Jeez, why didn't I look this up sooner? I'm 22 and have had worst gas out of anyone I know, I get gurgly(bubbles comin up through the throat) all the time, and I have never been able to manually burp.

Can't say why I didn't link them together.

I've been so embarrassed about my gas, but nothing, NOTHING has ever helped, from diet, to Tums, to Vinegar, to ridiculous amounts of Gas X. It gets so bad I have to go into a locking restroom, get down on all fours which uses gravity help move the gas up(or down really) so I can just have a little relief from the pressure.

I know its not diet related. I've tried detox diets, involving nothing but water for a week, and still had tons of gas.

It really does affect the quality of life, I can attest that aerobic exercise does help move the gas through the body and helps regularity, which by the act helps get rid of gas, but still nothing helps with the burp/gurgle/balloon stomach.

Going to try out the gag reflex though, that sounds like a better than nothing approach.

thanks a ton everyone

Thank god I found this forum. I'm just 18 and I have had the same problem my whole life! Its so frustrating and frightening as a kid. I always thought I had some strange disease. Then I linked my symptoms together. I cant burp, I rarely vomit but I always get nauseous... and my throat makes weird sounds. Its really painful. And hiccups KILL me! Its so painful! But no one believes me. I really wish doctors would figure this out. I had tons of tests done when I was a kid.... what a waste of time and money! It just has to be some sort of disorder with the throat muscles. I can never drink pop or eat certain foods. And I play an instrument so if I eat before I play my throat just hurts and I cant even get the air moving. The ONLY thing I have found that helps is lying down for a long time. There has to be a better solution!

Exactly! I don't know if I mentioned this before in one of my posts but one thing I found that helped prevent (or relieve) the nausea was eating mint flavored gum! It seemed to help me digest better. It's so strange to actually see people coming up with similar treatments.
I always thought it was because of the constant chewing, that it kept your stomach going after eating or something. But then I saw this episode of 24 (no kidding! ) where one of the characters said something like she's going to have a mint tea to settle her stomach. And that made me realize that mint has a documented positive effect on a stomach (didn't know that). Just search google for mint stomach and you'll find some links. And it also explained why I didn't feel as sick when I went to this Italian restaurant where they gave the customers some mint candy after dinner.
The antacids I've been taking for years are also mint flavored btw. Didn't realize that the taste also had a purpose.

I stopped chewing gum though because I also have a jaw problem (gives me headaches) which also several people here seem to have. Is it all related or is it just another symptom of anxiety/stress?
So now I always have a pack of mints with me wherever I go. I used to hate the flavor but now it's the sweet taste of relief. And if that doesn't work I'll whip out my (mint flavored) antacid (it's called Maalox here) and that does the trick most of the time. It settles my stomach even though I don't have any acid reflux feeling at the time.
I learned to live with it but I keep hoping that someone here will post a miracle cure so I check back every few months . I wish I could show these posts to my physician to prove I'm not making this stuff up but I'm pretty sure he will roll his eyes at me in that oh-my-God-another-self-diagnosing-on-the-i nternet-fool way.

Hey all,

I just joined ehealth for the sole purpose of discussing this topic!!! I have the same problem, have had for years. I was never able to burp and when I do, it's usually because I think I'm about to throw up and instead burp. It's so uncomfortable (but it's great to know there are others suffering from the same thing that none of my friends/family understand). I ended up seeing a specialist because of something else and was diagnosed with acid reflux, which I never even took the time to realize I had. I was too concerned with the uncomfortable noises that I didn't notice the heartburn. Now, I take Nexium which helps great with the heartburn, but it does NOTHING for the rest. So the noises are not from reflux.
I'm not sure exactly what causes it for me. I try to stay away from carbonated drinks because they definitely make it worse. But sometimes even if I haven't eaten anything I get the noises. Sometimes lying down helps, but other times I can't sleep. And it happens for HOURS. Sometimes the noises comes with every breath I take, making it hard to breathe. It's loud and embarassing. On top of that I'm often bloated and uncomfortable.
I also run a lot. Often on long runs, or even short ones, I get very bloated and think I'm indigested, but all I want to do is burp to relieve the pressure. It often ends with me feeling that I'm going to throw up and noises won't go away until I'm literally heaving on the side of the road...and all that comes up is air. I experienced this during my first marathon. I felt so sick and all I could do was run until I "threw up" but was embarassingly leaning on a post sign heaving up gas lol people were concerned, but a lot just backed away. I felt fantastic after about 2 minutes of very big and loud burps. It's tough because I'm training again to run in April and get so uncomfortable when I can't even catch my breath because of the noises that climb up my throat.
I plan on seeing my Dr. again soon to try and figure it out. All I know is that it's NOT reflux. Let me know if anybody finds anything out!

