Acid Reflux Symptoms

Acid reflux symptoms can affect my sleeping drastically. Many times I have found myself abruptly awaken by fits of coughing caused by night time heartburn. With the busy schedule that I have, it can become quite difficult to get a much needed solid night of sleep in.
What seems to determine if I wake up, due to an acid reflux attack, is the type and quantity of food I had prior to going to bed. I have found specific foods can bring on my heartburn to different degrees, but eating large amounts of carbs in the late evening has to be the worst cause. It should go without saying for most, that munching on spicy chicken and pasta prior to bedtime probably won't help matters much, but in all reality I'm sure some of had late dinners like these.
Normally I try to have 4 to 5 small portions of food throughout the day. I found this to aid with digesting food a little easier since smaller meals are broken down faster. On days that I am super busy with work, and have to cram food in whenever possible, I usually suffer symptoms of GERD, or… gastroesophageal reflux disease near bedtime.
Here is some history of my gastric reflux problems…
Ongoing night time heartburn started for me in the latter part of my 30's. It was then that I found that whenever I ate spicy or acidic foods in the late evening, the gastroesophageal reflux disorder would disrupt my sleep. In the beginning I tried antacid tablets prior to lights out. Sometimes these helped, but most of the time they did not. I needed to find some good acid reflux remedies fast; otherwise I was in for more nights of abrupt, and very uncomfortable, coughing bouts. Unless you've encounter these yourself, it is difficult to understand the extent that these types of attacks can have on your body in the middle of the night. They can be best described as laryngopharyngeal reflux disease once the acid makes it way to the throat.
After I became wise to the effects of late night food and my reflux problems, I tried to adhere to eating small meals during the day as much as possible. I tried to avoid pasta, rice, or any starchy carbs as much as possible before going to bed. I found that if I ate foods such as chicken breast with broccoli or green beans, for my final meal before hitting the sack, that my acid reflux problems stayed to a minimum.
Another thing that I learned, when those pizza or fettuccine later dinners were unavoidable, was to take 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar after my meal. I was actually quite surprised at how well this worked at giving me acid reflux relief. This may not work for everyone, but it was a savior for me at times. Even using the standard plain vinegar has worked well for me too, although a little nastier to get down.
If you would like to share some of your home remedies, or are interested in more information on how I deal with acid reflux symptoms, please visit my site Acid Reflux Diet Help. for more information.
P.S. Be sure to always consult with your doctor if you have acid reflux symptoms or before trying any remedies.
About the Author
Joe's blog is full of acid reflux diet help and remedies that he uses. Check it out here. Acid Reflux Diet Help