no burping / gurgling in throat

[mcelanor]

I am 19 years old, female, healthy, normal eating habits, etc, but I do not burp. I've tried drinking soda, swallowing air, etc, and it just makes me feel uncomfortable but doesn't make me burp. Instead, my throat gurgles. The best way to describe the sound is like a stomach growling, only in the throat. It's incredibly embarrassing and I can't prevent it from happening. It tends to happen a lot after I drink juice or soda, but also sometimes after meals where I only drank water. Along with the gurgle I feel some light pressure in my lower throat, near my collarbone, like there's air trying to get out (no pain). The pressure is momentarily relieved after I "gurgle", but then it comes back and I need to "gurgle" again.

I have met one or two other people who experience the same thing, including my sister, and seen other complaints online, but have found no explanation for why this happens, or how to prevent it. Any help?

I very rarely throw up either (only once in the past 8 years), I don't know if that's connected at all but I thought I should mention it.

[Qwerty_yip]

This happens to me all the time. I am 14 and it drives me insane, especially when I am in class. It is so embarrassing. I, like many above me, cannot burp and have not thrown up in a long time. Also, according to my parents, I have had it all my life. It gets worse after a food or beverage. I did think I was the only one though so this makes me feel a little better. :)

[awes0mee]

I went to the doctors about this today. I've had this problem for about 5 years and I've been taking omeprazole which helps with the acid reflux that I have. He said continue taking it and he told me that it might be a minor case of Irritable bowel syndrome. So he recommended me taking Metamucil (cookies) which provides 20% of your daily fiber intake. I bought a box and tried it just now and its not too bad, you need to drink A LOT of water while youre eating the cookies. You'll know why when you try it lol. Also he said take Maalox Plus to help with the gas and acid relux at the time of the symtom. I hope this helps and I hope this helps me too.

[Kerri30182]

Finally, i've discovered people who can relate! I am 20 and also cannot stop gurgling! I've always done it and burped perhaps 5 times in my life - everytime I have it's taken me totally by surprise and been almost like a mini victory.

It seems I have nearly exactly the same symptoms - I VERY rarely burp, gurgle beyond belief, have the tightness behind the breast bone and constantly feel bloated. However as far as I am aware I do not have a fast metabolism like some others on this site. Although I am by no means fat I would say I am not naturally skinny, but I'm putting that to my likeness of my father.

I have most definately gurgled for more than 12 hours, especially on news years just passed. I no longer drink alcohol due to this and still gurgle. I haven't drunk fizzy drinks for the last 3 years and still gurgle, I limit my spicy food intake, and do not stuff myself out because I know it will only be uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

The only thing that has EVER helped was to constantly try to do continuous deep yawns to kind of force a burp (for the first time ever) / open the gullet and it only worked once.

I am at the end of my tether now. I never even noticed until I started uni because my boyfriend noticed and I had never known any different. Now it's really started to get me down because I've started a new job and my boss has noticed it. I am going to see what my GP has to say and if I get any kind of indication/ideas spitballing around I will most definately post it on here because I know how frustrating it is for other people to misunderstand it for acid.

[Allichan93]

Omigosh, I'm so glad to see that my sister and I aren't the only ones with this problem! I'm 18 and she's 22, and we've both had the gurgling/croaking problem for as long as we can remember.  She can even "croak" on command!  I've burped a few times in my life, but they are always really small and painful.  I croak constantly, especially after I drink any sort of carbonized drink, drink coffee, or eat any kind of food.  I have always been embarrassed about this condition, since I would sometimes gurgle during a presentation or in a quiet classroom, gaining quite a few stares from my classmates. My mother thinks it is annoying how my sister and I gurgle, but it's not like we can stop it! We are really tall and skinny and both have high metabolisms (my sister is 6'0" and weighs 137 lbs, I'm 5'11" and weigh 153 lbs), and we exercise regularly.  Recently the gurgling has become more painful, especially when I lay down to go to sleep and start gurgling.  It seems that one thing in common that we all have is being thin and having a high metabolism, but I do have thin friends and they have never heard of this problem before.  I wonder if the cause is something else? I'm going to the doctor's soon about constant muscle pains in my left thigh and a loud cracking in my right knee whenever I walk up the stairs, so maybe I'll ask about the gurgling while I'm there? Hopefully the doctor will have some sort of clue what's going on and how to stop it, and if I do find out anything, I will post another comment on this thread.

