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Avatar universal

no burping / gurgling in throat

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.
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Avatar universal
I am so glad I found this, I thought I was crazy and all alone! I am 21 and have had this problem for 3 or 4 years now. I get the throat gurgles all the time, its the worst after I eat especially in the afternoons and nights and gets really bad if I drink alcohol. I too get very nauseous but never throw up, I havent thrown up for over 10 years and I also can count the number of times I have burped on one hand.

I saw a doctor who said it was acid reflux and put me on an acid blocker but that hasnt helped at all.  Sometimes I go a few days with out it, or the gurgling gets better for a week or two but it always  comes back. I have cut out all carbonated drinks which helps a little but this is driving me crazy, it gets very embarrassing in class or on dates. At the worst times it feels like there is a lump in my throat and pressure in my chest and I also get really painful hiccups sometimes, just one or two at a time.
Another Dr. said it was just stress and honestly I think he thought I was making it up because it wasnt happening while I was in his office which wasnt helpful! The one time I want the gurgles...

If anyone knows of anythign that actually works I would love to hear it! I am going to see another Dr this week so hopefully they will have something more helpful to say.

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Avatar universal
Well as an update to my previous post I had a consultation with a gastroenterologist earlier last month; and the ebst bit was he took me seriously and listened and whilst he didn't have an answer he was willing to try more tests.

In a month or so I will go back into hospital and they'll do an "impedence" test to measure the gases produced out of my stomach and see what that tells them.  I just hope it produces something useful.  If anything is found I'll post it here

I gave the Dr a link to this forum too and printed out some of the posts too as they were better phrased anything I could have said on my own!
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Avatar universal
It is great to know you're not alone.   I'm 39 and I've had what me and my wife call "the gurglies" for 7-10 years.   Like most contributors, I can count on my hands the number of burps in my lifetime.  When the gurgies first started, I associated them with beer.  However,  now I always have them when I lay down on my left side at night.  I try it every night by laying on my left side first when I go to bed, and the gurglies always come within a few minutes.  I never, ever have them when I lay on my right side, and switching to my right side will make them stop.   But, I tend to have worse acid reflux on my right side, and I can rarely lay on my stomach anymore without acid reflux.  

I will certainly keep track of this forum, and contribute anything I learn.  

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Avatar universal
Hi all,
Like most of you, it is so comforting to know that there are others like me out there, and that we are actively pursuing answers.
I would like to share how I handle my problems, but sadly, you might have heard it all before and none of these are cures.

First, my case, so you know whether you share my exact situation (I think there is a bit of variation, as with any disorder).
I am a 24yo Australian female. I have never been able to burp, but a wonderful farter. I get the same gurgling and bloating, pain in the chest and later in my gut as it moves down. I never hiccup and rarely throw up (although scotch helps with this no worries). The things that cause my gas problem include eating quickly, drinking too much water, drinking any carbonated drink, sucking on lollies, exercising while breathing through the mouth, car/bus travel, laughing hysterically. My problems started getting bad at the age of 14 when soft drink would bloat me so much that I could not stand up. I did my first burp in memory in 2004 (and immediately called everyone in my family to gloat!).

Since that day I have been 'learning to burp' and have had a degree of success. After no success, I eventually started coughing/vomiting up the gas. I don't use my fingers, more like a dry reach. I now have this down to a fine art, and although the rapid ejaculation of air is no pretty dainty sound (lucky I am no pretty dainty girl, huh), it offers immediate relief and means I never have to lie down in public. In the last 2 years I can bring up the vomit-burp easily most of the time and feel assured it will not be followed by anything unwanted. The amazing benefit of this is that I am now doing real burps daily!! They are still quite weak and totally uncontrolled, but the last 6 months have seen some stronger proper sounding burps! I have gone from 1-2 burps weak burps in 2004-2005 to 3-4 small/medium burps a day :) I used to have to lay down every night after dinner massaging the gas in my stomach to relieve the pain, now I rarely have to do this.

I just did a burp then!! It still sounds a bit weird and kind of hurts a little, but who cares?!

Anyway, some other things that really helped and continue to do so:  
- Wear loose fitting pants and shirts. 'Sucking it in' makes things infinitely worse.
- Maybe think about giving up milk and meat. It is difficult for most people to digest dairy and large amounts of meat and cause a lot of gas, so removing these from my diet immediately reduced my pain by about 70%.
- If you have to run anywhere, try to breath through the mouth. Sort of like you are doing yoga/pilates.
- Do not scull any liquid, no matter how hot you are. Sip slowly and be conscious of how much air you are taking in with each sip.
- Acquire a boy or girlfriend who will massage your belly when you feel bloated. It brings them into your world, and each fart becomes a celebration :)

I recently read that exercise, while initially painful, eventually prooves rewarding - someone wrote that after 6 months s/he can swim 50 laps and then eat with no painful gas production. I am trying this out. At the moment I am a size 18, about 30kg overweight because exercise 'jumbles me up' too much. I will post back intermittenly remarking on my progress. I am going to do walking and swimming (focusing on my pilates breathing).

Finally, if anyone knows a good gastro doctor in Qld Australia gimme a shout. As you all know, most doctors have NO IDEA. I even had one doctor say this:
Me: I can't burp. The gas won't come out and then it moves back the other way and seriously, I fart about 200 times a day.
Doctor: Oh cool! You know in medical school I read about a man who farted every 30 seconds. That is pretty cool.
                  *The end* (Roll eyes).

Good luck to everyone. Together we can suss this thing out! :)
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Avatar universal
Oops. I made a typo. If you have to run anywhere try NOT to breathe through the mouth! Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Try not to gulp the air in greedily.
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Avatar universal
Thank GOODNESS for this thread! I just got up in the middle of the night to google "bubbling in the oesophagus" because I was getting so worried. Someone I know died recently of cancer of the oesophagus, and I remember him making some very strange noises from the throat before he was diagnosed.

However, I am now reassured, as you are all describing exactly my symptoms, including things I hadn't associated with it. I've also almost never burped, which I always thought was a good thing?! And I think I've been sick three times in my life that I can remember, two of them only slightly; the last time was 22 years ago. I always assumed it somehow came from being bullied at primary school the first time it happened and swallowing it so as not to be sick again; now I wonder whether maybe there's some other, physical reason.

For the last couple of years I've tended to get really extreme, painful stomach bloating, and I seem to fart far more than I used to (it's the only thing that, eventually, relieves the football stomach).

I have a bad cold that started today, so maybe that's related to the gurgling being bad tonight. I only really notice it at night. I first noticed it happening regularly several months ago, and it seems to be getting worse - goes on for a long time, repeated gurgles every few seconds for an hour or longer, slight sense of pressure and a lump in the throat. Otherwise no pain. Am trying Rennie antacid tablets for want of anything else, don't know whether it's helping.

It seems to be worse when I drink wine, but it also happens when I don't. Tonight I had the same feeling I occasionally get if I get very drunk: I'm never sick, but sometimes I have to rush to the bathroom and just hang over the basin spitting because I feel I can't bear to swallow my saliva.

Fortunately I haven't yet found the noise embarrassing, mainly perhaps because I'm on my own a lot so people don't usually hear it. I do lead a very stressful lifestyle, sleep irregular hours (work irregular shifts) often only a few hours at a time (it's been bad the last few days), don't eat regular meals etc. I was recently on holiday for two weeks, total break and relaxation, and I don't remember the gurgling happening there at all.

So even if no one know what it is or has a solution, I'm very glad to have found out it doesn't seem to be anything serious!
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