Reflux Esophagitis: Severe Burping and Acid Rising to the Throat | Incheon Esophagitis

1. “It’s not just burping. It lasts all day long.”

From the moment they first entered the consultation room, their face showed deep exhaustion. The first words out of their mouth were these:

“After I eat, I burp constantly. It’s not just once; it’s endless… 10, 20 times… to the point where it’s hard to even sit down.”

Beyond just severe burping, this person was experiencing ‘abdominal pressure so intense it felt like they couldn't breathe’ and ‘acid reflux reaching their throat.’

“When I try to lie down and sleep, acid fills my throat. Lying still makes me so anxious. One day, I abruptly woke up at 3 AM and stood for a long time.”

This isn't simple 'indigestion.' Your body is sending out an ‘urgent’ signal.

2. Tests show no abnormalities, yet symptoms become increasingly specific

The patient had already undergone multiple tests at a gastroenterology clinic. Gastroscopy, blood tests, inflammation markers, and H. pylori tests all came back ‘normal.’

“Why am I experiencing these symptoms?”

However, the response was, “You're sensitive, so stomach acid can easily rise. Take your medication consistently.” From then on, they continued taking medication. They took PPIs like Nexium or Rabeprazole, gastroprokinetics like Mosapride, and gastrointestinal tablets.

But after one month, two months of taking them… the medication's effectiveness gradually diminished, and conversely, their body became increasingly sensitive.

“If I stop taking them, it immediately relapses.”

“I even wonder if I’ve become accustomed to the medication. That’s even scarier.”

3. What's even harder is that no one empathizes with this pain

What the patient talked about most was not the symptoms themselves, but 'the frustration that no one took their condition seriously.'

“My husband says, ‘Everyone experiences acid reflux a time or two.’”

“At work, if I say ‘my stomach feels bad,’ all they tell me is ‘cut back on coffee.’”

However, this was not mere discomfort, but a state closer to a pervasive sense of threat that dominated their entire body.

“At night, just lying down frightens me. The fear that the acid will come up again. There were even days when it genuinely felt like something was rising and choking me.”

For someone repeatedly experiencing such pain, telling them ‘take more antacids’ can, in fact, minimize the very existence of the problem.

4. Acid reflux is not a problem of stomach acid, but of flow

In traditional Korean medicine (TKM), these symptoms are not viewed merely as 'gastritis' or 'esophagitis.' Instead, the problem is seen as a pattern where the flow of vital energy, or stomach qi (胃氣), fails to descend properly and instead refluxes.

This is not simply a matter of stomach acidity regulation; it's a loop created by the intertwining of diaphragmatic tension, autonomic nervous system hyperactivity, increased abdominal pressure, and emotional suppression.

Upon abdominal palpation, a firm tension is felt in the epigastric region, and there's a sensation of obstructed flow in the lower abdomen, between Qihai (氣海) and Guanyuan (關元) points. Furthermore, the patient is constantly in a state of tension. Their breathing is shallow, shoulders are raised, and eyes are always cautious.

This is not a disease solely of the 'stomach.' It's the result of the entire body settling into an 'upward surging' pattern.

5. Treatment isn't about suppressing stomach acid, but about releasing the flow

We formulated the herbal medicine primarily with ingredients that help stomach qi descend. Key herbs like Pinellia (반하), Magnolia Bark (후박), Immature Bitter Orange (지실), Green Tangerine Peel (청피), Agastache (곽향), and Poria (복령) help guide the qi downwards, allowing stomach acid to flow naturally rather than suppressing it.

Acupuncture treatment focuses on Neiguan (內關), Zhongwan (中脘), Zusanli (足삼리), Taichong (太衝), and Danzhong (단중) points. It also includes abdominal needling to relax the diaphragm and stimulate thoracic expansion to encourage deeper breathing.

And then the patient said:

“I still burp, but the pattern has changed. It doesn’t constantly gush out like before; it comes out and then stops. It feels like my body is, in a way, remembering how to stop.”

That’s the first step in the body beginning to send signals of recovery.

6. This was my body sending me a distress signal

At some point, we began to perceive the warnings our body sends as unpleasant signals that must be ‘suppressed.’ But in reality, they are desperate calls for help from the body to restore its proper function.

Burping, acid reflux, esophageal pressure. These symptoms are not just a problem of the stomach alone. They can be an SOS signal, forcefully pushed upwards by the entire body to awaken a ‘stagnant flow.’

To such patients, the first words we can offer are these:

“That must have been truly distressing symptoms. Even if the tests didn’t show it, that pain was real.”

#Esophagitis #AcidReflux