Excessive belching = gluten issue?

[eternallytired]

So, Dr. Hive, I have another health question for y'all.  My son, now 7.5, has issues with excessive belching.  This has been a problem for more than two years--probably coming up on three years now.  It's not that he WANTS to be belching.  In fact, he finds it highly distressing and often has difficulty falling asleep because he's so air-filled at night.  (Sometimes it sounds like he's retching, he's got so much air coming up.) 

 

I took him to the pedi when this first became a consistent issue, and she said, "Stomach aches are the most common complaint among kids, and he's obviously healthy."  About a year later, I brought it up to our new pedi across the country, and he just kinda hmmmed and dismissed it.

 

Lately I've noticed that DS seems to complain most on nights when we've had a supper containing rice or pasta, so I've started wondering if there's a connection.  He says that he always feels full of air, but some times are worse than others.  Does anyone have any insight they could share? TIA!

[Mergath]

I wouldn't think so, if that's his only symptom. It's more likely that he's just swallowing too much air when he eats. Does he drink any carbonated beverages? 

[wapiti]

Rice wouldn't have gluten, so perhaps it might be grains in general.  Perhaps try to keep a food/burping diary for a week or two and see if anything correlates.

[Laurie]

 

 

Lately I've noticed that DS seems to complain most on nights when we've had a supper containing rice or pasta, so I've started wondering if there's a connection.  He says that he always feels full of air, but some times are worse than others.  Does anyone have any insight they could share? TIA!

 

There most definitely could be a connection.  My daughter has been dealing with this for almost a year, and it has been horrible.  FWIW, she has been seen by a pediatrician, a gastroenterologist, and a naturopath.  But it's a book that finally helped her to start getting better...in my daughter's case, her problem has also included a big weight loss (she's 19 and went from 98 pounds to just under 80 pounds), and once she started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in January she was finally able to start gaining back the weight she had lost, and the bloating/belching is much reduced. 

 

Here's a brief description of the diet:  http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/p/science-behind-the-diet/

 

If you are interested in trying it and have any questions, I'll help if I can.  I'm so sorry for your son!  This has been a truly awful year watching my daughter suffer with this.  (In her case, the problem got massively worse when we made the mistake of doing 2 weeks of Prilosec, last September.)

Edited August 11, 2016 by Laurie

[TranquilMind]

So, Dr. Hive, I have another health question for y'all.  My son, now 7.5, has issues with excessive belching.  This has been a problem for more than two years--probably coming up on three years now.  It's not that he WANTS to be belching.  In fact, he finds it highly distressing and often has difficulty falling asleep because he's so air-filled at night.  (Sometimes it sounds like he's retching, he's got so much air coming up.) 

 

I took him to the pedi when this first became a consistent issue, and she said, "Stomach aches are the most common complaint among kids, and he's obviously healthy."  About a year later, I brought it up to our new pedi across the country, and he just kinda hmmmed and dismissed it.

 

Lately I've noticed that DS seems to complain most on nights when we've had a supper containing rice or pasta, so I've started wondering if there's a connection.  He says that he always feels full of air, but some times are worse than others.  Does anyone have any insight they could share? TIA!

 

Trust your gut, no pun intended.  Try eliminating some of those foods to see if the problem goes away.  If so, you've got your culprit.  If not, you keep looking.  I have that problem sometimes when my sinuses are acting up.  I guess drainage is happening. 

 

 

[shawthorne44]

I've had that problem.   Probiotics are what helped me.  It looks like the diet mentioned is targeting the gut flora

[Laurie]

I just wanted to add that my daughter had already been eating a completely gluten free diet for years before her stomach issues started (She had a history of chronic diarrhea but not celiac disease.)  She was still eating foods  like gluten free baked goods, potatoes, corn, and rice when her stomach troubles began.   

When her stomach started bothering her and she started losing weight  I thought it would help to give her more bland foods like rice.  For my daughter, however, this only made her feel worse.    

[Katy]

Do your rice and pasta dishes contain things in the onion family?  Onions, garlic, leeks, chives, or scallions?  Belching and heartburn, sometimes followed by soft stools, gas, or diarrhea are common reactions to too many onions.

[Jan in SC]

Rice exacerbates my reflux more than anything else.  Are you sure he doesn't have reflux?

[IfIOnly]

It sounds like carbohydrate intolerance and malabsorbtion: https://www.csaceliacs.org/carbohydrate_intolerance_fact_sheet.jsp

 

My son has it.

[IfIOnly]

I should add that in my son's case, the villi damage was due to gut dysbiosis and eating foods I didn't know he was allergic to. Removing allergens was a start, and sometimes that's enough for the damaged villi to heal itself, but be also needed a special healing diet and antimicrobial and probiotic medicine.

Edited August 11, 2016 by ifIonlyhadabrain

[Joules]

Research SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).  In that case the bacteria are making the gases.  It can be related to celiac.

[shawthorne44]

I am curious.   How well does he digest beans?     When I looked into mine it said that not being able to digest beans was a symptom of the gut flora being out-of-whack.  

[eternallytired]

Whoa!  I come back after a long day to lots of responses.  Thanks for taking the time to offer input and suggestions, everyone.

 

He eats very slowly and never drinks anything carbonated, so I don't think he's been swallowing too much air.  Our stir fry and pasta dishes do contain onion, but not very much; especially with pasta it's just enough for flavoring, so I'd be surprised if he's getting overmuch of that or garlic or leeks, either.

 

Perhaps I'll have to have him help keep a log of what he eats and how he's feeling.  I've not noticed any correlation to bean intake (and he does love beans!), but now I'm going to pay attention to that, as well as checking out the suggested searches and links. 

 

The thing that drives me nuts is that docs completely dismiss any concern I have regarding my kids' diet (his little brother had lots of intestinal distress as an infant/toddler and ended up self-limiting his intake to barely anything), saying, "Well, they're growing, and kids only grow if they're healthy.  You can tell if something is wrong by looking at a child, and yours are alert and active and growing."