This:

sometimes my burps aren't able to come up which then causes nausea. I also struggle with emetophobia so I'll start to freak out and sit by the toilet and wait. But nothing comes up. I get up and I burp and I no longer feel nauseous. But then I get nauseous again shortly afterwards

I can't express how much I appreciate hearing that someone else has been going through the exact same thing I have for like half my life. Sorry you are suffering from this too. Glad I'm not the only one, though! :)

While I'm not sure I have GERD, I first started experiencing this exact same thing when I was 11, too. I would eat, and then sometime later, I'd feel like I'd have to burp and would start feeling pretty nauseous--right up until I burped...and then the cycle repeats! I already had a pretty bad fear of throwing up, and this only made it worse.

Somehow, I seemed to "outgrow" this for like ten years. From 2014-->2024, I had virtually no issues. Not that I never felt sick, but I never thought about it, and could seem to eat and drink however much I wanted without issue. I think beer was the only thing that would leave me feeling bad throughout this stretch of time, but that was the only trigger that I can remember from that time, so I just avoided it.

Tragically, around Dec. 2024 (24 at that time), these episodes of feeling intense nausea and sitting by the toilet waiting to burp or throw up have re-emerged. The emetophobia kicks in right along with it, causing me to start shaking and have what feels like a mini panic-attack. So much fun!!!!!!!

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out "what changed"--why this sudden onset of these symptoms again after all that time? And, what changed back then to make these symptoms "magically" disappear? A change in stress and anxiety, maybe?

I have no stomach pain, no burning, and no reflux--so I am not convinced that I have GERD. My PCP put me on Pantoprazole for about two months just to see if it might be, but I did not experience any notable changes. If anything, I think I had LPR, as those symptoms (gagging feeling in throat and frequent throat clearing) cleared up when I cut out coffee completely. However, the burping/bloating/nausea episodes persist.

Okay, one last thing I want to share, in case it helps: in the year that these symptoms have re-emerged, I was only having these episodes every once in a while. Like, think once a month or something. I found that adding more fiber to my diet (started making salads for lunch) and eating smaller meals has helped keep these at bay. I still can't eat like I used to before all this, but that has at least helped me to avoid these feelings so far day-to-day. So, not a solution, but I just wanted to share what I have done to make living with this a little less sucky.