Thanks for reading this :) I really hope to solve the problem of the gurgling esophagus soon~

[vincent10]

Glad to see this thread and other people having similar issues. I have had this problem over the past few months and am wondering if it is psychological. I have no issues sleeping and when I am perfectly comfortable; however, at times it is almost every so often during the day if I take a glass of water, shortly thereafter I feel almost a gurgling or someting on the order of a "whsssh" of air coming up from the esphogus in the back. No problem in eating or swallowing, but it is annoying. The gastro guy felt around and feelws it is gas, the ears, nose throat guy says if might be LPR. Anyone have similar issues with this whssh sound

[saywhat168]

I found this thread a few years ago and was pleased to find that so many people had the same symptoms as me, but disappointed at the same time because nobody knew what it was. I'll explain my situation incase it helps anyone:

I am 21 now and had these throat gurgles as long as I can remember. I, like some people above me, have an incredibly fast metabolism. The gurgles are worse after eating/drinking fizzy drinks. I naturally eat lots, normally very quickly, but have always been skinny. Now I go to the gym regularly so have bulked up muscle-wise but I don't have an ounce of fat on me. I CANNOT and do not burp. I have burped maybe once or twice in my LIFE but they have only been short and unexpected, never the true belch you hear most people do. I rarely get ill and when I do, it's just headaches, therefore I can't comment that well on vomiting. I have before, but unlike a lot of people above me it hasn't been difficult or particularly painful. So, LIKE others above me, I don't vomit often, but I can't relate that to the problem as it's because I DON'T get ill. (not complaining!)

This used to be fine for me, as the gurgles are quiet, the only times I had to hide them was during exams or tests and I always moved my chair or rummaged in my bag to hide the noise.

Now however I am at university and being a 'uni-lad' people expect certain things of you. Namely, drinking vast amounts of beer and burping loudly.  I have managed to evade it quite well in both respects. I have found that drinking beer gets me bloated very quickly and causes lots of throat gurgling and so don't do it anymore. I tell people I don't drink beer as I prefer stronger drinks. I love going out, but now I stick to either wine or spirit mixes. Stronger drinks mean I can have less of them (less gas) and still be at the same level as my mates. People don't tend to question this as I am a tall guy as well so they assume I'm a heavy weight - which is true to some degree. As for burping, nobody has ever said "hey, I've never heard you burp" and if a contest breaks out between mates, I find a reason not to be there for a while and leave them to it.

I also cannot for the life of me 'down' drinks. I am terrible at it and this is extremely embarrassing when in a group where everyone does it together. I'm thinking it's throat related and something to do with the noises. My friend can do a pint in a few seconds and so when 'downing' competitions start, I, again, have to leave for a bit.

I normally know my limits but occasionally drink too much (it happens to the best of us :P) When this happens I don't normally have trouble sticking fingers down my throat and forcing a vomit. However sometimes I do get the incredibly loud gas vomit, a few others have talked about. Basically a very loud retch that produces no liquid. If its quiet, I often get people asking me if I'm ok in the club toilets. Luckily a lot of clubs are loud and noisy even in the toilets and so it gets drowned out. That, or people are too drunk to register anything.

If anyone by chance does hear my throat gurgle, they normally think its my stomach and ask if I'm hungry. My housemates know I eat a lot and just assume that is the case anyway, but that doesn't stop it being embarrassing. It's also embarrassing going back to someone else's place and them asking what it is.

So that's me. I guess I've learned to manage the problem to some extent and not let it affect my life too much. I can sense when the gurgle is coming and hold it off for a few seconds or force it early too, by using my diaphragm and breathing in a certain way. However, a fix to the problem would be awesome. I would love to be able to drink fizzy drinks when I want, and when I do, not have to think about hiding the throat noises.

I think I will go to the doctor when I'm back at uni. Although many people say it hasn't helped them, its worth a shot just to hear their thoughts. I'll return to this thread periodically in the hope that someone, somewhere finds a diagnosis.

Stay positive :)