Excessive belching: What's wrong? What helps?

Wow, what a pain (no sarcasm intended)! It's so discouraging when doctors minimize a problem...Makes me feel kinda crazy.

I read through your "laundry list," and did not see anything about your gall bladder. Before I had my gall bladder removed, I used to have bad attacks of belching. They went away after the surgery. I get them occasionally now if I eat too much fatty food, coffee, carbonated beverages.

Maybe acupuncture would help? Haven't tried it myself.

Hope these ideas might be helpful to you. Good luck and best wishes.

Wow, what a pain (no sarcasm intended)! It's so discouraging when doctors minimize a problem...Makes me feel kinda crazy.

I read through your "laundry list," and did not see anything about your gall bladder. Before I had my gall bladder removed, I used to have bad attacks of belching. They went away after the surgery. I get them occasionally now if I eat too much fatty food, coffee, carbonated beverages.

Maybe acupuncture would help? Haven't tried it myself.

Hope these ideas might be helpful to you. Good luck and best wishes.

After a few minutes of gall bladder research, hearing about all the bad things that can happen, I am wondering if you had other major gall bladder symptoms that led to needing surgery, or just belching mainly?

Thanks so much for responding. I often feel like I am the only one who is dealing with this. I have not had one caregiver in all these years say “I have had another patient with chronic eructation.”, even when I have asked directly, and have never believed I must be the only one. I do not know of one other person in my life for ten years that appeared to be dealing with this, it’s kind of hard to hide. I like to think I can “burp quietly” most of the time by not opening my mouth, but everyone knows because it is really obvious anyway.
So we’ll watch this thread carefully, maybe someone else will know things we haven’t tried that actually work. Are CBT , Hypnosis, or anything else not mentioned in my list, something you have considered or tried had a health professional even suggest?
We will both sleep better and have a whole new life if we ever get to the bottom of this….!

I did try acupuncture with two different practitioners for a total of 9 months with no effect even for a few hours.
Thanks for letting me know about the gall bladder possibility, I will look into it ASAP!
Thanks so much!

Chronic belching 10 years

I have worked with 5 GI specialists, but nothing has worked. Only one appeared to take a real interest in me and this condition, I think others had mentioned much more serious things to deal with and burping disorder seemed like no big deal ( but it is!). A couple admitted on day one that chronic conditions/habits like thus for a 63-72 year old rarely can be helped by much of anything. All the alternative and western medicine care listed below has not been even slightly helpful. The drugs and therapies and tests and dieting seriously have had no effect whatsoever. This may not be life threatening, but seriously affects the quality of my life 24/7. If you are in a hurry, you can skip over my laundry list below, just know nothing has worked so far, and problem is likely not physiological.

Baclofen , Pregbalin , Antacids , prescription Prilosec for several months,
FODMAP diet 6, 2, 3 month periods, no positive or negative foods.
SIBO( borderline ) three times. antibiotics, natural supplements, slippery elm, homeopathic remedies, calcium- magnesium, tums for indigestion ( not very often)
Barium swallow test (showed slight leakage of epiglottis, and I cough when eating sometimes, usually due to spicy food)
Stomach emptying test ( fast, 20 minutes)
2017, 2021 endoscopies, not remarkable. Rules out celiac, ulcers
Allergy testing
Biofeedback to eliminate mouth breathing and learn diaphragmatic breathing through nose between speaking phrases. ( failed at this)
Acupuncture, visceral manipulation, homeopathic and naturopathic remedies. Slippery elm tea ( calmed uncomfortable stomach, maybe reduced gas in stomach and gut.)
Fiber supplement every day, about I-2 teaspoon works. I have diverticulitis in colon , no other colon issues.
I eat slowly and carefully, mindful of talking.

After many days of reading online on reputable sites including Mayo, to learn more about the anatomy, supragastric and gastric belching and intestinal gas, causes and conditions and treatments, I have read about several studies that found success with cognitive behavioral therapy and speech therapy, based on the conclusion/assumption that belching syndromes like mine that don’t have a physiological explanation are due to a learned or chosen behavior ( although probably mostly subconscious in my case). I don’t have much anxiety about anything in my life ( except belching !), and reading about CBT seems to only point to “anxiety “ disorders as a possible approach for eating related issue.

Does anyone have personal or clinical experience to share about belching, CBT, maybe hypnotherapy.? I would really appreciate hearing your story and lessons learned. Thanks so much!

Chronic belching 10 years

I have worked with 5 GI specialists, but nothing has worked. Only one appeared to take a real interest in me and this condition, I think others had mentioned much more serious things to deal with and burping disorder seemed like no big deal ( but it is!). A couple admitted on day one that chronic conditions/habits like thus for a 63-72 year old rarely can be helped by much of anything. All the alternative and western medicine care listed below has not been even slightly helpful. The drugs and therapies and tests and dieting seriously have had no effect whatsoever. This may not be life threatening, but seriously affects the quality of my life 24/7. If you are in a hurry, you can skip over my laundry list below, just know nothing has worked so far, and problem is likely not physiological.

