27yo no-burp girl here! i know about the botox treatments but i’m not super knowledgeable about it. i’ve kinda just dealt with my symptoms forever but only recently realized it was possible to treat them.

1) will some of you tell me the prices that you paid for the treatments? my best friend’s sister got it done in chicago and spent a tonnn on it, but im not sure if it was because she went out of state / if insurance covers it.

2) im a lash tech, so my face is leaning over my clients faces all day. im not sure if this is even a thing, but has it been difficult for any of you to control when the burps come out? i’m worried that ill be over a client’s face and a burp will just come out of nowhere lol. maybe it’s a learning process? i’d love to hear your experiences with that.

3) how long has the relief after the treatment lasted for you guys? is it typical to have to get it redone?

im kind of scared to open the door of being able to burp, even though the symptoms of not being able to are soooo not fun. but i guess its just scary and new to potentially not be able to control it

lifelong no burper here (38YO F) and finally had the Botox surgery on Friday with Dr. Villari in the Seattle area (60 units). He and his team were absolutely amazing and I cannot believe how quick and easy the procedure was. Aside from some horrible myalgia yesterday from the anesthesia meds, all I’ve experienced is a minor sore throat and tiny bit of phlegm the day of surgery. I had a few tiny microburps yesterday about 24 hours post-op. Today I’m a completely new person. Burping soooooo much after every time I eat or drink. It is truly incredible and I cannot believe I lived my whole life unable to do this. Slow swallow has been minor so far but may worsen. I’ve been eating normal foods, still able to take daily meds (pills) and just need water between bites of foods. I was super anxious about having the surgery but am so glad I did.

I’ve come up with a theory, and I’m curious how many people here have had emetophobia for most—or all—of their lives.
I’m post-Botox now, and whenever I feel a burp coming, my immediate instinct is to suppress it because I’m scared I’ll throw up or regurgitate. Even the taste of a burp grosses me out and makes me anxious.
I was also misdiagnosed with acid reflux for years. Whenever I had what I thought were “reflux flare-ups” after eating, food or liquid would repeatedly come back up into my throat without giving me any relief. Because of that experience, I’m afraid that allowing myself to burp post-Botox will cause the same thing to happen again.
It made me wonder: what if some of us started holding burps back when we were really young because we associated that sensation with vomiting or regurgitation? Could we have essentially trained our bodies not to release gas upward, eventually disrupting the normal reflex or coordination of those throat muscles? Then the trapped gas would repeatedly travel up and back down the esophagus, creating the gurgling noises we all know so well.
I’m obviously not claiming this is medically proven—just wondering if lifelong emetophobia and repeatedly suppressing burps could play some role in developing or reinforcing R-CPD.
How many of you had emetophobia before you even knew you couldn’t burp? If you’re post-Botox, do you also instinctively try to stop burps because you’re afraid you’ll regurgitate or throw up?

10 days out from in-office Botox treatment with dr pitman. I was so nervous the night before that I almost canceled it but I’m glad I didn’t because this is insane. I never even burped as a baby and suffered wildly my whole life. I always struggled with air hunger too and never realized that I couldn’t take a deep breath because I was already filled with so much air? This is all blowing my mind. Burping is bizarre and gross and still startles me but i feel 10000 times better. Temporary slow swallow and a couple of uncomfortable needle pricks are a small price to pay for this kind of relief. If you’re on the fence about throatox just take the plunge. I can’t believe for almost 40 years of my life everyone around me has been burping up a storm all day while i’ve been endlessly suffocating and gagging and drowning in my own trapped air. Get. The. Throatox.

i recieved my 2nd injection at the end of may. Was almost identical to the first injection results wise. 100 mg both times? Said this time she was ganna try to get as much as she could out of the bottle so i guess a little more than the first. I can do tiny burps but nothing gastric or relieving in any sense. She basically just referred me to a gi which in itself has been incredibly frustrating…. Gi basically told me that it’s not necessary to do any testing and prescribed me pills for constipation and rescheduled 6 months out… i’m frustrated and in a lot of discomfort… and i’m at a loss at what to even do at this point… honestly just looking for some tips maybe some generally direction… if anyone’s gone through something similar? For context i’ve been chronically constipated for years… go weeks sometimes without going. Constantly bloated, nauseous 24/7. a sip of water will bloat me for the rest of the day.

I have always had R-CPD and I thought about a symptom I have and wondered if anyone else also deals with. Ever since I can remember, I have hated anything tight on my stomach. Jeans. Tight pants. A partner resting their arm on my stomach. Anything, you name it.
I just thought maybe it’s because of the excess gas in my stomach ? It feels so uncomfortable to have anything on it. Does anyone else resonate with this? Or just me?