since i could remember i have always had gas issues. i have never been able to actually BURP. its something i got used to. although it is embarassing when i meet new people. people have mixed ideas about it. i havent met anyone else that cant burp, so this is great.

i also have OCD and an anxiety disorder so for someone that says anxiety could be tied to it, i beleive you! i have tried and tried to burp. before the feeling of the "growl" i push hard and try to force out a burp, i only feel nauseas at that point. from time to time i will blame my bloating on the fact that i cant burp.

sometimes i dont have to eat anything, they just come up on there own but most times i have to force it out. i find that if i do this too much i get sick. i dont know if you can tie this into not being one to vomet much. i have to be gravely ill or drunk as hell to puke. maybe that has something to do with it.

things i hate: carbonated drinks. i will literally make my soda flat so it doesnt upset my stomach. it really does feel like i have gas trapped in my stomach. i think because of all this i pass gas the other way more often than some other people. again this is something i have always lived with yet i never think to bring it up with my doctor. not sure what he would say.

any suggestions? im here to answer any of your questions to.

I have this same issue.....obviously....I like to call it the "monster" in my throat. I am 20 years old and have had it for a long time now. I was totally freaked out because no one I know has the same issue and doesn't care about mine. It just happens all the time. I eat very healthy so I don't think it really depends on the foods. When I was really young I did have very upset stomach aches all the time which my parents took me to the emergency room for all the time. So I thought that may have had something to do with it. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I am all fart and no burp...it drives me insane.

I am, like all of you, unable to burp. I'm 31. My mother says that I burped just fine as a baby, but for as long as I have memory...no burping. Like many of you, I have to stick my finger down my throat to get that massive YELP to come out of my stomach and into my throat...I have often warned people that would hear me...told them that I was NOT throwing up, but it was just air. I had to actually show it to a few people who didn't believe me.

All of the doctors I've told have actually chuckled at it, like it was no big deal. Sure, it's funny until you have to live with it. Beer is a killer. I try not to drink it, but when I do, it's fingers down the throat for me.

For the person who said Denver is the cure - I assume you're talking about altitude - I'm in Vail right now and it doesn't do a damn bit of good.

It's so funny that there are so many of us, and if someone could just figure this crazy thing out, we could all walk around and burp at will. We would be so obnoxious, burping as often as possible and then jumping around excitedly about it

I wish you all the best in figuring it out.

same here even drinking water i cant burp i even end up coughing until i vomit or burp even soft drink

I've been fighting with this same problem. I've never been able to burp and I get the throat gurgles as described above. If I wait long enough I am able to 'fart it out' but the pressure that builds in my chest cavity is terrible until I do. I am on nexium for acid-reflux but I am convinced that if I could burp I wouldn't need it.

I have a twin brother and he could never burp. We are 38 now. When he was in his 20s he was drinking beer and kept getting the throat gurgles. Then he accidentally burped (I burp 2 or 3 times a year and when I do it feels great). Anyway- he was drinking beer and the gurgles came out harder and harder and eventually he started burping. It was all in once session and ever since then he can burp. He said since then he hardly passes gas any more.

I've told many Doctors about it, including a gastroentologist. They all told me that if I needed to, I'd burp. It was frustrating. I finally found a Doctor who seemed to know about this. He said that typically this is caused by the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus being too tight. There is a surgery where they clip this to allow air to come out easier. My problem is that I am not a canididate for this because of the acid reflux- the clipping would make the acid reflux worse!

I am VERY HAPPY to have found others that suffer this same thing. I feel bad for all of you and I hope the two things I mentioned might help one of you if it did nothing for me.

I do find it odd that my identical twin had the same problem but since his focused beer drinking episode (it was about 3 hours) he fixed himself.

ANY INFORMATION WILL BE APPRECIATED!!

i have the same problem, im 21 and have never burped. The closest i can come to burping is making this frog like croaking noise, most of the time it lasts for several hours, its very annoying. i was told by someone it could have something to do with a corkscrew esophagus, never followed up on it, but it maybe the case. I have also had 3 hernia surgery in the past 2 years, so it could be caused by twisted up intestines, but i would love to hear a success story! Im just glad to hear im not the only one with this problem...

I honestly can't believe so many others have the same problem that I do. I'm 19 years old, and I cannot remember ever burping in my life.

It's really frustrating to deal with at my age, because I'm always going out with mates, but can never truly enjoy these nights out due to the fact I have to limit how much I drink.

