u/meegangif

Good news, I'm burping! It isn't quite the uncontrollable burping I was expecting but I'm getting maybe 10-20 deep stomach burps per day. I'm also getting weird "silent" burps where my esophagus feels like it does when it burps but lets up a tiny bit of air instead? I get a handful of microburps but it feels like they're now mostly these silent things or real burps. I usually have to turn my head and drop my larynx to get them to be burps and not gurgles.

Botox kicked in fast for me (got a small burp on the drive home from surgery!) and it felt like it was easier in the 1st week. Idk if this is true but it felt like my muscle was less "floppy" and had some tone to push the air from my stomach. I was also a daily micro burper beforehand so I'm thinking maybe my muscle just needed a little push and doesn't quite know how to handle total floppiness yet? Idk. But I'm still getting out a good amount of air so trying not to worry :)

It is also very tricky to burp at work or in public. I let my coworkers know and I'm trying to let loose, but I feel like I subconsciously tense up and am still getting quite a bit of R-CPD symptoms at work. I let it rip in the morning, on my lunch break, and in the evening but I'm a little worried I'm missing out on part of the training window by not burping every time I need to.

I am also still struggling quite a bit with side effects. The slow swallow hit its peak maybe a week ago and hasn't really gotten better. The reflux has been brutal also, though better now that I've started a PPI. I still get occasional gurgles where a burp should be which is kind of discouraging. I also still struggle with bloating, it feels like because my throat is so open I'm swallowing more air than I can effectively burp out. This happens more so in public than at home - when I'm relaxed the pressure relief from bloating has been amazing. But I also very much have a limit of carbonation that I can drink to be able to effectively burp it out. Week 1 I drank 3 beers one night with virtually no bloating, but the other day I decided to try a 2nd sparkling water because the burping came easily after the 1st, and about halfway through the bloating was agonizing. I resorted to good old fart yoga to get the air out and got some burps about an hour later. Honestly beer burps have been easiest due to the relaxation from the alcohol but I'm trying to get better with sparkling water!

I was hoping that after I started burping so quickly that it would only be up from there, and on the days I've burped less I've been struggling with anxiety that it's not going to work. Funny thing is the burps always come back when I relax, easier said than done! With every burp I'm reminded that what I'm going through now is worth it :) Just trying to remind myself that it's a marathon, not a sprint!