NONSTOP HICCUPS! An Endless Nightmare: Is There a CURE?! 

Chris the hiccup guy here. You did an incredible job Siobhan thank you so much x Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments, it's heartwarming to read through.

I had the hiccups for 15 months straight… long story short, the doctors in the hospital found out it was beeing caused by cancer cells that was surrounding my heart and my lungs… after emergency surgery they removed the cancer cells and i was finally released from the hiccups i had for 15 months straight… best feeling ever when i woke up and realized my hiccups were gone… All credits to the doctors of Erasmus Medisch Centrum (EMC) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands 🇳🇱.

I was so worried when he started talking about losing coordination of his arms and legs - but then I noticed that he was moving fine in the video and knew it had to get better :)

I feel like screaming when I hiccup for more than a few minutes. I couldn't imagine 3 years.

I had hiccups for about 5 weeks once, and it nearly drove me batty. I could not imagine 3 years. I am so glad they were able to figure it out for him! My hiccups were mild at first, but then got worse, which caused a bruised sternum. Doctors I saw at the time thought I was faking somehow 🤦🏼‍♀️ until the bruises on my chest came about. But, even then they did literally nothing. Sent me on my way with a prescription for naproxen 😏 I would find out about 10 years later, after losing vision in my right eye and going through tons of test that I had Multiple Sclerosis. My spinal cord was covered in lesions. The thing they now believed was the reason for my hiccups. Prolonged hiccups are not normal, don't let anyone, nor any doctor let you otherwise.

I’m Japanese and I remember watching about him on TV. It’s great to learn that he made a full recovery

I’ve suffered from hiccups (violent & loud) all my life. But now in my 70s they have increased in frequency for the last ~6 years. Had a brain MRI for a different issue but I’ll ask radiologist to take a closer look. Thank you for sharing your experience.

I still find it mind boggling that it took three years to get an MRI :( I'm glad he is good now

This story, made me cry🥹 Happy for Chris! And props to all the doctors able to say "it's beyond my expertise"

What a story!! He’s so fortunate to have such a good support system and mindset. This story could have ended tragically. I am so happy Chris is thriving and he is healthy these days. 🙂

Chris seems like such a sweetheart. The incredible emotional strength he shows having gone through so much pain is astonishing, and to be able to do that while still being so warm and down to earth is an accomplishment onto itself. Thank you to both you and Chris for sharing his story.

How can he always see the positive side of things even though everything he has to been through is so horrible? Mad respect. I love how he used his passion for music to keep having hope. It’s just incredible. If it was me, I would just be super pissed and blame the world “why me?”. Just wow, got so much positivity from him watching this. He sounds like the kind of person you wanna team up with when the world is ending so you can keep fighting and look at the bright side and listen to some nice music.

What an extraordinary story! As a musician myself, I totally cheered at the part where Chris was able to create music again. 😊🙌💃🎵🎶

This is so timely!! I will be seeing a patient tomorrow with hiccups x 2-3 days… nowhere near the length of time this gentleman endured, but I have so many differentials now! Such great content, Siobhan! 🤗

What an amazing story. I'I love how Chris was able to use music to aid his recovery. I have seen this with so many patients. I also experienced this myself recovering from multiple TBIs and learning a new violin concerto and piano concerto to cope. Music can really be transformational All the best and I am glad Chris was able to make an amazing recovery

I was just looking at your channel, hoping you’d post soon! What great timing

When he said he accepted what was going to happen before his surgery really brought back memories for me right before my heart surgeries. Life and death surgeries really can have an affect on you.

Wow, fascinating! I think I'll be the hiccup resource for my family and friends thanks to your video! Best to you as always, Siobhan!

What an incredible story! Absolutely love his positive spirit....so glad he's better now. All the best to him in the future! :)

You mention the importance of advocating for yourself, and I absolutely agree. That being said, how is someone without a medical background supposed to know what they should even be asking for? How is any layperson supposed to figure out that hiccups are caused by your brain, and not any of the parts that are actually doing the hiccuping?? It’s so, *so* unfair that we put the onus on the patient to figure out their own diagnostic/treatment/care needs, then tell them stand up for themselves while they are suffering and vulnerable and exhausted. And then we turn around and get frustrated about patients consulting Dr Google before coming to the clinic or hospital. As a Canadian who has been both a patient and a nurse, I have to say: we do a pretty good job with acute and/or life threatening conditions. But chronic illness is where we totally whiff, even if the condition is completely debilitating. We’re also not great at prevention, to be honest. We absolutely need to do better.

