10 Years and they can't figure it out...

[my3911]

I have had this a problem with belching for about 10 years and it is getting worse. It is so bad now that it is affecting every part of my life. I can't even drink water without the symptoms occuring. I have had an upper GI, ultrasound on my organs, multiple chest x-rays, blood tests and they can't figure it out! I get excessive burping that lasts for a few hours after eating or drinking anything. I am otherwise very healthy and I eat really well. I eat and drink slowly and do not swallow air. I have been reading these posts and am thinking that I might have some kind of upset with the balance of good/bad bacteria in my stomach or malabsorption. Is there antyhing I can take over the counter, anyway I can flush the bad out, or anything I can tell my doctor to get him on the right track to get this fixed? If anyone can help me, I would be forever in your debt as this is affecting my life and my marriage. I am willing to go through surgery or anything! If there are any good doctors out there that know what is causing this, I have good insurance and am willing to fly out to get this taken care of. Please advise. THANK YOU


This discussion is related to Excessive Burping.

[boron]

Hi, these may be the cause:

1. Helycobacter infection of your stomach. This could (but not necessary) cause some heartburn or burning in the stomach. Diagnosis is with "urea breath test".

2. Slow gastric emptying. Dx is with "gastric emptying test".

3. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Dx is with "breath test with lactulose".

4. Fructose malabsorption, where your ability to absorb fructose has been reduced. Fruits and foods containing fructose, sorbitol or HFCS would trigger symptoms. Dx is with "breath test with fructose". Before the test you can make a low-fructose diet trial lasting for 4 days:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/21247?personal_page_id=801

So, the first thing you can do alone, is a low.fructose diet trial. If this won't help in 4 days you can ry with a bit more rigorous "low FODMAP diet trial" (search online), where, beside fructose and sorbitol, you exclude table sugar, lactose, and alcohol, again for 4 days. If even this won't help, you would need above mentioned tests done by gastroenterologist.

Does belching appear immediately after the meal?

[my3911]

Thank you so much! I haven't heard or tried any of this. But I will schedule another appointment with my gastroenterologist and bring all of this up to him. To answer your question, the belching usually takes about 15 - 20 minutes to start after eating or drinking anything. It is usually worse if I drink water after eating. Thanks again and have a great day!