I've had struggles with heartburn ever since I was in my mid-thirties. I was stunned to find out that I was having acid reflux issues at night while I was sleeping. I started experiencing horrendous chest pain, as if I were having a heart attack, and it turned out that I'd developed scarring in my esophagus. Fortunately, all I needed was the "magic" purple pill, Nexium, and my scarring healed while my stomach acid was controlled. I'm doing fine now at 42, still taking my nexium and trying to stay away from the foods/drinks that cause heartburn as much as I can. Kristin Park http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com

Kristin, I'm glad you found a medication that helps you. I have been lucky in that my heartburn was all pregnancy related and left literally the second the baby came out but I was miserable with it. The first time I got it I thought there was some kind of heated object on my chest! I used Zantac daily during my pregnancies and it worked pretty well. Both of my daughters had GERD as babies, with our last child having it quite severely and was on medication for months. She arched so much and cried, and had to sleep sitting up, and all her doctor could say was keep up the meds and that she'd grow out of it. She did - fortunately- at about 8 or 9 months old. I'm glad we don't remember being babies!

according to the American Journal of Gastroenterology, report June 2005 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/5078... Another thing for people to consider.

I found out that I didn't know enough, which was surprising, since I am constantly dealing with my own digestive health. Take the very short quiz: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/dige...

Thanks for recommending this Alysia. Apparently, I don't know enough as well. The most enlightening question on the quiz for me had to do with a chronic cough and digestive health. Think most of us assume coughs are rooted in our respiratory system.