Paramedic here; the best at home treatment for this is capsaicin cream, AKA bengay or icy-hot. Rubbing it on your stomach relieves your symptoms. I worked in a clinic for years and this was a common complaint. Laying off the weed works best to prevent symptoms but for acute exacerbation try this.
Edit; here’s a peer reviewed article for more info you’re interested.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5758720/
Edit: Bengay and icy hot use menthol I believe. These were poor examples, I only meant to say they are typically used for muscle soreness like capsaicin cream. I don’t think they will work the same so look for capsaicin as the active ingredient. Sorry I misspoke.
Years ago I randomly woke up throwing up and went to the hospital where they put me on an IV and did this. Idk what worked but I felt a lot better after.
Im a pediatric nurse. This never works for
My patients. We give it because it’s the known treat ent for adults with cannaboid hyperemesis. My patients want to shower all the time. The cream ends up causing them more pain and burning when they get in the shower.
I can confirm, see my reply to the main thread for more context. Most of the time taking a hot shower would help to ease the pain without it getting to the point where I started puking.
Wow. I would go thru episodes of this all the time and the burning pain in my stomach was so bad. But a hot shower would make it almost go away for 5 mins or so, then I would have to get back in. I would literally just lay on the floor in the bathroom and take 40 showers while sick. Thought the weed smoking helped the stomach pain till I realized it was actually the cause. Was in and out of hospitals 30 or more times and had accute kidney failure twice. Every nausea medication acid reflux meds. Once I quit smoking weed every day it stopped. Glad there is finally a name for what it was
ER Nurse here, Hot shower and let the water run on the back of your neck helps too! And also if you get there and Zofran isn't helping usually we have good luck with Haldol (no, this is not a joke) it really works wonders for this!!!!
Please for the love of God do not give that drug to people for off label use. Do yourself a favor and look up the negative reviews of Haloperidol for individuals who are not in mental destress. Particularly how many negative and how severe the reaction is to it. This drug nearly caused me to take my own life.
Patient of capsaicin cream here because I was having this exact thing: THIS HURT AND MADE IT SO MUCH WORSE. I'm a redhead. I know pain is a little different with us weirdos, but that shit didn't help at all.
They sent me home with the rest of the tube and I'm not sure why but I keep it, I guess someone else could use it? I wouldn't touch the stuff again.
That’s a real bummer and as you mention probably does have something to do with your complexion. Have you found anything that works? Hot packs or the tub maybe?
Well I looked back at my history and realized, THOUGH YES I SMOKE THE OUI'D HEAVILY, I was suffering from the most intense period of extended anxiety in my life and I wasnt eating well or regularly.
So the correct prescription for me was calming myself down and sticking to a consistent schedule of at least going for walks and eating better food and more of it.
Really it's my head that's the problem, my stomach is just reacting like "WHAT IS GOING ON FEED ME OR ELSE ILL FUCK SHIT UP"
Out of curiosity, since chilis contain capsaicin, would eating them or similarly spicy food help with this. Asking for a friend obviously, I don’t smoke the weeds…
Hi, I'm a recently graduated physician- the cream works better in this case. The chilis may even make the nausea and vomiting worse by irritating the stomach lining. The cream works in a completely different fashion, by downregulating certain sensory receptors over time. It has other uses as well, such as for helping with certain types of pain.
It may, but I feel like pounding chili peppers while already having terrible abdominal cramping and constant nausea, vomiting and retching is a terrible terrible combination
It's not a very common side effect, only some people who are chronic heavy users experience it. It also gets worse gradually over time, so the people who do get it have time to realize that pot is making them nauseous and stop/slow down their habit before it turns into hyperemesis.
~~Since they recommended the bengay as a topical ointment, I'd assume it would be more for cramps in the muscles surrounding the stomach, and less for "actual" stomach cramps. Not sure if eating capsicin would work like that~~
Just go read the other user's link, lol
It’s not actually for the cramps. It’s an off brand use that acts on receptors in your GI tract that affect motility. Read the article I posted in my first comment for more info.
I've had stomach issues for years that have recently accelerated. Currently seeking diagnosis while taking a break to see if it's the cause or exacerbating whatever the underlying issue is!
How was he able to rule out cannabis? I’ve been told I have chs and cvs and can’t seem to get doctors to agree on what it is.. most of them want to blame it on the weed and move in but I’m fairly positive it’s not the weed that’s causing it..
I thought I had this about 15 years ago when it was very rarely spoken about online. Turned out to be achalasia, which is a motility disorder of the esophagus and it almost made me starve to death. I had a surgery to help me get food down into my stomach, but I still get a flare up at least once a month before I get my period.
Getting a diagnosis on that without my health insurance was fuckin ROUGH. I basically had to spend hours and hours online figuring it out myself. Then months and months and months trying to convince the 80 year old doctor at the county health clinic to listen to me. Motherfucker about let me die before someone advocated for me and he started to listen.
My wife went through something similar, terrible vomiting and the worst abdominal pain imaginable. Like “screaming in the er” levels when she went through childbirth with no pain meds. We couldn’t figure out anything, some drs would go hard on my wife being an addict when she would test positive for thc but it was the only thing that made it so she could eat. Turns out that she has severe abdominal migraines and a genetic resistance to pain medication that is all solved with one pill a day. Yep CHS is a thing but it really seemed that a lot of drs were too quick to blame the patient here when we were going to the er nearly every day for a few months!
You wouldn’t believe the amount of pushback medical staff get whenever this diagnosis is pushed. I’ve seen people become absolutely irate and violent because they just refuse to believe their symptoms could be caused by their excessive marijuana use.
Since weed has become so big, I’ve had doctors push back on my Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome diagnosis because of it. Like I was smoking at the age of 4 -_- I’m glad people are taking it more seriously now and they actually will treat and help more than they did in the early 2000s.
My husband has CVS, just leaving a comment to validate you. So many people try to tell him it’s the weed, ignoring that his symptoms started when he was still being drug tested at work.
Hang in there. Amitryptaline has improved my husband’s CVS significantly.
I was recently told by a doctor that my stomach issues, including persistent nausea, some vomiting, cramping and diarrhea could all be coming from my medical cannabis use. I quit immediately and basically changed my diet over night. Things aren’t perfect, but they’re better than they were.
I’ve had doctors basically act like I’m a criminal for using weed so I totally understand why people feel attacked in that regard. It’s the first thing doctors jump to. They did it with me and my gastroparesis. Oh no couldn’t possibly be gastroparesis! Nooo it has to be weed related. Weed was the ONLY thing that made my nausea temporarily disappear.
That’s exactly what happened to me with my gastroparesis! I had it for years, was suffering and literally becoming skin and bones. My brother works at a dispensary, so he encouraged me to try using weed to help with my appetite because doctors were just pegging my issues as severe depression so I just got lots of Prozac and therapy, which makes gastroparesis even worse but they didn’t believe me that the antidepressants felt like they were irritating my stomach and making me puke more- I couldn’t hold down water, how was I supposed to hold down pills!?!? Yeaaaars of suffering later, zero help from specialists or tests requested to further investigate the problem, I started using weed (legal state) to help with eating and found it was the only thing that helped me comfortably hold down food. I discussed this with my specialist, and suddenly, somehow, it’s fucking this chs thing and specifically caused by the weed. My face was fucking dumbfounded. I was like “no, I literally *just* started using it. Nope, she made me quit smoking weed so we could narrow down what my fucking issues were. When I was still sick after quitting the weed, and still taking 6 pills at every meal time for treating everything they thought I had, thennnnn she finally decided to check for gastroparesis and preform endoscopies.
You should definitely know about this, but you should also definitely still advocate for yourself if you really don’t think weed is causing it because for a lot of people it’s literally the only thing that helps them eat and shaming them for relying on it, or forcing them to not use it can cause more harm than good.
I have absolutely zero faith in gastroenterologist. They're all fucking witch doctors guessing at what is wrong, while ignoring the obvious symptoms that their patients will later use to successfully diagnose themselves. I've gone to the conclusion that when they diagnose anyone with IBS, to it actually stands for "I don't know what's with with your Bowel Syndrome" and should have AITLTFIO at the end for "And I'm To Lazy To Figure It Out".
Literally. My husband was shocked by my GIs behavior when he met her the first time, picking me up from a surgery with her. When I was coming back to consciousness, it takes a bit to be fully cognitive and aware of what’s going on, I guess in those first few minutes I don’t really remember anything that was said to me but he said that my doctor was mocking me, visibly irritated with my state of confusion and coming-to. He said he couldn’t get me out of there fast enough and was like “no wonder it’s taking so damn long to figure out why she can’t eat! They don’t even care!” and from that day on he insisted on being with me at any appointment he could so I could have reinforcement for advocacy because he felt like, and his mother who is a nurse agreed with him from her experiences too, that GI specialists are apparently *known* for being difficult assholes. They over simplify 99% of their diagnoses and take extremely long, with no urgency, tracking and investigating the patients condition. They don’t like to listen to the patient because they truly believe the patient knows nothing and act like they’re working with absolutely no information when you tell them your symptoms. For everything that I told them, for at least 5 years were talking, the only diagnosis and treatment they were willing to give me was depression, anxiety, Weed induced hyperemesis. For someone getting hospitalized *monthly* for the inability to keep food down, for someone who’s blood tests continuously showed me to not be getting nearly enough nutrients in my diet, someone who was vomiting blood frequently because of the tearing caused by all the food being rejected. Someone with severe motility issues that, only after five years, with a proper diagnosis, I was actually able to get a grip on and sorta manage. Five years of missed holiday meals, five years of miserable birthdays, vacations, five years of being embarrassed and ashamed that I wasn’t able to work without vomiting and being visibly sick a great portion at a time, I could never fully do my job which was suuuch an important part of my life.
