hiccups for 5 hours straight

DrMary said:

What's the timing?
Doug had those for about 3 days after his first chemo - it seems to be a common side effect; we thought it was from the dexamethasone and so left that out from his second chemo. No hiccups but worse nausea. He later went on dex for months because nothing else controlled the nausea and the hiccups faded after 3 days. They seem to be more common in men during chemo/radiation than in women, for some reason.

Thorazine is the go-to for this, but if you are already taking compazine, substitute the thorazine for the compazine (they are similar and so you don't want to double up).

Our sympathies - Doug got little sleep during those few days and couldn't eat much, either.

Ron49 said:

First of all so sorry to
First of all so sorry to hear someone else is suffering from those dreaded things. Not sure what kind of chemo you are getting but Ron had 2 rounds of cisplatin. Ron had the hiccups so bad right after the 1st chemo. We ended up in the emergency room because he had them for 3 days straight. We were able to see a Oncologist that night and he explained there was a perfect storm going on in Rons esophogus and stomach. He said 3 things were causing the hiccups. The drugs given for 3 days after chemo called decadron (steroid), the trauma from the peg tube, and the irritation from the radiation. Ron was put on a drug called Omeprezole which we are told is a prescription strength prilosec or basically an antacid. He just finished radiation last friday and has had to continue to take this medication throughout his treatment. Whenever he stops taking it he has had severe acid reflux which leads to vomiting. After his 2nd chemo treatment he again had the hiccups and some vomiting and the Dr added Ativan which was just this last Friday. I wish we would have added the Ativan sooner. I don't know if others had similiar experiences but these 2 medications have really been helpful for Ron.

Robyn, Rons wife