Jade Thirlwall has said she finally feels “seen and understood” after revealing she suffers with a rare condition that means she can’t burp.
The Little Mix singer, 33, commented on a video of content creator Gemma Renwick, who said she has the condition, known as retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction (R-CPD), also known as no-burp syndrome.
According to Yale Medicine, R-CPD occurs when the muscle that sits on top of the oesophagus is unable to relax and so dos not open to allow air to exit the oesophagus.
Commenting on Renwick’s TikTok video, Thirlwall 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.”
The condition can lead to a range of symptoms including bloating and pressure in the abdomen, chest and lower back.
While doctors don’t know what causes no-burp syndrome, it is a lifelong condition.
The main treatment for R-CPD is a Botox injection into the cricopharyngeus muscle but Thirlwall is hesitant to have it done.
She said: “I want to get the throtox but worried it will affect my vocals.”
Renwick has started a petition to “review the adequacy of recognition of, and NHS treatment access for, people with Retrograde Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction (R-CPD)”.
The petition, which closes on December 22 and has received more than 4,800 signatures, requests the Government to review the adequacy and recognition of people with R-CPD.
The campaigner wrote: “We believe too many sufferers are dismissed or misdiagnosed before paying privately for treatment – patients deserve better awareness and NHS access to care.
“We want the Government to work towards improving recognition and NHS treatment access for Retrograde Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction (R-CPD), a condition that prevents sufferers from being able to burp. R-CPD can cause severe bloating, pain and major impacts on daily life. We believe patients deserve better awareness, referral pathways and NHS access to treatment.”
Thirlwall has previously discussed being diagnosed with an eating disorder, anorexia, when she was 13.
“I have a daily battle with myself not to go on Ozempic,” she told The Guardian last year.
“I don’t judge people that do, but because I have a history of eating disorders, I don’t know where taking something like that would end for me.
“Little Mix fans were all about empowerment and celebrating your body however you look. Now I’m in my 30s and the healthiest I’ve ever been, but every time I post a picture, there are comments saying, ‘She must be pregnant. The sad thing is that it’s usually women. But people are used to seeing me in a group environment five or 10 years ago when I was stick-thin because I was in my early 20s with an eating disorder.”
With Little Mix, Thirlwall scored five UK number one singles and a UK number one album, while her debut solo single, Angel Of My Dreams, reached number seven on the singles chart.
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