Belching remedies?!

[Izzie]

Hey there.
So I have GERD, a small hiatus hernia, and a yet to be diagnosed IBS/IBD/something else problem.

I have a lot of symptoms, but one of the more socially awkward once is the belching after eating. It's EXTREME, and ridiculous, and for someone who's never even been able to burp before in life, it's really embarrassing.

Any of you have any tips of how to deal with it/decrease it? My doctor claims it's because I'm swallowing air, but I doubt it. I eat slowly, and there's just no way I could swallow that much air. Does diet affect it? Does it have something to do with reflux? Has anyone else been helped by meds?

I can live with it, obviously, it's not painful - but it's embarrassing and if I can do something to make it better I will.

 

[DEmberton]

I found I was belching a lot, but it did generally get better along with the acid reflux as I changed my diet. Cutting out tea seemed to help quite a bit, and just generally eating more plain food and avoiding anything at all fatty or spicy. Ironically I thought fizzy drinks actually helped by perhaps getting it out sooner ;-)

If you have acid reflux, or sinus issues you might be tempted to swallow more.

I bought an IBS book that has a big section on swallowing air, which I thought I might be doing thanks to general anxiety and a tendency to wolf down food. The main suggestion was doing deep breathing exercises a couple of times a day.

 

[scottsma]

I've been burping for months,but I'm putting it down to gallbladder problems found during an MRI scan last month.I'm having an ultrasound on Friday so hope to get it sorted soon

 

[Izzie]

I've been burping for months,but I'm putting it down to gallbladder problems found during an MRI scan last month.I'm having an ultrasound on Friday so hope to get it sorted soon

Sorry to hear that. I've had a gallbladder ultrasound and it didn't show anything. I do have bile reflux though so I guess that could contribute as well.

 

[Hope345]

I have one daughter with IBD and another with your exact symptoms. We are still trying to find out what is causing all of it. she is 20 and it all started around 4 years ago. The belching is over the top. The pressure builds up and she has to belch very long and loud. It is embarrassing to her as well. She has the allergy/sinus draining mentioned above, and she is tired all of the time. She eats soooooo healthy. Her life has been put on hold just like my daughter with IBD.

I sure hope you find some answers. One of my theories is that a bacteria/virus is causing her flora to be off balance in her gut and causing so many of the GI issues. There are quite a few people on line following these same symptoms with no help from specialists. They just haven't figured it out yet. Please keep us updated on what you find out. My daughter goes back to the GI next week and we will keep moving forward with testing and drugs to find out what is the underlining issue.

Best to you.

 

[Izzie]

I have one daughter with IBD and another with your exact symptoms. We are still trying to find out what is causing all of it. she is 20 and it all started around 4 years ago. The belching is over the top. The pressure builds up and she has to belch very long and loud. It is embarrassing to her as well. She has the allergy/sinus draining mentioned above, and she is tired all of the time. She eats soooooo healthy. Her life has been put on hold just like my daughter with IBD.

I sure hope you find some answers. One of my theories is that a bacteria/virus is causing her flora to be off balance in her gut and causing so many of the GI issues. There are quite a few people on line following these same symptoms with no help from specialists. They just haven't figured it out yet. Please keep us updated on what you find out. My daughter goes back to the GI next week and we will keep moving forward with testing and drugs to find out what is the underlining issue.

Best to you.

Yeah, I've learned in the past few months that if you have one GI problem, you'll likely have another.

I've taken a ton of tests, no H. Pylori, no bacterial imbalances as far as they can tell. The doctor seems relatively certain that the belching is all due to the hiatus hernia. Like any air I swallow just comes right back up because the esophageal sphincter just won't stay closed.

I have a really hard time believing it though because no way am I swallowing that much air. Even when I'm not eating, it happens. I'm going to start experimenting with food more, maybe I'll figure something out.

Sorry to hear your daughter is suffering from this problem too, I've gladly gotten somewhat better in the energy department since being put on Omeprazole for my reflux issues.

If she has allergy symptoms, perhaps try to rule out a food allergy? What's healthy to most bodies might not be to someone with an intolerance.

 

[Farmwife]

Is the GERD under control?

 

[Izzie]

Is the GERD under control?

I don't know, honestly. I'm on Omeprazole and I don't get that horrible burning sensation anymore, but since I have so many different problems at the same time I can't really differentiate. I still have a lot of pain in the splenic flexure area. BMs still not normal. Since I've gotten both at the same time I can't tell what's GERD and what's bile reflux.

I certainly don't feel well, but it's gotten somewhat better, I think.

 

[Izzie]

A random thought/question to those with similar belching problems: I made the grave mistake of eating ice cream the other day, and the following day was INSANE with the belching and the chest pain and just feeling absolutely horrendous.

Am starting to consider if belching is part of a lactose intolerance of some kind? Or is worsened by it at least. Googling seems to support the idea that it could be. Am going to cut out all dairy for a few weeks. Will report back if it helps. Or if it doesn't, I suppose.

 

[DEmberton]

I think that's certainly true (lactose intolerance causing belching). I did wonder if this what part of my problem and gave up milk for a couple of weeks, but it didn't help much. Worth a try though.

Ice cream is probably triply bad thanks to the sugar, being cold, and the lactose.

 

[Izzie]

I think that's certainly true (lactose intolerance causing belching). I did wonder if this what part of my problem and gave up milk for a couple of weeks, but it didn't help much. Worth a try though.

Ice cream is probably triply bad thanks to the sugar, being cold, and the lactose.

Yeah for sure, ice cream is a permanent no-no for me from now on...

I must say that this is my most annoying symptom, however. My stomach just makes a lot of noise, constantly, and then there's the belching, and it's just really freaking awkward to sit in a class full if people and suddenly there's enough noise coming out of me to draw the attention of ever. single. person.

I've noticed if I sit up straight and don't slouch it tends to decrease the amount of air that comes up, but then I get stomach cramps instead which isn't fun either.

I feel like my doctor isn't really taking it very seriously, since it's not painful or dangerous, but it certainly is messing with my quality of life. And I refuse to believe this is all due to swallowing air, since there are days where I eat and it doesn't happen as much, and then I'll have a period of a few days here and there where it's extreme to the point of being almost painful.

It's giving me a food phobia, basically, because I don't want to eat around other people anymore. So I just don't eat/eat very little until I get home and then I'm starving, eat arguably too much and too late in the day, and feel awful for most of the night.

That and I seem to be feeling better the more weight I drop, which is probably not a healthy thing in the long run. I've already lost almost 15 lbs from all this.

 

[Izzie]

Okay so it's only been a few days but I can already tell that for me dairy = baaaaad.

The problem persists, but cutting out dairy completely has made a difference just in a few days. Ideally I want it to just GO AWAY entirely, but any improvement is welcome at this point.

Also am considering whether the Omeprazole is making this particular symptom worse. I have no basis for this concern other than I feel like the belching part of my issues got way worse once I got started on it. Will bring it up with the doc.

 

[Fernando1]

With me belching occurs when my intestines are distended and cramped. I have a stricture which causes gas to be trapped above the stricture and farts below the stricture.

Try an antispasmodic pill like Donnatal or Hyoscymine to relax your bowel.

 

[Izzie]

I've found various studies online examining the connection between GERD and belching, as well as a condition called "supragastric belching", which as far as I can tell is when you draw air into the esophagus where it is immediately expelled (as opposed to regular belching which comes from the stomach, I believe).

I plan on showing my doctor some of this research so that maybe they can come up with an answer. I'm just hoping they're receptive to it, some doctors get all up in arms over patients doing their own research/having their own ideas about what might be wrong...