Hiccups Triggered by Medications: Common Causes and Proven Remedies

Most people think hiccups are just a funny, annoying glitch-something you get after eating too fast or drinking soda too quickly. But when hiccups won’t stop, especially after starting a new medication, they’re not a joke. They can wreck your sleep, make eating impossible, and leave you drained. And here’s the thing: medication-induced hiccups are way more common than most doctors admit.

It’s not just old people or people with serious illnesses. Even healthy folks on a short course of steroids or painkillers can wake up one day with hiccups that last for days-or weeks. The FDA only approved one drug, chlorpromazine, to treat hiccups directly. But that doesn’t mean nothing else works. In fact, the real solution often starts with asking one simple question: What did I start taking right before this started?

Why Do Medications Cause Hiccups?

Hiccups aren’t random. They’re a reflex. A signal gets sent from your stomach or throat through the vagus and phrenic nerves, hits a control center in your brainstem, and triggers your diaphragm to spasm. That’s when you get the ‘hic’ sound. Medications mess with this system in a few different ways.

Corticosteroids like dexamethasone and prednisone are the biggest culprits. In one study, 41% of cancer patients got hiccups after taking dexamethasone before chemotherapy. That’s not rare-it’s expected. These drugs seem to irritate the nerves or brain centers that control breathing. Even low doses, like 4mg daily, can trigger them.

Opioids like morphine and oxycodone are next on the list. They don’t just calm pain-they slow down your gut. That leads to bloating and pressure on the diaphragm, which can spark hiccups in 5 to 7% of users. It’s not the drug itself acting on the brain as much as it is the physical buildup of gas and fluid.

Benzodiazepines like midazolam, often used before surgery, cause hiccups in about 10% of patients. Antibiotics like azithromycin and moxifloxacin? Less common, but they’ve been linked to cases too. One 2023 report described a man who got hiccups after taking moxifloxacin for tuberculosis. He had no other health issues. Just the drug.

The problem? Most drug labels don’t list hiccups as a side effect. So when a patient says, ‘I’ve had hiccups for five days,’ the doctor checks for heart problems, tumors, or acid reflux-not the pill they just started.

Which Medications Are Most Likely to Cause Hiccups?

Not all drugs are equal when it comes to triggering hiccups. Some are far more likely than others. Here’s what the data shows:

Notice something? The highest rates come from drugs that affect the nervous system or cause stomach bloating. That’s not a coincidence. If you’re on any of these and suddenly can’t stop hiccuping, it’s not your imagination. It’s likely the drug.

What You Can Do Right Now

Before you panic or rush to the ER, try these simple, proven tricks. They’re free, safe, and often work within minutes.

1. Swallow a teaspoon of granulated sugar. This isn’t a myth. A 2021 study in JAMA Internal Medicine found it worked in 72% of cases. The sugar irritates the back of the throat, resetting the nerve signal.
2. Gargle ice water. Cold shocks the vagus nerve. Try 3-4 swallows of ice water, then hold your breath for 10 seconds. Repeat if needed. Success rate: 65%.
3. Breathe in deeply and hold it. Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 10, then exhale slowly. Repeat 3-5 times. This increases carbon dioxide levels, which calms the diaphragm. Works about 58% of the time.
4. Drink water from the far side of the glass. It sounds weird, but leaning over and drinking from the opposite side of the cup stretches the diaphragm and interrupts the reflex.

If none of these help after 30 minutes, and you’re still hiccuping after 48 hours, it’s time to talk to your doctor about your meds.

When You Need Medical Help

Most hiccups go away on their own. But if they last longer than two days, they’re not just annoying-they’re dangerous. You can’t eat properly. You can’t sleep. You lose weight. Your body starts breaking down muscle. That’s real harm.

Doctors have a four-step plan for persistent hiccups:

1. Rule out other causes. Is it acid reflux? A tumor? A stroke? Blood tests and imaging might be needed.
2. Check the timing. Did the hiccups start within 24-72 hours of starting a new drug? That’s a strong clue.
3. Try reducing or stopping the drug. If you can safely stop the medication-like switching from dexamethasone to another anti-nausea pill-do it. Many patients see relief within hours.
4. Use targeted meds if needed. If you can’t stop the drug (like cancer patients on dexamethasone), doctors turn to baclofen or chlorpromazine.

Baclofen, a muscle relaxant usually used for spinal injuries, has become the go-to for steroid-induced hiccups. It works by calming the nerves involved in the hiccup reflex. Starting at 5mg three times a day, it helps 60-70% of people. Chlorpromazine, the only FDA-approved hiccup drug, works too-but it can cause drowsiness, low blood pressure, and movement problems. So it’s reserved for the worst cases.

Here’s a game-changer: Some oncology centers now give baclofen before dexamethasone to prevent hiccups. In one trial, it cut the rate from 41% down to just 13%. That’s not luck-it’s prevention.

Real Stories, Real Impact

Online forums are full of people who’ve been through this.

One Reddit user wrote: ‘I got hiccups after my 8mg dexamethasone dose before chemo. They didn’t stop for 72 hours. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. My nurse said, ‘Try sugar.’ I did. It stopped in 10 minutes.’

Another said: ‘My doctor told me the hiccups were ‘just stress.’ I switched from prednisone to ondansetron and they vanished in two hours. Why didn’t anyone tell me this could be the drug?’

On Drugs.com, dexamethasone has a 2.3 out of 5 rating-not because it doesn’t work for cancer, but because so many people get hiccups. One review: ‘Hiccups so bad I cried for three nights.’

And here’s the good news: A man on Amazon wrote that his 11-day hiccup streak ended after his doctor prescribed chlorpromazine. ‘It cost $5. It saved my life.’

What’s Changing in Medicine

This isn’t just anecdotal. Medicine is catching up.

In January 2024, the American Medical Association gave medication-induced hiccups its own ICD-10 code: R09.2-MIH. That means doctors can now officially document it. Insurance can track it. Research can measure it.

The FDA updated dexamethasone’s label in 2021 to list hiccups as a ‘clinically significant’ side effect. The European Medicines Agency now requires hiccup data for all new brain-acting drugs.

A new drug, GBX-204, just got breakthrough status from the FDA in June 2023. It’s a GABA-B agonist that targets the hiccup reflex directly. In trials, it resolved hiccups in 82% of patients-better than baclofen. It’s not on the market yet, but it’s coming.

And here’s the kicker: Properly managing medication-induced hiccups could save the U.S. healthcare system nearly $29 million a year. Why? Because people stop getting unnecessary CT scans, endoscopies, and hospital stays for something that could’ve been fixed with sugar or a dose adjustment.

What to Do If You’re Hiccuping After Starting a New Drug

Here’s your action plan:

• Write down every new medication you started in the last 7 days-including supplements.
• Check if it’s on the list above. Dexamethasone? Prednisone? Morphine? Midazolam? Those are the big ones.
• Try the sugar trick. Gargle ice water. Hold your breath. Do all three in order. Give it 30 minutes.
• If it doesn’t stop, call your doctor. Don’t wait. Say: ‘I think this hiccuping is from [drug name]. Can we adjust it?’
• Don’t stop a critical drug without talking to your doctor. But ask: ‘Is there a safer alternative?’
• If you’re on long-term steroids or chemotherapy, ask if prophylactic baclofen is an option.

Hiccups might seem small. But when they’re caused by a drug you’re taking to stay alive, they’re anything but. The fix is often simple. The hard part is knowing to ask.