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Have you ever had hiccups with or after chemotherapy?
We all know what hiccups are, right? They are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm — the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen and plays an important role in breathing. Each contraction is followed by a sudden closure of your vocal cords, which produces the characteristic "hic" sound.
Mayo Clinic investigators want to learn more about hiccups in people who are receiving cancer treatment and, if you have experienced hiccups, how they may have affected your quality of life.
So, whether you’ve had hiccups or not, we asked Connect members to take part in a survey. Responses in the survey remain anonymous and are kept completely confidential. The survey is now closed. I will share the results of survey after analysis.
In the meantime, feel free to take part in this discussion about hiccups, if you want to share.
Have you had hiccups after chemotherapy? If yes, were they different than you’ve experienced before? Did they bother you or affect your daily living?
+++Study Results+++
Frequency and Symptomatology of Hiccups in Patients With Cancer: Using an On-Line Medical Community to Better Understand the Patient Experience
By C Ehret, C Young, C Ellefson, L Aase, A Jatoi
Published April 1, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091211006923
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@azsunshine7 Husband had bad hiccups in hospital after the Whipple. Very bothersome. Was given a muscle relaxer that helped some yet still persisted for about 5 days.
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4 ReactionsI forgot all about this. It’s been a minute since my post.
What I had wasn’t due to chemo because at that time I had not ever had chemo.
It was just from the whipple procedure or perhaps medication given to me when in the hospital.
I’m glad that is over. But with this cancer there’s always a new mountain to climb it seems.
@casey1959 🩷
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1 Reaction72yo, Stage 4 sigmoid tumor with 2 liver metastases, 26 rounds of Folfox and 1 Y90 procedure. I only recently (last 3 months) developed periods of sustained hiccups - no rhyme or reason to their appearance. The only way I can get them to stop, though they may pop up later in the same day, is to put pressure on my closed eyelids until the hiccups stop (anywhere from 1-5 minutes). Works every time for me.
ok i know this is way after the initial survey but YES i had hiccups...really violent ones that would even wake me up...and i found out (thanks to my pharmacist) that it was prob caused by the dexamethasone or whatever that steroid is they give you with chemo to help with nausea...guess what.... told them i didn't want that and lo and behold...NO HICCUPS for every treatment afterwards... imagine that....