
Rare but relevant: Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome
A health care provider may recommend additional treatments to relieve CHS symptoms. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of severe nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain in frequent cannabis users. Despite its increasing prevalence, CHS remains under-recognized and often misdiagnosed. Understanding the symptoms and seeking appropriate treatment is vital for those affected. A health care provider may diagnose CHS based on reported symptoms, medical history, and by ruling out other causes of nausea and vomiting. The only way to confirm a CHS diagnosis is if symptoms are resolved after stopping cannabis use.
CHS Symptoms
Read real stories from people using cannabis for medical conditions. As long as you don’t use marijuana, your symptoms shouldn’t return. If you need help quitting, ask your doctor whether a drug rehabilitation program is a good fit for you.
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If they continue to use this drug, their symptoms may return. The first reports came from doctors treating regular users of marijuana for nausea and vomiting in South Australia. After halting cannabis use patients typically recover in a matter of days, weeks, or months. Nausea ceases, appetite resumes, body weight is regained, and bathing/showering regimen returns to normal. In other cases, patients may be misdiagnosed with CHS when they DO actually have another condition. For instance, one case study describes a patient who was diagnosed with CHS when she actually has a rare and often deadly condition called superior mesenteric artery syndrome.
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Antipsychotic drugs chs cannabis sometimes help some patients deal with the symptoms of CHS. While marijuana seems to bring on nausea in the stomach, in the brain it usually has opposite effect. When cannabinoids bind with brain receptors, they tend to prevent nausea and vomiting. Prevention of CHS (Cedars-Sinai) is straightforward – avoiding the chronic use of cannabis.
Smoking extra marijuana won’t help your nausea but will make it worse. During a flare-up, people with CHS also often take hot baths or showers, sometimes multiple times per day, to try to relieve their discomfort. “People with CHS often report temporary relief of symptoms from bathing in hot water, which may lead to compulsive bathing,” Angulo says. This suggests that the area of the brain that’s involved in regulating body temperature—the hypothalamus—might be involved in CHS, D’Souza says. People with CHS also tend to have a strong urge to take very hot showers or baths. That’s because hot water can help ease cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome symptoms like nausea.
- THC is what’s responsible for the “high” most people feel when they use marijuana.
- The CHS recovery phase starts when you stop your marijuana use.
- If you have cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), the best treatment is to stop using weed, even if you’ve been doing it for years with no previous side effects.
- Despite its name, CHS remains frequently misdiagnosed, confused with other gastrointestinal or neurological conditions.
- It is characterised by cyclical vomiting and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Moon recommends avoiding other foods that could contain cannabinoids, such as coffee, chocolate, certain peppers, and truffles. Moon joined a Facebook group devoted to supporting those with CHS. She also said friends and peers refer other CHS patients to her on a weekly basis. She was surprised to learn that members of the group knew who she was because of her interviews and social media posts about CHS, but they chastised her for resuming cannabis consumption.
- This study has however helped provide the medical community with additional clues to diagnosing CHS.
- If they continue to use this drug, their symptoms may return.
- This word is a combination of „screaming” and „vomiting.” You’re in so much pain that you’re screaming while you’re vomiting.
She’s been accused of being a “shill” for the pharmaceutical industry and prohibitionist organizations. Not using cannabis in any form is the only way to prevent CHS. Stopping cannabis use can also lead to other health benefits. Experience shows that cannabis does not cause addiction or lead to death.
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Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a condition that you might get if you’ve regularly smoked weed or used marijuana in some other form for a long time. CHS causes you to have repeated episodes of vomiting, severe nausea, stomach pain, and dehydration. You’re more likely to get CHS if you use marijuana at least once a week and have been doing so since you were a teenager. „Cannabinoid” refers to cannabis (marijuana) and „hyperemesis” is a word meaning „prolonged vomiting.” Halfway house Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a very unpleasant — and potentially dangerous — complication of long-term marijuana use.