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.
- Patients typically discontinue hot bathing when symptoms are not present and begin it again once nausea and vomiting recur after future cannabis use.
- Haloperidol is traditionally used to treat agitation; however, it has been used successfully as an antiemetic in general surgery and oncology.
- In extreme cases, brain swelling, muscle spasms, heart rhythm abnormalities, shock or seizures can occur.
What is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome?
- Extreme vomiting and intense tummy pain can plausibly lead to scromiting (the combination of screaming and vomiting).
- Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) happens when you have cycles of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain after using cannabis (marijuana) for a long time.
- It is important to seek medical attention if you experience severe vomiting, dehydration or weight loss caused by marijuana use.
- With evidence-based psychotherapy techniques and medications to reduce anxiety and depression, you can overcome a marijuana problem and avoid CHS.
- Some people take marijuana to ease nausea, but it only makes the situation worse.
Because CHS is a fairly new medical condition, not all doctors know about it. Or they might think it’s something else, since repeated throwing up is a sign of many health problems. You may need to see a gastroenterologist, a doctor who specializes in the digestive tract, for a proper diagnosis. If you need help quitting, speak to a healthcare provider or connect with your local addiction treatment services. Many people with CHS will compulsively shower or bathe — often for hours every day — to relieve CHS symptoms.
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Diagnosis
Unless a person with CHS can stop using cannabis, they may risk suffering severe adverse effects of prolonged dehydration and extreme weight loss. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance can cause muscle tremors, heart arrhythmia, seizures, and kidney failure. More rarely, swelling of the brain can happen if dehydration happens rapidly and is not reversed as quickly as possible.
What Does It Mean To Have a Substance Abuse Problem?
- The only option to treat the condition long-term is to stop using marijuana.
- Normally, when the gastrointestinal system detects that a toxin or other pathogen has entered the stomach, it “tells” the brain to release neurotransmitters into the gastrointestinal tract.
- These include, but are not limited to, dehydration, malnutrition, esophagitis, tooth decay, electrolyte imbalances, and Mallory-Weiss syndrome.
It is important to seek medical attention if you experience severe vomiting, dehydration or weight loss caused by marijuana use. Medical experts can ease distressing chs stages symptoms and expedite the recovery stage. Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a very unpleasant — and potentially dangerous — complication of long-term marijuana use. Because of this possible complication, it’s important to use caution with marijuana and other cannabis products.
Clinical Presentation, work up and differential diagnosis of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome
Other things that are considered are morning nausea, age (if the https://ecosoberhouse.com/ person is younger than 50), weight loss, and disturbed eating patterns. Various health issues can cause repeated vomiting, and what needs to be pointed out is that CHS is a rare condition. The healthcare provider will ask the patient about the symptoms, and it will also ask about past health and issues if there were any. They then regain weight and resume normal bathing and eating habits. This stage can last for days, weeks or months if no marijuana is used.
How common is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome?
Additionally researchers have pointed to overstimulation of CB1 or TRPV1 receptors – leading the body to reduce the amount of those receptors – as a possible mechanism for CHS. While these are all just theories, they make sense with what we know about cannabis and its impact on the human body. THC is also known for having biphasic effects, which means it can cause two opposite effects at different doses. Some have suggested that high doses might cause the anti-emetic effects to flip into a pro-emetic syndrome. Alcoholics Anonymous Importantly, the patient must be a (usually frequent) cannabis user during this time for the CHS diagnosis to fit.
Diagnosis of the Sickness
The only way to prevent cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is the complete absence of marijuana consumption. Unfortunately, people tend to consume cannabis for years and become chronic users before the CHS develops. That’s because the development of the syndrome takes a lot of time. If the health care provider diagnoses the CHS, it will be explained to the patient what is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, and then it is the treatment time. One of the things that can make the diagnosis faster and a lot simpler is admitting the consumption of marijuana to the doctor.
Endocannabinoids are thought to act as either neuromodulators or neurotransmitters 11. Anandamide and 2-AG possess similar biochemical structures, but each has a distinct pathway for biosynthesis and degradation. Anandamide is synthesized from the precursor N-arachidonoyl phosphatidylethanolamine, while 2-AG is produced from an inositol-1,2-diacylglycerol precursor 8,16,17. The metabolism of anandamide is principally carried out via fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), whereas the major enzyme metabolizing 2-AG is monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) 18. If you have CHS and don’t stop using, your symptoms like nausea and vomiting are likely to come back. If you have symptoms, your doctor will do a physical exam and ask for your detailed medical history.
Is There Anything That Will Prevent Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome?
Home to millions of THC and CBD receptors, this system interacts with the “emetic nuclei” located in the brainstem. Scientists think cannabis interferes with emetic nuclei activity. Both cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) and cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) cause people to feel sick to the stomach and throw up at times, while feeling normal at other times. This is more common in men than women and usually starts around 35 years old. These two conditions are hard to distinguish between and the main difference is CHS happens with using a lot of marijuana. Rimonabant, a CB1 antagonist, blocks the appetite stimulating qualities of the cannabinoids in the hypothalamus and has been marketed for the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction 34.
What Is Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS)?
Based on the categorization of functional disorders developed by Rome III, chronic marijuana use (CHS) is recognized as a mechanism for nausea and vomiting distinct from CVS 67. Although both conditions share an astonishing similarity, there are several significant differences. For example, CVS patients usually have important psychological comorbidities including depression and anxiety 64,65. In addition, CVS patients have a high prevalence of migraine headaches or a family history of migraines. Furthermore, gastric emptying rates in patients with CVS are often accelerated rather than delayed 46,65. Table 2 summarizes some of the epidemiological and clinical characteristics that may help distinguish CVS and CHS.
