Magic Gumbo

Managing my heartburn has been something that requires ongoing changes in strategy. I was just taking Tums, then shifted to generic Zantac, and am now taking generic Pepcid. Those of you who know how much I hate taking most western medicines know this means the heartburn has made me pretty miserable. It has kept me from falling asleep at night, woken me up in the middle of the night, and prevented me from participating in activities that involve bending my abdomen in the least (which around here is normally just stooping to pick something up off the floor, so I guess that's not a big loss, except poor Ryan has to take on more than his share of the house work).

People have suggested cutting out flour, white flour (or any white starches in general), spicy foods, greasy foods, or soda, not lying down for an hour after eating... the list goes on an on. But nothing has worked consistently. Drinking water before the drive to work has caused worse heartburn than eating a burger and fries for dinner. The medicine has only granted partial relief. I often have to fall asleep sitting up in bed. Last night I learned that lying on my left side caused less reflux than lying on the right. The most frustrating thing is that plain water seems to exacerbate the condition far more than carbonated drinks do. I am eagerly anticipating the day when I can gulp down a tall glass of water without consequence.

Recently though, I think I've found a formula that works. For breakfast: Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster quenches my thirst and tides me over almost till lunch. Dinner requires a little more variety -- but standard American square meals (meat + vegetable + starch) seem to work well. On Mardi Gras, however, Ryan made gumbo. It was a little spicy, and it was served with white rice and white bread -- but mostly, it was delicious and did not cause heartburn! I got the best night of sleep I'd had in weeks that night. I ate it again the next night. It worked again. So Ryan made a second batch of what we now call "Magic Gumbo" a few days later. I've eaten leftovers for lunch and dinner over the past few days.

So right now Ryan is cooking salmon and asparagus (yum) and, on the side, whipping up a third batch of Magic Gumbo. This batch, however, will not be consumed immediately but will be frozen for easy meals after the baby comes. Even if my heartburn subsides after the baby as one would expect, the Magic Gumbo will get to work its magic on my taste buds once again. My husband pretty much rules.