Does Your Heartburn?
It's an awful feeling isn't it. Heartburn. There's not too many
who haven't experienced it at some stage in their lives in the
western world. You know the feeling. The pain associated with it
is bad enough let alone the regret you also suffer through
knowing you could have prevented it this time.
How does the regret go? Let me enlighten you. You suddenly sit
upright in bed in the middle of the night. It's like someone
took a torch and lit your stomach. You think... "I knew I
shouldn't have tried to stuff that extra piece of fried chicken
in ...aaggh!" Or "I knew I shouldn't have eaten spicy tonight.
But it looked and tasted so good. When will I ever learn. Never
again...never again! It hurts so much... please stop!
Hey don't worry. I've been in that situation many times. But I'm
happy to say I've been almost heartburn free for several years
just through taking some simple steps. Just like my friend Kate
from Atlanta. I rang Kate the other day and funny enough,
heartburn came up in discussion. Oh no, don't worry, we're not a
couple of hypocondriacs who constantly discuss our medical
conditions everytime we chat. But we did reminisce on this one
occasion.
I asked Kate how she's feeling knowing she loved to indulge.
"Hey, I know what you're getting at but let me tell you buddy,
I'm letting heartburn go," she forcibly replied.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I've made a few simple changes. Ain't no way I'm going through
that again to that extent," she says with the relief noticeable
in her tone.
"What changes; what extent?" I asked revving her up knowing she
would react because of the lectures I'd given her in the past
about avoiding heartburn. Maybe I just wanted to get a "you told
me so" out of her.
There was a slight pause on the other end.
"Well Dino, without trying to sound like I've become a wowser...
no more excessise amounts of fried food; spicy food is
definitely out; since we last caught up I've lost a good deal of
weight and you know my habit of trying to fit into clothes two
sizes too small?"
"Do I ever," I'd respond sarcastically.
"Careful," she says in a threatening voice. "Anyway, they're all
a thing of the past. I'm not going through heartburn again as
long as I can help it. No more feeling that my chest is on fire.
No more not being able to lie down or sitting back. That feeling
of starting at the bottom of your stomach and burning through
your body. No buddy boy, I've taken steps."
Sounding stunned I'd ask... "What, no more alcohol?"
"Heeeyy, in moderation," would be her swift reply.
"Sounds like you're about ready to join the order of the nuns,"
I'd respond with a smirky tone.
With a forceful giggle she'd admit..."I'd look good wearing
fashionable headwear and a long gown!"
Kate decided to make some simple changes. So did I. For me,
heartburn got to a stage similar to visiting the dentist. I had
gum problems several years ago which constituted regular visits
to the dentist. Despite his best efforts to make me feel as
comfortable as possible each visit resulted in some degree of
pain. Pain was always my ongoing memory of a dental visit. So
much so that in the end, I kept thinking to myself... "enough is
enough, I can't stand the pain anymore!" So you know what I did?
I started taking the dentist's advice and started flossing my
teeth everyday and started cleaning my teeth everyday.
The same "pimple" burst with my heartburn. A tweak here and a
tweak there and voila!
No more regrets. No more I "shoulda" - "coulda" - "woulda." And
you know what? It's been just great!