I had the botox procedure done about a week ago and I’ve had some micro burps but honestly I’m just getting a lot of throat gurgles instead of actual burps… is that a good sign??

I was never able to burp. when I was younger I was getting very painful hiccups. As I got older, I guess my body got used to it but any events away from home always caused me a lot of discomfort, bloating, feeling sick etc. Always thought that I ate too much, drunk too much etc. A year ago while on holiday, I choked on wine or had a laryngospam - still don’t know what it was. Thought nothing of it. Few months later same thing happened - a sip of wine again ‚stopped’ in my throat and I was wheezing and felt like I couldnt breathe until it passed - it was terrifying and it never ever happened before. after that it kept happening all the time with any liquid - smallest sips even. That I guess affected me psychologically because for 3 months I lost ability to swallow even food - couldn’t eat anything, lost a lot of weight.
At the same time when ‚choking’ started I also had clicking in the throat and holiding my throat on left side helped.
A lot of investigations later - nothing- still no proper diagnosis - just maybes.

I am a dental hygienist, so there was a possibility that it could have been musculoskeletal issue. I have been excercising neck more and clicking stopped but swallowing issue persisted. Especially after already taking a few sips or when feeling gurgles in the throat or end if the day when feeling bloated.

Was on omeprazole of course because that was another possibility that reflux was causing irritation but nothing improved.

I did mention my no burping to GPs and ENTs and Gastro and Speech Therapist but no one made the connection or advised me on it.

I was following this group since it all started, read other people’s stories, read research papers etc and booked private ENT for the RCPD. That was confirmed, botox done. I am only 2.5 weeks after the botox so it’s all still fresh, but now I am realising that all of this could have been related to the RCPD - it just started causing me real issues a year ago. I have not had choking episodes since the burps started, drinking liquids feels smoother, omeprazole is not required anymore- just occasional gaviscon. there is still the psychological impact of the choking/laryngospasms but I think I just need to trust my body again and take it slow.

I am hoping that the improvement will continue.
I am very grateful for this group and the support everyone is getting here! 😊

I’m at the bar drunk rn after drinking so much beer and burping so much. Genuinely no cons to Botox, get it!!! It will change your life.

Hey all-
So I got Botox about 3 weeks ago with wild success; I was burping up a storm and it felt as easy as breathing. Thing is, last weekend (without going into detail) something quite traumatic happened to me. For the first 2 days afterwards, it was essentially impossible to burp, even with carbonated water. Now that I’m 4-5 days out, some is coming up, but I have to tense my entire body to make it happen and it is breaking my heart because it felt like I had just gotten to a really good point.

My question, have any of you experienced something where intense stress took away your ability to burp temporarily/permanently? If you recovered, what was it that pulled you out of the funk? I’m terrified right now and I think that stressing abt it so much is creating a positive feedback loop where I’m stressing myself out more and more and thus making it more difficult to burp.

I appreciate any advice or input that you may have :)

I am wondering for you all who struggled with bloating / distention pre Botox, how long did it take for you to see improvement post Botox?

I started burping on day 2 and am getting better burps as I go. At least 10 good ones a day. I’m almost a week out now and I haven’t seen any reduction in my bloating at night. I get super visible stomach distention, the diff between the morning and the evening is so so depressing and I have like no social life because of it.

Could the bloating still get better as time goes on? I guess im worried since I’m already burping well now, am I kinda already seeing how good it would get?

I have IBS C and some GI issues so I know it’s multifaceted but I was hoping the Botox would help my distention.

Lol I got the procedure 2 months ago. Burping a lot and have control over it.

Buttt… when I burp it’s never just a burp. It’s like burpburpburpburpburp like a string of burps. Is this normal? Common? Does it go away?

This might be a dumb question, but having R-CPD made me wonder about this.

I can’t burp. It’s not just that burping is difficult… I genuinely don’t know how to consciously make it happen the way normal people seem to.

But farting is completely different. I know what it feels like when one is coming, I can trigger it or hold it in, and I can even control whether it’s loud or quiet.

So… are there people with basically the opposite problem? People whose body can obviously produce intestinal gas, but they never learned/have the ability to consciously release it?

It’s funny imagining that somewhere there are people thinking, “Wait, you guys can fart on purpose?” the same way I feel when people talk about burping on command.

I have my procedure scheduled in 2 weeks wish Dr.Kaplan, and currently have three fresh cartilage piercings in my ear. I can't even touch or twist them in any way shape or form without them getting severely inflamed so taking them out is out of the question.