I'm 56 yrs old, and I probably have had hiccups 20 times in my life, that I can remember, The crazy thing is my hiccups only last, maybe 15 to 30 seconds. I couldn't imagine having them for 3 yrs. Great video Violin MD. Good to see you. Damn, I got the hiccups. Ha!! Joked ya.

Being a young doctor, i have seen a patient with hiccups for more than 24 hours and i adviced for upper GI Endoscopy and it turned out to be the Hiatus Hernia. Love your videos always. Everytime i learn from your videos. Love, from KASHMIR.

I have a Hiatal Hernia and a Schlotzsky's ring so when I saw he had the hernia problem I could really feel empathy for him. But the final outcome that caused the hiccups was very interesting. It just goes to show that doctors are human too, just well educated humans. So happy he finally got it taken care of.

I must say this series is one of the best ones I've ever seen across documentaries & various medical channels ON the internet as a med student trying to get hold of a variety of cases and simulations , I cannot thank you enough Dr.Siobhan , you put forward such quality content , excellent visuals that are easy to learn , crisp explanations and you help us build curiosity throughout. I hope your channel keeps growing , I'm sure your patients are under such good care and are going to have a better quality of life after meeting you , Thank you so much , your time and effort will always pay off !

I think this story was in one episode of Grey‘s Anatomy! It’s really crazy to think that no doctor in three years had the idea to take an MRI scan. Glad everything worked out in the end.

Chris was and has been supportive of myself and a few others who are still dealing with the hiccups. I've had them since 2013. 18k per day 3 seconds apart if I don't do something to temporarily stop them (which is soda and ice cream) which is my main diet since I haven't been able to hold food down since 2015.

This reads like a House MD side plot

The picture quality of the interview is AMAZING! Usually it is laggy and grainy but I can literally see the blades of grass behind him! Lol thank you for sharing his story!!

My personal best 2 methods to stop hiccups fast: 1 - Sip/suck water super slowly nonstop from a cup or bottle. Breathe through your nose as you do it, and don't detach mouth from cup/bottle. 2 - Cover mouth and nose with a clean plastic bag, breathe in and out carbon dioxide inside the bag for a few seconds at a time. Remove bag, take in some good fresh air breath, then repeat if needed.

I can’t imagine this because I despise hiccuping.Glad he is better.

Ive been hiccuping since november of 2019. Thank you for this, given me a few more things to investigate as the cause. As well as seeing someone who went through what i have been and made it out intact.

What an ordeal to have to endure. What a survivor! Hope him sharing his story helps someone else!

So glad I was stalking your page!! I know I want to do something in the medical field and watching you inspires me!! Thank you so much for these awesome videos

Fabulous story - thank you to Chris Sands, and you Siobhan, for sharing it and explaining it so well. Kudos to Chris for having a wonderful attitude during the whole experience. All the best to you and Chris...:)

Hearing you say 5th year medical resident gave me whiplash! I've been following you for so long! Great to see what you're doing for your community, always lovely to see passionate healthcare workers like you :)

What an unbelievable story! Chris' spirit and humor in the face of something so terrible really does inspire me. I think it's outrageous that an MRI was never ordered for him. Just another reminder that sometimes you have to take charge of your own health. Even if doctor's don't push for it, we have to advocate for ourselves.

