Posted on 02/25/2017 1:35:17 PM PST by nickcarraway
A woman has finally got rid of the hiccups after eight years.
Danielle Kirkland woke up in March 2008 with the hiccups and they didn’t go away until last year.
She was diagnosed with chronic hiccups in October 2008 and visited gastric, ear, nose and throat, and lung specialists before a cure was finally found.
She said she was kicked out college where she was training to be a nurse because she was ‘disruptive’ to the class. She said: ‘I was trying not to be. I just couldn’t stop hiccuping.’
Another time, during the eulogy at her friend’s mother’s funeral, she had a fit of hiccups, making the congregation laugh. ‘Luckily my friend didn’t mind,’ she explained. ‘It made things light-hearted.’
Danielle was called disruptive by a tutor at college due to her constant hiccups in class (Collect/PA Real Life) One tutor kicked her out of class saying she was disruptive (Picture: PA Real Life)
Danielle has been dating Scott McCracken for three years, but previously she’s had some bad luck. She said: ‘Guys would make fun of me.
Danielle thinks her hiccups, caused by the diaphragm suddenly and involuntarily contracting, started because of a combination of the pain-killing medications she was taking for arthritis and migraines.
What the hell is that massive blob that's washed up in the Philippines? ‘I took barbiturates and Lortabs (an opiate of acetaminophen and hydrocodone),’ she said. ‘I was addicted to them and would doctor-hop and pharmacy-hop to get them.
‘I had been doing this for years before I went cold turkey in 2008. Going cold turkey was tough, I felt so fluey, but I recovered and am now sober.
‘However, I think the long-term impact gave me chronic hiccups.’
Around four years ago, Danielle started taking a medication called metoclopramide to try and control her hiccups.
Generally used to treat gastric problems, it caused uncomfortable spasms in Danielle and so she abandoned it.
However, it prompted her to seek more solutions. So, she started to try a muscle relaxant called tizanidine which did work.
‘It really helped,’ she said, explaining she takes a tizanidine capsule nightly.
The tizanidine took about a month to work. After that period she was hiccuping just six or seven times a day – instead of an hour. Now, if she misses even a dose, she notices.
‘I start hiccuping straight away,’ she laughed. ‘But I’m basically back to normal. No longer do hiccups interfere with my life.
‘Now if I do get the hiccups I panic. I always time them. If it goes past an hour I take an acid neutraliser or sugar as it helps.
‘I dread the thought of getting them again. I hate the hiccups. If I hear someone with them, it makes me cringe. I’ve had enough hiccups to last a lifetime.’
RCP Registrar Dr Andrew Goddard said: ‘We know that both barbiturates and opiates can be recognised causes of long-term hiccups but there are of course many others. However, it is worth stating that cases such as these, which involve such a long timeframe for hiccups are very unusual.’
I’m glad she found a solution. She needs to keep shopping around though. Eventually, her body will build a tolerance for this new medicine, or the prolonged use will cause other digestive problems. Having at least two choices would be good. We take so much for granted, that our bodies will keep working normally. I’m sure it felt bad being stared at due to hiccups.
It scared her so badly she stopped hiccupping.
8 years, crickey! I am lucky I guess, I can generally will them away. My issue is sneezing, I frequently get bouts of 10 or more. My record is 87 back to back. I did learn a farmers blow as strong as I can generally will stop a sneezing bout.
Spoon full of sugar. Hello! That’ll be $29.95.
“...What the hell is that massive blob that’s washed up in the Philippines?...”
______________________________________
How did this line get in this story?????*ROFL*
Hiccups drive me nuts. I hate them with a passion.
.Mine are very hard to alleviate
“What the hell is that massive blob that’s washed up in the Philippines?”
It may have the cure!
LOL...When the storyline was copied, it was caught from a story on the side....
Haha. I was waiting for the line about fibromyalgia
I love the smell of non-sequiturs in the morning.
Simple way to cure hiccups....
Put paper bag over head.
Tear hole where mouth is.
Lay on grassy hill.
Roll down hill.
Every time mouth passes grass take bite.
Bottom of hill hiccups gone
Could that have been the cause of hir hiccups? Why no further mention of it Nick?
I’m glad she’s cured, but what about that blob?
I will not rest until we find the connection.
Not guilty
Imelda, izat you?
I have seen that happen before, but the line was really funny in this case.
LOL
Hiccups are caused by dehydration. period.
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