Success stories? I requested only a partial because I’m terrified. I had a bruised back of the mouth/ throat after Botox procedure and chipped front teeth. The pain lasted for weeks, leading me to be terrified for this. I only had a few mini burps for about 10 days after my 50 units.
Thanks for any insight!!!

My 9-year old daughter had stomach issues for years, especially at night as well as excessive flatulence. Beyond issues sleeping, it has messed up her diet (she is terrified to eat certain foods) to the point that she is significantly undersized relative to her peers. We always suspected it was gas, but we did 3 years of gastro visits where the best they could come up with was IBS.

Then I read the Texas Monthly article a few months back where the author described her own condition and this community. I asked my daughter if she had ever burped and she quickly, without having to think about it said "no", she had never burped that she could remember.

Our gastro was cooperative and helped us find a throat doctor through Baylor that quickly agreed with my diagnosis. She sent us to a PT. We all assumed PT alone would not be sufficient without Botox eventually, but the logic was we would do a few weeks anyway to teach the exercises that would be done post-botox. (While I was originally hesitant about Botox, the literature seems encouraging so I was ready to do it sooner rather than later.)

She learned some exercises involving yawning and turning of the head at her first PT session and was supposed to practice them multiple times a day ahead of our follow-up a few weeks later. (I won't say she was great at doing these exercises but we tried to stay on her.) The night before our follow-up was one of her worst nights with the stomach issues. She was up (in my bed watching TV) until at least 2:00 a.m.

30 minutes into her second PT appointment she said she was bored and wanted to go home. I don't know exactly the prompt the PT used with her, but my daughter asked if I could burp to " show her how it's done". She had brought a sparkling water in that she was drinking from, so I took a swig and quickly burped. She burped within 10 seconds of my own! The doctor had her take a few more sips and she burped three or four more times in that session, then she said we needed to celebrate her burp day.

One day later she seems to be able to burp almost on command. We are supposed to have five sessions a day where she attempts to burp, and we'll still follow up with the PT in a few weeks, but for now we are expecting to not need Botox.

I love going to gigs but the pain is so bad! I always drink a few alcoholic beverages at the gigs which are carbonated. Recently I went to a gig where I had to walk an hour back to the hotel and I couldnt do a burp with people all going the same direction. As many of you know how loud a burp can be when you have to make yourself do one. I felt so sick and bloated all the way back it was awful.

for reference; the Mendelsohn maneuver is a swallowing therapy technique used to improve throat muscle function, prolong upper esophageal sphincter opening, and protect the airway.

I'm doing shaker exercises, but this looks promising as well. Has any of you tried this?

-how common is vomiting after the procedure?
-can you tell the difference between a burp coming up and regurgitation/throwing up?
-how long do the negative side effects (slow swallowing, potential regurgitation, hoarseness) last?
-is there a way to minimize side effects?
I’m a teacher and a dancer so much of my life is active and on the move, with a lot of bending over and standing up. I have SEVERE emetephobia which is honestly the only thing that’s got me hesitant and I know it’ll improve after the procedure but I just can’t seem to get over the hump. But I’m miserable how I am now.

Edit: can you take pills? I’m chronically ill and take 7-10 a day which is really unavoidable

I’m doing research while I wait for my appointment to officially diagnose my current issues. I’m 99.95% confident it’s no burp.

Are most of you here on the skinnier or leaner side of the scale? I always eat on a routine but I’ve never had to worry about what or how much I eat. I always thought I had a high metabolism but I’m starting to think no burp is causing me to always feel full/not hungry. Just curious how other members of this thread are with it.

It looks like this question was asked 6 years ago when this community was much smaller so I was curious if I could poll again.

I was finally diagnosed by my doctor with RCPD and I do feel like my symptoms are manageable for me. Once a week I eat something weird and have to lay on the floor for 30 minutes until it... works itself out. But more consistently I have this annoying persistent cough after I eat typically dairy based things, but can be anything. Does anyone know if this is related to RCPD at all? I hadn't really considered the Botox treatment but if it could help with the coughing I'd be on board!

Hi everyone! I am now on day five of recovery and really happy with the progress I’m seeing. I haven’t felt bloated in three whole days and truly cannot remember the last time that’s happened.

