I couldn’t burp for six years due to a rare condition — Botox was the only relief

For six years, 20-year-old Caitlin Jones was unable to burp.

Every time she tried, all that would come out was a ‘gurgling’ sound – and it left her feeling so embarrassed that she’d avoid social events.

She first noticed the change in 2020, when she returned to school after attending online classes during lockdown.

Everything felt ‘completely different.’
Caitlin, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, says: ‘I went back to school with anxiety, and I realised I wasn’t able to burp.

‘I had gurgling in my throat, pressure in my chest and throat, nausea after eating or when waking up, and if I’d been drinking carbonated drinks, I got more gurgles, and flatulence.

‘If I went out for a meal with friends, I would always be gurgling, and it was really embarrassing – everyone else could sit there and eat, and I couldn’t.

‘Sometimes I had to leave or go and sit in the car.’
Her initial reaction was to seek advice on the internet, using sources like Google and YouTube.

Quickly, she found a video talking about a rare condition called retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction – and she realised she had all the symptoms.

‘My family and friends were unsure at first what was going on.

But when I did discover it, it shocked them how unusual it was,’ she says.

‘They understood what I was going through.’
In October 2020, then 15, she decided to book an appointment with her GP, where she told them about her inability to burp, as well as her anxiety.

But there, she alleges her concerns weren’t taken seriously enough.

She says: ‘It really upset me when I left the doctors that they didn’t believe me – I knew something wasn’t right with me.

What is retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction?

Retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction is also known as ‘no-burp syndrome.’
According to Yale Medicine, it happens when the ‘cricopharyngeus muscle doesn’t relax to allow air to exit the stomach and oesophagus.’
The symptoms include:

• Being unable to burp


• Abdominal bloating


• Gurgling sounds coming from the neck and chest


• Excessive flatulence.

However, one 2020 study found that more than 99% of people who tried Botox injections into the neck were able to burp, with the effects mostly lasting between three and 12 months.

After three years spent navigating symptoms alone, Caitlin eventually decided to pay for private treatment in 2023.

She was subsequently diagnosed with the same condition she’d stumbled across online, and as treatment, had 50 units of Botox injected into one side of her cricopharyngeal muscle.

The entire ordeal cost her £800, but initially, this dose alone didn’t work.

‘I had to go into a quiet space to try and calm down’

‘But I slowly learnt how to deal with it.

I had to go into a quiet space to try and calm down and control it.’
Last month, Caitlin decided to pick things back up again.

She accepted another round of treatment, this time costing her £1,000 for 100 units.

And, after years of discomfort, her symptoms have been relieved.

She’s been able to burp for the first time in years, though she recognises this isn’t a permanent fix to her condition, which, for most people, is lifelong.

She says: ‘It’s to do with puberty when your muscles are changing, so that’s when it happened for me.

I wanted to try it again this year after I’d been struggling with depression and anxiety.

‘I had 50 units on each side of the throat on May 7 – so double the dose of the first time.

I’ve burped three times since then – the first time since 2020.

‘I had a small burp, then a normal one and then one lasted five seconds.’
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.