Can't Burp Side Effect
How to relieve this effect
Oct 2004
Early on, I read that this operation had a possible side effect of not being able to burp. I thought I knew what that meant, but I was totally wrong.
I can burp. I can burp, just about the same as I always have. However, there is this other thing that is the can't burp thing, at least for me. I learned about it early on in my recovery, but didn't realize what it was until later.
The first time I tried to eat and drink at home, I would swallow a little water and head for the sink with my mouth open and a feeling like a truck wanted to get out. Saliva was running out of my mouth. I didn't know what was going on, but it got more intense, until it seemed to implode on itself and relax just about the time I was ready to go to my knees. I didn't know at the time, this was the can't burp thing. I tried to be careful, but this happened to me three or four times during the first week, until I learned to press on my tongue with my fingers to cause the can't burp to burp, before it got to the truck wanting out state. Once I learned this I could be a bit more daring in my eating and drinking. I learned to drink hot water to keep this from happening, during the time of healing.
Now, it's been about six months since the operation. I sometimes go into the can't burp thing. When eating or drinking, it will feel like I have to burp, but can't without pressing my tongue down with my fingers. If I don't relieve the burp, I can't eat or drink anything until I do. It's not painful like the truck wanting out in the beginning. I can also usually clear this by drinking a glass of water slowly and all of a sudden it will just relieve, without burping. It feels sorta like it washes out.
Part of what seems to aggravate this condition is eating scratchy foods, such as potatoe chips, deep fried things, small seeds, like in five seed breads, or raspberries, toast and such. Chewing finely helps, but if one forgets and just chumps these down they seem to irritate the les area which seems to create more can't burp problems. The best remedy I can find for this so far is to take my time and chew well and don't gulp my food.
I believe this condition is very slowly improving.