Diagnosis: Diaphragm Arrhythmia

When I get excited, I shake. . .

I also, apparently, hiccup.

One day in the midst of a hiccup attack, Tad, in a quasi-aggravated way, said, "You always hiccup!"

"What?" was my reaction.

"You hiccup way more than the average person. Like, all the time!"

"I don't think . . ."

"Yes. You do."

"But you . . ."

"Not as much as you."

From that point on my self-radar tuned in to the music of my diaphragm. And sure enough. Once or twice or thrice every week I experienced an attack. They would last anywhere from 1 second to 15 minutes.

I argued with Tad, saying other people hiccuped a lot too, but it was futile. I'm a hiccup freak. But why?

Initially, I blamed it on a floppy diaphragm. Makes sense, right? It was probably just loose from how I used to have great breath support back in my singing days and now, since I never ever sing, it's all stretched out and floppy.

Wrong.

Here is what embarassingproblems.com says:
Hiccups can be triggered by:

• sudden expansion of the stomach by swallowing air while eating
• sudden expansion of the stomach by excessive eating or drinking
• fizzy drinks
• sudden excitement or emotional stress
• acid reflux from the stomach.

Aha! Bullet #4. (Please ignore everything else hinting that I'm unable to eat like a normal person).

I am a freak who manifests excitement in the form of diaphragm contractions (or diaphragm arrhythmia) . Also known as 'hiccups'.