I don't know what pleased me more: Siobhan's obvious enjoyment of a medical mystery solved, or the joy she takes in the fact Chris obtained a cure, found relief. Her concern for Chris, her disappointment in a diagnosis missed for so long... She's a breath of fresh air. Doctors are simply people - bright, motivated & very dedicated or they wouldn't survive the educational program - but they tend to practice clinical detachment to the point it's pathological. They tend not to be - or to show - emotional involvement the way Siobhan does. I hope other doctors realize they should emulate her: they'd enjoy medicine more & improve patient care dramatically. I'm sure Siobhan is a good doctor, will bring real clinical benefit to a great many patients fortunate to experience her care. But she'll have a much bigger impact: I'm convinced she'll encourage a lot of younger viewers to consider some kind of career in medicine. That's a good thing! And kudos to Chris! What a resilient person. It's hard to find the humour in things & the joy in life when you've been sleep-deprived & sidelined with such a debilitating disease. They're both inspiring!

Hi, I cant wait to watch this video❤❤❤. I hope you have an amazing day!!!

Wow! This is an amazing story, and what an amazing human being to go through that with a sense of humor and the persistence to get better.

so glad you pointed out the MRI! the fact it took 3 years for anyone to bother doing one is ridiculous! so happy he's made a full recovery though! :)

I can’t even imagine what he felt going through this. I had severe sciatica for a year before someone ordered an MRI for me and found my spinal cord tumor. I was so pleased when I found out that my pain was REAL!

Advocating for yourself is 100% important. Most people don’t take it seriously but after 20 years of still no ‘real’ diagnosis to a life full of odd symptoms- I spend a lot of my time explaining that I am the best expert in me and we need to worth ‘together’ to figure it out. The ones who don’t respond well to that notion don’t ever figure out my problems either and just show up their lacking

First I must give credit where credit is due… my oldest daughter first recommended your channel as she became a binge watcher herself! She knows how I’m a huge science/health/medicine nerd (and proud of it!) so she knew I’d love your channel. She was 100% correct. That was several years ago. Since then, I actually thought I’d seen most (if not all) of your videos but apparently I was wrong! I found this one because my dad recently had food poisoning. In the beginning of that, he developed hiccups that have not stopped. My dad calls me “Nurse Ratched” because when someone is sick, had surgery, etc in the family, I’m the one that does the obnoxious levels of research. Including the condition, the symptoms, the possible outcomes, the medications that can be used and even the backgrounds of the medical staff that will have anything to do with his treatment. But similarly to the man in this video, he’s being shooed away like an annoying fly. I’m trying to get him to agree to go see his general practitioner, but without scaring him to death. Every possible cause/complication you mentioned are issues that he has been diagnosed with or is a likely candidate for. But most especially, it caught my attention with the brain tumor. For reasons no one can explain, a high percentage of my blood relatives develop disease/disorders impacting the brain. Whether mental illness, strokes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, benign brain tumors and malignant brain tumors. My dads brother died due to ‘benign’ brain tumors. My mom died due to 2 forms of brain cancer (glioblastoma Multiforme & Oligodendroglioma). So for me to hear mere mention of lesions, tumors or general conditions in the brain, puts me in a very serious state of mind. People, please be the best advocate you can for yourself and your loved ones when something with their health just doesn’t seem right! You may run into opposition. You may run into healthcare professionals who tell you it’s because “you’re getting old” or that it’s “all in your head”. Politely tell those practitioners to kiss your behind and find someone who will listen. I have no issue being told it’s “probably” getting old or “probably” all in your head if that practitioner is willing to rule everything else out first. I don’t expect miracles. I don’t expect a smooth experience especially where medical insurance is involved, but I do believe in fighting for proper treatment and care. Thank You to my favorite medical violinist!😊 And kudos to my daughter for sharing your channel with me!! ❤️

Oh I have no idea how he maintained his sense of humour through all this! How awful -3 years!! a great reminder that we do have to advocate for ourselves or have trusted people who will do that for us. Great job as usual Siobhan 😍🤩. (Is chris only 37 years old now?)

So glad he made a full recovery because it’s not everyone that would have his strength to get through all that.

My daughter used to get the hiccups very frequently when she was in my belly, before she was born. Then afterwards she still had frequent hiccups for years. Now she's 12 and only gets them occasionally.

Refreshed and this popped up - awesome!

Wow! His positve mindset and resiliency is incredible! I can't imagaine being so unwell for that long. Well done Chris!

What an amazing story. I'm sorry for what he went through, but it is wonderful to see how he handled it.

