For some, these aftereffects are more embarrassing than any public belches could be.
Why cant some people burp?
The culprit is an esophageal muscle called the cricopharyngeus, which lies below the Adams apple.
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This muscle normally is shut tight, opening only to allow swallowing.
In most people, it also opens to allow burps to escape.
Bastian has noticed that not only do his RCP-D patients find vomiting uncomfortable but most also find hiccuping painful.
Several physicians and clinics have since adopted his method, although practitioners who offer this procedure remain relatively rare.
It was just kind of a thought, he told Verywell.
Soon, people from all over the country and world were coming to Bastian for their own procedures.
The procedure itself is brief, about 10 to 12 minutes long.
A tiny needle administers three or four shots of Botox before the patient is awakened.
I tell people its a little weird the first week or two or three, he said.
Its like training wheels, he said.
People find that little hook to the burp, and they practice it.
For Emma Svalsted, 24, the RCP-D procedure has been life-changing.
If I drank soda, it would feel like balloons were suddenly inflating in my stomach and throat.
If I ate too fast, I would be in so much discomfort I would have to lie down.
After learning about R-CPD on social media, she scheduled the Botox procedure.
Now, more than a year later, she continues to be able to burp naturally.
I have confidence that my once-debilitating symptoms are out of my life for good, she said.
Another satisfied patient is Britney Lipps of southern Indiana.
Proclaiming her stomach gurgles obnoxious, Lipps, like Svalsted, sought treatment in various corners without success.
