Dad who has had hiccups for two years told he'll probably never be cured

US: Daniel Clavin  has to sleep in a separate room to his wife, is embarrassed about going anywhere in public and he struggles to eat normally

A man who has been hiccuping for two years is devastated after discovering there is probably no cure and he will have them for life.

Desperate Daniel Clavin, 38, began suffering constant hiccups after a boozy night out and the problem is now ruining his life.

He has to sleep in a separate room to his wife, is embarrassed about going anywhere in public and he struggles to eat normally.

Dad-of-two Daniel was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and believes the hiccups could be a symptom of the disease.

But with no forseeable cure for MS, he fears he will have hiccups for the rest of his life.

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Daniel said: “They’ve taken over my life and I don’t know if I’ll ever get rid of them. Now I’ve been diagnosed with MS I think that’s the reason for them.

“The MS Society say they’ve never heard of that happening before, but MS can affect your brain in lots of different ways.

“I’m told I’ve got a high burden of the disease and this is the only symptom so far, so I can’t complain.

“But MS is a progressive disease so I don’t know if I’ll ever be cured of them.”

Daniel’s hiccups began in July 2011 after he went on a stag do.

He said: “I just woke up with them and I’ve no idea why they started.

“I’m not a big drinker and I’d had more than I’d for some time but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Since then I’ve tried just about everything - all the old wives’ cures - but I can’t stop.

“Some days are bad and I’ll have difficulty eating and keeping my food down.

“Other times they lock up my diaphragm and I won’t be able to breathe for 30 seconds.

“I spend most nights in a different room from Susan so she is not disturbed but that’s not ideal and it puts a strain on things.

“I can be lying there for hours, hiccuping every three seconds.”

Daniel is currently seeing a neurologist who has prescribed chlorpromazine, a drug normally used to treat schizophrenics.

That has failed to stop the hiccups - but appears to have reduced them to a regular on-off pattern.

He said: “I’ll have them for seven or eight days and then they’ll suddenly stop and I’ll be without them for five or six days and I’ll be perfectly fine.

“It’s been like that for several months now and I don’t know if it’s because of the drug.

“I’ve got another appointment with the neurologist in a couple of weeks when he says he’s going to put me on an anti-epilepsy drug to see how I react to that.

“There’s also the possibility of having a pacemaker fitted in my diaphragm which would interrupt the signal from my brain and hopefully stop them.”

Despite his problem, Daniel says he has been able to keep his job as a software worker with BT.

He spends a couple of days a week in their Dublin office and the rest of the time at home in County Roscommon, Ireland.

He said: “My work colleagues are very good and very tolerant and I do everything I can to keep the hiccups quiet.

“I find I can control them best and hold my breath if I’m not talking, so I try to keep quiet.

“People find it quite funny when they first meet me but then it becomes quite annoying.

“I to try to keep cheerful but the medical community doesn’t seem to know what to do for me.

“I’m told there’s only a handful of people in the world at this moment who will have hiccups as bad.”

Daniel - dad to Harry, four, and 20 month-old Megan - has seen a number of experts, had two endoscopies, a CT scan, changed his diet, taken tranquilisers and consulted a chiropractor but all in vain.

Wife Susan, 39, said: “It’s a big struggle. I try to block it out but I can’t sleep with it - the sound and the constant twitching of the bed.

“Even when he’s having a good week it’s hard having him back in the bed because I’ve got used to sleeping by myself.

“It is very tough on him and day to day he’s not very happy, although he tries to remain positive.

“It’s difficult for anyone to concentrate on anything else when he’s around.

“We are still desperate to find someone who can help him because the hiccups are ruining our lives."