Intractable hiccups, sometimes defined as those lasting more than two months, can be very disabling, causing inability to sleep, depression, and chronic exhaustion, with secondary deleterious effects on an individuals health. We review several studies examining new treatments, both pharmacological and interventional, that may help patients. Chronic, persistent hiccups refers to any episode with a duration greater than 48 hours. We review the pathophysiology of hiccups including multiple causes and the appropriate work up for each. If symptoms persist, other etiologies such as central causes need to be explored. The most common cause involves GERD.īased on etiologies, studies have shown that first-line therapy should use a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and involve appropriate gastrointestinal consultation. Persistent hiccups may be considered a sign of underlying pathology. Typically, hiccups resolve spontaneously but in certain pathologies symptoms may persist. Any disruption along this pathway may produce hiccups. Hiccups are controlled by a complex reflex arc between peripheral receptors and the brainstem. I haven’t been back on the medication since.Nearly 4000 patients will be admitted to hospital in the US this year for hiccups. Intractable or chronic hiccups can become a medical issue in and of itself. If you have multiple episodes of hiccups over a prolonged time, this is also considered chronic hiccups. When I later became pregnant, I came off the medication and noticed that the hiccups seemed more manageable, maybe once every three minutes. However, for others, hiccups can be persistent, lasting over two days, or intractable when they last over one month. Persistent hiccups are uncommon but can be quite distressing. It took a long time before I could get back on track with my studies. Then, eight years after it started, they eventually got the right combination my hiccups never stopped completely, but the medication made them a lot less frequent. Having tried so many different courses with no improvement, I thought things might never get better. Over the years I’ve been given lots of different medications. Humour became really important in dealing with it. There’s a scene where a guard has constant hiccups, so it became a bit of a joke. When I first met my husband, I had the hiccups and we watched Monty Python And The Holy Grail. Some people told me it was adorable, which was infuriating. My life got back on track, but the hiccups didn’t go away.ĭating was hard at first. So that year I stopped taking pills and drinking. The problem was not only physically exhausting, but mentally, too.įor a while I went back to drinking as a way to deal with everything, but I realised that was making things worse. It impacted my day-to-day life and what I could do socially I would never go to the movies, because I thought I would disturb everyone.
I got kicked out of class at college one day because I was said to be disruptive and disturbing. Even today, some doctors I see don’t believe there is such a thing as chronic hiccups. It made no sense that I would lie about such a thing, because it was painful and annoying.
The doctors initially thought it was all in my head. They could hear me hiccupping all night, even when I was fast asleep, so they knew it was real. It was only when I saw them in person that they started to believe me. When I first spoke to my family, they thought I was faking it and just making funny noises over the phone. On average, I would say I was hiccupping about five times a minute, so almost every 10 seconds. They would get worse if my stress levels were up, or if I hadn’t had much sleep.
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