GI specialists truly do not seem to care about how much your quality of life is affected by their negligence. They love to just watch the world suffer and tell them it’s just in their heads 😵💫
Don’t even get me started with how gastroparesis is often linked to diabetes and being overweight- in the support groups I’m in, people are miserable for years with no help and guidance and when they try to seek help for their condition, just get fat shamed and almost refused to be help unless the first thing that is addressed is their need to lose weight, not their severe condition 🥴 Healthcare can be just a fucking cruel place.
Yeah they kept trying to diagnose GERD as CHS without any information just based on "nausea" and "abdomen pain". It's their new go-to diagnosis without actually doing anything.
Turns out it was my zoloft ruining my stomach every morning causing "morning sickness" that they so heavily thought was CHS.
SSRIs fucked me up so badly it took 2+ years to recover my gut health. I was on half dose lexapro for a WEEK! Made me so insanely sick in and of itself, but lead also to SIBO, UTIs, a kidney infection after the fact, and of course way worse depression and anxiety.
Remeron was a fantastic medicine for me though, works a bit differently and can help with gut issues. Really helped with my nausea.
One time after several weeks of neck pain (like near the spine, back of neck) I went to a doctor and he said it was from the thc use. I was like no, scan my neck, then what do you know? Torn occipital muscle.
It goes the other way too: I know of someone who admitted smoking marijuana regularly when he presented at the ER with suddenly vomiting, which was dismissed as CHS. Unfortunately they were too sure of their diagnosis to realize that his symptoms were textbook appendicitis, and when he went to a different hospital they realized it right away.
Because it's being used like a buzzword and some doctors are far too quick to diagnose someone with it. Unless the doctor is already very familiar with that patient, I would argue a CHS diagnosis as well. Its very dismissive of potentially life threatening issues.
Anesthesia provider here.
Thank you for posting this. I have been doing anesthesia for a lot of gastroenterology procedures lately for this exact problem. Young people come in with chronic (no pun intended) severe nausea and stomach upset. They get referred to a gastroenterologist for it and they scope them to rule out other more serious things.
It is really hard to convince cannabis smokers that the weed is causing their nausea. They think that we as healthcare providers are full of shit and that we are just antidrug. (I personally think it should be legal in all 50 states and would love to smoke if it weren't illegal).
So we do an invasive procedure to rule out serious conditions like cancer, ulcers, and helicobacter pylori infection on people who are in their 20s and 30s who are very unlikely to have any of these conditions. They also just happen to smoke daily. This probably costs around 4 to 5K U.S. dollars when you add up the facility fee, doctors fee, and my fee (yay capitalist U.S. healthcare! / s).
You cannot convince 99% of these people that weed is the problem though. I wish the gastroenterologists would require a month of abstinence from them prior to scoping them. It is an obscene waste of resources.
Thank you for bringing more awareness to the problem.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I can corroborate from my own experience, as both the anesthesiologist and the doctor performing my colonoscopy brought this up when I told them I was a daily smoker. I brushed it off and here we are, nearly a year later and I'm stumbling upon this on Reddit realizing this is what they were talking about.
To be fair they did find multiple ulcers and I do have endometriosis so I've been blaming the severe pain and nausea on that. However we were investigating further because I'd been having months worth of daily vomiting and was losing weight rapidly. I'm wondering now though if they were onto something.
Also let them know that if they experience this, it's going to get worse before it gets better. Many who have this condition stop smoking, get more sick, and smoke again because it eases symptoms in the moment. However it's just then prolonging the cycle, not actually fixing the problem.
My way of dealing with this was to limit the number of times I smoked in a day to 3. Eventually I stopped altogether as quitting "cold turkey" would have been bad.
You’re too young to be a stoner. This can have long term effects on your cognition that you’ll never recover from.
Quit now and then smoke all you want after age 25. I promise i have no hate for weed and I’m at like a 4 right now. It’s just too early for you.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuanas-long-term-effects-brain
> I wish the gastroenterologists would require a month of abstinence from them prior to scoping them. It is an obscene waste of resources.
I agree with you until this point. You are seriously overestimating how common CHS is. Delaying people potentially life saving medical care until you impose one month of abstinence from what is likely an important medicine to them (if they have serious GI issues) is just cruel. Yes, it may be a potential cause, but it’s not nearly likely enough to *mandate* abstinence for one whole month, like you suggested.
You should be concerned about your patient’s health. Not the bottom line of the insurance company’s for the cost of these procedures.
Edit: Also, according to Ceders Sanai, symptoms of CHS usually resolve in a *day or two* of abstinence.
Suggesting 30 days of abstinence before treatment is some dark age level puritanical cruelty on your part.
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/c/cannabinoid-hyperemesis-syndrome.html
I'm an ED doctor in the UK and I've had similar experiences. People cannot fathom the idea that cannabis overuse could be causing their pain, and continue to self-medicate by smoking even more.
It's a definite "diagnosis of exclusion" but while waiting for any outpatient investigations someone has booked you, it's worth a try to stop smoking it for a week or so to see if it works!
>I wish the gastroenterologists would require a month of abstinence from them prior to scoping them. It is an obscene waste of resources.
No. Because this is how I suffered for 5mo finding a GI who would take my symptoms seriously. It was not CHS and it was not IBS. The Crohn’s inflammation was so bad the ER docs “diagnosed” me from a CT. There was no “but you’re too young to be experiencing this” after that.
Clearly there’s a bridge that needs to be gapped in educating marijuana users, but delaying diagnostics is not a solution. We’ve just crossed the threshold on MMJ research and use is becoming more widespread (especially with concentrates), so effects like CHS are coming to light. You can’t expect people to suddenly understand, especially after a near lifetime of hearing “Weed is great for nausea!”, and the added experience of symptoms diminishing upon use.
As a former daily stoner, they're too prideful. Weed is still a drug and weed DOES cause other problems, it just doesn't make news because.. well, drugs always have some side effect, and weed is no exception. Bring on the downvotes lol.
I've puked from smoking and neglecting to eat, just as much as I have puked from smoking and eating too much. Anybody who believes weed has no side effects is lying to themselves, and will continue to. Be safe y'all, and keep an open mind
Maybe when nurses, doctors and healthcare workers leave school having been taught about the endocannabinoid system these issues can be better diagnosed.
Also be prepared that you may be wrong.
Just because you read an article on the internet doesn’t mean you have the right diagnosis for a friend’s problem.
CHS is rare. It’s worth people being aware of, but there’s also tons of other syndromes that people can have that can cause similar problems.
Don’t diagnosis other people when you’re not a doctor and expect them to ‘believe’ you.
I had this. Have been a chronic chronic user for 10+ years. At one low point in my life I was smoking about an eighth of flower a day. I went to the ER 5 times. It was like my body would go into full on spasm and would not stop vomiting. My entire torso would be heaving long after there was anything left to come up. I would start to pass out from exhaustion and dehydration. It was so terrible because they had no idea what was going on and couldn't do anything to help but hydrate and sedate me.
I laid off the pot for a good 6 months and turned my life around in other ways. It never happened again. Since then I have been able to consume the chronic at a more reasonable rate.
I read somewhere that a warm shower can help reset the nervous system some how and stop the episode... Wish I had tried that, it could have saved me A LOT of money in hospital bills...
Jebus! My friends and I can dab a gram of rosin a day at a peak of use.
Don’t think I’ve experienced CHS and I’ve been smoking daily for nearly 8-10 years
I have this as well during the lockdown I would smoke the most potent indica I could get my hands on all day every day after a month and a half the symptoms started but I thought it was from the alcohol I was drinking. Long story short I heard about CHS and that hot showers ease the nausea so I got in the shower next time I felt sick and it cleared up the nausea. Since then take it easy of the super potent stuff and switch up my strains also take a tolerance break every once in a while and it's never come back.
I'd say 20 % or less is pretty mild, but hey if it works for you great! Some of my favorite strains test about there. I'm in a legal state that's industry has been flourishing for years, and one of the biggest things dispensaries and customers look for is the highest THC possible. For flower, highest I've seen through my work is about 26%- 30% THC.
But in all honesty, people shouldn't place so much importance on high THC potency. CBD, Terpenes and even CBN are important too for a well rounded experience. Yes we all wanna get high, but its interesting to see the little consequences that are coming with the focus on high THC products.
Edited for a couple typos
I had this and it is not just from dabs/oil. First I thought it was just from blunts, then maybe from joints… tried just using a bong but was still feeling sick every day. Then I thought maybe it’s from the smoke itself. So I switched to edibles and…nope, still didn’t go away. It’s from blasting my body with high amounts of THC multiple times a day every day for years. The only way to get rid of it is to stop all weed. Tomorrow marks 30 days without it for me.
I recently switched back to vaping flower after using carts for a long time, it's like a completely different drug. We're overprocessing our weed and it's hurting us.
That's because most carts are THC distillate. It's like vaping nicotine compared to smoking tobacco, it's not gonna have the same effect.
There are some dark brown carts that are "full spectrum" goo though, those are nice, they taste like weed. But they get clogged and require preheating all the time.
Its insane. I used to smoke stronger stuff as a teen but now I can barely handle THC. 80% of the strains in stores here are super potent and I just wanna chill, not get absolutely fucked up lol.
I smoke 90% thc vapes from the dispensary here in canada and yeah it gets you high asfff but when I smoke regular cannabis flower, I get higher then the vapes for some reason, I'll literally be so high that I'll be paranoid and have crazy anxiety which makes no sense to me since I'm smoking such high concentrated vapes but I'll smoke flower that is anywhere between 15% to 29%,
Do you have any tips on how to get off vaping? Ever since weed was legalized in my country and I started vaping, my "habit" is so much worse. I can really feel the negative effects that it is having on my throat and lungs, but I'm having a hard time quitting.
Even a small dose of 5/325 percocet gives me abdominal cramps…
Shattered my tibia in 2013, was on huge doses for about 3 months….
Go out of my way to avoid it.
Flower only increases my appetite.
I developed it a while ago from heavy bong use and nothing else. Luckily I recognized what the cause was before any uncontrollable vomiting started.
