Is there any rhyme or reason?

My nighttime heartburn and acid reflex has gotten even worse. Well, maybe not worse, but more irritable.

Every night when I crawl into bed, I naturally turn to my left side. And I'll lay there for awhile, but I never fall asleep quickly. So of course, there comes a point when I'm uncomfortable and turn over. Like clockwork, as soon as I begin the turn to my right side, my mouth fills with acid and the burning sensation takes over.

So why is that? What is different about laying on my right side?

I was so irritated last night about the whole thing, I was determined to look it up first thing this morning to see if there was any rhyme or reason.

This is what I found:

A study conducted by the Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia found that sleeping on you left side is the best way to avoid nighttime heartburn. Sleeping on your right side may increase your heartburn symptoms because the acid takes longer to clear out of your esophagus when you lay on your right side. While sleeping on your back can allow acid to slip back into your esophagus more often, sleeping with your head elevated, such as on a wedge pillow, will allow gravity to keep the acid in your stomach.

And this was a tip on WebMD:

Try sleeping on your left side. Some studies have shown that this helps with digestion, simply because of a quirk of the body's design. Sleeping on your right side seems to be most likely to aggravate symptoms.

So, I guess it is just one of those weird quirks of our body. Needless to say, me and my Tums have become very good friends, and I do not lay down without having them within arms reach. Hopefully, only a few more weeks of this discomfort...then we move into the sleepless nights due to little hungry cries. :)