This Common Gut Disorder Can Feel Like Acid Reflux—So It’s Often Misdiagnosed

According to the study, “rumination syndrome involves effortless, repeated regurgitation, and can overlap with other upper gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, including gastroparesis.” 

It occurs when patients spit up their food about 10 minutes after they’ve swallowed it. This is different from vomit since the food has not been fully digested. 

Rumination is considered a disorder of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI), making it a learned response. While it’s not entirely clear why it happens, researchers suggest it’s a response to pain or discomfort in the stomach. 

Because it’s similar to the act of vomiting, many patients unknowingly describe their symptoms as vomit or reflux. Other symptoms, like feeling full quickly, tightness in the abdomen, nausea, and unwanted or unintentional weight loss, are similar to symptoms of stomach pain, indigestion, and gastroparesis. This can cause the disorder to go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for long periods of time, the researchers say. 

To better understand the syndrome, researchers looked at 242 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms similar to rumination. Of those volunteers, more than 12% qualified for a rumination diagnosis, and nearly half of that group said the condition impacted their social lives. 

“This condition causes a lot of embarrassment and may stop people from eating with others,” co-author of the study, Trisha Satya Pasricha, M.D., says in a news release. “It is not well understood, and is often mistaken for other disorders.”