first question... Have you gone to a Chiropractor? I was scheduled for surgery in 1994 and went to a chiropractor who in 10 minutes gave me such relief that I cancelled the surgery.So that's where I'd send you first.2nd. Find out about neutral water. Non acid water. I found a chiropractor that sells it. I buy 4 gallons at a time and it lasts me about a month. I drink other water too during the day but drinking this in the evening has been something that's helped a lot.Don't get suckered into taking a bunch of "purple pills" to reduce acid. You need acid to digest food. You need to find a way to digest food faster. If you don't break down your food, you rob your body of all nutrition and you'll be tired all the time and wonder why.Now... to answer your question about pillows. I've bought wedges and all kinds of pillows in various shapes and density. I use a pillow filled with syrofoam pellets... and a perfectly rectangular pillow (Sleep country has them on the beds and I talked a sales person to sell me one along with the mattress we bought a little over a year ago...and it's been really good.) and then I have a neck pillow. Not the horse shoe shaped one... the one that looks like a dog bone. So those are the 3 that I use for my head/shoulders. Along with those I have a long round pillow that is like a sofa pillow, and I put it between my knees to help the pain in my hips/back. After years of sleeping on my side...with my head elevated... and probably the extra weight I seem to put on each year doesn't help... the pillow between my knees has been required.GERD will cause scarring in your throat if you don't figure out a way to stop it from happening. It could cause cancer in your throat, too. The scarring in my throat made it very difficult to swallow soft foods. Tuna fish on Toast got caught in my throat once and I almost passed out before it finally went down far enough for me to breath. Drinking an ounce or two of Cold Leaf processed Aloe a day (not the watery kind found in gallon jugs in Wal-Mart). you want the kind found in health food stores in quart bottles... that healed my throat and in about six months the scarring was reduced where I could swallow much easier.I have sleep apnea, too, and sleep with a machine now. Big help. Life saving and life changing for me. Before that I had a few episodes where acid came up into my ear tubes, sinus area, mouth and my lungs ... quite the fun to wake up to that. Throat closing up so bad, it was very difficult to breath...and the pain was something else. SO... to much information, I know. But GERD will only get worse as you get older if you don't get a handle on it. Pillows help.The Aloe and PH balanced water are worth looking into.

I use a wedge, but not for GERD. I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond. It does not go down to my waist, so I'm not sure it's what your looking for. I've been using it for years. It's made of foam. Good luck in your search. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=101538

The purple pills work well for me. I get the generic omeprazole.I also take Pro-Biotics and Fiber pills. I order the pro-biotics off the internet, getting the strongest available. They really help.Rarely have the night-time GERD issues anymore. (Also have IBS and this regimen really helps.).I have sleep apnea too. My sleep doctor said that GERD can be a symptom of sleep apnea. Might want to have that checked out.

CA POPPY,I use a wedge and it works quite well. My wife bought it for me after my cancer surgery in '07. I will get you the info as soon as we can find it.

Anybody know a good GERD pillow/wedge? | Good Sam Community

mdamerell
Explorer
Mar 17, 2013
The bed in the camper is a pedestal/storage box. I removed the decking/platform. Cut a 2x4 from corner to corner to make two wedges. Mounted them on top of the factory frame with some additional cross supports and reattached the decking/platform. Still have access to storage underneath.

Custom made my bed at home for the 4" tilt. That and 20mg of Omeprazole and I'm good to go. Tilting my bed works the best for me. Sometime you have to think on top of the box ;)
emzee
Explorer
Mar 17, 2013
wow lots of Omeprazole users in here. I am also on Omeprazole 20 mg. works for me!!
CA_POPPY
Explorer
Mar 17, 2013
wny_pat wrote:
For GERD?? Mine is called OMEPRAZOLE 20MG. No problems unless I quit using it.

Oh, yes, we have both taken Protonix for 12 years and every other variety of proton pump inhibitor before that, not to mention Tums, Rolaids and the Alka Seltzer my dad took all his adult life. They do not change the fact if you have a hiatal hernia, though. That's a weak valve at the top of the stomach. If that valve happens to let go while you're asleep, big problem. Drs discourage long-term use of this class of drug, but I don't know how we avoid it. Sleeping on a slant is easier said than done. Also,the surgery to repair this type of hernia is a tough one and few patients actually have it.
Rolin
Explorer
Mar 25, 2013
Omeprazole is good stuff, but when you do some damage and can't get it under control, 1 spoon full of Aloe Vera gel from health food store 1 hr before eating (along with Omeprazole taken 1/2 hr before eating) has helped a number of people get their Gerd under control again. No longer have to elevate the bed.
Gary_
Explorer II
Mar 26, 2013
I have a prescription for PANTOPRAZOLE, the generic equivalent of PROTONIX. I have taken 1 pill a day every morning for about 5 years. Before this I always had a round plastic container in my pocket with some sort of anti-acid. Haven't had a bout with GERD in years now. Good Luck.
wny_pat1
Explorer
Mar 26, 2013
CA POPPY wrote:
wny_pat wrote:
For GERD?? Mine is called OMEPRAZOLE 20MG. No problems unless I quit using it.

Oh, yes, we have both taken Protonix for 12 years and every other variety of proton pump inhibitor before that, not to mention Tums, Rolaids and the Alka Seltzer my dad took all his adult life. They do not change the fact if you have a hiatal hernia, though. That's a weak valve at the top of the stomach. If that valve happens to let go while you're asleep, big problem. Drs discourage long-term use of this class of drug, but I don't know how we avoid it. Sleeping on a slant is easier said than done. Also,the surgery to repair this type of hernia is a tough one and few patients actually have it.
Hiatal hernia?? I don't have the upper esophageal sphincter muscle at all. Straight drop into the stomach. Went nuts for years trying to figure out what was wrong. Way to many trips to emergency rooms and way to many Barium swallow X-rays trying to figure it out. They said that they could not find anything. Finally found a doc who sent a scope down my throat and the sphincter muscle was completely missing and had severe GERD. They said that they could open me up and tie it, but I opted for the proton pump inhibitor. Took Zantac in the beginning, but it quit working. But the omeprazole has been working very well for years now.
Retired_andLove
Explorer
Apr 04, 2013
Lansoprazole is my answer for GERD. Nothing worked for relief. Watched diet. Ate nothing after 6pm. Slept with head elevated. Tried many meds with no relief. Was afraid to go to sleep because I would wake up choking. Many times knowing that would be the way I would die. Dr. finally tried Precacid. Expensive but it worked. I now buy it in Mexico for about 16 cents a day. I've only had GERD a couple of times in the last two or three years and that was because of stupidity on my part.
mimi55
Explorer
Apr 08, 2013
Home trends magazine sells a wedge pillow. My husband has one. When it starts getting a little flat, I put it in the rear window of RV. The sun helps fluff it back.
CA_POPPY
Explorer
Jun 19, 2013
This is what we've ended up with. They met our criteria of long enough to hit the small of our back for support and soft enough to sleep on. We do use a small pillow along with them. We bought the 10" height. You don't really need the fleece cover as it comes with a nice velour cover. Anyway, check them out all you reflux people. I'm excited to not wake up with a reflux problem every morning. Having less backache, too.

Folding Wedge

Forum Discussion

Anybody know a good GERD pillow/wedge?

About RV Tips & Tricks

Related Content

Re: Residential fridge door locks

Re: Residential Refrigerator question

Re: Tips for people with back pain

Camper "nose" condensation

Re: Sloped wall for a bead headboard