My mom's sister had a brain tumor in her brainstem. Sadly they never figured it out before she died at 29 in 1974. They blew her off and thought she was psychosomatic. So glad this guy got help.

Wow, what a great job putting this together Sioban! And what an amazing person Chris Sands is. Thanks for sharing this story with us!

Wow. What an amazing story! But also how sad that it was missed with such a simple scan! As a first year med student I want to remember this and when there's something I don't understand that I reach out to other doctors and continue to advocate for them even when I don't know the answer! Also, I get the hiccups when I go to drink my Sparkling water (before I've taken a sip). Clearly my brain has some sort of psychosomatic response that my mom thinks is hilarious! Ah brain's are weird!

Really terrifying thing about having to be your own advocate, is you don’t always know what to fight for, until it’s too late, or too long to be effective. Too often, it’s the basic, standard of care treatment that the professionals were supposed to know you needed, were supposed to look into, but didn’t. And by the time you knew what they should’ve done, it’s been years. In my opinion, there shouldn’t ever be a time when the doctor says “I’ve done all I can, go away.” If they’ve done all they can to help you and the problem is still going on, they should refer you to someone else; not just leave you high and dry.

So distressing and informative at the same time.

When you're not learned in medicie, it's hard to advocate for yourself. Heck, even when you know EXACTLY what's wrong with you, doctors won't believe you. I had canular stenosis due to chemo, and I think it could have been reversed had my ophthalmologist listened to me when I told him the chemo drugs I took made my eyes tear all the time...I saw three eye doctors, none of them had heard about chemo driugs affecting tear ducts, but at least one of them referred me to a specialist of tear ducts who confirmed what I already knew and said that the only option at that point was surgery which I decided against...After cancer, I already had a lot of medical issues to deal with, didn't wwant to add to it if the surgery made things worse.

Recently (about 2 months weeks ago) i started getting hiccups, that were as consistent as his for a little more than a week. Was put on a daily muscle relaxer and as long as I take that 2-3 times daily I’m fine. However I also get extreme muscle cramps but those have been on going for like 4 years now. My most recent episode made basically every muscle in my body tense and lock at once for 2 hrs. Thanks to the “amazing” American healthcare I now have a neurology appointment for this February 😅. Im hoping what I have is not too serious 😅. I love how I found this video now as it’s helping my anxiety around the whole issue, thank you for making it!!! ** I was also given a fundoplication but at the age of 5 for other gastrointestinal complications.

Hi Siobhan. I Love watching your videos. Incredibly interesting and the delivery is enthusiastic while endearing at the same time. Thanks for keeping them coming. I will get the hiccups immediately when I eat bread (perhaps intolerance to yeast) but THANK GOD they don't last for more than 5 min. or so. I couldn't imagine poor Chris and for him to come away from his experience with a sense of humor makes his story even more amazing. Thanks for sharing Chris!

i cant believe they didnt do an MRI ... i cant imagine something here would not make an mri

That’s the UK’s NHS system for you in a nutshell. So happy he’s doing much better and back back to his old self

I used music to rehab my brain after a serious TBI resulting from a severe assault. I even got to give a TEDx talk about it...neuroplasticity is an amazing grace in this world! Well done both Siobhan and Chris!

Thank you for all you do in the hospital during this pandemic! ❤️👍

My dad had the hiccups for a year non stop. Then they disappeared. He didn’t say how old he was when it happened, but I don’t remember it being during my lifetime. He lived to 90.

Crish did the best thing . Hitting the keyboard & publishing his problem in a local newspaper . That slowly yet steadily started a process of getting opinions from peoples from arround the world . That's the lesson here : better start talking to others even if one channel of communication says it over , doors closed on this end. We don't know what the solution might be but at least we will be getting a list of plausible solutions which is a Increase in probability. Never give up & keep communication open .one door closes another window opens .

