Posted on 02/14/2007 12:19:07 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Jennifer Mee of St. Petersburg has tried scores of remedies and seen several doctors. Still, the 15-year-old's hiccups persist. LINK at source above to hear her hiccups.
ST. PETERSBURG She has tried holding her breath. Drinking water from the far side of the glass. Putting sugar under her tongue. Sipping pickle juice. Holding a paper bag over her face as she inhales and exhales.
None of that stops 15-year-old Jennifer Mees hiccups.
It started more than three weeks ago during first-period science class at Northeast High School. After about 15 minutes of nonstop hiccuping, she went to the medical clinic on campus. The staff there worked with her for five hours, and still she hiccuped.
That was Jan. 23.
In the weeks since, she has seen a pediatrician, a cardiologist and a neurologist. She has had blood tests, a CT scan and an MRI. She had an allergic reaction to one medicine, which triggered hives.
Something like 50 times a minute, Jennifer Mee hiccups, a staccato routine that sounds a bit like a smoke alarm whose battery has run out. Her mother, Rachel Robidoux, likens it to the sound of chihuahua barking.
When they go to Wal-Mart, strangers come up to them and try to scare the hiccups away. They offer prayer and healing hands and folk remedies, none of which has worked so far.
So Robidoux turned to the St. Petersburg Times.
Im just looking for some answers, she said, where somebodys gone through this. At this point, were willing to do anything.
Jennifer,
I am an acupuncturist and have dealt with this situation of severe, long term hiccups. Before you try surgery please contact an acupuncturist in your area and have him/her needle Stomach 9 on one side and Pericardium 6 on the other. You can also massage these 2 points for effective relief. You should be rid of them in 15-25 minutes. If you will post you email I can contact you and walk you through how to find these points for massage at home.
Has she tried drinking water while walking backwards?
The only thing that ever works for me (and for others when I suggest it) is to take a deep (DEEP) breath and hold it in until my body forces me to breathe again...it is impossible to asphyxiate (sp?) oneself...but you are ultimately trying to do just that...when you finally let that air out the hiccups should have gone away. Hope it helps!
She needs...Chuck Norris.
A friend of mine used to cure people's hiccups by suddenly asking them what their father's middle name was. People are surprised at the question and usually have to think for a second. They'll say, "It's Herbert. Why?" Then my friend would say, "Still got the hiccups?" and the person would realize, to their amazement, that the hiccups had gone away while they were distracted. My friend swore it worked every time. :-)
Hiccups now and working on salmonella.
Use acupressure to cure her hiccups. The point alongside the seventh thoracic vertebra near the bottom of your shoulder blades affects the diaphragm; pressing it can stop the spasms that cause hiccups. Have someone place their fingers on either side of the vertebra, about one finger's width away from the spine. Have them press firmly until the hiccups go away. It can take anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes. You can also try candied tangerine rinds. The essential oils stop the spasms. Or... she could try to get into the Guinness Book of World Records; but she would have to beat out Charles Osborne who hiccupped from 1922-1990 until his death, never having stopped!
Use acupressure to cure her hiccups. The point alongside the seventh thoracic vertebra near the bottom of your shoulder blades affects the diaphragm; pressing it can stop the spasms that cause hiccups. Have someone place their fingers on either side of the vertebra, about one finger's width away from the spine. Have them press firmly until the hiccups go away. It can take anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes. You can also try candied tangerine rinds. The essential oils stop the spasms. Or... she could try to get into the Guinness Book of World Records; but she would have to beat out Charles Osborne who hiccupped from 1922-1990 until his death, never having stopped!
I am Irish.
"The Irish are immune to psychoanalysis"
Sigmund Freud.
Sneeze.
All she has to do is sneeze.
Also, not that you'll have to do this next suggestion cause the sneezing thing WILL work, but I've also had success with vinegar and sugar on a spoon.
My good friend, who happens to be a doctor, swears by the sneezing remedy.
Hope it works!
Yes, I took care of a patient in the ICU and we gave Thorazine to help with the hiccups and it worked.
I'm Irish too and I insist that Freud was full of bleep. The only way we differ from everyone else is that we sometimes develop Irish Alzheimer's...where you forget everything but the grudges. ;-)
I had to tell you...I read this on Friday, and today, my girlfriend got hiccups, so I decided to try it. As soon as I asked her her father's middle name, she did one more hiccup and stopped. Wow!
Any news on these going away??? Any one???
Any news on these going away??? Any one???
bttt
Certainly there'll be a cure.
At least by then (02/21/3412) she'll have a normal life
without the WORLD trying to give her
enough salt to kill a,,
SALT WATER CROC!
/Bah
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.