A Hampshire mother who endured years of embarrassing croaking noises and severe bloating because she could not burp has finally found relief after a simple cosmetic treatment. Gemma Renwick, 43, from Hampshire, suffered from Retrograde Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction (RCPD), also known as 'no burp syndrome', before discovering that Botox injections could solve her lifelong problem.
Living with a rare condition
Most people take everyday bodily functions for granted, but living with RCPD made social gatherings daunting for Renwick. The business owner often had to leave events early to lie flat on the floor and ease the painful pressure in her chest. After years of frustration and unsuccessful advice from doctors, she decided to research her symptoms online.
It was only after stumbling across a TikTok video in 2024 that she self-diagnosed with RCPD. This rare condition means the throat muscle cannot relax to let trapped wind escape, leading to pain and gurgling.
The croaking sounds
"People say it sounds like a frog croaking or it sounds like a lion; I was embarrassed by the croaking sounds. You get the gurgling, and croaking sounds in your throat, which is basically the burp trying to come out, but it can't," Renwick said. She recalled being known at school as "the girl that makes the funny noises" and always having a bloated tummy, which became a running joke.
The condition became particularly difficult to manage once she entered the professional world. "I wasn't as worried as an adult but when you're in professional situations or a client at work or if you're talking to someone on the phone it is embarrassing; you just laugh it off because that's the sad reality, it's funny to people," she explained.
Pain and discomfort
Renwick described the intense pain caused by trapped wind: "Everyone knows what trapped wind is like, but it's like that times a million, it's so painful; it's not just in your tummy but in your chest too. You get breathless and feel like you can't swallow or breathe; you cannot physically eat or drink anything else because the air is there and trapped."
The physical relief of finally being able to release the pressure has completely transformed her daily comfort. "All your clothes feel tight when you've got all this trapped wind, and you're bloated, and when you burp everything's loose again," she said.
Botox treatment and recovery
To fix the issue, Renwick paid £925 for a medical procedure in 2024 to have Botox injected directly into her throat muscle. She now feels like a completely new woman. "I'd say by day four or five [after the treatment] they were coming out better, and I was getting bigger burps, and now I'm doing loads of burps. It feels amazing, and I haven't had any bloating for five weeks, and I haven't had any wind down below or tummy issues," she said.
To maintain the effect, Renwick now drinks plenty of fizzy beverages to help trigger burping and performs neck exercises in the hope of achieving a lasting solution. "This Botox is utterly life-changing, I can't believe I waited so long to do it. If I knew what it was and if people knew that RCPD was a thing, and that that was the treatment, everybody could have it. It was a massive relief to finally feel like it's not just me; you feel very seen and heard, and just a massive relief of 'oh my God, I might be able to get help for it'," she added.
Call for NHS availability
Renwick is eager to share her story so that other people can seek help. She believes the treatment should be available on the NHS. "I just think that it should be available on the NHS; we shouldn't have to pay nearly £1,000 to get that done. I feel like everybody needs to know about it, especially GPs; it's not their fault they didn't know what it was, but ultimately we need awareness just so the government takes it seriously so it's included in training for new GPs," she said.
