I keep burping, is there anything I can do about it?

[UnitaBath]

For some time now I keep suffering from pain in my stomach and excessive burping. Combined with my long suffering IBS (decades) it’s really miserable.

I have had so many gastro tests, including colonoscopies, gastroscopes, biopsies for h pylori, coeliac disease, bacterial infections etc, a pill camera endoscopy and a SeCHAT scan to check for BAM. All has returned clear.

I suffer from a brick-like feeling in my stomach/upper abdomen/upper back, and endless belching. I always feel that I can never burp that well either, sounds weird but I can never do a satisfying, loud resounding belch. My burps kind of ‘pop’ in my throat and make a weird gurgling sound. I find this so frustrating as I’d really just like to burp it all out. I also find the gas goes downwards a lot, by late afternoon I will bloat up loads and have lots of flatulence at times. I follow the low fodmap diet so thankfully their is no odour 😳

I have trialled all the PPIs and H2 blockers but they very much aggravate my IBS and cause awful diarrhoea so I just get by on pepto bismol and watching what I eat and making sure I don’t consume gas forming foods, (I only drink water).

I do have some other health issues: endometriosis/adenomyosis and a large left kidney cyst which I’m having checked again via ct scan today but I’m not sure they would cause belching and bloating.

I live in fear it’s something serious. My dh says it’s because I am constantly stressed. Admittedly I am, my dear mum (we were always very close) has advanced dementia, seeing her suffer really has taken its toll on me. I’m also due a hysterectomy soon and am very anxious about that too and have noticed that I am experiencing more gut pain and burping over the last few weeks.

I honestly don’t know what else to try? I practice yoga and hypnosis for my gut issues and anxiety, follow this special diet and watch what I eat, keep my weight down, walk a lot, try to get as much sleep as I can etc but not a lot is helping anymore.

Is there anything I could try that I haven’t thought of?

Oh, I am 53 and neck deep in perimenopause too (8 years so far) and am hoping to trial HRT once my hysterectomy is over (ovaries are going too).

I only get that when my acid reflux is acting up. I ended up having to elevate the head of my bed. But it was visible during the camera down. It was worse when I had gallstones.

I often wonder if I have something like gallstones.

I had gallbladder problems a few years back (had it removed), the burping I had from that was only in relation to GB flare ups, it wasn't daily. Is yours daily? I've become much more burpy over the past year. My mum struggles with this, she has been on a low dose aspirin for decades, and I am now too, and this is know to cause stomach ulcers that can lead to all the burping. Is your context in any way similar?

I was just coming in to say 3 things, gallstones, diaphragmatic endo and high histamine.

I have endo as well, and by all accounts we all create stones, I had my gall bladder removed, after forming a huge stone.

Next thing I’d look at is your intake of high histamine foods and take a daily antihistamine as see if that calms stuff down.

You also get endo on the diaphragm, it’s not even as rare as google says and causes gastric issues that don’t show anywhere.

i would also say what your blood pressure like? It sounds like you do have lots going on as when I’m stressed my BP goes up and I get all the symptoms you mention.

It sounds like you have lots of health issues going on but I wonder if this has resulted in you also having some health anxiety? If so it might be worth trying to tackle that and see if it has any effect on the burping.

Meant to add lots of people are adding fermented food to their diets and taking creatine, all are just awful for women with endo and high histamine and can cause flare ups.

It's not so much daily but when I do get it it will go on for days. I do notice that it appears to be cyclical. I still have a cycle event though I am 53 and over the last few months I do notice that it is much worse during my mid-cycle stage so I have often wondered if my hormones are exacerbating it?

Thank you.

I have read that endo can form on the diaphragm, although it says the pain is often right side, mine is central and left mainly and the pain doesn't go up to my shoulders but I suppose I will find out for sure when I have my hysterectomy, the surgeon will excise any endo that he sees during my surgery.

I will definitely look into trying an anti-histamine tablet, I do already try to eat low histamine foods as I noticed my IBS would flare badly after eating tinned fish.

Thankfully my blood pressure is always normal to low. I dare say it will shoot right up when I go in for my surgery as I have awful hospital fear.

My dh believes it is, I do suffer from anxiety in general and acknowledge that I have quite severe health anxiety which has been exacerbated by my recent health issues. I have had lots of cbt over the years but nothing has really helped. I am due some more but it's a long waiting list sadly.

Yeast and high sugar foods can cause a very gassy feeling in the stomach and burping, wind etc. Have you looked into candida infections? They are definitely a thing and are exacerbated by fermented foods, bread and high sugar including fructose.

I eat a very low fermentation diet really. I don't eat bread, no wheat/gluten. I don't have a sweet tooth at all so quite low sugar.

My diet is quite plain and boring due to my gut issues.

I have spates of burping, particularly triggered by fatty food, but sometimes it just flares up for no reason. I had all sorts of blood and gastro tests but all came back negative.
I’m just learning to live with it now…

Have you been to see an acupuncturist? They can work miracles with all sorts of weird and wonderful body issues and symptoms, physical and mental. I have had very successful acupuncture for various reasons over the years.

I've had one or two sessions and loved it, I can't afford it atm sadly but it's top of my list to go back to when things are looking up.

My DH has been prescribed Colpermin , which has peppermint oil as an active ingredient . ( he was also diagnosed with an hiatus hernia ) . He still burps a bit , but not as often , and not painful anymore

Stop the pepto bismol! That just masks the problem. I recommend taking some good probiotics - it may take a few days before things settle but it will be worth the wait. These have been really helpful for me. Have helped my IBS and bloating loads and keep things regular.

I had something similar, which i finally deduced was down to having a green smoothie every morning. I thought it was doing me good and doctors didn't think that could be the issue, but the burping stopped when I stopped the smoothies.

Colpermin is great at settling my IBS but sadly does nothing for the upper gut issues.

Ah, thank you. I will go take a look.

Did you narrow it down to one particular ingredient?