"Supragastric Belching": anyone else have this?

I love the sense of humour everyone has on here, it really cheers me up. Thanks for the tip, I'll try it. It's so annoying having this. I know there are so many worse things out there for people to suffer with but this problem for me is just so relentless. Had a cinema date today after a meal out which was horrible for me. Didn't want him to put his arm around me because I had the gurgles all the way through the film :( :( :( it makes me so miserable. I need to find a boyfriend with the same problem so we can just gurgle together haha. If I find a solution I'll let you know.

Hi Beaude, I'm exactly the same. Milk helps me too and I've found sometimes but not always things like honey which coat the throat gives temporary relief. Also, lying down provides a lot of relief and I'm fine in the morning, just gets worse and worse as the day gets on. So frustrating!! Ruining my life!

I'm hoping you are the people that can help me. My 15 year old son woke up one morning (after being sick for a week) with constant burping. From the time he is awake til he goes to sleep. Never a sound during sleep. We came across the article about supragastric belching and it fits him perfectly! We have gone through GI testing, esphogram, medicine (Prilosec, Ominpazole), neurology, blood tests and speech therapy. We were pointed toward Baclofen as something that could help him, but after reviewing the side effects with the pediatrician, chose not to. Now I'm looking to find a person/persons/doctor/expert dealing with supragastric belching to help this go away. Who has this and who could you recommend??

Lego-

Welcome to Healing Well.

Hmmmm, blood freaks you out and you have to draw blood, LOL! Sorry, but sometimes I have to laugh at things like this. I'm a mechanic and hate getting greasy...Ironic.


Take care,
Bill

Wow quite old post. I'm facing the same problem. Sometimes i'm burping constantly, loud sounds. And sometimes i have to force burps to get rid of the feeling of something stuck in my esophagus and throat. I think it's the stuck air and esophagus stricture is making it worse. There are days when burping stops but the next day worse.

Uno wot the real problem is?? U are unknowingly swallowing air! I had the same problem for years n
Years n drove myself mad thinking I had somethin terrible. I did my full research and tried to stop breathing through my mouth and stop swallowing air when I ate.
Train urself to breathe through ur nose only and after a whole u will stop breathing through ur mouth and stop swallowing air! Serious.. Look it up if u don't believe me!! Swallowing air causes all these symptoms u describe

Hey guys!

I've also been having that gurgling sound, so at least It's comforting to see that I'm not alone. I find it very interesting that nervousnes/anxiety, specially anxiety for doing the gurgling sound seems to trigger it worse. I always dreaded the silent moments in class. When it became quite I'd get a cold wave of anxiety rushing through my body, and soon after i would gurgle unstoppable.

A good thing though, is that I have actually got it stop. I'm not sure exactly what it is I have done, but here are the clear connections I've seen through the years:

I've been on ppis for my gerd for about 4 years, and i noticed that when the type of ppi I was using stopped working, the gurgling was the first symptom to show. I managed this by simply switching ppis when it happened (I went from omeprazole to lansoperazole to pantoprazole and back to omeprazole and so on)

The other thing I think was connected to my gurgling was food intolerances/allergies. I'm telling you guys BE AWARE OF THE MILK!! Before, I was a really heavy milk consumer. Then I figured out I am a milk and gluten allergic (Non of the 100 test I took ever showed it), and when I stopped consuming them, either my gurgling disappeared or the ppis didn't stop working any more.

When I look back at it, it really was a vicious cycle: Hearthburn-->Acid-->Milk to neutrulize-->Gurgling and worse hearthburn from allergic reaction to milk-->More milk to neutrolize acid.

I've now stopped taking ppis for three weeks and the gurgling has not returned so I strongly believe it had something to do with my allergies.

I'm sure this is not everybodys cause for the problem, but it could really be worth a shot to eleminate allergens like milk and gluten from you diet for a while to see if it gets better.

My 7 year old daughter has this and i never knew exactly what caused it. She has asthma as well as allergies and she has gastro intestinal problems with her bowels sp with all of that i just figured it was due to that but it is very noticeable now and i can hear it all the time. Does anyone know what caused it? I would really like to know what i can do it cure it. I know it bothers her. Thank you!

fightin149

Welcome to Haling Well.

Air swallowing is a big cause of this. Those of us with GERD/LPR unknowingly swallow excessively due to the irritation on our throats. This is the bodies natural response. Unfortunately that introduces a lot more air into the throat and gut resulting in more gas, belching, gurgling, etc.

The way you breathe may or may not help. I am a nose breather and still had this issue. Still do sometimes.
I believe how you breathe while eating can be more effective. Also slowing down while eating and watching how and how much you drink with meals. Such as limiting straws or big gulps of liquid when drinking.

Since you said she has GI issues I am assuming she has a GI doc. Have you discussed this with him/her?
It could be a reflux issue.

Really watch how she eats and drinks and see if there is an issue there.

