I suffered like Jade Thirlwall & croaked like a frog for decades until Botox – 5 symptoms from bloating to chest pain

A MUM spent years ‘croaking like a frog’ due to a rarely recognised condition, and finally had her first belch at the age of 43 after getting Botox. It comes as former Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwell recently revealed she suffers from the same unusual disorder, which experts say could affect one in five people. Mum Gemma Renwick spent years suffering with weird noises coming from her throat due to her inability to burp Credit: Kennedy News and Media Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwell recently revealed that she suffers from a non-burping syndrome Credit: Shutterstock Editorial No burp syndrome, or retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (R-CPD) medically, isn’t just an inability to burp. The ripple effect can be agonising and embarassing. It’s only been recently, experts say, that more people have come forward recognising that they have the disorder after a growth in awareness. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! A pharmacist explains that in people with the condition, the muscle at the top of the oesophagus “does not relax appropriately to allow air to escape upwards”. Symptoms from inability to burp range from a strange gurgling noise in the throat to bloating and a pressure in the chest. Pop star Jade only learned she had no burp syndrome after seeing a video from the online campaigner Gemma Renwick about the disorder. It Girl hitmaker Jade wrote: “Omg I finally feel so seen and understood. “It’s always been a fun fact that I can’t burp but it’s caused issues my whole life and I’m sick of people commenting on my weight and body onstage when I’m just bloated af.” Gemma, 43, only had her first burp this year after paying almost £1,000 for Botox in her neck to treat her R-CPD, and she is now petitioning for the treatment to be made freely available on the NHS. Most read in Health The mum had experienced years of extreme bloating and loud gurgling and croaking noises coming from her throat due to her inability to burp. She grew up not knowing anything was wrong, but said it was “really embarrassing” when the sounds came out of her throat in front of people. Describing what it was like, the mum-of-two said: “I was known as the girl that makes the funny noises and I always had a bloated tummy so it was a running joke that I always had a pot belly. “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.” Gemma visited the GP on and off from the age of 21 for her tummy issues, but she says she was just prescribed IBS tablets or told to change her diet as it could be caused by allergies. It wasn’t until she came across a TikTok video discussing her symptoms in 2024 that she self-diagnosed herself with R-CPD. According to world-leading ENT surgeon Mr Anil Joshi, R-CPD is a recognised disorder that is “more common than once thought”. Gemma suffered from painful bloating due to her inability to burp Credit: Kennedy News and Media The mum is now petitioning the government to make treatment for R-CPD available on the NHS Credit: Kennedy News and Media “A 2026 review suggests prevalence up to 22 per cent, with 13 per cent of those people severely affected. “That is striking. And long diagnostic delays strongly suggest under-recognition.” Explaining what causes the disorder, he said: “The cricopharyngeus muscle (at the top of the oesophagus) fails to relax when gas needs to escape upwards, [meaning] people typically cannot burp and experience gurgling, bloating, chest or throat pressure and excessive wind, often after meals or fizzy drinks.” Abbas Kanani, superintendent pharmacist at Chemist Click, noted that these symptoms “can overlap with more common digestive problems, [meaning] some people may spend a long time trying remedies for reflux or bloating without addressing the underlying cause”. While treatment is not currently available for R-CPD on the NHS, those who are willing to pay can get Botox injected into the cricopharyngeus muscle. And this is exactly what Gemma did. She decided to go private and paid £925 for the Botox treatment this May. Botox (a brand of anti-wrinkle injection) is usually used to paralyse face muscles, preventing expression and the formation of wrinkles. But in the case of R-CPD, it is injected into the neck under local anaesthetic. It paralyses the muscle, allowing gas to vent. The mum, a weight loss and lifestyle business owner, says she now feels like a ‘new woman’ as she is able to burp freely. She hopes to spread awareness about the condition to encourage others to seek help. Speaking about her experience with the disorder, Gemma, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, said: “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.” And as Gemma got older, she said these strange sounds made her feel “anxious” to leave the house for fear of embarrassing herself at work events. Sometimes she’d even have to leave events early to go home and lie flat to try and relieve her pain from the symptoms. She explained: “Everyone knows what trapped wind is like but it’s like that but 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. “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.” The mum said that drinking alcohol also exacerbated her symptoms, leaving her feeling sick and bloated and with the chest pain. Gemma said she sometimes have to leave events early due the discomfort of her symptoms Credit: Kennedy News and Media Jade only recently discovered that she has R-CPD Credit: Getty But since getting the Botox treatment, her life has changed. She can now drink fizzy drinks and is doing neck exercises to hopefully make it a permanent fix. Gemma said: “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 R-CPD was a thing, and that that was the treatment, everybody could have it. “None of the doctors have ever understood it. They basically just tell you they’ve never heard of it before and it makes you feel really weird because you feel like you’re the only person in the world with 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 continued: “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 now. “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.” Speaking about R-CPD treatment, Mr Kanani said: “From a pharmacy perspective, persistent symptoms should not simply be managed indefinitely with over the counter medicines. “If someone consistently cannot burp and has the characteristic symptoms, particularly if they are affecting eating or quality of life, it is sensible to seek medical assessment.” The 5 symptoms of retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction? Retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction – also known as ‘no burp syndrome’ – is a rare condition in which people are unable to burp or belch. It occurs when the cricopharyngeus muscle, a sphincter muscle that sits at the top of the oesophagus, can’t relax. As a result, it doesn’t open to allow air to exit the oesophagus. Belching is a normal biological process that allows the body to eject air from the oesophagus and stomach into the throat, pushing it out from the mouth or nose. Because people with R-CPD can’t burp, they get a buildup of air in their stomach and oesophagus. World-leading ENT surgeon Mr Anil Joshi says people with R-CPD experience: Gurgling Bloating Chest pressure Throat pressure Excessive wind, often after meals or fizzy drinks People suffering these symptoms may experience social anxiety as a result. For many, this is a lifelong condition. The main treatment for R-CPD is a Botox injection into the cricopharyngeus muscle. Most patients are able to burp and experience significant symptom relief within a week after a single injection. In some cases, however, doctors may recommend an additional Botox injection given several months later to patients whose symptoms continue. After getting a Botox injection into the cricopharyngeus muscle, people may experience one or more of the following side effects: A feeling that food “hangs” or gets stuck in the throat A feeling of a lump in the throat Acid reflux These side effects typically resolve on their own after a few days or weeks. Source: Yale Medicine Research from 2023 found that no burp syndrome can negatively affect sufferers’ quality of life. Commenting on the Botox treatment, Mr Joshi said: “The latest large meta-analysis, published in 2025, found about 92 per cent early symptom improvement and around 80 per cent sustained benefit.” He warned that symptoms can come back, but that repeat injections can help with this. “Overall, treatment is highly effective, and many patients improve dramatically after a single injection,” he added. Since getting her treatment, Gemma has now launched a petition calling on the Government to review NHS treatment for R-CPD. She said: “I just think that it [Botox] 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.” And Mr Joshi added: “There is reason to think NICE and the NHS should recognise R-CPD as a legitimate treatable condition and consider botulinum toxin for appropriately selected patients. “The evidence is not perfect. But current reviews show high response rates, mild transient adverse effects, and substantial symptom burden. “It is a conversation we should now be having.” Comment now