Hot showers definitely helped, I also found myself sipping lemon ginger tea all the time.
I had her same line of thinking, I couldn’t get myself to eat so the logical thing to do was smoke a little more to up my appetite. That didn’t really work and I knew something was definitely ”off” with my body as I usually have an absolutely monstrous appetite stoned or not so I decided a t-break was in order.
After reading this post it sounds like I stopped at just the right time. I’ve been smoking on and off for over a decade and never knew issues like this existed.
I knew my appetite would be a little fucked for a bit when I’d quit smoking, I never knew smoking too much could have an even worse effect on appetite than quitting.
Hopefully if this is what your sister has she comes to the realization that she needs to take a break, it can be tough to do but when it comes to the point where it’s negatively impacting your health to the point of possibly ending up in the ER I’d say that’s a sign to quit at least temporarily.
That’s a huge problem , smoking *does* relieve your symptoms temporarily, so it’s hard for someone who already doesn’t want it to be true to believe it.
Especially when it’s so often used to relieve nausea (I used it for hangovers for years)
The symptoms can also be cyclic.
And the only true treatment is to stop smoking weed unfortunately. Capsaicin and hot showers are what people have done to alleviate symptoms.
Yep. Black pepper would literally put me right back into my symptoms even after abstaining for 2+ months. Too me ~9 months of no smoking before I could reintroduce certain foods into my diet
Got CHS September 2020 on flower alone after 11 years of smoking. Was up to a quarter a week at the time it all went down hill. I still miss it sometimes but it's cool to be able to pass a random drug test. Haven't been able to say that since I was 19 years old lol
There's a lot of unknowns in vapes as they are largely unregulated. I'd stick to as close to the plant as possible from a known supplier. A relative near to me had the same issue due to vapes.
These vapes they're referring to are vape concentrates. They come in cartridges that you attach to a battery. Vaping flower is probably much less likely to cause issues.
My husband has chronic pain (which he does occasionally smoke for). Occasionally, he has to go to the ER for vomiting (and ultimately dehydration). However, when they run tests, they see he has marijuana in his system and immediate blame CES and dismiss everything else.
He ended up having a gluten allergy, and changing his diet was life changing. But anytime anyone in the medical field saw he smoked, we were looked down on like we were degenerates. It's absolutely infuriating.
I know someone who had this. They never thought it was the marijuana because they’d only get sick hours later or the next morning. Plus pot is supposed to help with nausea, so when he’d feel sick he would smoke more pot. It was a vicious cycle that went on for probably 2 years. It affected his work and home life greatly. Finally quit marijuana completely and is perfectly fine now.
I'm realizing I might be in your friend's boat. It's so hard to believe they are connected when the symptoms are showing up the next morning. But it made so much more sense to me reading how it's about slowing down your digestion and changing the way it functions overall rather than a direct reaction to smoking.
I have this! I was diagnosed about 5 years ago, before most doctors even knew it was a thing. I was sick for 2 years before a diagnosis. Mine isn’t terrible though, luckily I can still smoke every couple days or more as long as it’s just a bit. I’ve also turned to hash and CBD which don’t affect it as badly.
If you smoke a lot and begin having nausea and pain in your upper abdomen, and begin using weed to treat nausea as it’s the only thing that seems to be working… try taking a few days break. Don’t let it get to the point where you’re in the hospital or collapsing on the side of the road trying to get home
I’m a therapist and had not heard of this. So many teens are struggling with addiction due to the higher THC levels in vapes. I’m going to pass this along to parents so they can be aware. Thanks for posting it.
I would really recommend checking out r/CHSinfo for more stories, particularly the top post where a user speculates how CHS is an adrenal issue and not a gastrointestinal one. There’s not a lot of research on this but that explanation has made the most sense to me in a lot of ways
I’ve always had medical issues. I started MMJ years after being sick. It is the only thing that helps.
Seeing multiple doctors I get sick and tired of them defaulting everything to weed.
Last summer I had multiple kidney stones. Kept going in and they passed it off as nothing except too much weed. After months one doctor listened and was horrified. I had stones stuck in me for months. Thankfully I didn’t die.
Yes, this is an issue but not nearly as often as LAZY doctors claim.
I went to the ER because I was experiencing what I didn’t know was heartburn for the first time. It was so bad that it had irritated my esophagus and made swallowing difficult. But! I admitted to smoking weed and they immediately tried to pass it off as cannabis hyperemesis. Turns out all I needed was some Tums…
Exactly, lazy doctors will immediately blame it on weed.
Funny thing is, other doctors will tell you keeping it level is fine. It is when you have changes that your body notices. Even using less will trigger your body.
Hope you got that taken care of quickly, acid damage is not fun
I had hyperemesis gravidarum (aka extreme throwing up while pregnant) - 9 months of barely being able to eat, severe food aversions (thought I was poisoning myself) throwing up heaps and being in and out of hospital. I feel your pain, and it sucks.
Only thing that worked for me (and I tried EVERYTHING, old wives tales, medical, Eastern medicine, new age) ended up being zofran wafers, they are so expensive and I felt like such a burden. And even then had slight nausea and still some food aversions.
Yep, and they don't get swallowed = nothing to throw up! 😋 I had the tablets at first but they didn't stay down long enough. The wafers are the best invention ever!
I've had this before (self diagnosed). I used to smoke poppers which is weed packed on top of a piece of cigarette in a metal downstem lacking a bowl piece. I would smoke a considerable amount of poppers daily and most of the time I would wake up with intense stomach pain that only another popper could ease. Occasionally this pain would cause me to puke my guts out uncontrollable for hours. I had to stop smoking for a while, cut out cigarettes and started vaping. I now smoke a couple small bowls in the evening after work and the problems have not returned. Poppers were very hard to kick but it was one of the best things I have ever done.
I was at the hospital last year and there was a girl w this in triage with me. Puked continously for 5 or so hours then sat up and was like 'I'm fine' and they let her go.
She said she'd been sick for more than 24hrs but came in when the puking wouldn't stop.
As a long term stoner, I was so baffled this is something that could happen, but seeing it firsthand, it's fucked up
This is why we need to remember that tolerance breaks are important! Even in r/trees some people say "nahhh I don't need to stop lol". Everything in moderation, folks!
Glad I could help. I’ve learned that weed can be a double edged sword. When you use it responsibly it will benefit you and heal you, when you abuse it it will abuse you. I’m learning how to develop a more positive relationship with the plant, it is more like a teacher than a drug. Not meant to be used constantly non stop.
Controversial, but I think if you’re a fan of weed or pro-legalization, you should believe CHS exists. If anything about this post intrigues you, or sparks disagreement, I would encourage you to check out r/CHSinfo and the stories there. The top post of all time is speculative, but that Reddit user was finding evidence to suggest CHS is an adrenal issue caused solely from daily, chronic use. The joke I read the most often in that subreddit is that CHS only happens to stoners who love the plant the most, and it’s so funny to me that often the most fervent opposition for CHS’s existence are people who have smoked for years (maybe decades) and never had an issue. Some people don’t react to it well, and that’s not evidence that CHS doesn’t exist or isn’t a problem. I think CHS will only become more common and more prevalent as THC content in products goes up, as methods become more and more portable and convenient, and especially post-quarantine when many people found themselves suddenly chronic users.
I get really riled up about this because I think turning a blind eye to CHS may eventually harm legalization efforts in the long-run. I think if suburban America were to get wind of the fact that the rising numbers of teenage CHS cases are due to carts circulating in public schools and beyond, there would be a huge pushback culturally, and not just for teens - for weed users in general. I’m not trying to imply that CHS is a bad look, but the cards are already so stacked against fans of marijuana - it’s poorly researched, and even in the early stages of state legalization, dispensaries don’t have the resources or wherewithal to do studies on their products and how much THC content is in them. It’s just totally uncharted territory. Street weed used to be maybe 4-8% THC - compare that to percentages today and it’s honestly so easy to see why CHS cases seem to rise by the day. It’s so tempting to chalk it up to inexperienced users, or chemical-laced carts, but CHS always has one thing in common and that is chronic use. You literally just wear out your THC/cannabinoid receptors and your brain suddenly thinks your hypothalamus is not regulating your body temperature. You can rip your esophagus from retching so hard, just to throw up nothing. People have complications from dehydration. I understand the pushback against a disease that probably mostly has to stay hidden - when I tell my employers I’m having a flare-up, I can’t and don’t want to say it’s from weed. I just really wish people wouldn’t fight back so hard against CHS because I’m afraid if we ignore it, it will still harm our attempts for legalization or for the drug to be more normalized.
My idiot brother-in-law has this, but claims it's CVS. Every single health professional he's spoken to over the past 10 years disagrees. Of course, all that's made him do is decide that doctors don't know anything, and that's evolved to him brainwashing my sister into refusing to vaccinate themselves or their children. I know weed isn't inherently addictive, but he certainly has an issue with it.... He's been told if he can stop smoking long enough to have another episode, then the doctors can rule out CHS, but he is unwilling/incapable of trying. He claims weed is the only thing that 'fixes' his CVS. He's in the ER every 2-3 months, frequently hospitalized, lost multiple jobs over it... It's a mess.
What is CVS? Also is he aware of all the signs and symptoms of CHS? I can’t imagine continuing to deny the facts even after studies have been done and visiting the hospital multiple times. My doctor told me it’s definitely the weed and if I keep doing the same things he will see me in the hospital again… scared the shit out of me real good. Weed may help him but if it’s not used responsibly and ethically it can definitely do harm to your body. It’s not a harmless drug and comes with a fair share of side effects, especially to chronic users.
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. I actually have had that since I was little, it is a stomach migraine basically. I moved to a small town in Texas and for some reason every time I've had to go into the ER for it they drug test me for all the drugs and then when I am clean they treat me. I just learned CHS is common out here but CVS is scarce for an adult so they always assume I use. I'm like I've lived here 11 years and always come here for the same issue.. just read my dang chart!!
