Belching worries

[worrywart115]

Hello, all. I don't believe I've posted anything about this in a few months, but I've had this constant belching as my only symptom for quite some time now. It started back in May, where it felt like I was burping all the time no matter what I ate, and it's still happening as of today. It hasn't gotten any worse than it's always been, but it still worries me from time to time. I've been on a PPI since September and it doesn't really seem to make it any better or worse. When I saw my gastro in October, he didn't seem concerned at all, asking how my weight/eating habits have been (both were normal), and I'm scheduled to go back at the end of the month.

I had a CT of my entire stomach done back in April for an appendicitis scare, an endoscopy done in April 2015, and most recently a barium swallow in September (which the doctor specifically stated didn't check the stomach :shrug:). The only thing that's ever shown up was gastritis, some reflux, and a slight sliding hiatal hernia. I'm 23, and my mind always floats back to some sort of stomach cancer, especially since the PPI hasn't done much. If anyone has any thoughts or experiences with this, I'd appreciate it greatly if you could share as this has been the biggest cause of my anxiety issues for nearly a year now.

[Mojo61]

Hi worrywart, Happy New Year to you! I had this for quite a while and was told that worrying about it actually makes it worse because the digestive system and our emotions are very closely linked and also when we are anxious we tend to swallow air which makes us burp more, then we get even more anxious and swallow more air and so it continues... Reflux also causes excess gas I believe.

If you've had this for a year it is almost impossible that it is stomach cancer because by now you'd be either very seriously ill, or 6ft under! You've had lots of tests so anything wrong would have shown up on the scans etc. Easy to say don't worry, but once I realised the connection between the two my belching stopped.

[worrywart115]

Hi worrywart, Happy New Year to you! I had this for quite a while and was told that worrying about it actually makes it worse because the digestive system and our emotions are very closely linked and also when we are anxious we tend to swallow air which makes us burp more, then we get even more anxious and swallow more air and so it continues... Reflux also causes excess gas I believe.

If you've had this for a year it is almost impossible that it is stomach cancer because by now you'd be either very seriously ill, or 6ft under! You've had lots of tests so anything wrong would have shown up on the scans etc. Easy to say don't worry, but once I realised the connection between the two my belching stopped.

This is the thought process I've had as well. It hasn't been quite a year yet, but I feel like having the issue for this long, without it getting any worse or other symptoms popping up, works against the nasty cancer thoughts. Plus, it would have to had grown incredibly fast and be incredibly advanced to suddenly develop in the month between my CT scan and my belching, or even in the year when I got my endoscopy. And if I had something that advanced, I'd be a lot more sick in 7-8 months of this.

At least, that makes sense in my head :wacko: