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Aerophagia

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For about 4 years now i have what i believe to be aerophagia. it is controlling my life and making me miserable. some articles say it's mainly behavioral but i have a hard time believing that because i will try and follow the suggestions and nothing helps. I can wake up in the morning, take a drink of water, and it will start...the constant, painful internal burps. they hurt so bad. it's gotten to where after almost every meal or intake of food i have to go stand over a toilet bowl and act as if i'm going to vomit just to get the air to come out in big consistencies. i don't know how to actually "burp" on my own, i never could do that. this is starting to affect my throat from straining. what's also wierd is that when i'm lying down if i lay on my right side it doesn't do it but as soon as i turn on my left side the internal burps will start constantly. i'm at a loss. i've been to dr's, tried all the different pills, and charcoal but nothing works PLEASE HELP. i'm miserable!!!


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replied February 19th, 2008
Stomach, Ulcers, Gastric Bypass, and Colon Disorders Answer A
You can perform a gastroscopy again to exclude a possible stomach disorder as the cause for these symptoms. To define, aerophagia is a condition that occurs when a person swallows too much air, which goes to the stomach. It causes gas bloating of the abdomen and frequent belching. It may cause pain, too, which sometimes is difficult to diagnose. Furthermore, aerophagia can occur without any act of swallowing. Aerophagia is associated with chewing gum, smoking, drinking carbonated drinks, eating fast and wearing loose dentures. People with cervical spinal blockages, inhaling also caused air to go down into the esophagus and stomach. In such cases cervical spine therapy is a method of treatment.

Aerophagia is diagnosed in 8.8% of cases when coordination between swallowing and respiration is not well defined, such as during mental retardation. In one case aerophagia was successfully treated with thorazine, a typical antipsychotic sometimes used to treat hiccups.



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