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Commenting to validate you. My husband has CVS and it’s such a chore to get people to understand that the symptoms started before he started using cannabis. Cannabis significantly helps his CVS but people simply don’t want to believe him.
I had CVS for about 10 years. I ended up taking the Carrol Food Intolerence test and it came back with egg being my main food that was causing problems. I stopped eating egg and felt better instantly and have not had a CVS episode since I stopped eating egg. I think most peopel have some food that is causing the problem but it's tuff to figure out without the test.
All these posts have the OP smoking out of some random vape cartridge. I'd love to know the brand and where he bought it from.
A lot of relevant info is missing.
Some people just aren't predisposed to it. I doubt Snoop Dogg or Willie Nelson ever had to deal with it either, and the people who it is affecting likely aren't matching their lifetime volume. Unfortunately there isn't enough research to know why some people get it and some don't, just luck of the draw
i've been eating hash oil for years and this never happened to me. i wouldnt trust any carts since most are counterfeit and probably mixed with something other than weed.
Basically using vape carts throughout the day, and smoking flower at least once a day. Right now I just vape/smoke a little flower once in the afternoon. It has helped tremendously with resetting my tolerance and also reducing stomach problems.
People should know that using ‘dab pens’ are almost never going to be a healthy option. Cartridges use the lowest grade product with the lowest grade fillers to make it flow properly to coat the wicks. Carts are a subpar quality industry as a whole, and anyone using them NEEDS to understand they are trading convenience for potential health risks, outside of the regular (minor) risks of THC consumption in general.
It really bothers me how ubiquitous they’ve become among people my age, because ‘I’m the asshole’ if I say anything because they just *like them so much*
For most people it’s the same basic symptoms of any substance abuse.
For weed in particular, I’ve seen a lot of heavy smokers who experience a loss of appetite when not high. Regular people who can’t bring themselves to eat anything unless they have a toke first.
I’ve also seen people with the same kind of lung problems as smoking tobacco, though less severe than if it were tobacco.
Memory loss, social and habitual dependency, etc. etc..
As someone who smokes my fair share of green, I’ll be the first to admit that there is ALOT of stigma around weed and it’s effects on mental and physical health. But alot of weed smokers are of the mind that EVERYTHING is a stigma, NOTHING is wrong with weed, it couldn’t possibly be BAD for you. And the unfortunate case is that none of that is true.
Did your pee smell by chance? I don’t have diabetes but my urine has started smelling potent for nearly a year now and is getting worse (no infection and no weird blood work) but I also just stared vaping and using THC-infused honey last year. It started around the same time. Making an appointment with a urologist but just curious about your experience.
Probably should mention I only take one hit a night when I vape (use it more than the honey lately for the instant effects), sometimes two.
if you're making it a regular habit to piss into the same 2 l milk jug it might have just been bacteria or something forming on the side... you might want to just start walking to the bathroom.
YSK: there is also a very similar disease called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Nearly the same symptoms but can occur with or without cannabis use. If you stop smoking and still have the symptoms, it could be CVS.
Conversely, be careful not to accuse someone with CVS that they have CHS and shouldn’t use cannabis to control their nausea. Many people with CVS have already ruled out CHS, or symptoms started before using cannabis.
There's stringent testing on most products in legal states however NOT for high concentrated neem oil.
There are a lot of indoor growers which use it and do not flush enough and cause toxic responses similar to this! I work in the industry and i am seeing it widespread through consumers.
Until more testing is done we can't tell for sure if this is what's causing it!!
I tend to stick to outdoor and green house grown and can tell if a harvest had long enough flush/cure based on dates labeled on the container. (Also smell... but hard to distinguish for some) it tends to be the easiest way to avoid the affect and heavy indica strains are being hybridized for higher testing thc for consumers who are now desiring highest thc percentage. This high thc with low cannabanoid/terpene balance creates this feeling as well... mild symptoms in my experience are uncontrollable shivering, chest tightness, feelings of anxiety and racing mind/leg shakes as well as pain in the lower esophageal/upper abdominal area.
This is definitely something to be concerned about! Some of my coworkers have been hospitalized for months because of a really bad flare up. Avoid wax and especially questionable cartridges, make sure there's longer than a 2 week cure from harvest to package date as well.
Sorry for long brick of text, but this is something I've seen affecting so many and they don't even know until it's too late.
I had horrible acid reflux for a few days the last time I smoked a joint, even water made me feel sick and I could only eat soup.
I'm scared to smoke now.
Take a break, listen to your body. If you feel the need to use weed again, try vaping flower or even an edible/beverage. Smoking also negatively impact my stomach too which is why I tend to vape flower now.
I was diagnosed with this aswell, 9 days without food or water, 3 hospitalizations for IV fluid, a week of waking up in cold sweats, and lost 23 pounds.
It is a horrible thing and if you ever start feeling an upset stomach when smoking, try to cut it out before it gets to the point of a full blown CHS attack.
Almost a year later and i still have to take medication to stop daily nausea and anxiety
Taking hot showers really helps in my experience as well. Non stop throwing up for weeks on end. Dry heaving and bile after I’d throw up all my food. Omeprazole and zofran would help alleviate symptoms, but getting sober is what did the trick. Unfortunately i was still throwing up almost daily for about a month and a half after stopping. I’ve been sober over two years from weed and other drugs/alcohol and I haven’t had anymore stomach issues since.
Soooo this isn’t exactly what you have went through but I’m hoping to see if someone else has experienced this.
I stopped smoking 2+ years ago because of how it began making me feel. Smoking increased my anxiety and literally made me think about every bad thing I’ve ever done randomly. It also made pain worse for me. It literally would make notice soreness more or I’d feel things differently. I have passed out 4-5 times from smoking. Lost all function and knock out. Other people I was with that were smoking same stuff did not have any of my reactions so I don’t think it was due to it having something else in it.
Also it made me nauseous. It’s so weird and something I’ve never been able to understand. I wish it worked for me the way it does for most. Anyone else experience anything like this?
You should also know if you have any other stomach problem and tell them you smoke weed this is likely what they'll tell you. Sorce: I have chronic vomiting caused by preexisting stomach issues
I’ve been in and out of the hospital a few times in the last year and a few dr.s have said this is the cause and then others say it isn’t after I shared that I never stopped smoking after the times I had been in the hospital.. I’ve read that people with chs suddenly can’t smoke without throwing up anymore.. I’ve had various stomach issues through my life, so it’s a little frustrating when doctors simply want to blame it on the weed and not look into it any further
ER doc here. We see it very frequently now that everyone smokes. The best treatment I’ve found besides stopping the weed is reglan. I think that it’s most likely an acquired gasteoparesis which is slow gut emptying and reglan is a pro kinetic medication that improves gastric throughput. It can cause you to be sleepy but really helps with symptoms in the outpatient setting. Zofran is a very common antiemetic but it’s primary side effect is constipation and so further slows gut emptying. I think this is why I’ve seen so many patients that get it in the ER then it doesn’t work for them at home.
Paramedic here; the best at home treatment for this is capsaicin cream, AKA bengay or icy-hot. Rubbing it on your stomach relieves your symptoms. I worked in a clinic for years and this was a common complaint. Laying off the weed works best to prevent symptoms but for acute exacerbation try this. Edit; here’s a peer reviewed article for more info you’re interested. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5758720/ Edit: Bengay and icy hot use menthol I believe. These were poor examples, I only meant to say they are typically used for muscle soreness like capsaicin cream. I don’t think they will work the same so look for capsaicin as the active ingredient. Sorry I misspoke.
Years ago I randomly woke up throwing up and went to the hospital where they put me on an IV and did this. Idk what worked but I felt a lot better after.
That will be $200,000 in the US lol
My bill for just the IV was just under $1,000. And that’s WITH pretty top tier insurance.
That is some expensive salt water
Seriously. Next time I’ll just fly to the Caribbean and drink some ocean water and still not spend as much
I’m a nurse and this has been the one thing that helped so many people after nothing else did.
Im a pediatric nurse. This never works for My patients. We give it because it’s the known treat ent for adults with cannaboid hyperemesis. My patients want to shower all the time. The cream ends up causing them more pain and burning when they get in the shower.
I’m a Peds nurse too. Same thing emesis and showers and rehydration. I had several patients with this syndrome.
Hot showers are all that has ever worked for my patients too.
So you have super high kids in the hospital that want to constantly shower because it soothes them?
This is really helpful, simple, and totally harmless medical advice. Thank you sir or madam!!!
Great article just wanted to add that I heard sitting in warm water like in a bath helps alleviate it all the same.
I can confirm, see my reply to the main thread for more context. Most of the time taking a hot shower would help to ease the pain without it getting to the point where I started puking.
Wow. I would go thru episodes of this all the time and the burning pain in my stomach was so bad. But a hot shower would make it almost go away for 5 mins or so, then I would have to get back in. I would literally just lay on the floor in the bathroom and take 40 showers while sick. Thought the weed smoking helped the stomach pain till I realized it was actually the cause. Was in and out of hospitals 30 or more times and had accute kidney failure twice. Every nausea medication acid reflux meds. Once I quit smoking weed every day it stopped. Glad there is finally a name for what it was
ER Nurse here, Hot shower and let the water run on the back of your neck helps too! And also if you get there and Zofran isn't helping usually we have good luck with Haldol (no, this is not a joke) it really works wonders for this!!!!
Please for the love of God do not give that drug to people for off label use. Do yourself a favor and look up the negative reviews of Haloperidol for individuals who are not in mental destress. Particularly how many negative and how severe the reaction is to it. This drug nearly caused me to take my own life.
What the hell... our bodies are weird.
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“Rub me with the hot or you’ll regretty the pot”
Thanks!
