Man has suffered with hiccups for 14 months following stag do

Daniel Clavin of Roscommon in Ireland, woke up with hiccups after a stag do and 14 months later he still hasn’t stopped. The 37-year-old father-of-two makes an annoying hic virtually every seven seconds meaning he has done an estimated 5.25 million hiccups since July last year. The problem is so bad he sometimes passes out or stays awake all night.


Photo from SWNS.

And the chronic condition, a “synchronous diaphragmatic flutter” in medical terms, has meant many nights in the spare room so wife Susan can sleep. Daniel said: “They’ve taken over my life. I woke up with them one morning after a stag do. I’ve no idea why they started, I’d had more to drink than for some time but nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual mix of beer and spirits.

“Some days are worse than others and on odd days they’ll stop, but they can get so bad I pass out or throw up my food. There are times when I can’t breathe for 30 seconds because they lock up my diaphragm. Nights are bad and sometimes I wake up and the whole bed is shaking. I’ve learned to control them to some extent and disguise them and hiccup quietly but when I stop thinking about them they start sounding again."


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Daniel has virtually given up drink, has had endoscopies, a cat scan, changed his diet, taken tranquillisers and seen a chiropractor in search of a cure. He added: “The only thing that worked was the chiropractor who manipulated a nerve in my neck. But it only lasted 10 days. I’ve tried all the old wives’ tale cures as well – like vinegar and sugar or breathing into a bag.” He is now waiting for an MRI scan fearing his condition may be linked to a brain tumour, after reading of a similar case.