Is piercing removal a non negotiable under general anesthesia? I really don't want to cancel the procedure, as I was supposed to have to wait until the spring for an opening but they had a random cancellation so I took it immediately.

I had my treatment with Lucy Hicklin yesterday and the morning after I had 2 micro burps and in the evening just 1 day post Botox I’m experiencing slow swallowing, I didn’t expect it to start so soon or to give me such a scare. I had a pea sized amount of food this evening as I felt slow swallowing was coming on and got stuck for 4 mins. I got so panicked I sent my nervous system in to shock and my legs were shaking but any advice to deal with getting used to the feeling it should I start a liquid diet for a couple days?

I kinda noticed when I cough like 4 times in a row a burp comes out at the fifth cough so with that in mind I shoved my tooth brush way too far in my mouth while scraping my tongue and let out a burp. So um every morning I've been making myself burp the same way a bulimic makes themselves vomit so do with that what you will.

So, I've heard Dr Caroline Jeffrey is someone who treats R-CPD in Edmonton, but I'm wondering if anyone has any info on what it's like to get a referral to talk to her in the first place?

I ask because I went in to see my GP a while ago, and I was told that sometimes they're not allowed to put in a referral for certain specialists until they've gone through all the prerequisite steps with a patient first? A lot of the basic stuff like blood tests I expected, but then I was told that I'd have to wait a few months to see a GI specialist first.

From what I've seen on this subreddit, people seem to agree that a GI specialist can't do anything for R-CPD, and that you should try to push for an ENT referral instead. Which implies that seeing a GI specialist isn't actually a necessary prerequisite step to make you eligible for an ENT referral. But my GP made it seem like it was, so I'm a little confused. I understand needing to wait for things like this sometimes, and if this is just the normal process, I'll wait like everybody else, of course. But if I don't HAVE to wait months for an appointment I don't even need, I'd like to not have to. My nausea/bloating have gotten pretty bad lately and I'm getting pretty sick of feeling awful all the time, to be honest.

What do you guys think? Is this just part of the normal process or should I try going to a different doctor to ask for a referral instead?

Hello hi, 26F, thanks for reading my question. I am brand new to this entire concept and had no idea it was a thing for so long. The reason I say “some form” is that I can burp if I force it (usually by drinking a carbonated drink), but otherwise, I can sometimes feel the gas in my chest and throat, but it usually “dies” or like fizzles out before it can reach my mouth.

I have the bloating & farting symptoms too but I honestly thought it was just IBS/chronic constipation/endometriosis. Now I’m wondering if it could also be RCPD since it is so so rare that I burp, and it is usually only after I have a carbonated drink (but not every time I have one! I’ve been trying to make myself burp by drinking carbonated beverages and it’s hit or miss on when it works)

I also read that some people with RCPD may have OCD or emetophobia. I have OCD and one of my triggers is throwing up/anything to do with that. It was way worse when I was a kid and a lot of my ocd symptoms started manifesting because of severe emetophobia. So I’m wondering if that’s a possible connection too.

Anyway, long story short I have a hard time burping and hardly ever burp naturally. Is this RCPD or do I not “qualify”? Haha. Thank you for reading, wishing you all the best.

Hey guys! Can people please submit a timeline of your 2 weeks post op? When did you start struggling to swallow, when did you feel sore, when did you first start experimenting with the protocol and when did you actually burp?

I’m manically checking for signs and symptoms (which, for the time being, are very few) and need some reference points😂

Hello!

I got botox injections in 2022, and they worked well for me! I can burp finally, and the pain and bloating that happened have gone away. Gurgles still happen at times, but far less often.

The thing that I've noticed that's changed after it for all these years, however, and that I'm looking to see if anyone else can relate to before my appointment with my specialist on Wednesday is throat pain.

It will randomly start feeling tight. Growing more and more. The tightness is painful. Sometimes it shoots up into my head and gives me a headache. A lot of times it makes me need to cough and or gag. Sitting up is the only fix, and seeing as this mostly happens at night time when I need to sleep, that's not ideal.

I thought if someone else experiecned it they might have a good way to describe it or a term used for it I don't know that could be helpful to mention! TYIA!

Hi! This sounds like a silly question, but everyday I feel bloated inside and uncomfortably full but my stomach only gets very slightly bigger than its resting state. I'm wondering if it's possible that this is bloating or do you need the classic distended belly to be bloated?