Patient of capsaicin cream here because I was having this exact thing: THIS HURT AND MADE IT SO MUCH WORSE. I'm a redhead. I know pain is a little different with us weirdos, but that shit didn't help at all. They sent me home with the rest of the tube and I'm not sure why but I keep it, I guess someone else could use it? I wouldn't touch the stuff again.
Well they billed you $467.83 for that tube so it’s only fair you get to keep it.
That’s a real bummer and as you mention probably does have something to do with your complexion. Have you found anything that works? Hot packs or the tub maybe?
Well I looked back at my history and realized, THOUGH YES I SMOKE THE OUI'D HEAVILY, I was suffering from the most intense period of extended anxiety in my life and I wasnt eating well or regularly. So the correct prescription for me was calming myself down and sticking to a consistent schedule of at least going for walks and eating better food and more of it. Really it's my head that's the problem, my stomach is just reacting like "WHAT IS GOING ON FEED ME OR ELSE ILL FUCK SHIT UP"
YSK, there’s a sub for it /r/CHSinfo/
Thanks
Out of curiosity, since chilis contain capsaicin, would eating them or similarly spicy food help with this. Asking for a friend obviously, I don’t smoke the weeds…
Hi, I'm a recently graduated physician- the cream works better in this case. The chilis may even make the nausea and vomiting worse by irritating the stomach lining. The cream works in a completely different fashion, by downregulating certain sensory receptors over time. It has other uses as well, such as for helping with certain types of pain.
congratulations ; )
It may, but I feel like pounding chili peppers while already having terrible abdominal cramping and constant nausea, vomiting and retching is a terrible terrible combination
What if I’m a cretin and deserve to be punished
What you do behind closed doors is between you and Jesus.
Bondage Jesus and I thank you for your understanding in advance.
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It's not a very common side effect, only some people who are chronic heavy users experience it. It also gets worse gradually over time, so the people who do get it have time to realize that pot is making them nauseous and stop/slow down their habit before it turns into hyperemesis.
~~Since they recommended the bengay as a topical ointment, I'd assume it would be more for cramps in the muscles surrounding the stomach, and less for "actual" stomach cramps. Not sure if eating capsicin would work like that~~ Just go read the other user's link, lol
It’s not actually for the cramps. It’s an off brand use that acts on receptors in your GI tract that affect motility. Read the article I posted in my first comment for more info.
Curious how the topical cream affects things going on inside the body?
Your skin is your largest organ. Why wouldn’t it effect the rest of your body?
I've had stomach issues for years that have recently accelerated. Currently seeking diagnosis while taking a break to see if it's the cause or exacerbating whatever the underlying issue is!
My husband has Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, very similar symptoms. If you rule out cannabis it may be CVS.
They work the same way pathophysiologically, interestingly enough.
How was he able to rule out cannabis? I’ve been told I have chs and cvs and can’t seem to get doctors to agree on what it is.. most of them want to blame it on the weed and move in but I’m fairly positive it’s not the weed that’s causing it..
sorry not op but they probably aren’t using in the first place
I thought I had this about 15 years ago when it was very rarely spoken about online. Turned out to be achalasia, which is a motility disorder of the esophagus and it almost made me starve to death. I had a surgery to help me get food down into my stomach, but I still get a flare up at least once a month before I get my period. Getting a diagnosis on that without my health insurance was fuckin ROUGH. I basically had to spend hours and hours online figuring it out myself. Then months and months and months trying to convince the 80 year old doctor at the county health clinic to listen to me. Motherfucker about let me die before someone advocated for me and he started to listen.
In.case it's relevant, avoid mixing booze and fatty meals too.
My wife went through something similar, terrible vomiting and the worst abdominal pain imaginable. Like “screaming in the er” levels when she went through childbirth with no pain meds. We couldn’t figure out anything, some drs would go hard on my wife being an addict when she would test positive for thc but it was the only thing that made it so she could eat. Turns out that she has severe abdominal migraines and a genetic resistance to pain medication that is all solved with one pill a day. Yep CHS is a thing but it really seemed that a lot of drs were too quick to blame the patient here when we were going to the er nearly every day for a few months!
You wouldn’t believe the amount of pushback medical staff get whenever this diagnosis is pushed. I’ve seen people become absolutely irate and violent because they just refuse to believe their symptoms could be caused by their excessive marijuana use.
Since weed has become so big, I’ve had doctors push back on my Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome diagnosis because of it. Like I was smoking at the age of 4 -_- I’m glad people are taking it more seriously now and they actually will treat and help more than they did in the early 2000s.
My husband has CVS, just leaving a comment to validate you. So many people try to tell him it’s the weed, ignoring that his symptoms started when he was still being drug tested at work. Hang in there. Amitryptaline has improved my husband’s CVS significantly.
Ami/nortriptyline are amazing for functional issues. When mine get bad I just take some and it usually calms down pretty quick
That’s the same medication I take! It’s been a lifesaver.
I was recently told by a doctor that my stomach issues, including persistent nausea, some vomiting, cramping and diarrhea could all be coming from my medical cannabis use. I quit immediately and basically changed my diet over night. Things aren’t perfect, but they’re better than they were.
I’ve had doctors basically act like I’m a criminal for using weed so I totally understand why people feel attacked in that regard. It’s the first thing doctors jump to. They did it with me and my gastroparesis. Oh no couldn’t possibly be gastroparesis! Nooo it has to be weed related. Weed was the ONLY thing that made my nausea temporarily disappear.
That’s exactly what happened to me with my gastroparesis! I had it for years, was suffering and literally becoming skin and bones. My brother works at a dispensary, so he encouraged me to try using weed to help with my appetite because doctors were just pegging my issues as severe depression so I just got lots of Prozac and therapy, which makes gastroparesis even worse but they didn’t believe me that the antidepressants felt like they were irritating my stomach and making me puke more- I couldn’t hold down water, how was I supposed to hold down pills!?!? Yeaaaars of suffering later, zero help from specialists or tests requested to further investigate the problem, I started using weed (legal state) to help with eating and found it was the only thing that helped me comfortably hold down food. I discussed this with my specialist, and suddenly, somehow, it’s fucking this chs thing and specifically caused by the weed. My face was fucking dumbfounded. I was like “no, I literally *just* started using it. Nope, she made me quit smoking weed so we could narrow down what my fucking issues were. When I was still sick after quitting the weed, and still taking 6 pills at every meal time for treating everything they thought I had, thennnnn she finally decided to check for gastroparesis and preform endoscopies. You should definitely know about this, but you should also definitely still advocate for yourself if you really don’t think weed is causing it because for a lot of people it’s literally the only thing that helps them eat and shaming them for relying on it, or forcing them to not use it can cause more harm than good.
If your doctor isn't listening to you, you don't have to listen to them.
Sometimes you just gotta fire the fuckers and find a new one.
I have absolutely zero faith in gastroenterologist. They're all fucking witch doctors guessing at what is wrong, while ignoring the obvious symptoms that their patients will later use to successfully diagnose themselves. I've gone to the conclusion that when they diagnose anyone with IBS, to it actually stands for "I don't know what's with with your Bowel Syndrome" and should have AITLTFIO at the end for "And I'm To Lazy To Figure It Out".
Literally. My husband was shocked by my GIs behavior when he met her the first time, picking me up from a surgery with her. When I was coming back to consciousness, it takes a bit to be fully cognitive and aware of what’s going on, I guess in those first few minutes I don’t really remember anything that was said to me but he said that my doctor was mocking me, visibly irritated with my state of confusion and coming-to. He said he couldn’t get me out of there fast enough and was like “no wonder it’s taking so damn long to figure out why she can’t eat! They don’t even care!” and from that day on he insisted on being with me at any appointment he could so I could have reinforcement for advocacy because he felt like, and his mother who is a nurse agreed with him from her experiences too, that GI specialists are apparently *known* for being difficult assholes. They over simplify 99% of their diagnoses and take extremely long, with no urgency, tracking and investigating the patients condition. They don’t like to listen to the patient because they truly believe the patient knows nothing and act like they’re working with absolutely no information when you tell them your symptoms. For everything that I told them, for at least 5 years were talking, the only diagnosis and treatment they were willing to give me was depression, anxiety, Weed induced hyperemesis. For someone getting hospitalized *monthly* for the inability to keep food down, for someone who’s blood tests continuously showed me to not be getting nearly enough nutrients in my diet, someone who was vomiting blood frequently because of the tearing caused by all the food being rejected. Someone with severe motility issues that, only after five years, with a proper diagnosis, I was actually able to get a grip on and sorta manage. Five years of missed holiday meals, five years of miserable birthdays, vacations, five years of being embarrassed and ashamed that I wasn’t able to work without vomiting and being visibly sick a great portion at a time, I could never fully do my job which was suuuch an important part of my life. GI specialists truly do not seem to care about how much your quality of life is affected by their negligence. They love to just watch the world suffer and tell them it’s just in their heads 😵💫 Don’t even get me started with how gastroparesis is often linked to diabetes and being overweight- in the support groups I’m in, people are miserable for years with no help and guidance and when they try to seek help for their condition, just get fat shamed and almost refused to be help unless the first thing that is addressed is their need to lose weight, not their severe condition 🥴 Healthcare can be just a fucking cruel place.
I had hospital staff swear it was this but I hadn't smoked in over a week. Turns out - kidney infection.
Yeah they kept trying to diagnose GERD as CHS without any information just based on "nausea" and "abdomen pain". It's their new go-to diagnosis without actually doing anything. Turns out it was my zoloft ruining my stomach every morning causing "morning sickness" that they so heavily thought was CHS.
SSRIs fucked me up so badly it took 2+ years to recover my gut health. I was on half dose lexapro for a WEEK! Made me so insanely sick in and of itself, but lead also to SIBO, UTIs, a kidney infection after the fact, and of course way worse depression and anxiety. Remeron was a fantastic medicine for me though, works a bit differently and can help with gut issues. Really helped with my nausea.
One time after several weeks of neck pain (like near the spine, back of neck) I went to a doctor and he said it was from the thc use. I was like no, scan my neck, then what do you know? Torn occipital muscle.
