Danielle Kirkland was having a good night’s sleep when, all of a sudden, she woke up with the hiccups. The first episode happened in March 2008. The hiccups lasted until it went away a year later, the Metro reports.
Kirkland was diagnosed with chronic hiccups seven months after she first encountered it. She had to make appointments with gastric, otolaryngologic, and lung specialists so many times before a possible treatment was finally presented.
According to Kirkland, she used to go to college and studied nursing. However, due to her constant hiccups and the “disruptiveness” of its noise, she was kicked out and never returned to nurse training again.
Kirkland said, “I was trying not to be. I just couldn’t stop hiccupping.” Another episode was when she attended her friend’s mother’s funeral and she had to deliver a eulogy. She started having hiccups and every guest was laughing.
Kirkland said, “Guys would make fun of me.” But that was before she started dating Scott McCracken. They had been together for three years.
Kirkland posited that her hiccups started when she was taking painkillers for her arthritis and migraines.
Kirkland explained, “I took barbiturates and Lortabs (an opiate of acetaminophen and hydrocodone). I was addicted to them and would doctor-hop and pharmacy-hop to get them.”
She continued, “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.”
After a slew of medications that proved ineffective, Kirkland used a muscle relaxant called tizanidine. After a month, the medicine completely worked and took one every night.
Kirkland said, “I start hiccuping straight away. 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 neutralizer or sugar as it helps.”
She continued, “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.”
Dr. Andrew Goddard, RCP Registrar, said, “We know that both barbiturates and opiates can be recognized 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.”