I too like many others above, after drinking 3 or 4 pints, have to rush off to the restroom and relax myself. I've never tried the gag reflex option, I've always stood over the toilet spitting down it, as my mouth ends up producing far too much saliva.

I've never seen a doctor about it, as its obviously nothing life threatening, and I've kinda got used to having to deal with it. Its more like a routine now heh.

But having said that, if anyone can come up with a miracle cure, I would surely welcome it!

I'm 23 years old and I've never been able to burp. I always asked people in school as a child how they did it and when they told me, I just presumed that it was because i was scared of vomiting and wouldn't relax my throat enough. SO i went through life drinking coke and feeling sick, having to go home from parties because of it, and yeah like alot of you people i dont drink beer because 1 pint fills me with gas and i feel awful. i make strange noises in the back of my throat which gradually gets the air out, me and my sister call them 'bulberines' hahaha. anyways i often have to hunch over a little and make an array of difference faces trying to get my bulberines up and out of my system. and even then, it takes ages for my wind to actually come out! however, after years of it i adapted to it and just didnt drink that much fizzy stuff (im known at my local for having a coke and only drinking a quarter of it over the space of 4 hours). i also smoked until 3 weeks ago when i got a respiratory tract infection. basically its givn me a horrible cough and i cough so much that i gag. each time i gag, i do the motions of throwing up but guess what happens.. i burp. so basically i cough and cough and cough, then just as i think im going to throw up and i get readyforit... a big burp comes out. its actually VERY relieving and i quite enjoy it! its also kinda cured me of my fear of vomiting. however because im not smoking i have become quite bloated each night, usually ending up with me hiccuping and having alot of saliva in my mouth. it goes away eventually, but smoking really seemed to get rid of the bloated feeling, not sure why. i dont recommend smoking as it doesnt cure it just makes it less frequent. anyways i hope there is a cure for this because i would love to be able to burp, rather than having one every year!

oh and also, as i have this cough, i am burping once a night now, but i have to 'throw up' in order to do it, surely not everyone has to do the motions of throwing up each time they burp?! othing better than getting that gas up though... wow! people dont know how lucky they are do they!

Having just about got back from the pub, at the age of 34, and probably long overdue, I got round to googling this peculiar quirk of mine because yet again I had to "release the bloat" thought it can't just be me and lo and behold! I've lost count of the times my mates have just said "thats weird..." when attempting to burp i've produced a feeble gurgle then had to go off later to release the pressure in the toilets (I've been chucked out of clubs before quite sober attempting to explain the phenomena to doormen). Sorry I don't have anything constructive to offer (as an infant I had colic which I thought might be a factor)but it has been great to read posts from other people with the same oddity.

I found a disorder called Dysfunction of the Belch Reflex. Right now there is no clear treatment for this disorder and apparently there is no one cause. Some believe that it is caused by a damaged vagus nerve. Some believe it occurs because either the upper or lower esophageal sphincter is too tight. They should both be able to relax enough for air to go up and come out of the mouth in the form of a burp. One treatment was a drug called Baclofen but none of the posts I read found this to be an effective cure. Some sufferers find relief by lying on a flat surface; It works the same as burping a baby. Most people put a baby on their shoulder to burp them but the gas actually moves better if the baby is lying across your lap. Another remedy I've seen mentioned is to gently slide a finger down your throat, creating an opening for the air to escape. If the upper or lower sphincter is the problem this may be fixed with surgery.
I hope this information helps.

Hello All- I cannot tell you how helpful this post has been. I, too, have been to physicians in search of an answer to the discomfort and burden of being unable to burp. I'm 28 years old, and cannot remember a time that I was able to burp. Oddly enough, as I have read in others' posts, I haven't vomited since I was a child (over 20 years)either. Perhaps the two are correlated.

What I can do, is "gurp". I call it this, because it is a combination of a burp (but not quite) and a gurgle. Sure,it's weird and indeed somewhat gross sounding.

The funny thing, is that I actually laughed very audibly at some of these posts, because I have coined the same phrases or terms for this "condition" of being unable to burp. Someone posted that their friends said the noises they (the non-burping) produced were similar to that of a frog or dinosaur. These are the exact creatures I have said I sound similar to (not that I was around when T-Rex was, but you get the point...)

Anyway, a friend found this discussion/forum and forwarded the link to me. I couldn't have had my spirits lifted higher by reading through many of these posts- just to know that there are others out there with the same issues, unable to burp, and familiar with the constant discomfort that we all know and experience in the stomach region. I never, personally, have done the finger-down-the-throat gagging thing. Instead, I just try to eat light, avoid heavy foods and wait it out.

Well, glad to know I'm not alone... Peace and blessings to you all and grace to get through your discomfort.