Thank you, Siobhan and Chris for this incredible story. I have struggled with A LOT of diseases. I always went to the Dr. with the "wrong attitude". I was ALWAYS looking for "a CURE"! Only recently, I have a different mind set! Doctors can TREAT symptoms, what do I have to do, on my part, to HELP the doctor? It took me over 20 YEARS to finally get that mindset, in the mean time I have had MANY, MANY surgeries and A LOT of "damage" to my organs, some irreversible, all because I was EXPECTING doctors to CURE me, and while they were doing that, I was just going to continue doing what I was doing, not changing a thing! I was extremely frustrated that they couldn't help. I got a lot of "you're EXTREMELY COMPLICATED"!!

It’s horrible when a doctor(s) say “we’re out of options and there’s nothing else we can do” I had hiccups EVERY DAY, and multiple times throughout, and some so bad that I’ve actually thrown up. And i suddenly developed a movement disorder a couple years post car accident injuries… It became an overwhelming unending struggle of hiccups and/or involuntary movements, but higher pain levels from my injuries “that we’re already told the whole issue of being told that’s it (and it’s your life)” So frustrating about lack of treatment, but you are so strong and so determined!

Awesome story. My dad has these continuous hiccups going on 3 or 4 months now. Thank you!

Thank you Chris and Siobhan for sharing this.

Thanks for sharing your story Chris! Congratulations on your recovery! You seem like an amazing person. You are an amazing story teller.❤😊

I love all your videos but these sort of deep dives on very specific illnesses are my favorites by far! Hope you’re doing okay up there with the delta raging. 💙

Such an interesting video! My only issue when watching was the difference in volume between you and the soft audio of Chris

Wonderful video, Siobhan! More medical mystery videos please. Thanks!

All that was needed was an MRI. How sad! I’ve been having pelvic pressure for years now - yet to find the reason. Hope one day I’ll find it!

I will never think about hiccups same way again. But it was a really interesting story. I’m so glad you’re better sir

What an amazing guy and such a fighter! I'm glad he finally got some resolution and I hope he's leading a great life now.

What an incredible story. The story give me many emotional feelings. Thanks Siobhan for this video.

This was so awesome! I would love to see more of this!!! I’m so glad he’s well😊

That's terrible to have to go to the press, but hopefully medicine can learn from it's mistakes. Love to Chris, amazing story, thank you so much for sharing this with us! #PeaceThroughMusic 🎹💃🔥❤️

Wow! I've been here since you were a *third* year medical resident! Are you almost done with your residency?

Chris had a lot of strength during those awful 3 yrs or so. I too also feel a certain amount of outrage that he initially did not receive complete testing. The question is why? A physician or more who were not sufficiently knowledgeable ( radiologist who read the CT?) OR is it because of their health care system? Were there restrictions regarding? Hope not. Living in Montréal, I would hope not; that our medicare system was not restricting the use of MRI. I remember, when MRIS came to be, it was not easy to access one, they were far and few out there. I am glad it was diagnosed and treated. Now, all is well. I enjoyed Chris' story. Another way for you to educate us. And, yes advocating for ourselves is a must. As a nurse for a little more than 4 decades, this was one of my strengths. Thanks again.

Great video, as usual! You have inspired me to apply to medical school when I finish secondary school

Wow, so glad Chris is now doing well! I'm currently stuck in the hospital myself with a mysterious infection on my leg that I've had for about 3 months. Doctor can't work it out so.more tests tomorrow. On antibiotics of course which we cannot work.out if working or not. Wish me luck!

Amazing story because i have hiccups for 2/4 days at times…now i feel like chris at his early stage.

Thank you for sharing this! I watched Chris's story back when he first filmed it on youtube and saw all the things the poor guy went through and how he suffered so much with the hiccups, then he found out about having a tumor, he had the surgery and last I had heard was he was hiccup free for some months after having the tumor removed but that they started coming back. That was several years ago and I have always wondered what happened to him and how he's doing. You have answered my question! I am so glad to see he's gotten rid of the hiccups he had. How wonderful for him. Thanks so much for sharing this! Now I know what happened to him. Sorry if this is a bit jumbled. Prodome

