Heartburn & Reflux During Swimming

For the past 2-3 years, I've struggled with heartburn and acid reflux. Sadly, this has significantly impacted my swimming. In the past few weeks, I've spoken with a few other swimmers who have also experienced the burn, and I've learned that I'm not as alone as I've felt.

My symptoms started outside of the pool, with post-meal discomfort, but quickly progressed to nightly acid reflux. I visited several doctors, and had some tests done to check for gallbladder issues. On my most recent PCP appointment, after I explained everything I had tried (vats of Pepto, buckets of Tums, non-stop rounds of OTC medication, h. pylori treatment, cranking the head of the bed up, sleeping upright, cutting out foods), the doctor told me "everyone has heartburn, it's normal" and gave me a referral to a psychologist. To be clear, I'm 100% pro-therapy, but in this case, I was pretty adamant my symptoms weren't going to be cured with something other than medical testing and gastrointestinal intervention.

Without getting a referral to a GI specialist to do more tests, I'm finding things that work for me. It seems intuitive, but I've learned that I can't keep eating like a swimmer. I can't eat large quantities of food, and I have to eat a minimum of 3 hours before doing anything horizontal, including sleeping and swimming. I have to be careful eating anything spicy, greasy, or tart, and not risk it before swimming or dinner. No more peanut butter for feeds or snacks before swims.

This has come with a bit of a learning curve, as for morning swims, I have to go on a relatively empty stomach, which also causes nausea if I get really hungry during a longer practice. If I plan to swim in the middle or end of the day, I have to time lunch or dinner meals with a wide berth around the swim start time. I'm also having to find new nutrition to drink and eat during swims. I used to feed on salted oranges, Perpetuem, and Gatorade. Unfortunately, almost all of those items cause tummy trouble, so I've had to experiment with more baby food with oatmeal, taking smaller but more frequent sips of liquids, and trying out new foods, like applesauce. I've also found that taking some antacids before swimming helps considerably too.

If I start feeling like I'm about to have a bad reflux situation while swimming, I've found that starting doing breaststroke, rather than sticking to freestyle or attempting backstroke to try to maintain speed, is the most consistent way to make it through the discomfort and resume training/the set as quickly as possible. I'm also finding that doing open turns, rather than fighting through flip turns, helps reduce the number of reflux "attacks" during rough pool practices.

I have good and bad days, depending on whether I make food mistakes or just have high stomach acid days. But it's comforting to know I'm not alone, and other folks might be out there not having the tum of their lives while horizontal.