Take care,
Bill

I'm a medical student and I too have been dealing with this problem for decades. I've learned several things about this problem and some ways to deal with it. Like everyone else I've found these discussions and was disappointed to find there is no clear cause or solution. I burp (actual burp) maybe once every 2 months, and whether or not others can or can't burp, I would put money down that they too are having the same mechanical issue: Air travels up the esophagus and cannot escape. This happens to me almost every time I eat and it is particularly worse with sugar/starchy foods. I no longer drink soda, or beer (sad face). I've had an unremarkable upper endoscopy and I'm scheduled for a barium swallow soon. My thoughts are that this is caused by one of two things: Either a structural/anatomic barrier or a physiologic/neuromuscular problem. Here are my thoughts, followed by my temporary (but quick-fixing) solutions.

Muscular: This may be caused by spasm or increased tone of the upper esophageal sphincter. My GI doc told me that long-term GERD may produce acidic conditions that irritate this muscle and cause it to contract more. My endoscopy was negative, however this procedure also requires partial paralysis (in my case via IV propofol). If this was truly muscular in nature, the propofol would have relaxed the sphincter and led to a normal presentation during the exam. Possibly a false-negative.

Neuro: I have a history of decreased cervical lordosis (cervical spine straightening) and recently-diagnosed compression of my uppermost cervical vertabrae. It is possible that something somewhere is causing compression or irritation to my vagus nerve, which does have branches that innervate the upper esophageal region. While I don't have related problems (speech difficulty, etc) this has not yet been ruled-out. I recently noticed occasional 'choking' on water but I've always assumed this was by drinking too quickly. Not a huge detail, but something to mention. Daily cervical extension stretching may prove to be helpful if this is both a vagus problem and one caused in the upper cervical spine, but it's too early to tell at this point. On the topic of nerve problems, and still possibly unrelated, I have also had very cold hands and feet for as long as I can remember: another symptom associated with vagus nerve disorders (though I have not had any notable tachycardias or syncope). Still, worth mentioning.

Anatomic/structural: A straightened cervical spine leaves a slightly smaller space for the esophagus to occupy (between the trachea and vertebrae in the neck) than it does with typical anatomy. While this is likely insignificant I remain curious if this could still be contributing to the inability to burp. Upper endoscopy showed no strictures or Schatzki rings. There have been reports of gurgling due to 'pharyngeal pouches' (Zenker's diverticulum) but I imagine this too would have been seen during the endoscopy. Perhaps the barium swallow will show something different...

Solution: As some of you may have read, others have learned to expel the gas by "air vomiting." I have been doing this around 10-15 times a day, usually within 30 minutes after eating, and it does fix the problem. I do feel bad leaving class multiple times during a lecture but this is much less distracting/frustrating than sitting there dealing with it. I've gotten so used to this I have even done it with a toothbrush while driving on an (empty) highway. Thankfully I almost never bring up anything but air, and if I'm not sure I at least do it over a sink. Some people do eventually learn how to burp, but I've been doing this for 2-3 months now and I'm yet to figure it out. A friend of mine had the same problem, gagged himself with his toothbrush for a couple months and learned to mimic the motions enough to figure out how to burp on his own. We don't know what his problem was, but he seems to have fixed it. I am jealous... Other ways to reduce the problem: chew your food and chew it WELL. Avoid starches and sugars. Highly-acidic foods also seem to be related to worsened gurgling and I've recently started omeprazole. Lying on the back does help to facilitate movement of gas out the other end of the stomach and has proven to be very effective at stopping these goddarn gurgles when I get tired of gagging myself, but realistically I can't usually do this during the day.

So there's my story. I'm determined to find a solution and I'll be sure to keep you guys posted. If you have any related or associated conditions (neck pain/injury, unusually cold extremities, anything!) please list them here. The more associations we can find the better, because this problem clearly needs more attention.

I have had this problem for years and not even doctors can figure it out. I didn't think anybody else really had it or was even familiar with it until I found this blog about it just now! I also happen to be a college student at Oklahoma State and during testing times it can be extremely embarrassing. It's uncontrollable and annoying and a nuisance.

Whenever I think of supragastric belching, I think of you, theacidrefluxman! Thumbs up!! You are #1 in my book!

Hey there, I know this is a bit of an old thread but I just thought I'd post anyway.

This sounds VERY similar to what I have. I have GERD, a hiatus hernia, and bile reflux however so it's possible that the "belching"/air grumbles are due to one of those problems.

It's reassuring to hear that some of you have gotten rid of the problem, TERRIFYING to hear that some of you have suffered from it for years.

I too have never been able to burp like a normal person. A couple times a year maybe.

I have had anxiety problems in the past and find that this problem increases anxiety - while anxiety also seems to make it worse. Bad loop to be in, to say the least :P

theaxidrefluxman, would you care to point me in the direction of some of those studies you've read? The idea that this problem will stay with me forever is terrifying, as it's only been 3 months and I'm already so sick of it. It's truly making me deeply depressed and alot more anxious.

Seeing as I have reflux and other problems as well I have considered surgery for my hiatus hernia, in hope that it might make it harder for the air to travel up through my esophagus as well.

I'm truly desperate over this, so any success stories are very very appreciated. I could use some cheering up :)

I have however heard that supragastric belching is supposed to happen rather instantly? As in you swallow or breathe in and then air is expelled right away. Is that the case for you all?

That's not necessarily what happens for me, so I'm wondering if my belching/gurgling could just be a side effect of the reflux? No clue, but feedback would be appreciated.

Post Edited (Bella01) : 3/30/2015 5:42:48 PM (GMT-6)