Baclofen , Pregbalin , Antacids , prescription Prilosec for several months,
FODMAP diet 6, 2, 3 month periods, no positive or negative foods.
SIBO( borderline ) three times. antibiotics, natural supplements, slippery elm, homeopathic remedies, calcium- magnesium, tums for indigestion ( not very often)
Barium swallow test (showed slight leakage of epiglottis, and I cough when eating sometimes, usually due to spicy food)
Stomach emptying test ( fast, 20 minutes)
2017, 2021 endoscopies, not remarkable. Rules out celiac, ulcers
Allergy testing
Biofeedback to eliminate mouth breathing and learn diaphragmatic breathing through nose between speaking phrases. ( failed at this)
Acupuncture, visceral manipulation, homeopathic and naturopathic remedies. Slippery elm tea ( calmed uncomfortable stomach, maybe reduced gas in stomach and gut.)
Fiber supplement every day, about I-2 teaspoon works. I have diverticulitis in colon , no other colon issues.
I eat slowly and carefully, mindful of talking.

After many days of reading online on reputable sites including Mayo, to learn more about the anatomy, supragastric and gastric belching and intestinal gas, causes and conditions and treatments, I have read about several studies that found success with cognitive behavioral therapy and speech therapy, based on the conclusion/assumption that belching syndromes like mine that don’t have a physiological explanation are due to a learned or chosen behavior ( although probably mostly subconscious in my case). I don’t have much anxiety about anything in my life ( except belching !), and reading about CBT seems to only point to “anxiety “ disorders as a possible approach for eating related issue.

Does anyone have personal or clinical experience to share about belching, CBT, maybe hypnotherapy.? I would really appreciate hearing your story and lessons learned. Thanks so much!

Chronic belching 10 years

I have worked with 5 GI specialists, but nothing has worked. Only one appeared to take a real interest in me and this condition, I think others had mentioned much more serious things to deal with and burping disorder seemed like no big deal ( but it is!). A couple admitted on day one that chronic conditions/habits like thus for a 63-72 year old rarely can be helped by much of anything. All the alternative and western medicine care listed below has not been even slightly helpful. The drugs and therapies and tests and dieting seriously have had no effect whatsoever. This may not be life threatening, but seriously affects the quality of my life 24/7. If you are in a hurry, you can skip over my laundry list below, just know nothing has worked so far, and problem is likely not physiological.

Baclofen , Pregbalin , Antacids , prescription Prilosec for several months,
FODMAP diet 6, 2, 3 month periods, no positive or negative foods.
SIBO( borderline ) three times. antibiotics, natural supplements, slippery elm, homeopathic remedies, calcium- magnesium, tums for indigestion ( not very often)
Barium swallow test (showed slight leakage of epiglottis, and I cough when eating sometimes, usually due to spicy food)
Stomach emptying test ( fast, 20 minutes)
2017, 2021 endoscopies, not remarkable. Rules out celiac, ulcers
Allergy testing
Biofeedback to eliminate mouth breathing and learn diaphragmatic breathing through nose between speaking phrases. ( failed at this)
Acupuncture, visceral manipulation, homeopathic and naturopathic remedies. Slippery elm tea ( calmed uncomfortable stomach, maybe reduced gas in stomach and gut.)
Fiber supplement every day, about I-2 teaspoon works. I have diverticulitis in colon , no other colon issues.
I eat slowly and carefully, mindful of talking.

After many days of reading online on reputable sites including Mayo, to learn more about the anatomy, supragastric and gastric belching and intestinal gas, causes and conditions and treatments, I have read about several studies that found success with cognitive behavioral therapy and speech therapy, based on the conclusion/assumption that belching syndromes like mine that don’t have a physiological explanation are due to a learned or chosen behavior ( although probably mostly subconscious in my case). I don’t have much anxiety about anything in my life ( except belching !), and reading about CBT seems to only point to “anxiety “ disorders as a possible approach for eating related issue.

Does anyone have personal or clinical experience to share about belching, CBT, maybe hypnotherapy.? I would really appreciate hearing your story and lessons learned. Thanks so much!

Digestive enzymes may help to help break down the foods you’re eating. Chewing your food well also will help to aid your body to do less work to digest. Foods high in fiber are more difficult to digest and gas producing. Have you kept a food diary noting food consumed and level of belching after meal 30 minutes, 60 minutes, etc. Beyond SIBO testing, have you been tested for parasites, fungus and yeasts?
My issue was rectified by finding I had SIBO, a fungus and a yeast. I was prescribed a digestive bitter 10 minutes before meals, a digestive enzyme after a few bites, reduced certain foods that are gas producing. Consulting with a nutritionist may be helpful to you.
Good Luck. I sympathize and empathize with you. Long term symptoms make life difficult.

Gigi14,
Thank you so much for your suggestions. I don’t have belching/food log yet and this could provide good info. I think the majority of belching for me is swallowing air , so figuring out how it is happening under my radar will probably help a lot. I am inspired to try digestive enzymes again by your post . The majority of my belching does not appear food triggered, but certainly could be partially, maybe more than I think . I think I may ask new GI Dr to explore the parasite /fungus possibility again, it had been about 4 years since the last two SIBO tests.
I would be interested in your and others experience(s) with dietary fiber supplements. My GI told me I need something do to diverticulitis discovered during colonoscopy, and to maintain movement. Intestinal gas is excessive 24/7 for me (hard to know severity because nobody talks about gas ) and belching).
Thanks again!