I'm only hungry when it rains... wait, what?

February 23, 2007 4:12 PM

HungryFilter: Whenever I am really hungry, I feel/hear the sensation of rain/tiny stones running down the back of my throat. What the hell?

If you've ever heard a rain stick, it sounds/feels (I'm not sure which, really) like that, in the back of my throat/head, but only when I'm very hungry and haven't eaten all day. It seems to be triggered by opening my mouth slightly, but perhaps not always?

Is this tied in some way to blood sugar? What is the nature of the sensation?

This has been the case for as long as I can remember. I'm 21, male, and in decent enough health. It doesn't hurt or anything, but it's a curious sensation, like the fizzing of soda, but more pointed.

Anyone else with this experience know what I'm talking about?

Much appreciated!

posted by disillusioned to health & fitness (23 comments total)

Anyone else with this experience know what I'm talking about?

You're not alone. I get exactly the same thing! I can't wait to hear the answer.
posted by knave at 4:24 PM on February 23, 2007

Same here. Happens mostly late at night when I haven't had dinner that day.

I always assumed that it was a buildup of stomach acid or some such
posted by Cycloptichorn at 4:31 PM on February 23, 2007

Like Pop-Rocks?
posted by xiojason at 4:38 PM on February 23, 2007

Wow!

It happens to me as well!

I have no idea what it is, I used to think it was cerebrospinal fluid because that is where it seems to happen. I have no idea anymore.
posted by brockerst at 4:42 PM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

Another one here--felt it, have no idea what causes it.
posted by bink at 4:45 PM on February 23, 2007

Fairly certain it's a type of Acid Reflux/Heartburn/GERD. I have it as well usually in the mornings when I first wake up.


posted by Octoparrot at 4:52 PM on February 23, 2007

Acid reflux.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:52 PM on February 23, 2007

Yes, exactly like pop rocks.

I'm really not sure about acid reflux. I exhibit absolutely none of the other symptoms, including heartburn, and it's just not painful at all.

I'm glad to see others experience it too, though.
posted by disillusioned at 5:01 PM on February 23, 2007

I've experienced what you are describing. Glad I'm not the only one.

I really don't think it's acid reflux, or related to acid reflux. I've had that and it's unpleasant and painful and not a weird sound in my neck/back/throat. I've never had acid reflux around the time I've had the hungry-rain-thing.
posted by Kristan at 5:04 PM on February 23, 2007

I think it's still acid reflux, it's just less severe. The pop rock aspect is the biocarbinates in your saliva neutralizing the acid. Just a guess, though.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:07 PM on February 23, 2007

That happens to me too. I always just thought it was a stomach grumble that I could hear in my esophagus. Sometimes I open my mouth to hear it better (just like I would with pop rocks.)
posted by nekton at 6:07 PM on February 23, 2007

I've had it too, but it's never burny like heartburn. I've always thought it was a low-pressure burp / stomach grumble that vibrates the soft tissues in the throat, hence the internal sound and buzzing feeling back there.
posted by CKmtl at 6:41 PM on February 23, 2007

Laryngopharyngeal reflux is acid reflux of the larynx. According to this about.com article many people who have it don't get the same heartburn symptoms as acid reflux.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:30 PM on February 23, 2007

This is what makes AskMe totally fascinating to me. I've never heard of or experienced anything like this! :)
posted by wackybrit at 2:13 AM on February 24, 2007

I get this too from time to time. Fairly rare but it does happen, sometimes accompanied by some acid. Always freaked me out a bit.
posted by corvine at 2:25 AM on February 24, 2007

I get this, it's a kind of tingling/crackling sensation like popping candy, or the rain stick which is a very creative and apt description!

Let's all hope it doesn't turn out to be terminal :|
posted by fire&wings at 2:47 AM on February 24, 2007

I get a pop rocks type of sensation occasionally as well, it seems to come from within my stomach and can be heard when I open my mouth. I do suffer from heartburn and indigestion regularly though so this is no real surprise or mystery. However I also get a kind of what feels like a fluid rush in the back of my neck/base of my head when I am hungry, it really feels like a rain stick sounds but is more at the base of my head at the back then behind my throat. I've always wondered what it was.
posted by brockerst at 4:55 AM on February 24, 2007

This is new to me too. Never heard of this.

But I have a question for you people. Can someone else (e.g. your significant other) get close to your open mouth and hear it too? Or is it just something you feel?

Also, how long does this all last? minutes? hours?

I'm curious, obviously.
posted by vacapinta at 8:32 AM on February 24, 2007

vacapinta: It only lasts a matter of a few seconds in my case, don't know if it's audible to others... never bothered to have someone try to listen to it.
posted by CKmtl at 9:07 AM on February 24, 2007

It's audible. My wife has heard it.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:19 AM on February 24, 2007

I had that when I was younger. I blamed it on my stomach growling against some nerve or another. I have no idea really, that's just what it felt like. (I also had some weird thing when I could feel peristalsis once in a while resonating down my legs and into my feet. I asked a doctor once, he had no clue, never heard of it.)
posted by unrepentanthippie at 9:48 AM on February 24, 2007

I've gotten this before, but not noticed any patterns related to when I get it.
posted by rhapsodie at 11:02 AM on February 24, 2007

I get it too. Seems like it happens to me more often during times of higher stress and not so much in relation to how hungry I am. Went to a doctor to ask him about it a while back but without being able to reproduce it on demand he suggested, from my description of it, that it may be due to stress. Still not sure exactly what it is and always play it off as a sort of soft, deep throat burp when someone, like a significant other, hears it.
posted by chillax at 6:51 PM on February 24, 2007