Hello guys and gals.
I know this has probably been discussed before, but I thought I’d write this anyway.
I know there is a small subset of burp fetishists who are unable to burp themselves; I am one of those people.
For as long as I can remember, I have never been able to burp, on command or naturally (with rare exceptions). When I say never, there have been a few rare times over the last 30 years where I have somehow and unexpectedly let out a one off, extremely tiny, airy, natural burp (3 or 4 times in my life). So, I guess it is possible for my body to do it in that sense.
I have tried all the different methods for burping on command or helping with natural burps, had people who are amazing burpers attempt to show me how or explain how over the years, but it has never helped.
I feel like burping is so damn easy for the vast majority of people, they do not have to put in any effort to do it, seemingly. It just comes naturally to the human body, and rightly so. I wonder why it isn’t that way for me. Is it something I am doing wrong, or that is subconsciously preventing me from burping? Or is it something to do with my physiology that prevents it/makes it almost impossible?
After thinking it over and observing myself, I find that I do get stomach air and natural gas buildup, particularly after eating. But what happens is different from what normal people seem to do, different from burping.
I never really thought about it much before because it’s something that happens naturally (and often) that I have gotten used to it. No one says anything about it when I do it, because I guess it just seems like I am either burping or hiccupping when people bother to pay any attention. But honestly, normal people really do not seem to pay much, if any, attention to most burping or burp-like activities. But what is happening with me is neither a burp nor a hiccup, maybe something in between. I’ll explain…..
I get what I think are MEANT-to-be burps; they just never make it far enough to become burps…… I feel a considerable pressure build up in my stomach, sometimes slightly painful, usually uncomfortable, even to the point where I feel as if I tried to push anything out, I would almost definitely throw up or make myself gag. After a few seconds (rarely up to a couple of minutes), I feel the air/pressure in my stomach move around or suddenly bubble, often relieving some discomfort, but also rarely adding to it.
As that happens, I sometimes feel/hear a tiny “pre-burp” airy sort of sound in the very bottom of my throat, the sort of throat noise you sometimes hear immediately before someone lets out a big open-mouth burp.
What happens immediately after that is hard to describe…. I feel what I imagine is a burp quickly about to come up and out. But as that happens, my body’s automatic system kicks into gear. But just before the air and pressure get to the “point of no return”, where stomach gas crosses over into an actual burp and starts to make a definite “burp noise” as it comes out….. My body seems to stop the process ABRUPTLY, always right at that moment, as if even 1 split second longer and there would have been no way to stop the pressure forcing the air (and whatever else) right on out!
It’s as if the air/pressure bubble that was about to come out as a large burp hits a solid wall. As it does, my body does what I can only describe as a really big, high-pressure super hiccup, but in slow motion compared to even the biggest/most prolonged normal hiccups. The pressure quickly seems to hit a peak limit, like the peak of a hiccup, but the peak lasts as long as a long burp, if not slightly longer, before falling off again, just like a hiccup would, but with much more “forced relief” and body relaxation. Doing this even causes me to let out involuntary, natural sighs/moans that sound almost exactly like what you might hear someone do after a big burp as their body relaxes.
More often than not, these “Super Hiccups” come in sets of 2 or more, always immediately after one another, and usually seem to get bigger, higher in pressure, more uncomfortable and longer the more I have to do.
I want to point out again how involuntary and automatic these are for me, as they happen, I have no power to stop them, I can only give in to them and let my body get them over and done with as quickly as possible. They feel uncomfortable, especially while holding at peak for those few seconds, basically disabling me as they happen and forcing my diaphragm and lungs to strain to their maximum. They are unpredictable, uncontainable and uncontrollable.
They offer some mild, usually temporary stomach relief, but no air or gas actually escapes during the process, not even a tiny bit. I do not know exactly what happens, but I assume the air just gets forced back down into my stomach…Or maybe some of it goes into my lungs? It does feel like my lungs are absorbing or at least holding back the pressure as I do it. I do not know enough about human physiology to know whether it would even be possible for air to be transferred from the stomach back down into the lungs; it seems unlikely. It’s gross to think about, but when the body can’t let out the air as a burp, it eventually just goes out the other way, I guess…. no burp necessary.
Sorry for the long explanation and description, and if you read it, thank you, and I hope you gained some understanding or maybe some insight.
Does anyone else get anything similar to this? And do you think there is any reason for/to it?
I feel like, for me at least, this is my body trying to burp and at the same time, my body stepping in to stop it right before it’s about to happen. Another weird thing about it is while at the peak, when the pressure is at it’s highest and stays steady for those few seconds, I feel almost like I am burping, or at least SHOULD BE. But it also feels like if my body wasn’t holding that pressure there as it peaks, I would do a big vomit rather than a burp. The pressure that is being held back and the feeling of it coming up my esophagus feels too powerful, gross, uncomfortable and uncontrollable to possibly be just a burp; that feeling is reinforced by the fact thatmy body seems to do EVERYTHING to prevent it in that moment.
But it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s something I could change or do any differently, in the same way that typical hiccups or even sneezes don’t feel like something I can change or do any differently. The times I have consciously tried to stop it, it only forces my body to do it even harder as if fighting back. I might delay it by a few seconds or manage to shorten or weaken it, but at the price of higher pressure, more discomfort, potentially even slight pain, and even more of a feeling like I’m about to throw up. On rare occasions, even leaving a definite gulp of wetness/juiciness in the very bottom of my throat to swallow… And on the flip side of that, I have not been able to consciously “let the burp happen”, stop that abrupt prevention reaction or force the pressure to “break through”; it doesn’t seem possible.
You may also think “those are just hiccups”. And yeah, in a way, I guess they are? But they don’t feel the same as typical hiccups. Besides the length, typical hiccups feel like I want to let them out as hard as I can, and my body tries to, but THEY can never make it all the way; they just quickly dissipate without any pressure build-up. But my weird “Super hiccups/failed burps” that hit me are like the inverse of typical hiccups; these feel like they WANT to come all the way out, but it’s MY BODY/ME that can’t make it all the way.
So yeah, I would really like to understand it better. Any input from others would be great. Feel free to ask whatever or give your own experiences or opinions.
I’m keen to hear from others like me who can’t burp and don’t know why. Do you get anything similar to this? Have you ever managed to find a way around it and actually let out a burp?
Also I’m curious to know what happens if a person who does do big burps attempts to force hold it in just before it happens? Something like this, or no?