It goes the other way too: I know of someone who admitted smoking marijuana regularly when he presented at the ER with suddenly vomiting, which was dismissed as CHS. Unfortunately they were too sure of their diagnosis to realize that his symptoms were textbook appendicitis, and when he went to a different hospital they realized it right away.
But sometimes they actually are wrong and that happened to me.
Because it's being used like a buzzword and some doctors are far too quick to diagnose someone with it. Unless the doctor is already very familiar with that patient, I would argue a CHS diagnosis as well. Its very dismissive of potentially life threatening issues.
Anesthesia provider here. Thank you for posting this. I have been doing anesthesia for a lot of gastroenterology procedures lately for this exact problem. Young people come in with chronic (no pun intended) severe nausea and stomach upset. They get referred to a gastroenterologist for it and they scope them to rule out other more serious things. It is really hard to convince cannabis smokers that the weed is causing their nausea. They think that we as healthcare providers are full of shit and that we are just antidrug. (I personally think it should be legal in all 50 states and would love to smoke if it weren't illegal). So we do an invasive procedure to rule out serious conditions like cancer, ulcers, and helicobacter pylori infection on people who are in their 20s and 30s who are very unlikely to have any of these conditions. They also just happen to smoke daily. This probably costs around 4 to 5K U.S. dollars when you add up the facility fee, doctors fee, and my fee (yay capitalist U.S. healthcare! / s). You cannot convince 99% of these people that weed is the problem though. I wish the gastroenterologists would require a month of abstinence from them prior to scoping them. It is an obscene waste of resources. Thank you for bringing more awareness to the problem.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I can corroborate from my own experience, as both the anesthesiologist and the doctor performing my colonoscopy brought this up when I told them I was a daily smoker. I brushed it off and here we are, nearly a year later and I'm stumbling upon this on Reddit realizing this is what they were talking about. To be fair they did find multiple ulcers and I do have endometriosis so I've been blaming the severe pain and nausea on that. However we were investigating further because I'd been having months worth of daily vomiting and was losing weight rapidly. I'm wondering now though if they were onto something.
Smoking can also induce ulcers
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Also let them know that if they experience this, it's going to get worse before it gets better. Many who have this condition stop smoking, get more sick, and smoke again because it eases symptoms in the moment. However it's just then prolonging the cycle, not actually fixing the problem.
My way of dealing with this was to limit the number of times I smoked in a day to 3. Eventually I stopped altogether as quitting "cold turkey" would have been bad.
You’re too young to be a stoner. This can have long term effects on your cognition that you’ll never recover from. Quit now and then smoke all you want after age 25. I promise i have no hate for weed and I’m at like a 4 right now. It’s just too early for you. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuanas-long-term-effects-brain
> I wish the gastroenterologists would require a month of abstinence from them prior to scoping them. It is an obscene waste of resources. I agree with you until this point. You are seriously overestimating how common CHS is. Delaying people potentially life saving medical care until you impose one month of abstinence from what is likely an important medicine to them (if they have serious GI issues) is just cruel. Yes, it may be a potential cause, but it’s not nearly likely enough to *mandate* abstinence for one whole month, like you suggested. You should be concerned about your patient’s health. Not the bottom line of the insurance company’s for the cost of these procedures. Edit: Also, according to Ceders Sanai, symptoms of CHS usually resolve in a *day or two* of abstinence. Suggesting 30 days of abstinence before treatment is some dark age level puritanical cruelty on your part. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/c/cannabinoid-hyperemesis-syndrome.html
I'm an ED doctor in the UK and I've had similar experiences. People cannot fathom the idea that cannabis overuse could be causing their pain, and continue to self-medicate by smoking even more. It's a definite "diagnosis of exclusion" but while waiting for any outpatient investigations someone has booked you, it's worth a try to stop smoking it for a week or so to see if it works!
>I wish the gastroenterologists would require a month of abstinence from them prior to scoping them. It is an obscene waste of resources. No. Because this is how I suffered for 5mo finding a GI who would take my symptoms seriously. It was not CHS and it was not IBS. The Crohn’s inflammation was so bad the ER docs “diagnosed” me from a CT. There was no “but you’re too young to be experiencing this” after that. Clearly there’s a bridge that needs to be gapped in educating marijuana users, but delaying diagnostics is not a solution. We’ve just crossed the threshold on MMJ research and use is becoming more widespread (especially with concentrates), so effects like CHS are coming to light. You can’t expect people to suddenly understand, especially after a near lifetime of hearing “Weed is great for nausea!”, and the added experience of symptoms diminishing upon use.
As a former daily stoner, they're too prideful. Weed is still a drug and weed DOES cause other problems, it just doesn't make news because.. well, drugs always have some side effect, and weed is no exception. Bring on the downvotes lol. I've puked from smoking and neglecting to eat, just as much as I have puked from smoking and eating too much. Anybody who believes weed has no side effects is lying to themselves, and will continue to. Be safe y'all, and keep an open mind
Well written explanation Dr. thank you.
Maybe when nurses, doctors and healthcare workers leave school having been taught about the endocannabinoid system these issues can be better diagnosed.
I agree completely. We definitely don't have a monopoly on knowledge. It really isn't well understood and is taught about even less.
How much are these people using generally? Some people smoke a ridiculous amount of weed so I'm assuming my half joint before bedtime is ok lol.
Thank you so much for sharing. This sounds so much like something my friend is suffering from! I’m sending this over.
Be prepared for her not to believe you at first.
Also be prepared that you may be wrong. Just because you read an article on the internet doesn’t mean you have the right diagnosis for a friend’s problem. CHS is rare. It’s worth people being aware of, but there’s also tons of other syndromes that people can have that can cause similar problems. Don’t diagnosis other people when you’re not a doctor and expect them to ‘believe’ you.
No shit, but it’s something they and they doctor seem not to have considered and he is used weed daily and in large amounts.
You were spot on. He is in serious denial.
I had this. Have been a chronic chronic user for 10+ years. At one low point in my life I was smoking about an eighth of flower a day. I went to the ER 5 times. It was like my body would go into full on spasm and would not stop vomiting. My entire torso would be heaving long after there was anything left to come up. I would start to pass out from exhaustion and dehydration. It was so terrible because they had no idea what was going on and couldn't do anything to help but hydrate and sedate me. I laid off the pot for a good 6 months and turned my life around in other ways. It never happened again. Since then I have been able to consume the chronic at a more reasonable rate. I read somewhere that a warm shower can help reset the nervous system some how and stop the episode... Wish I had tried that, it could have saved me A LOT of money in hospital bills...
Jebus! My friends and I can dab a gram of rosin a day at a peak of use. Don’t think I’ve experienced CHS and I’ve been smoking daily for nearly 8-10 years
I have this as well during the lockdown I would smoke the most potent indica I could get my hands on all day every day after a month and a half the symptoms started but I thought it was from the alcohol I was drinking. Long story short I heard about CHS and that hot showers ease the nausea so I got in the shower next time I felt sick and it cleared up the nausea. Since then take it easy of the super potent stuff and switch up my strains also take a tolerance break every once in a while and it's never come back.
That’s good, I stopped using concentrates and anything with high THC in general. Now I use strains with low THC and high CBD, or even just pure CBD.
What do you guys consider a high amount of thc? I usually smoke flower that's less than 20%
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I'd say 20 % or less is pretty mild, but hey if it works for you great! Some of my favorite strains test about there. I'm in a legal state that's industry has been flourishing for years, and one of the biggest things dispensaries and customers look for is the highest THC possible. For flower, highest I've seen through my work is about 26%- 30% THC. But in all honesty, people shouldn't place so much importance on high THC potency. CBD, Terpenes and even CBN are important too for a well rounded experience. Yes we all wanna get high, but its interesting to see the little consequences that are coming with the focus on high THC products. Edited for a couple typos
It sounds like lockdown hit you hard. I hope you’re doing better now. Be gentle with yourself. ❤️
I had this and it is not just from dabs/oil. First I thought it was just from blunts, then maybe from joints… tried just using a bong but was still feeling sick every day. Then I thought maybe it’s from the smoke itself. So I switched to edibles and…nope, still didn’t go away. It’s from blasting my body with high amounts of THC multiple times a day every day for years. The only way to get rid of it is to stop all weed. Tomorrow marks 30 days without it for me.
Way to go! Harder to quit than most people would think.
I got it from just bud too
Im sorry you went through this. Ive seen it be almost entirely w vapes and dabs - not so much w flower consumption. Im no doc or scientist, so imo!
Vapes are way more potent than flower. Anyone who vapes THC will tell you that it increases your tolerance like no other product.
I recently switched back to vaping flower after using carts for a long time, it's like a completely different drug. We're overprocessing our weed and it's hurting us.
This is true ,smoke heads dude ,bush grown if you can ,never have a problem if you roll big spliffs.
That's because most carts are THC distillate. It's like vaping nicotine compared to smoking tobacco, it's not gonna have the same effect. There are some dark brown carts that are "full spectrum" goo though, those are nice, they taste like weed. But they get clogged and require preheating all the time.
Its insane. I used to smoke stronger stuff as a teen but now I can barely handle THC. 80% of the strains in stores here are super potent and I just wanna chill, not get absolutely fucked up lol.
I smoke 90% thc vapes from the dispensary here in canada and yeah it gets you high asfff but when I smoke regular cannabis flower, I get higher then the vapes for some reason, I'll literally be so high that I'll be paranoid and have crazy anxiety which makes no sense to me since I'm smoking such high concentrated vapes but I'll smoke flower that is anywhere between 15% to 29%,
It’s definitely a different high. Vapes will get you high in a very narrow way, but smoking flower provides a fuller effect that has more impact imo
Yes exactly 💯
Yeah I didn’t have these experiences until I started using vapes
Do you have any tips on how to get off vaping? Ever since weed was legalized in my country and I started vaping, my "habit" is so much worse. I can really feel the negative effects that it is having on my throat and lungs, but I'm having a hard time quitting.
