Anyone looked into aerophagia?

[Bumpkin74]

Hi,

last night I was getting really bad bloating and especially frequent belching, I suddenly realised I was swallowing lots of air. Looked into it online and it sounds like mild aerophagia. I've suffered with bloating, excess gas and acid reflux for some time.

After reading a few things I've realised I'm a mouth breather mainly because I've got a broken nose, I think this is making me swallow lots of air, also I chew gum regularly since giving up smoking, this is also very bad for swallowing air.

today I've been nose breathing and stopped chewing gum and I tell you what the bloating and belching is a lot better already! Anyone else looked into this and gotten good results? Obviously, I'm going to continue and monitor this development, not totally convinced yet but have seen a definite difference for the better.

kind regards

John

[PinkPenguin96]

I gave up chewing gum a couple of years ago and it made a huge difference in the frequency and severity of my bloating. It's not gone, but it's a lot better. I also gave up fizzy drinks. Glad the steps you've taken have helped you too!

[Bumpkin74 in reply to PinkPenguin96]

Yes not chewing gum seems to be making a big difference to my bloating, I've been chewing gum every day for nearly 7 years, I really don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. Many thanks for your reply.

[Paulb1954]

Hi John, I’ve always thought about this, I have a CPAP machine and I am always woken up by the air pressure being taken in, when I discussed this with respiratory they dismissed the issue but I’m convinced that I must take in to much air !

[Bumpkin74]

Hi Paul, yes you could well be taking in too much air. I realised a couple of days ago I was swallowing air quite a bit, swapped from mouth breathing to nose and honestly have seen a noticeable difference in bloating. I also stopped chewing gum so can't really say which one or both is helping. Are you getting bloating? Is that what's waking you up?

[Bumpkin74 in reply to Bumpkin74]

To be honest, I know nothing about CPAP machines so not sure if I should really comment about it Paul.

[behj]

It took me years (literally-30) to understand that I had aerophagia . Mine is severe and has been moderately relieved by: taking simethicone all thru the day , not talking when eating, no drinking hot liquids no carbonated water- ever, taking small bits and chewing throughly, and rarely chewing gum. I am having a hard time staying hydrated because I can’t seen to stop air-swallowing when trying to get in enough water. There are Speech Therapy techniques tho I have not tried them. This motor memory problem is quite severe for me. I can drink a bottle of water with a normal, flat stomach, and immediately upon drinking, bloat until i have loosen my waistband or change clothes before making changes, every day i became more distended as the day wore on. The FOD MAP diet has helped boating to some degree, tho I still have to follow all guidelines above Best of luck. BEJ

[Bumpkin74 in reply to behj]

Sorry to hear it's affecting you badly, strangely enough I've noticed my bloating and belching is worse after drinking water! Strange. I only realised I was swallowing air when I really thought about what was going on, you really have to think about exactly what you are doing to understand how and why it's affecting you. Best wishes John

[behj in reply to Bumpkin74]

I not only didn’t realize it- I don’t know exactly what I am doing to swallow air. The simethecone helps because it heals up some of the air bubbles that I do swallow best wishes to you beh

[Bumpkin74 in reply to behj]

Have you tried drinking water from a glass with your lips immersed in the water? I've been drinking water like that all day and seen a noticeable improvement. This way I feel less air is being swallowed with the water.

[behj in reply to Bumpkin74]

Great idea! Will try it Thanks! Beh

[Ruby1]

Sugar free gum always used to upset my digestive system, so I haven’t eaten it in years.