Belching...unexplained!

Help! What in the world could cause somebody to have to belch after swallowing anything to eat or drink? Not swallowing air, never used to happen...now happens all the time for several months. Tests show nothing, also belching on an empty stomach and upon waking in the morning. Becoming very concerned...can't find any answers. Does anyone know anything about this? Should I be scared?

hi stockster--
thanks for your reply. i have been seeing my GI dr. about this and haven't gotten any answers. he is now calling it a "functional" issue (he's even said "stress" which unfortunately i don't really accept that diagnosis because something clearly isn't working right). anyways, i had an endoscopy, an abdominal ultrasound and a barium swallow...all of which came back "normal"...therefore giving me no answers :(

could i possibly have a weak LES or reflux issue without even sensing reflux? all i have is belching (feels like just air). i have no feelings of acid, no heartburn, no regurgitation or anything like that. but it's as though my stomach has to belch air up after i put anything inside of it. it just doesn't make any sense to me. i have scared myself into thinking i have every fatal illness that exists...because i can't get a tangible answer.

could i have an LES or reflux issue and still have nothing show up on any of those tests? could something like this show up so suddenly? i literally was fine one day and the next day it started. at my worst i was belching an average of 100 times a day. it has decreased now but it's everyday, and still significant compared to the fact i NEVER used to burp unless i drank soda (which is almost never).

if i drink something, i literally have to belch probably one minute later...like my stomach can't hold the air or something. i don't know what to make of this but am still scaring myself into so many things. I would hope with all the tests I've had I've ruled truly serious conditions out.

If you have any more input or info, I'd really appreciate hearing back from you again!

hi james...i'm sorry about your situation. i think what is most frustrating is not having an answer or diagnosis. how did this start for you? was it out of the blue nowhere for no apparent reason?

what do your doctors say after all your normal tests? and what tests have you had?

i'm seeing a new GI in a couple weeks just to get a second opinion because i don't like that my current doctor is blaming this on stress/anxiety.

i don't think my situation is nearly as bad as yours though. i don't have any gagging or vomiting and although i used to belch an average of 100 times per day it has gradually gotten down to maybe 25-30 per day, but i still think that is excessive (at least for me personally).

well, respond if you can.

opnwhl...thanks for the reply.

I think my current gi is a great doctor...however he feels he's ruled the serious things out and he really feels my issue is anxiety. In all honesty I do have some anxiety but I don't feel it's causing this. It seems to strange. However, he had performed important tests. He did an endoscopy with biopsies...came back all normal and all negative biopsies. I also had a barium swallow and abdominal ultrasound which are normal (and normal bloodwork). At this point he is saying its "functional". I guess I don't understand how this could so suddenly appear out of nowhere?

Would chronic belching with no other symptoms be a sign of reflux even with all normal tests? I don't know what I'm talking about but in my mind it seems that suddenly my stomach can't hold as much air or I have a weak valve or something is malfunctioning. Does that even make sense?

Have you ever heard of belching alone being a symptom of anything?? I of course have convinced myself I'm dying and this is a sign of some underlying terrible illness that I'll never find an answer to. It's actually really worrying me...but then my current gi says the bad things have been ruled out.

I just don't know what to think. What do you think?? I'd really appreciate any other thoughts you may have on this...

opnwhl...thanks for responding again.

i'm just having a hard time understanding what is happening to me, and worrying way too much that this is something serious underlying causing this. for some reason my current GI has never even mentioned reflux. he keeps saying it's a "functional" issue now that we've ruled things out with endoscopy, etc.  but i just keep thinking something isn't working properly. it doesn't make sense where all this air is coming from? or why i can't take a sip of something without burping a minute later? does this sound like reflux?

can the LES be weak enough to let all the air up but no acid or regurgitation?

i'm really scared. should i even be this worried? it just concerns me that the first day this happened (out of nowhere) i also felt queasy...and the belching has persisted every single day for over 3 months now...even first thing in the morning without eating :(

i just don't know what to be thinking...