Doctors - How bad is it when you have hiccups for 24 hrs?
 

I had another episode two nights ago where food got stuck on the way down and felt like a heart attack for about 90 min. That has happened to me about 3x a year since I posted about it a few years ago. It's almost always caused by dry meat and eating too fast. I did the barium swallow/x-ray test at that time and doc said no lesions, but a little hiatal hernia. He said to lose weight, which I've done. But it still happens. After this most recent episode, I've had the hiccups for most of the last 24 hours and it's making life difficult, especially since I have to make a lot of phone calls for my job. GI specialist is, of course, booked for the next month. What's going on here? I've tried all the famous hiccup cures and nothing works.

I get all of my medical knowledge from ER re-runs on Netflix, but I have always been surprised by some of the serious conditions that this symptom brings up.

I heard about a guy once who got the hiccups and they wouldn't go away!
They just kept going and going and going for years, decades!
Really screwed his life and health up royally!

But i'm sure that wouldn't happen to you .........


PS It had to be true, I read it on the interwebs.

PSS hey, somebody's got to be "that" guy. Might as well be me.

There is something out of alignment.

Alcoholism, over eating is noted as well as a hair touching your eardrum????

Interesting (but not funny) how many reasons.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiccups/symptoms-causes/syc-20352613

Charles Osborne had the Hiccups for 68 Years, From 1922 to 1990

Google hiccups and MS. I know this is scary, and I surely hope this isn't the case, but a friend was getting hiccups for more than 24 hours a couple times a month. It turned out to be MS. The good news is hiccups are a rare symptom and indicator for MS, about 10%, but it it was me, I'd want to check it out sooner than later.

Do you experience heart bun as well?

I used to a little, but Tums usually fixed it. Once I dropped 25 lbs., it went away for good.

what happens when you sleep?

Takes a while, but seems to go away then and comes back a little bit after getting up. Had a huge cherry fritter today and it went away, but that killed my keto sugar and carb allowance for the whole week. Hiccups came back an hour later.

are you saying you hiccup in your sleep for awhile or it stops then you can fall asleep?

I don't think I hiccup in my sleep, but don't know. I think it stops and then I fall asleep.

Happens to me when I drink too much. Angry wife gets even angrier.....:)

The list of things that can cause intractable hiccups is LOOOOOOONG. Can be anything from nothing to cancer. If it doesn't go away see your PCP and he/she can examine you and decide if you need a specialist and which one. If it lasts longer than 48hrs its worth the visit to the doctor.

I agree with the idea of visiting your doctor and then seeing a throat/stomach specialist as the causes are long as noted and result can be cancer. If a probe is run down your throat and into your stomach any unusual things can be seen. The nice thing about having a doctor do that is.......they put you to sleep!

(I'm not a doc, and the following does not construe proper medical advice)

The human stomach is only a small processing organ compared to the rest of the extensive human GI tract.
Your GI track is very long.
Something is making problems at the start of the tube. Something is causing the stomach to pulsate and reverse course.

The body rejects something and tries to eliminate something.

You are in a hot and dry area so the simplest answer is dehydration.

But that could also be in combination with nasal drip in reaction to an outside source.
Some mild allergen such as mold, wheat, soy, peanuts, could cause late night drip and stomach upheaval.

You want to puke all the bad stuff up, but there is no stomach water to make it happen.

Good point.

Paleo/keto/Atkins is lean on wheat and the like, though.

I have been on same for three plus months. I am not a power water drinker but crystal light goes down easy. "Different tasting water" as my three year old daughter used to say.

Went to see a GI specialist today, but could only get an appt. to see his NP and PA. PA recommended I get scoped, said it might be time for a colonoscopy too, while they're at it. With the anesthesiologist, it'd be a two-fer. I'm 46 and my GP said to wait until 50, since there's no family history. But the GI doc's PA said, since my dad has had polyps, then to not wait until 50. So I need to do this and get this settled once and for all. Just gotta figure out scheduling, due to band gigs and business trips coming up.

I'm pretty sure I'm never dehydrated. I am always drinking water or Powerade Zero.

I have throat issues due to reflux and been scoped 4 times to keep an eye on things. Might as well do the tail end too while you are out... I did both at the same time when I turned 50.

My acid reflux totally disappeared as soon as I lost 20 lbs.