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Burping...silent reflux? weak LES?

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Posted 11/19/2013 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hello...I've posted a few times on this subject but wanted to get opinions from a different perspective.

The last couple months I have very frequent belching. It's actually been decreasing but still much more than normal for me. No acid reflux, no heartburn, just a ton of burping air. It's noticeable worse after eating or even taking a sip of something to drink. It's as though the air or pressure from that just can't stay in my stomach, which never happened before. I also have to burp as soon as I get out of bed in the morning.

I've seen my GI, normal endoscopy and normal ultrasound. So, he thinks stress and anxiety (and I don't).

-Could this be something to do with just a suddenly weakened LES or some type of valve that just can't handle any air or pressure, therefore resulting in frequent belching? What would cause something like this?

-If it is something like this, would it make sense that the belching has been decreasing over the last month?

-Is there a test I can request that would test the strength of valves that might be causing this problem?

-Could this be something more serious? Am I looking at this from the wrong angle? Could it be anything non-GI related? Neurological? Desperate...obviously grasping at straws.

I have a follow up with my dr in a week and want to know the right things to ask. Starting to feel desperate like I'll never get any answers other than "anxiety" which I just don't believe. Please respond or share input/experiences!! Thank you!
Posted 11/19/2013 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
I swallow a lot of air because I have bad allergies and post nasal drip.
Belching can have a lot of causes though. I would say the two primary ones are either swallowing excess air, or air being created in the digestion of food. The air has to get there somehow.

Before you can get to the reason why, I think you need to determine if you are swallowing air, or if air is coming from digestion. If it happens directly after you eat or drink, I am thinking that you might just be swallowing excess air.

In the morning this would also make sense, if you find that you are breathing through your mouth at night, something I really do because of blocked sinuses. Mouth breathing can cause air to go into your stomach, hence the morning burping.

You can for sure get a PH test done and a manometry if you are concerned about any physical problems which might be hazardous to your health. If nothing else is the culprit and you are swallowing air your doctor can probably advise you on how to minimize that. Personally I find that the night time air swallowing is almost impossible to stop. I have also stopped drinking carbonated beverages, taken allergy meds and stopped using straws all in an attempt to swallow less air.

I hope this might help you out even a little!
Posted 11/19/2013 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your input. I may be swallowing air but I don't understand how one day this would start happening. I never used to before and eating/drinking never would cause this before. It's not like I am doing anything differently...which is why I am so confused...
Posted 11/19/2013 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
It is just as likely that it is something that is creating gas during digestion.
Belching in and of itself is not dangerous, actually I wish I could get the air out more since my surgery, its only a bad thing if you have reflux and stuff coming up with it.
Even with my reinforced LES via Nissen I can sometimes belch, so that speaks to the power of the airs desire to rise up and exit the stomach. If your upper GI was normal and you dont have a hiatial hernia, the only other test really would be a barium swallow (easier) or a manometry (more uncomfortable) to tell you if more than air is coming back up.

If its diet then you could try staying away from foods like Baked beans, lentils, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, chocolate, and fruits such as apples, peaches and pears which can produce gas during digestion and make you burp.

You can also try other supplements which may or may not have an effect on gas such as probiotics or digestive enzymes.
Just a personal anecdote-I noticed I was belching more when I was on a PPI. I dont know if the belching had anything to do with low stomach acid, but if you are researching different things, you might want to see if you have LOW stomach acid. Luckily that one is easy to supplement as well.
Posted 11/19/2013 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi dmarie725

I started chronic belching in April. This was totally out of the blue I hardly ever belched before this. It's a bit of a long story so I won't go into it but I eventually found out I had a hiatus hernia.


Maria
Posted 11/20/2013 1:28 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Mcedge...

How was your hernia found? I had an endoscopy last month and it didn't detect a hernia. Could it have been missed? I considered hernia before but after the normal endoscopy I figured I didn't have one...

Post Edited (dmarie725) : 11/19/2013 6:56:18 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/20/2013 1:04 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes the Hiatial hernia can be small and sliding and they will miss it in the endoscopy
Posted 11/26/2013 4:22 PM (GMT 0)
If an endoscopy misses a hernia, how else can that be diagnosed or found?
Posted 11/26/2013 5:00 PM (GMT 0)
My surgeon was able to see mine on my barium swallow, but they did see mine in the endoscopy even though it was itty bitty.
My surgeon said it was obvious, but my GI did not think so, so maybe it just depends on the doctor and how they view things as well.
Posted 9/23/2016 4:57 AM (GMT 0)
Curious if you are still encountering the chronic belching problem. I have the same problem and would love to hear any update if you found a solution?
Posted 9/23/2016 6:56 PM (GMT 0)
Scott D

You may get more responses if you start your own thread - the one that you are replying to is a few years old.

Sharon
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