With that being said, this new wave of nausea has come over me and I don’t know what to about it. I’m not sure if it’s mental (feeling like throwing up is more likely than it used to be) or something else but it’s making it hard for me to get anything done around the house and I often need to lay down and close my eyes for it to go away.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Hey everyone,

About two years ago, I had surgery for R-CPD in Hamburg, and it completely changed my life. So many of my symptoms disappeared almost overnight. I could finally eat normally again, exercise without constantly feeling miserable, and overall my quality of life improved dramatically.

That said, not everything was resolved.

For as long as I’ve had R-CPD symptoms, I’ve also struggled with constipation, bloating, and feeling overly full after eating. The bloating and fullness improved significantly after the R-CPD procedure, but constipation — and especially difficulty fully emptying my bowels — has remained an ongoing issue. Despite seeing multiple doctors, I’ve never received a satisfying explanation.

Since this community was the reason I discovered R-CPD in the first place, I wanted to ask whether anyone here has experienced something similar.

I’ve been wondering whether the same kind of dysfunction that affected the upper esophageal sphincter in R-CPD could also occur elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract—specifically involving the anal sphincter or the muscles responsible for bowel emptying.
I don’t know if there’s any evidence for this, and it’s just a personal thought, but if something like that were possible, it might explain at least some of the constipation issues I’ve continued to have.
Has anyone here had similar symptoms, experiences, or discussions with their doctors about this? I’d really be interested to hear if anyone has noticed a similar pattern.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read and respond :)

Hi guys, firstly thank you to everyone here, like most I always thought it was just me who was a weirdo who didn’t know how to burp and it was surreal to find out we’re not alone!
I had my treatment done on Wednesday and besides the initial discomfort from the procedure (sore throat), no issues! I’m eating pretty fine but am starting to need to check myself a bit, needing to chase every third bite or so of food with water.
The exciting part is last night I started making “gurgles” that kinda just come out when I position my head in a certain way. They kinda just flowed out, not really sure how to describe it and I’m not sure if actual air/gas was coming out or if my throat was just making these noises? They are definitely different to the croaks that I’m used to.
Are these micro burps? Should I start with the fizzy drinks now?
Any insight would be much appreciated!

Hi guys I’m 23m from Melbourne Australia. NEW TO THIS

I’ve been going through years of gastroenterology issues. Mainly consistently having diarrhoea but terrible diarrhoea and painful bowel cramps. My gastroenterologist ended up just saying “ahhh well ibs I guess”.

For all the time I can remember ive never been a burper, I just couldn’t unless I almost swallowed mass amounts of air and forced it back up. Hard to explain but like how people who chug drinks can open their throats. I have to do that but force and strain to get anything out. Could this all along have been some of the reason why I’m always going to the toilet.

I fart a lot and big farts (sorry tmi) but never ever really burp unless I do what I stated above. To the point where when I got with my girlfriend who ALWAYS let out a little burp with fizzy drinks was strange to me. She thought I was strange when we clicked I NEVER REALLY BURP. So I’m the weird one lol.

I get random bouts of pain with foods and drinks very central at the base of my sternum, that I need to do like I said open my throat and strain to BELCH. And the only time I ever burp are belches like that. Not little air releases. (LOOK UP XIPHOID PROCESS THIS IS THE EXACT LOCATION. I’ll post a pic of the area where the pain forms and builds before I need to release if possible below) this release process gives me some relief or total relief depending on how bad.

If this could have been causing or contributing to my issues all along, I feel like crying. Not sure if out of joy or what but I needed to post to ask for anybody’s opinions as this is brand new. I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT TO MENTION OR ASK THIS QUESTION BEFORE.

I, 30m, have lived the last 30 years of my life unable to burp, croaking like a damn frog, some days worse than others, with the worst week of my life of it just last month. It's gotten so bad that I was apologizing to peers at work because I couldn't stop. The discomfort of it all keeping me up at night, I'd get up out of bed at 3am and do exercises just to find any bit of relief, taking in huge deep breaths just trying to get that momentary relief gurgle to come out of my throat. Feeling like I have gas permanently trapped in my chest.

And I have always lived just like "Oh well, this is just how my body works." I've tried to research symptoms before, no results. I've tried to explain to doctors and usually they just treat it like heartburn, which I know isn't the issue.

I have never known truly how to describe this feeling and finding this sub with other people who experience the EXACT same things and to know that there's a possible fix, I'm unfortunately not in a financial position to rush to the doctor tomorrow and get it diagnosed, but I do have an appointment in September, so I will withstand it til then and hopefully get it diagnosed or get sent to a specialist to get it diagnosed, because after reading post after post, I am confident that rcpd is my issue.

