I was diagnosed with a small hiatal hernia in June 2012. The other day, I was doing yoga and as I tried to do a backbend, I felt and heard this loud burping/growling noise come from my upper left abdomen in the area around the bottom of my left ribs. As I repeatedly moved from a seated position to the backbend position, the noise happened again. And after I did it several times I became SO nauseated. Just tonight, I have been having what feels like a painful cramp or pinching in my upper left quadrant so I was twisting and stretching my abdomen to try and relieve it and it "burped" again!
Is this trapped air? The hiatal hernia "opening and closing"? Any ideas?
I should add that this isn't what you think of when you say "my stomach's growling". It's a brief sound triggered only when I move in a certain way.
Last edited by harperb; 11-27-2012 at 06:59 PM.
Reason: Clarification
I have the same thing happening daily. I try to stay active as far as stretching and light cardio. I hear the same noise for about an hour after I eat or drink what seems like anything. It even happens with water. I don't even have to exercise to hear it now, it just does it on its own. Have you got any information on it yet?
Thanks for your reply. I went to the GI doc a couple of weeks ago and she sort of blew off this symptom. I pressed her a bit because she ignored it the first time I mentioned it. When I asked again, she said "It's probably just gas." I'm not satisfied with that answer, but I don't have another answer at this point. I had blood work done to rule out problems with my pancreas and spleen, and it all came back normal, so she does feel fairly sure that the left upper quadrant issues I'm having are from the hiatal hernia. Just yesterday I did some cardio and afterward suffered from really bothersome gurgling/belching in that spot for about 30 minutes afterward. Like you, I've also noticed it happening when I drink water. I've also developed really bad reflux with a sore throat and inflamed taste buds on the back of my tongue, so I'm guessing this is a sign the hernia has gotten bigger. Prescription meds aren't working for me (I think they're making it worse), so I don't know what the solution is.
What test did they do when you were diagnosed with the hernia?
I was diagnosed with a "small" hiatal hernia via upper endoscopy. I was having no problems in the upper left quadrant prior to that time (back then, I was having upper right quadrant pain), but since the endoscopy, I've had increasingly worse pain in the area of the hiatal hernia along with severe GERD. Not sure whether the procedure worsened the hernia or whether it's just coincidence, but I'm not a happy camper at the moment.
Ok, I have an endoscopy schedule. I'll be glad to just know what is going on. I do get some relief with the hiatal hernia massage technique but it does seem to come back. I've only tried the technique for a few days.
Yep, sometimes the massage helps me too, but not always, and the effects are usually temporary like you say. That's good you're getting an endoscopy - I hope you can find out what's wrong and more importantly find a helpful solution!
I have a follow-up appointment in January. I will definitely let you know if I find out anything else relevant regarding the gurgling or helpful treatment. Take care and feel better!
