Surgical cure for chronic hiccups?

Question

My son (age 23 now) has had hiccups since having a bad case of the stomach flu almost 6 years ago. They don't seem to be related specifically to eating or drinking...they just come and go...sometimes just a few, and sometimes for an hour or more. He also has acid reflux, which started with the hiccups.

We have tried organic remedies, his doctor put him on Thorazine, he's had all kinds of scans, he eats Prilosec by the dozens....and nothing does anything. I'm feeling that by now his only option is surgery. Anyone have any experience with this?
Logan's Mom

This discussion is related to Hiccup Attack � Reflux.

Westcoastmom2 · Answer

Hello saw your post on chronic hiccups and acid reflux - my 16 year old son had this for year and half since a surgery on his knee - have you had any relief yet? Praying !!

CalGal · Answer

Try going to the ****.com website and looking for a practitioner trained in visceral manipulation. You want someone who is a PT and who has had at LEAST 4 of the basic courses in the modality - and if you have to travel a bit to find someone, do so. And they need to have taken the 'Thorax' course, which is VM4, if I'm not mistaken.

Hiccups can be caused by a 'trigger' via the phrenic nerve - that's a nerve that runs from above an area of the throat down to the diaphragm. If those nerves get 'trapped' in the connective tissues surrounding them, it can trigger an unwarranted hiccup response. There are some very gentle manual manipulations that can be used along the thorax that may be of help. This modality (visceral) is not as well-known in the U.S. as it is in Europe, but it's slowly being recognized, championed by a gentleman (Barral) who is a highly-skilled Doctor of Osteopathy from France.