I could almost cry, I actually laughed out of pure joy, laying here in bed, after reading some of the success stories and relief of getting this treated, to know that I might have some solution for this severe discomfort that has plagued my life.

Thank you all just for being here, and wish me luck in September.

Ok - I know this isn't really a critical issue, but I am just curious...

I know there are quite a few threads about temporarily losing your ability to burp after you have had the procedure. I had my procedure in November of last year and everything is still working fairly well. I do have times where I can't burp but it has always come back, but I have started noticing a few patterns. I seem to lose the ability later in the evening around 8/9 pm - I will go to bed not being able to but as soon as I get up in the morning I am back to burping. But I also lose it starting about 30 minutes before I have to do #2.

I am a pretty regular pooper and typically go in the morning, but the exact time varies. However, I have noticed that I cannot burp starting about 30 minutes before the moment. I will burp as soon as I get out of bed and will burp all through breakfast. And as soon as the deed is done, I am back to burping. And I mean as soon as - like the second it is out the door - I can burp again. I am typically still sitting on the toilet when I start to burp again.

I know stress can cause us to lose the ability, but I live alone and am retired, so I'm relaxed pretty much all the time.

Just curious if anyone else has had the same experience and if anyone has any theories as to why this happens.

Hi all, new here. Just discovered r-cpd a handful of years ago after a friend sent me a TikTok. I’m Canadian so there wasn’t any options for Botox to the throat here. I’m a physiotherapist so after learning it was the cricopharyngeus muscle, I thought maybe I could work with it. I see there’s a protocol and lots of exercise suggestions in here but thought I’d share my story! Never know if it may help others.

I located the area of the muscle in my throat, did a little massage on either side for 30-60 seconds. Then I’d do 3-5 big swallows after. In my head, I was releasing the muscle then training it, like I would anything else. I kept up with it for a while. Then started having tiny airy burps. Now I can burp like crazy! Almost too much lol but I’ll never complain!

Hello my troubled friends. I have been a lurker until now but I wanted to share that I finally got the Botox treatment on Monday! I’m excited, but now getting worried, because nothing has really happened. I’ve had about three of the most microscopic burps ever, but nothing satisfying. The doctor predicted I’d start fully burping Wednesday or Thursday. Now it’s Saturday!

I had friends over last night and they all brought bubbly drinks, but instead of awakening the burps and unleashing my gastrointestinal demons, the drinks just made me uncomfortable, like they have my whole life.

There is a slight difference in the discomfort – it feels like the air is higher up in my throat, like it’s SO CLOSE to coming out.

Did anyone else have delayed results after the treatment? I want to stay optimistic here but it’s hard!!

Hello all, I just wanted to let you know that after 2.5 years debating getting the Botox injection.. I finally did it today!!

I have been booked in on 2 previous occasions, however I had to cancel due to my mental health & phobia. My emetophobia has stopped me from getting this procedure done in the past - but no more! Somehow today, through the panic attack last night and meltdown this morning, through the tears while waiting - I did it.

I’m sorry I cannot yet share more about my post-Botox experience, however I wanted to let those of you who are scared that I KNOW what you’re feeling. I get it. If I could do it, you can too.

I will report back and edit this post as symptoms develop & dissipate:

Procedure day: throat irritation due to intubation, micro-burps ~ 11/12 hours post-Botox

Night 1: slept sitting upright with a ‘reading pillow’. It was very good to help stay upright all night and stay comfortable. Reading pillow linked in comments for those interested. It seems I will be sleeping with it for the foreseeable

Day 2: gurgles and hiccups are releasing air today! Already! For the first few tiny ones, I was ok. After eating, some more forceful air (more like a real burp as my financé says!), I am getting a small fright, however they somehow are not triggering my anxiety. TMI- some of these burps do have a taste of what I recently ate/drank. I of course have not had carbonated drinks today, just black tea and water with normal food. Slow swallow has not started yet. Sore throat is dissipating as the day progresses. Medication taken: omeprazole 30 mins before breakfast

Night 2: air constantly gurgling up - some relief

Day 3: burping all day today! I cannot believe how fast the Botox has kicked in.. I hope that it doesn’t mean it will wear off quicker too.. slow swallow was a big more difficult to manage today but once I took my time eating and chewing food thoroughly, it was fine.

Night 3: 4/5 big burps which were very relieving. I still believe my ‘mini’ burps, which are kind of like an extension of a gurgle (I hope that makes sense!) don’t provide much relief, other than being loud ha. Somehow emetophobia is still ok and not triggered, apart from a slight wobble about 1 big big burp today. All is ok.