Amazing! I never came across anyone who has the same problem in real life. Most posts here have pretty accurate descriptions of my problem.
I've had the gurgling throat problem ever since I was like 12. Except for some minor shame it hasn't been that much of a problem. But the last 6 years (I'm 29 now) I have acid reflux and a very bloated feeling all the time. This causes me to feel nauseated a lot after meals. I can't burp to relieve the gas, I mean I can't initiate it myself. I've had a bunch of tests done and they've put me on 2x20 mg of Omeprazole every day. This helps a lot with the acid reflux but does nothing for the bloated feeling. I must say, I used to never burp, sometimes a small burp would come out but this was like... three times a year. Ever since I started the Omeprazole, I burp daily but not enough to relieve the tension. They are very small burps and hardly any gas escapes. I'd just pay good money to be able to let out a good long burp.
I'm no doctor but having the condition for several years now, I think this is what happens : The gas can't really escape my stomach which causes my esophagus to open up a bit (balloon effect) which in turn lets out some stomach acid in the esophagus and causes the reflux. If I could just find a way to release the built up gas, I'm sure it would help a lot.
I can't do the fingers in throat trick because I have a fear of vomiting and I gag very easily.
I'm also one of those persons who base their life around their meals. I almost never eat before meetings and if I do, it's a very small meal, like half a sandwich to get rid of the hunger. I don't really care about the embarrassing throat gurgling sounds, I just care about the fact that they make me feel bad, nauseous . I can't drink more than two beers before feeling nauseas and bloated which is a serious social handicap. Speaking of which, I can't eat appetizers either or a soup before dinner/lunch because if I do that, I can't eat the main course anymore. I can't eat desert either because 15 minutes after a meal, I start feeling bloated/nauseated. It makes for some really embarrassing situations when I'm invited for a meal somewhere or even a night out partying.
What I found that does help a bit is eating antacids (Maalox) like candy. If I eat one or two after a meal, the feeling of the food not digesting in my stomach subsides. Doesn't work all the time though, especially not with beer.
I can't believe this many people have the exact same problem and I can't believe the medical community doesn't look into this. When I told my doctor about the gurgling sounds, he kinda looked at me like I was a hypochondriac, making up symptoms. When I told the stomach specialists at the hospital, they dismissed it right away. Well they didn't really dismiss it, that's giving them too much credit. They just ignored it when I told them.
This must be kind of a "disease" right if this many people have the same symptoms. Especially when most of us didn't even know there were other people out there that have the same thing so we couldn't read/heard about the symptoms.
It's really crippling my social life and I would give almost anything to find a cure that actually works. So please if someone out there knows how to solve it, let me know!!!!!!!!!
(btw I also have the jaw problems that some describe here but I can only think that this is not really related, maybe only to the fact that these problems can also be caused by stress like a high level of acid in the stomach)