Woman left in agony by rare condition that stops her being able to burp
A woman says she's left in constant pain from a rare condition that prevents her being able to burp.
Singer Lucy Hodson, 27, has hailed a £900 botox injection for changing her life after spending years suffering pain and humiliation from the ailment, which left her sounding life she had a "frog trapped in her throat".
Lucy - who performs under the name Lumarie - says the condition would cause painful bloating, a sensation of bubbling in her chest, and leave her making " weird" noises. They were so embarassing she would avoid attending meditation classes.
"It sounded like there was a little frog sitting in your throat trying to get out but it's trapped in there," Lucy, from Hertfordshire, said.
The condition even stopped her from enjoying food and drink – and eventually began to impact her singing career, reports the Manchester Evening News.
"I got a lot of bubbling sensations in my chest and throat that would make me feel sick and stop me from being able to sing properly," she added. "It was so bad that it was all I could focus on because it was just so intense."
For years, Lucy said she had no idea what was wrong and believed it was simply a "quirk" that set her apart from school friends. However, she eventually began to experience difficulties with her voice that led her to see a doctor.
After waiting more than a year for an NHS appointment with an Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist, she was "frustrated" to only be told she was suffering with acid reflux – but says that diagnosis "didn't make sense".
Instead, she turned to the internet, where she finally discovered retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (R-CPD), a condition only formally recognised in 2019. Known as "no burp syndrome", it occurs when the upper oesophageal sphincter fails to relax, stopping trapped air from escaping.
Online support groups, including a 37,000-strong Reddit community within the r/noburp subreddit, helped Lucy realise she wasn't alone.
"That Reddit page has been a real game changer because there's just loads of people with it," Lucy said. "Once I knew it had a name everything started making sense."
That's when Lucy discovered there was a treatment – a high-dose Botox injection into the cricopharyngeal muscle that allows the muscle to relax and the burp reflex to return.
She added: "It started to get to the point where I couldn't do a gig without an 'air vomit'. It was really horrible knowing that something you love is paired with something that feels really wrong.
"The treatment was definitely a difficult decision because I was really worried about the effect on my voice and the impact on me financially and mentally from not being able to sing.
"But I just thought even if the Botox does mess with my voice it's better than this, because this is just terrible."
Lucy paid just under £900 for a same-day consultation and procedure at Shirley Oaks Hospital in London, where she says the Botox injection into her throat "didn't hurt that much". The results were instant.
"I had my first burp the next morning which was pretty amazing," she said. "It just took me by surprise when I was yawning and it came out."
Within days, she was enjoying fizzy drinks, burgers and nights out without pain or embarrassment.
While Lucy is cautious about how long the effects will last, she says the transformation has been "life-changing".
She said: "I just felt great. That was pretty life-changing and emotional in itself to enjoy life and indulge and not be in horrible pain all night and not be able to sleep."
Since the procedure, Lucy says she has noticed some side effects, including a "slow swallow" sensation and an "awful" incident where she choked on water due to a laryngeal spasm, which she says her doctor had warned her about.
Lucy says the treatment has slightly weakened her voice, which has so far led her to cancel one gig. However, she hopes that she will return to performing "better than ever" in a few weeks – free from pain and with a new-found ability to burp.
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