This had me crying. I'm pregnant so my hormones are crazy but I'm so had that he kept on going and never lost hope. I'm so proud of him!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love stories of good news!!!!! I was born with an imperforate anus and I spent my whole life in and out of surgery and seeing so many doctors who could not help me. I spent kindergarten and 1rst grade in a colostomy bag and thankfully now, I am ok. I had surgery done in the 5th grade by a children urologist called The Maline, Mace also called an appendicostomy. A few years ago it stopped working and I was running out of options to find a doctor to help me because of being an adult and most people with IA our children and finding a doctor as an adult is difficult. Basically, what I'm not able to do is go have a bowel movement on my own and if you don't have a bowel movement for so long it can eventually kill you. It started out with me being born without an anus and I had to have one made for me and that led to me having IA. After searching for so long I ended up finding a doctor in Cincinnati who is a children's doctor and she was willing to help me. I'm basically doing the same thing I do now but I'm adding an extra step to my medicine/routine. I recently learned that they do not accept adults anymore so I have to continue my search for a doctor. I'm hoping that I will not need to have a doctor anytime soon and my medicine will continue to help me because without that, I could be in great Danger. Growing up, I I've tried pretty much everything on the market that is related to constipation and had been taking so much fiber and nothing was working and every doctor I had seen was out of options. The doctor I saw before last told me that if I ever had my medicine stop working on me that I would probably have to go back to a colostomy bag and as a mom of two I do not want to ever have to go back to a colostomy bag again. My fiance has never seen me with a colostomy bag and I don't want him nor my children or anyone else to see me in one but if that is what it takes to get me back to where I need to be then I will have to accept it. It's crazy what our bodies can do. I almost went to my local news with my story to see if someone could help me. I did find a group on Facebook that deals with my condition. Babies born with my condition are 1 in 5,000. I'm so glad he got the help he needed and I hope everyone else who has something wrong with them that can't get a diagnosis ends up with they correct diagnosis and lives a happy and healthy life.

Chrissy! I know him and I got to hang out with him. We did a speed run of the Louvre a few weeks ago.

Should be published to medical journals helps to direct diagnostics thanks for the video really help

If there was a competition for hiccups, it would probably be called the Hic-Cup.

Hi siobhan I love your videos I have spina bifida as well as my friend and a few years ago her vp shunt broke and she spent 6 months with a broken shunt. She kept going to the ER and they would tell her no your shunt is fine you just have a migraine take Tylenol and go to sleep. Finally her head hurt so bad that she went to our pediatric neurosurgeon who took only minutes before she diagnosed her with a shunt malfunction. I completely agree with you that advocating is a must.

Wow! So much to learn from this video and this mans incredible story. Thank You! For putting together this powerful video. I believe it will save someone’s life one day. Remember! You and your dr need to work as a team. PeaceAndLove Lori

What a brave man! I have heard the story of people having trouble getting help from their doctor too many times. So many doctors seem to be in a rush and worry more about seeing a certain number of patients than stopping and looking for answers to help one patient who is suffering. Very disappointing. Especially with the amount of money we all pay for insurance and doctor visits.

THREE YEARS?!?!?! I loathe hiccups. The entire concept and experience are disproportionately aggravating to me. Props to him for surviving three whole years of that!

i can see kit harington playing him for a film

I had the hiccups for 4 days in a row this week. Soooo glad it stopped! Btw.. I love your channel!

Omg! i can't belive that i wasn't having hiccups for a years and this week i was having hiccups😜 and i wondered what causes it🤔!? you get on the right time😄 i love all your content and you're super talented violin girl 🎻too i ❤ u

Babe you are looking fineeeee! Your skin looks so bright. Love the new intro too! Love what you’re doing xx

Chris is lovely! I love his energy! I can't believe he went through this for SO LONG! I probably would've lost it if that was me. I get really bad hiccups from time to time that really hurt my chest and I can't imagine them lasting for years.

Awesome story. Something I would love to see you do more of - it is especially interesting when you know you will be going into medicine & you want to learn things now

I have had hiccups for 2 years non-stop, I was recently diagnosed with a 4 cm tumor, stated it was benign, I have been trying for 2 months to get an appointment with a neural surgeon and they won't see me because they are booked. The hiccups are severe and there's no one to help, I can only relate to this story as I suffer myself.

Sioban so nice to see another awesome video from you sweetheart 🥰

Hi great seeing you and amazing video love these story videos