I used to have reflux real bad, too, Slip. A long time ago before I had my insides rearranged after a ruptured appendix. It's a miserable, bad deal. I would wake up at night practically choking on the acid that had backed up nearly to my throat. It was real bad during pregnancy, too, which is common. I never had it too bad during the day, luckily. Now I have to be checked regularly for changes in my esophagus that might signal early cellular changes that could lead to cancer down the road. Delta9's right that, money or not, it's important to have it correctly diagnosed and treated. Here's some info:
GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Acid Reflux, Heartburn) by MedicineNet.com

The things they told me to do to to help cut down the chances of it happening were to elevate the head of my bed a few inches so I wasn't lying flat at night. To not eat anything, but especially not greasy foods or meats, which take longest to digest, within four to six hours of going to bed. Not to drink alcohol, which can increase acid production and also relax that lower esophageal sphincter that is supposed to keep things from backing up and out of your stomach. And to take one of the OTC acid blockers like Zantac, Pepsid AC or Tagamet regularly during the day and at least an hour before bed to block the creation of stomach acid. Nowadays, Prilosec is also available OTC, and it works well, too. They're not all acid blockers, but that's the end result they have. The link below has some good info about them:
Antacids and Acid Reducers: OTC Relief for Heartburn and Acid Reflux -- familydoctor.org

Good luck, hun! Real sorry you're having to endure that. It's awful.