Micky Cheney Hospitalized Because He's Had Hiccups For 10 Days

What if you had hiccups for a few hours -- annoying, right?

What about a whole day?

For 39-year-old Micky Cheney, 10 days of hiccups -- which are caused by diaphragm spasms -- prompted him to check himself into the hospital.

"It's been miserable, I don't hold food down, i don't sleep that well unless I get a sleeping aid to help knock me out to sleep," Cheney told WCSH6 Portland.

ABC News reported that Cheney's curious bout of the hiccups began on Nov. 5 as he was making deliveries for UPS. Only problem: They didn't stop, even when night fell.

"The next thing you know, he's puking", his wife, Keri Cheney, told ABC News. "I told him he had to go get checked out, but he was like, 'What am I going to do, go to the ER and tell them I have the hiccups?'"

Finally, Cheney did end up checking in to Maine Medical Center, where he has been undergoing tests and treatments since Nov. 9, NECN reported.

His doctor, Dr. Steve Hess, told WCSH6 that it seems Cheney's case of the hiccups might be caused by esophagitis (heartburn):

He says their plan of treatment is to sedate Micky enough to slow his hiccuping down, while treating his heartburn, the way they would treat an ulcer. Dr. Hess says his hiccups should be gone within a few days.

ABC News reported that up to 4,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized because of hiccups every year. They can be caused by all manner of things, including stress, infections and some drugs.

Hiccups can be caused by any number of things -- from eating too much or drinking too much alcohol, when there's a sudden fluctuation in temperature, or if you're stressed -- but long-term hiccups may be a sign of a more serious condition, like nerve damage; conditions like stroke, meningitis, multiple sclerosis or tumors; or even certain drugs, according to the Mayo Clinic.