DBMS_PIPE Question

I have a question regarding DBMS_PIPE. I am using Oracle 7 on an HP UNIX platform.

I have a Pro*C program running (in background) an infinite loop receiving and processing messages coming in on a specific pipe.

The Pro*c program calls a stored procedure which waits for a message (DBMS_PIPE.ReceiveMessage(pipename)).

It is working fine. I can receive messages this way and then I create a unique pipe to reply to the user with.

The problem is, periodically it appears I am getting unsolicted messages(?). My program will suddenly start receiving messages that it does not understand and will continually receive these. The only way I can stop it is to kill the process and restart it.

I have tried to narrow down what could be happening but the situation is different each time. I cannot make it happen. It has happened when I first start the application and it has happened after I have been running for a while.

I've looked through the Oracle documentation on DBMS_PIPE but don't see anything regarding this. Has anyone else seen anything like this? Has anyone else used DBMS_PIPE extensively?

Any insight into this would be appreciated!

             Thanks,
               Lee Anne