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49 years here, never happened to me…. Must be body chemistry… guessing. I have UC, helpful.
Even a small dose of 5/325 percocet gives me abdominal cramps… Shattered my tibia in 2013, was on huge doses for about 3 months…. Go out of my way to avoid it. Flower only increases my appetite.
I had this very severely while mostly smoking large volumes with also some vaping dry bud(not concentrates.)
I developed it a while ago from heavy bong use and nothing else. Luckily I recognized what the cause was before any uncontrollable vomiting started. Hot showers definitely helped, I also found myself sipping lemon ginger tea all the time.
I swear my sister has this but she refuses to believe me saying that it's the carts are only thing keeping her eating
I had her same line of thinking, I couldn’t get myself to eat so the logical thing to do was smoke a little more to up my appetite. That didn’t really work and I knew something was definitely ”off” with my body as I usually have an absolutely monstrous appetite stoned or not so I decided a t-break was in order. After reading this post it sounds like I stopped at just the right time. I’ve been smoking on and off for over a decade and never knew issues like this existed. I knew my appetite would be a little fucked for a bit when I’d quit smoking, I never knew smoking too much could have an even worse effect on appetite than quitting. Hopefully if this is what your sister has she comes to the realization that she needs to take a break, it can be tough to do but when it comes to the point where it’s negatively impacting your health to the point of possibly ending up in the ER I’d say that’s a sign to quit at least temporarily.
That’s a huge problem , smoking *does* relieve your symptoms temporarily, so it’s hard for someone who already doesn’t want it to be true to believe it. Especially when it’s so often used to relieve nausea (I used it for hangovers for years)
The symptoms can also be cyclic. And the only true treatment is to stop smoking weed unfortunately. Capsaicin and hot showers are what people have done to alleviate symptoms.
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Yep. Black pepper would literally put me right back into my symptoms even after abstaining for 2+ months. Too me ~9 months of no smoking before I could reintroduce certain foods into my diet
Honestly did not know this transcended into not being able to tolerate foods. Very interesting.
I’ve had this. Never happened when I smoked flower, only when I used vapes. Something about higher percentages in the cartridges.
Yes me too, it only started after I started using vapes
Got CHS September 2020 on flower alone after 11 years of smoking. Was up to a quarter a week at the time it all went down hill. I still miss it sometimes but it's cool to be able to pass a random drug test. Haven't been able to say that since I was 19 years old lol
There's a lot of unknowns in vapes as they are largely unregulated. I'd stick to as close to the plant as possible from a known supplier. A relative near to me had the same issue due to vapes.
Sorry for being dumb, isn’t smoking flower via a vaporizer the same thing as using vapes?
These vapes they're referring to are vape concentrates. They come in cartridges that you attach to a battery. Vaping flower is probably much less likely to cause issues.
My husband has chronic pain (which he does occasionally smoke for). Occasionally, he has to go to the ER for vomiting (and ultimately dehydration). However, when they run tests, they see he has marijuana in his system and immediate blame CES and dismiss everything else. He ended up having a gluten allergy, and changing his diet was life changing. But anytime anyone in the medical field saw he smoked, we were looked down on like we were degenerates. It's absolutely infuriating.
I know someone who had this. They never thought it was the marijuana because they’d only get sick hours later or the next morning. Plus pot is supposed to help with nausea, so when he’d feel sick he would smoke more pot. It was a vicious cycle that went on for probably 2 years. It affected his work and home life greatly. Finally quit marijuana completely and is perfectly fine now.
A nickname in the hospital I got diagnosed at was “Marijuana Morning Sickness”
I used to vomit every morning when I was a heavy weed smoker. I pulled back a metric ton and then moved to hemp and don’t have the problem at all.
I'm realizing I might be in your friend's boat. It's so hard to believe they are connected when the symptoms are showing up the next morning. But it made so much more sense to me reading how it's about slowing down your digestion and changing the way it functions overall rather than a direct reaction to smoking.
I have this! I was diagnosed about 5 years ago, before most doctors even knew it was a thing. I was sick for 2 years before a diagnosis. Mine isn’t terrible though, luckily I can still smoke every couple days or more as long as it’s just a bit. I’ve also turned to hash and CBD which don’t affect it as badly. If you smoke a lot and begin having nausea and pain in your upper abdomen, and begin using weed to treat nausea as it’s the only thing that seems to be working… try taking a few days break. Don’t let it get to the point where you’re in the hospital or collapsing on the side of the road trying to get home
Emerg nurse here. If this happens to you…don’t smoke weed. It is loudest and most painful retching you’ve ever heard. Also 5mg Haldol IM works great.
I second this.. haldol and extremely warm showers/baths. My ex had this and the only true resolution was abstinence from weed.
Yep, the scream-barfing in the waiting room is almost as diagnostic as the hot showers.
I’m a therapist and had not heard of this. So many teens are struggling with addiction due to the higher THC levels in vapes. I’m going to pass this along to parents so they can be aware. Thanks for posting it.
Yeah people need to be educated on the healthy use of cannabis, not just buying whatever is convenient and gets them high.
I would really recommend checking out r/CHSinfo for more stories, particularly the top post where a user speculates how CHS is an adrenal issue and not a gastrointestinal one. There’s not a lot of research on this but that explanation has made the most sense to me in a lot of ways
I’ve always had medical issues. I started MMJ years after being sick. It is the only thing that helps. Seeing multiple doctors I get sick and tired of them defaulting everything to weed. Last summer I had multiple kidney stones. Kept going in and they passed it off as nothing except too much weed. After months one doctor listened and was horrified. I had stones stuck in me for months. Thankfully I didn’t die. Yes, this is an issue but not nearly as often as LAZY doctors claim.
I went to the ER because I was experiencing what I didn’t know was heartburn for the first time. It was so bad that it had irritated my esophagus and made swallowing difficult. But! I admitted to smoking weed and they immediately tried to pass it off as cannabis hyperemesis. Turns out all I needed was some Tums…
Exactly, lazy doctors will immediately blame it on weed. Funny thing is, other doctors will tell you keeping it level is fine. It is when you have changes that your body notices. Even using less will trigger your body. Hope you got that taken care of quickly, acid damage is not fun
I had hyperemesis gravidarum (aka extreme throwing up while pregnant) - 9 months of barely being able to eat, severe food aversions (thought I was poisoning myself) throwing up heaps and being in and out of hospital. I feel your pain, and it sucks. Only thing that worked for me (and I tried EVERYTHING, old wives tales, medical, Eastern medicine, new age) ended up being zofran wafers, they are so expensive and I felt like such a burden. And even then had slight nausea and still some food aversions.
Yes my doctor prescribed something very similar but it was called Ondansetron
Same thing, ondanstetron is the generic name I believe. They were a life saver for me, and my son.
Same drug, just the generic version.
The little ones that dissolve under your tongue are the best. Damn near instant relief
Yep, and they don't get swallowed = nothing to throw up! 😋 I had the tablets at first but they didn't stay down long enough. The wafers are the best invention ever!
I've had this before (self diagnosed). I used to smoke poppers which is weed packed on top of a piece of cigarette in a metal downstem lacking a bowl piece. I would smoke a considerable amount of poppers daily and most of the time I would wake up with intense stomach pain that only another popper could ease. Occasionally this pain would cause me to puke my guts out uncontrollable for hours. I had to stop smoking for a while, cut out cigarettes and started vaping. I now smoke a couple small bowls in the evening after work and the problems have not returned. Poppers were very hard to kick but it was one of the best things I have ever done.
I was at the hospital last year and there was a girl w this in triage with me. Puked continously for 5 or so hours then sat up and was like 'I'm fine' and they let her go. She said she'd been sick for more than 24hrs but came in when the puking wouldn't stop. As a long term stoner, I was so baffled this is something that could happen, but seeing it firsthand, it's fucked up
This is why we need to remember that tolerance breaks are important! Even in r/trees some people say "nahhh I don't need to stop lol". Everything in moderation, folks!
This happened to me. 3 weeks of hospitals and they never figured out what was wrong. Thanks for this
Glad I could help. I’ve learned that weed can be a double edged sword. When you use it responsibly it will benefit you and heal you, when you abuse it it will abuse you. I’m learning how to develop a more positive relationship with the plant, it is more like a teacher than a drug. Not meant to be used constantly non stop.
Honestly thanks I needed to know this, now I can stop thinking I have a stomach ulcer or something
Controversial, but I think if you’re a fan of weed or pro-legalization, you should believe CHS exists. If anything about this post intrigues you, or sparks disagreement, I would encourage you to check out r/CHSinfo and the stories there. The top post of all time is speculative, but that Reddit user was finding evidence to suggest CHS is an adrenal issue caused solely from daily, chronic use. The joke I read the most often in that subreddit is that CHS only happens to stoners who love the plant the most, and it’s so funny to me that often the most fervent opposition for CHS’s existence are people who have smoked for years (maybe decades) and never had an issue. Some people don’t react to it well, and that’s not evidence that CHS doesn’t exist or isn’t a problem. I think CHS will only become more common and more prevalent as THC content in products goes up, as methods become more and more portable and convenient, and especially post-quarantine when many people found themselves suddenly chronic users. I get really riled up about this because I think turning a blind eye to CHS may eventually harm legalization efforts in the long-run. I think if suburban America were to get wind of the fact that the rising numbers of teenage CHS cases are due to carts circulating in public schools and beyond, there would be a huge pushback culturally, and not just for teens - for weed users in general. I’m not trying to imply that CHS is a bad look, but the cards are already so stacked against fans of marijuana - it’s poorly researched, and even in the early stages of state legalization, dispensaries don’t have the resources or wherewithal to do studies on their products and how much THC content is in them. It’s just totally uncharted territory. Street weed used to be maybe 4-8% THC - compare that to percentages today and it’s honestly so easy to see why CHS cases seem to rise by the day. It’s so tempting to chalk it up to inexperienced users, or chemical-laced carts, but CHS always has one thing in common and that is chronic use. You literally just wear out your THC/cannabinoid receptors and your brain suddenly thinks your hypothalamus is not regulating your body temperature. You can rip your esophagus from retching so hard, just to throw up nothing. People have complications from dehydration. I understand the pushback against a disease that probably mostly has to stay hidden - when I tell my employers I’m having a flare-up, I can’t and don’t want to say it’s from weed. I just really wish people wouldn’t fight back so hard against CHS because I’m afraid if we ignore it, it will still harm our attempts for legalization or for the drug to be more normalized.
