Expert: John Pilcher, MD - 5/6/2010

Question
I had bariatric surgery 3 years ago in December.  Have had wonderful experience, except, from the very beginning i burp excessively.  No matter if i drink water, or dont drink anything i burp.  If i eat or dont eat i burp.  I wake up in the morning and burp.  The only relieve i get is if i lay down on my side it stops and sometimes even with laying down it takes a while for it to stop.  I have had NUBEROUS, test, with no answers.  I had tried probiotics, antacids, antibiotics, no milk products, milk products.  I know that ice cream and things that are very sweet make me go off like crazy.  At times i feel like, when you put vinegar in baking soda together and how they explode, that is how my stomach feesl at times.  I am so tired of burping, it makes me feel sometimes like i am loosing my breath i burp so much, and these are deep down beer belching burps.  I dont drink sodas, i drink mostly water or crystal light flavored water.  Please, Please help me.

Answer
Wendy,
I am sorry to hear about this problem that is obviously bothering you a lot.

Our usual understanding is that burping is caused first by swallowing air.  We often have patients who experience more burping for a few weeks after their gastric bypass but it goes away on its own in every case I have seen.  When you describe the pressure buildup, my thought is that you may have a partial kink or twist of your intestine at some distance downstream from your stomach pouch, but usually a patient would noticed difficulty eating and drinking more so than pressure and belching.  In any case, this possibility could be tested using a CT scan or Upper GI X-ray, and if a problem is found then it could be surgically corrected.  If the X-rays have already been done then I must confess I am at a loss.

Best wishes,
Dr JP