I consider myself relatively normal despite the fact that I can't burp as often or as loud as most people. This does create issues which many of you have already shared: social embarrassment or anxiety in social situations, gurgling in the throat, loud stomach noises, etc. However, I've been able to control it somewhat by being able to force these weird burp-like "things" to release the air from my stomach. I've never tried the finger in the mouth thing, but it sounds like I'm able to manipulate my esophagus muscles to produce the same effect. I'll try to describe what I do:

1.) Relax your jaw and facial muscles.
2.) Put your hand to your adam's apple and plug your nose.
3.) Now simultaneously try to lower your Adam's apple and draw air in through your nose. Of course, your nose is plugged, so you will feel pressure. So long as you can feel a pressure change (your ears might even pop) you are on the right track.

Don't worry, when doing this in public you don't have to touch your adam's apple or plug your nose. These steps are just to make sure you are doing it properly.

Now remove your hands from your face so you are back at step one. Now try step three while at the same time opening your esophogus as if you were to throw up. I can't describe how to really do this step so that it releases air, but keep trying until you can feel air being released in the back of your throat. It may help to move your whole head forward slightly at the same time as step three.

I don't know if the explanation will help, but hopefully it does! It works for me. When you get good at it, you can very very very discreetly "burp" inside your mouth with your mouth closed, and it being next to silent. I consider it a blessing, really.

As I've been writing this, I've made a conscious effort not to do the burp thing or fart and I've seriously had the T-Rex/boat-creaking noises in my bowels. Like, if I were in public they would be very audible and I'm sure I'd be running out of class beat red by now.

Last tip: I'm pretty sure that gas, like electricity, will take the path of least resistance. Meaning if you continually manipulate your esophagus or back of your throat, you should have air coming up no matter what. Keep that in mind. And good luck.

Like all of you, I have all these symptoms. I'm 24 and I've had this my whole stinkin' life and not even my parents believe me, nor any of the doctors I have been to. I've been told I have IBS, but I doubt it. I have the bloating making me look 5 months pregnant, the sounds in my throat (been forcing out gurgling sounds for over an hour now and have just gotten hiccups as well). I can't burp, it gets painful, I have to lay on my stomach for at least a good hour to get any gas out the um...other end, and it's just horrible I'm so sick of this and I want a cure already. Never thought I'd find so many people like me!!

Digestive enzymes seems to help somewhat, as does cutting dairy out of my diet. Ok, well, sometimes it helps. Sometimes a sip of water will make me bloated, and I can't cut water out of my diet, now can I? Someone needs to figure this out. Seriously. Ugh. LOL.

I'm totally putting this page on my favorites list. And calling it a "frog noise" is hillarious. My fiance has been trying to come up with a name for the noises, and I think frog noise is perfect. Doing a Kermit, haha.

I have burped maybe five times in my life. None of them were loud, and all of them were totally by accident and caught me off guard. I do the "gurgle" sound that the rest of you do. I refer to it as my "gurgles." My family and close friends know what it is, but it is really embarrassing when the gurgles get loud, and you are in front of people you don't know that well. I also haven't thrown up in over 20 years, and when I get hiccups, they are vicious and recur for the rest of the day until I go to sleep.

I had to laugh at the people who were talking about laying on a public restroom floor to try to get some relief from the pain of the trapped gas. It hurts so bad, almost like I can't breathe, but as soon as I lay down on my back, it goes away. I have done this at many a wedding.

My advice to everyone is to give up on trying to burp. I gave up a long time ago. In order to stay comfortable in life, I don't drink soda or beer, and I fart a lot (and I mean a lot!). If I have pain in my upper chest, I lay flat on my back for ten minutes and "gurgle" as much as I possibly can. If the pain appears to be lower in the abdomen, I lay on my left side and pull my legs to my chest and fart away! Finding tender pressure points on your esophogus and stomach and pressing on them until the pain subsides also helps with moving the gas along.

Good luck to everyone. Isn't it fun being part of this elite club? Hehe.

I forgot about this part! When I get the gurgling sound I can spit bucket loads. No idea where it all comes from Just another wonderful side effect of this awful thing we all have I guess!!

I am very sick at the moment and have been for a few weeks. Doctors have not been able to diagnose me with anything and whenever I bring up the symptoms of this they continue to laugh me off. I am sure it is all connected in some way. At this stage I can honestly say it is ruining my life

Hi, i really cannot believe there are others like me. i am 15 and the last time i burbed was when i was a baby. i feel bloated all the time and i get horrible throat gurgles, that can last for ages. does anyone know what this is called, or has anyone ever been diagnosed for this problem?