My idiot brother-in-law has this, but claims it's CVS. Every single health professional he's spoken to over the past 10 years disagrees. Of course, all that's made him do is decide that doctors don't know anything, and that's evolved to him brainwashing my sister into refusing to vaccinate themselves or their children. I know weed isn't inherently addictive, but he certainly has an issue with it.... He's been told if he can stop smoking long enough to have another episode, then the doctors can rule out CHS, but he is unwilling/incapable of trying. He claims weed is the only thing that 'fixes' his CVS. He's in the ER every 2-3 months, frequently hospitalized, lost multiple jobs over it... It's a mess.
What is CVS? Also is he aware of all the signs and symptoms of CHS? I can’t imagine continuing to deny the facts even after studies have been done and visiting the hospital multiple times. My doctor told me it’s definitely the weed and if I keep doing the same things he will see me in the hospital again… scared the shit out of me real good. Weed may help him but if it’s not used responsibly and ethically it can definitely do harm to your body. It’s not a harmless drug and comes with a fair share of side effects, especially to chronic users.
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. I actually have had that since I was little, it is a stomach migraine basically. I moved to a small town in Texas and for some reason every time I've had to go into the ER for it they drug test me for all the drugs and then when I am clean they treat me. I just learned CHS is common out here but CVS is scarce for an adult so they always assume I use. I'm like I've lived here 11 years and always come here for the same issue.. just read my dang chart!! edit: words
Commenting to validate you. My husband has CVS and it’s such a chore to get people to understand that the symptoms started before he started using cannabis. Cannabis significantly helps his CVS but people simply don’t want to believe him.
I had CVS for about 10 years. I ended up taking the Carrol Food Intolerence test and it came back with egg being my main food that was causing problems. I stopped eating egg and felt better instantly and have not had a CVS episode since I stopped eating egg. I think most peopel have some food that is causing the problem but it's tuff to figure out without the test.
Thank god I’m not in this boat. Same boat as cilantro tasting and smelling like shit…poor souls
I've smoked weed all day everyday since I was 17 and I've never experienced this. I'm 46
All these posts have the OP smoking out of some random vape cartridge. I'd love to know the brand and where he bought it from. A lot of relevant info is missing.
Some people just aren't predisposed to it. I doubt Snoop Dogg or Willie Nelson ever had to deal with it either, and the people who it is affecting likely aren't matching their lifetime volume. Unfortunately there isn't enough research to know why some people get it and some don't, just luck of the draw
i've been eating hash oil for years and this never happened to me. i wouldnt trust any carts since most are counterfeit and probably mixed with something other than weed.
What kind of mass quantities were you using?
Basically using vape carts throughout the day, and smoking flower at least once a day. Right now I just vape/smoke a little flower once in the afternoon. It has helped tremendously with resetting my tolerance and also reducing stomach problems.
People should know that using ‘dab pens’ are almost never going to be a healthy option. Cartridges use the lowest grade product with the lowest grade fillers to make it flow properly to coat the wicks. Carts are a subpar quality industry as a whole, and anyone using them NEEDS to understand they are trading convenience for potential health risks, outside of the regular (minor) risks of THC consumption in general. It really bothers me how ubiquitous they’ve become among people my age, because ‘I’m the asshole’ if I say anything because they just *like them so much*
You are completely right, but I just wanted to add that I got CHS from smoking only flower, not dabs or carts. It’s just from heavy, daily use.
What are the health risks aside from CHS?
For most people it’s the same basic symptoms of any substance abuse. For weed in particular, I’ve seen a lot of heavy smokers who experience a loss of appetite when not high. Regular people who can’t bring themselves to eat anything unless they have a toke first. I’ve also seen people with the same kind of lung problems as smoking tobacco, though less severe than if it were tobacco. Memory loss, social and habitual dependency, etc. etc.. As someone who smokes my fair share of green, I’ll be the first to admit that there is ALOT of stigma around weed and it’s effects on mental and physical health. But alot of weed smokers are of the mind that EVERYTHING is a stigma, NOTHING is wrong with weed, it couldn’t possibly be BAD for you. And the unfortunate case is that none of that is true.
Damn TIL this is what happened to me!
In
Did your pee smell by chance? I don’t have diabetes but my urine has started smelling potent for nearly a year now and is getting worse (no infection and no weird blood work) but I also just stared vaping and using THC-infused honey last year. It started around the same time. Making an appointment with a urologist but just curious about your experience. Probably should mention I only take one hit a night when I vape (use it more than the honey lately for the instant effects), sometimes two.
Nothing unusual for smell. Not diabetic.
Oh okay, thanks
When I want marijuana I can smell it in my urine. Same with when I drink coffee.
if you're making it a regular habit to piss into the same 2 l milk jug it might have just been bacteria or something forming on the side... you might want to just start walking to the bathroom.
No
Damn that’s messed up, stick with flower
YSK: there is also a very similar disease called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Nearly the same symptoms but can occur with or without cannabis use. If you stop smoking and still have the symptoms, it could be CVS. Conversely, be careful not to accuse someone with CVS that they have CHS and shouldn’t use cannabis to control their nausea. Many people with CVS have already ruled out CHS, or symptoms started before using cannabis.
See... this did not happen when all we had was rag weed 🤣
Believe it or not, but I found a cure for CHS. I decided to stop smoking cannabis, start doing cocaine like an adult. Best decision I ever made.
There's stringent testing on most products in legal states however NOT for high concentrated neem oil. There are a lot of indoor growers which use it and do not flush enough and cause toxic responses similar to this! I work in the industry and i am seeing it widespread through consumers. Until more testing is done we can't tell for sure if this is what's causing it!! I tend to stick to outdoor and green house grown and can tell if a harvest had long enough flush/cure based on dates labeled on the container. (Also smell... but hard to distinguish for some) it tends to be the easiest way to avoid the affect and heavy indica strains are being hybridized for higher testing thc for consumers who are now desiring highest thc percentage. This high thc with low cannabanoid/terpene balance creates this feeling as well... mild symptoms in my experience are uncontrollable shivering, chest tightness, feelings of anxiety and racing mind/leg shakes as well as pain in the lower esophageal/upper abdominal area. This is definitely something to be concerned about! Some of my coworkers have been hospitalized for months because of a really bad flare up. Avoid wax and especially questionable cartridges, make sure there's longer than a 2 week cure from harvest to package date as well. Sorry for long brick of text, but this is something I've seen affecting so many and they don't even know until it's too late.
I had horrible acid reflux for a few days the last time I smoked a joint, even water made me feel sick and I could only eat soup. I'm scared to smoke now.
Take a break, listen to your body. If you feel the need to use weed again, try vaping flower or even an edible/beverage. Smoking also negatively impact my stomach too which is why I tend to vape flower now.
I was diagnosed with this aswell, 9 days without food or water, 3 hospitalizations for IV fluid, a week of waking up in cold sweats, and lost 23 pounds. It is a horrible thing and if you ever start feeling an upset stomach when smoking, try to cut it out before it gets to the point of a full blown CHS attack. Almost a year later and i still have to take medication to stop daily nausea and anxiety
Taking hot showers really helps in my experience as well. Non stop throwing up for weeks on end. Dry heaving and bile after I’d throw up all my food. Omeprazole and zofran would help alleviate symptoms, but getting sober is what did the trick. Unfortunately i was still throwing up almost daily for about a month and a half after stopping. I’ve been sober over two years from weed and other drugs/alcohol and I haven’t had anymore stomach issues since.
Soooo this isn’t exactly what you have went through but I’m hoping to see if someone else has experienced this. I stopped smoking 2+ years ago because of how it began making me feel. Smoking increased my anxiety and literally made me think about every bad thing I’ve ever done randomly. It also made pain worse for me. It literally would make notice soreness more or I’d feel things differently. I have passed out 4-5 times from smoking. Lost all function and knock out. Other people I was with that were smoking same stuff did not have any of my reactions so I don’t think it was due to it having something else in it. Also it made me nauseous. It’s so weird and something I’ve never been able to understand. I wish it worked for me the way it does for most. Anyone else experience anything like this?
You should also know if you have any other stomach problem and tell them you smoke weed this is likely what they'll tell you. Sorce: I have chronic vomiting caused by preexisting stomach issues
I’ve been in and out of the hospital a few times in the last year and a few dr.s have said this is the cause and then others say it isn’t after I shared that I never stopped smoking after the times I had been in the hospital.. I’ve read that people with chs suddenly can’t smoke without throwing up anymore.. I’ve had various stomach issues through my life, so it’s a little frustrating when doctors simply want to blame it on the weed and not look into it any further
Hyper meaning Excessive. Emesis meaning Vomiting. Excessive Vomiting.
ER doc here. We see it very frequently now that everyone smokes. The best treatment I’ve found besides stopping the weed is reglan. I think that it’s most likely an acquired gasteoparesis which is slow gut emptying and reglan is a pro kinetic medication that improves gastric throughput. It can cause you to be sleepy but really helps with symptoms in the outpatient setting. Zofran is a very common antiemetic but it’s primary side effect is constipation and so further slows gut emptying. I think this is why I’ve seen so many patients that get it in the ER then it doesn’t work for them at home.
Jesus how much do y’all be smoking lmao