Chronic belching 10 years..

EXCITING UPDATE:
I started with a new GI doctor 6 weeks ago. She skimmed through my list in first Mayo posting, and proposed new approach to try.

She prescribed nortriptylene for my belching and gas, telling me she has had good feedback from IBS patients in the past. I started with 10 mg / day, taken at night due to potential drowsiness. The instructions call for raising the dosage 10.mg every 7 days until improvement is noticed, capping at 50mg. This is minuscule dose as compared to when this is prescribed for depression.

I had not been sleeping well due to intestinal and bladder discomfort for over a year, getting up 4-6 times each night after only one time usually for 50 years. Within a day or two I cut down to two times, and have been tracking carefully since, most nights I get up 2 times, with a couple single trips, and a couple 3 trips ( never more). I also noticed right away a reduction in belching, mainly supragastric I think, and intestinal gas discomfort. I also noticed a change in my chronic headache frequency, which used to be much more severe and frequent before, now I have logged two days of zero, one severe one, and most others fairly so minor that I consider after all these years to be a non issue. I used to have 3-5 acute 1-3 hour periods of very uncomfortable belching each week; in 5 1/2 weeks I have only had one, that lasted about an hour. I still have some gastric (maybe not a lot more than healthy normal) and supragastric belching, but maybe a reduction of fifty percent, so subjective it is hard to be sure, as I was not carefully logging before January for all these years.

I started with the 10 mg, but took it for two weeks instead of one since the change had been so profound, then decided to try 20, and now after 3 weeks of higher dose, have decided I may not need even 20 because it didn’t seem to make any difference when I increased to 20, in my symptoms.

She also advised trying speech therapy as another approach, as supragastric belching is a learned behavior, not a natural one like gastric belching. I have not started yet, but intend to right away, finally found a good therapist. I have read in reputable medical articles that CBT has also been used successfully, but plan to stick its the speech therapy for now, which may have a lot of similarities to CBT in this context. She gave me a referral to a psycologist that does CBT as well, but I am going to wait and see if I really need more help after I work with speech therapist.

I started using Azastline for constant nasal congestion about a week before the above treatment, and there is a possibility that it is helping as well as a no longer have to swallow mucous constantly, possibly along with air….. I have worked with ENT and allergist md within the last two years, finding both OTC steroids ( Flonase and something else) to be ineffective, and was told to consider surgery, which I avoided due to the fact that sinus surgery has poor permanent effect , according to the two doctors. My new ENT I found in December suggested the Azelastine, and it continues to work consistently 24/7, a huge relief. I felt like nasal congestion pressure also contributed to my headache and sleep issues.
Other side effects of nortriptylene besides drowsiness ( I have not felt more drowsy than my norm before treatment) are dry mouth and constipation. She encouraged me to try Citrucel oral tablets 6 grams of fiber a day, along with high fiber diet and plenty of water, and although my habits have changed, I have been regular daily. She has found that the powdered flavored fiber supplements can cause bloating, etc. Unfortunately , tablets are pretty pricey. I would be concerned that these side effects could become more of an issue if I have to take more nortriptylene, so I am hoping these positive changes continue.

I plan to provide another update after a few months have gone by, to report on any further changes positive or negative. I wanted to post right away in case someone else might profit from this info. I would also be interested I hearing from anyone has has tried nortriptylene for GI belching regarding efficacy and also if others have found it to help with sleep in this tiny dose. Also, has anyone tried speech therapy for belching?

Talk to your doctor(s) if this might be helpful for you too! This is definitely the most profound improvement in my health in a long time ( last one was using CBT DIY 5 years ago to resolve an insomnia issue that I had for over 20 years, in about 9 weeks (!), with that help of a PAC sleep coach.

I am not an anti vax either, but it does seem very coincidental. Did you contact Moderna or Pfizer? The only diagnosis I have had is gastoparesis which cleared on the follow up test. The doctors have blamed it on depression and anxiety. These meds have not worked either. I hope you continue to pursue good health. If I find anything I will certainly share.

Same here! But my neurologist diagnosed me with abdominal migraines. NutecOTD really helps so does gabapentin for pain.

Hi @danceswithhammer I just came across your post while googling chronic belching. I wondered how you are getting on? Are things any better for you? I’ve had chronic belching for almost two and a half years now - 200+ times a day - stops me sleeping and is exhausting and embarrassing. Like you I have tried numerous things - a lot of what’s on your list too! I’m in the UK. I paid privately to see a gastroenterologist as a last hope, and he did say there is an option of paying for specialised CBT. His top recommendation was low dose Amitriptyline, but I’m a bit worried about the side effects with that. There’s a Reddit sub about Chronic beaching, but other than that it’s not something I’ve heard many other people talk about.

I’ve been suffering 10 long years w/ chronic digestive disorders including 1000’s deep / wet , gross 🤢 belching daily & nightly.
I have many diagnoses and been to many GI and Functional Medicine providers .
I’ve tried everything they make RX wise , supplement wise , holistic wise , diet wise . I’m now also on low dose anti depressant since Oct . I’m not getting relief . This is the 4 th one I’ve tried in 10 years. I have a RX for years for Klonipin low dose as needed .
My most recent GI will do yet another Colonoscopy & Endoscopy on Mar 1 st . My 4 th in 10 years.
I’m so happy you found something that actually works for you !!
Thank you for sharing your story .
I’m hoping one day I’ll finally have some kind of relief 🥲 from this daily nightmare.

What is CBT?

So sorry you are still dealing with this after 10 years too. I will think of you on March 1, hope this sheds new light on the cause of your situation.

I just reviewed my laundry list from beginning thread April 2023, and notice I neglected to mention that I had esophageal manometry, which provides info about how the esophagus muscles work together. It didn’t lead to any significant new treatment at the time about three years ago, but might be a valuable tool for some people to consider.

Good luck!

Calico2000,
I must have missed your September inquiry and information.
Have you tried CBT yet?

I posted a couple days ago on this main thread a post titled “EXCITING UPDATE”. Be sure to read it. This is the first time in 12 + years that anything has had any effect whatsoever on my issues, and it is transformative for me. I am so hopeful that the change is permanent.

As mentioned in update post, I am actually going to try speech therapy specifically for supragastric air swallowing, starting in late March, to work on cutting down frequency even more than now. The nortriptylene appears to have cut frequency at least 50-75%, and severe burp/bloat/fart bouts to only one in 6 weeks now.