Studies show that between 90% to 100% of people with CHS use hot showering or bathing to relieve symptoms. Researchers have proposed that this behavior may be included in the diagnostic criteria for CHS. At low doses, the effect of cannabis on your brain can have an antiemetic effect that suppresses nausea and vomiting. However, with repeated use in some people, it can have the opposite effect on the digestive tract. This results in the persistent vomiting and nausea characteristic of CHS. Since there are so many active chemicals in cannabis, the exact cause of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is unknown.
What is cannabis hyperemesis syndrome?
If symptoms persist and you continue to use cannabis, you may experience more severe problems that require hospitalization for treatment. It happens after years of using cannabis many times a week. They can begin as mild problems that make you feel sick in the morning. Belly pain and a sense that you are going to vomit are also common. In one small study of eight patients hospitalized https://ecosoberhouse.com/ with CHS, four of the five who stopped using weed recovered from CHS. One of the 4 who recovered went back to using marijuana and the vomiting resumed.
Help quitting cannabis
If you have CHS and don’t stop using, your symptoms like nausea and vomiting are likely to come back. They may also prescribe antipsychotic medications such as haloperidol (Haldol) or olanzapine (Zyprexa) to help you calm down as you switch to the recovery phase. If you do use cannabis, quitting can ward off future episodes of CHS. So far, giving up cannabis has been shown to be the only long-term solution.
When should I call my healthcare provider?
However, research suggests that it could be far more prevalent and may continue to increase due to factors like the legalization of marijuana and the increased use of medical marijuana. THC and other chemicals in cannabis also bind to molecules in your digestive tract. These chemicals can change the time it takes your stomach to empty food. If you have cannabis use disorder and need help quitting, professional treatment is available. Talk to your healthcare provider or an addiction counselor.
Erica Hagler was diagnosed with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. While symptoms begin as mild, they can intensify and increase your risk of severe problems. As a somewhat new problem, CHS is often mistaken for other problems with the same symptoms. When combined with the fact that people may not reveal they use cannabis, getting the right diagnosis can take years. After stopping cannabis use, symptoms typically start to disappear within one to two days though individual results can vary. However, symptoms almost always return if you resume using marijuana.
- The biggest risk factor for CHS is heavy cannabis use, as in almost daily or multiple times per day over several years.
- After stopping cannabis use, symptoms generally resolve within days or months.
- While symptoms can be managed, the only way to stop CHS for good is to quit using cannabis in any form.
- When people are sick, they can also sweat and just not feel right.
- Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a condition that leads to repeated and severe bouts of vomiting.
For people who can’t contemplate quitting, “other ways to improve symptoms of CHS are to reduce cannabis use and to stop using concentrates,” says Andrews. He adds that people might also switch to a more balanced formulation of THC and other cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD), which does not cause a “high” sensation; these hybrid formulations are less potent. CHS may be related to an imbalance in the body’s communication system—the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis—which regulates stress responses,” says Andrews. “The brain’s endocannabinoid system modulates the stress response, and cannabis makes that pendulum swing further one way than the other,” which can trigger symptoms.
Treatment / Management
Cannabis also has been found to have cardiovascular effects. Heard says pediatric cases are down, however, thanks to steps the Colorado marijuana industry has taken, some by force of legislation, in packaging and individual dosing. In the early years of legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado, young men were most likely to show up in emergency departments with CHS, Heard says. But as marijuana use has become more widespread, patients into their 40s and 50s are arriving with CHS, and with no particular pattern with regard to gender or race. Anecdotally, Heard says, the number of CHS patients whose symptoms are serious enough that they end up at a hospital for treatment has leveled off at one or two per day at University of Colorado Hospital. Your healthcare team will quickly work to fix any dehydration or electrolyte problems.
When to seek medical help for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome
- Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a somewhat rare problem that involves severe bouts of vomiting.
- For example, the drug affects the receptors in the esophageal sphincter, the tight band of muscle that opens and closes to let food go from your throat to your stomach.
- Only improvement after quitting marijuana confirms the diagnosis.
- Heard and other physicians say the lack of solid, peer-reviewed research on cannabis’s effectiveness remains reason for skepticism.
- This article describes the causes, symptoms, and stages of CHS.
Here’s what researchers are unraveling about this curious condition. Currently, doctors do not fully understand why or how CHS develops. Cannabinoid what causes chs Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is directly linked to long-term, regular use of cannabis (marijuana). However, scientists haven’t pinpointed the exact reason for this condition. While the exact reasons are still being studied, we know cannabis affects the body’s systems that control nausea and digestion, and overuse can disrupt them.
- A 2017 review of studies found that 97.4 percent of people who developed CHS reported using cannabis at least weekly.
- But quitting cold turkey can lead to cannabis withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, anger, sleep disturbances, depressed mood, and loss of appetite.
- Unfortunately, not enough research has been done in this area to determine what makes some cannabis consumers more susceptible than others.
- Or they might think it’s something else, since repeated throwing up is a sign of many health problems.
- The drug is also good at stopping such symptoms in people having chemotherapy.
- Importantly, for the definition of cyclic vomiting syndrome, these episodes of vomiting cannot be attributed to other disorders.
How soon after cannabis hyperemesis syndrome treatment will I feel better?
Researchers say that compounds such as THC can do this because of the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. The researchers also believe that these receptors may be responsible for the symptoms of CHS. If you’re struggling with cannabis dependence, don’t be afraid to seek Sober living home help.
When to Seek Emergency Medical Help
Your doctor probably should send you to see a stomach doctor, who knows more about your problem and can help you feel better. But it’s also important to acknowledge the positive uses of marijuana, Camilleri said. He noted a 72-year-old patient who uses cannabis to help her sleep. Decades ago, most people had less opportunity to consume cannabis in daily life. “No kid could use continuously throughout the day and also be doing anything else, because they would have been smoking a joint before,” she said.