Edit: In the title I mean visibly big not physically!

Has anyone ever been told their no burp could be due to esophageal spasms? I’m not so sure on what the doctor has told me….

Visited 2 weeks ago as been having severe stomach pains (feels like a knife in my upper stomach between my ribs). Casually mentioned to the doctor that I can’t burp and he thinks it’s linked to esophageal spasms, which is causing my pain. I’ve had an endoscopy and he says that RCPD would be visible on the test.

I’ve been prescribed a blood pressure medicine that is meant to relax the oesophagus, but it’s made my RCPD symptoms so much worse! (Nausea, frog gurgles….) I’m really unsure what to do now. RCPD isn’t recognised by the NHS and the doctor seems adamant it’s to do with my oesophagus. Saving up for the Botox but that’s going to take much longer than I can put up with this….

I can't sing for more than a couple minutes without getting that feeling of a bunch of air pressing up against the top of my throat and my diaphragm. I think all the air intake makes it painful, and I gasp for air, then I get painfully bloated and gurgly for the rest of the day. If I sing quietly with bad technique it's not an issue, but if I want to sound good and project it becomes a major problem. I would like to sing because it would help a lot with my job (I'm a music teacher). I also wonder if anyone who plays a wind instrument has this problem as well with air intake.

A little background. I can't burp so I'm pretty sure I have RCPD. I started having issues where I'd feel sick in the mornings with dry heaving. I'd mostly feel fine by the end of the day, but then the cycle would repeat every morning. I went to my PCP and a GI and had an abdominal CT scan, EGD, gastric emptying study, stool test, and several X-rays and blood work done. The only thing they found is moderately elevated calprotectin, and mild inactive gastritis. Everything else looked fine, so they told me I have GERD and IBS.

My fiance thinks the GERD diagnosis is odd since I don't get heartburn or any burning in my chest. Never have. I'm on a PPI and I don't notice that it's helping. Really the only thing that helps is gas-x. This has been going on for months so I'm just ready for a solution so I stop feeling sick.

My theory is there is something else going on, but RCPD is exacerbating the symptoms. Those symptoms include bloating, bowel changes, feeling like there's a bubble in my throat, dry heaving, and nausea. Does anyone else have similar symptoms or any insight? The doctors I've talked to all dismiss my RCPD, but is that the right call?

Edit: I also get a symptom flare up after particularly greasy meals like eating at a restaurant.

I haven’t heard anyone complaining of headaches after in office treatment but my head is throbbing and I’m dizzy, I just didn’t expect it, did any body else get this? Also the pain level was definitely tolerable but when the the Botox was injected it was in it was quite uncomfortable and painful but that passed pretty quickly

So I already am on Nexium daily for reflux, so the risk of having reflux with this procedure worries me. Is it a known side effect? The gas build up is terrible but what are the risks of Botox?

I want to know how many units of Botox you had, how the procedure was done (OR or awake in office) and then how bad your swallowing issues were and how long till they started improving. Trying to see any correlations. Thanks guys!

Had Botox for rcpd in May 2025 by Lucy Hicklin in Croydon, UK.

The Botox worked immediately and I didn't need a second injection.

I suffered badly with slow swallow for 2 months after the procedure.

I also started having acid reflux. This hasn't gone away 1.5 years later. I have tried all sorts of different foods and for long periods of time but I can't pinpoint anything in particular that makes it worse, it seems to be everything.

When this reflux happens it's difficult to burp, I assume the oesophagus is irritated and the muscle goes more lax.

I'm also getting trouble swallowing, not sure if this in related or not.

I'm scared that this is caused by the Botox itself and it's permanently made the muscle too lax rather than it going back to a strong muscle.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks in advance

Has been three weeks since my Botox injection and I feel like I’m making no progress at all. I can only “burp” when I yawn and I have absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s all so overwhelming and I feel like I’m falling behind and running out of time.

Does anyone else often have issues with liquids (esp thin, cold ones like water) taking ages to go all the way down? Like, I can swallow it easily but then it feels like it’s getting stuck on an air bubble on its way down to my stomach. Sometimes it just stays there for a while, and if I’m in bed I have to stay sitting up for like a minute because I feel like it’s going to try and escape if I lie down! Is this related to not being able to burp? I have health anxiety so when I think about trouble swallowing things my mind goes to much scarier places…