Unfortunately, until doctors uncovered CHS, many patients felt baffled by their symptoms. Now that this condition is better recognized, sharing a full history of marijuana use with medical providers is vital. 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. Experts think that when you first smoke weed, your brain signals are more important, but after repeated use of the drug, the brain receptors may no longer respond to marijuana in the same way, causing more nausea and vomiting.
Symptoms and Causes
You’ll stay in the hospital until you can hold down regular meals and your vomiting subsides. Since CHS is caused by chronic marijuana use, the first and most critical step is stopping any cannabis product. It doesn’t matter if you’re smoking flower, using edibles, or vaping high-THC concentrates—if you want to break free of CHS, you’ll need to halt all marijuana use. Symptoms of CHS usually show up years after a person starts using marijuana regularly. However, not everyone who uses cannabis over the long haul will develop CHS.
Diagnosis and Tests
Reports of severe volume depletion resulting in acute kidney injury and severe electrolyte disturbances with rhabdomyolysis have been reported in the literature 49. Severe and persistent vomiting can also lead to Mallory-Weiss tear 47. Several previous studies have described the characteristics of frequent and prolonged hot shower use common among patients with CHS. Patients often adopt this behavior to alleviate nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain symptoms of CHS, and some reports have referred to this symptom as CHS as “cannabis hot shower syndrome”. It is hypothesized https://ecosoberhouse.com/ that hot showers help stabilize the thalamic thermostat, which is frequently disrupted by chronic cannabis use, including CHS.
What are the Symptoms of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome?
- The chemoreceptor trigger zone sends signals via the efferent vagus nerve, triggering responses in the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
- They can begin as mild problems that make you feel sick in the morning.
- Multidisciplinary care may be necessary for management and diagnosis.
- This characteristic partially explains its prolonged elimination half-life.
Nearly 20 years after CHS’s first report, current acute and long-term treatment strategies remain unfamiliar to many practitioners. And primary care providers, are vital in diagnosing and treating CHS as its prevalence rises. This will provide more data on CHS and facilitate the development of targeted novel therapeutic interventions for this condition in the future. Also, future longitudinal research exploring genetic predisposition and biomarkers could aid in diagnosing and treating CHS.
Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has several well-established effects in the central nervous system, such as alteration of psychomotor behavior, impairment in short-term memory, stimulation of appetite, and analgesia 8. 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. In animal models, CB1 receptor activation in the dorsal vagal complex of the brainstem mediates this effect 35,36. Dronabinol (synthetic THC) and nabilone (a CB1 receptor agonist) are two commercially available cannabinoids for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting 37.
What are other impacts of cannabis use?
Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) can affect people who use cannabis (marijuana) long-term. Certain drug addiction therapies, such as taking hot showers or using prescription medications, may help relieve symptoms. There exists no epidemiological data regarding the incidence and prevalence of CHS among chronic marijuana users.
While the overall prevalence of marijuana use has remained stable in the United States at 4%, the prevalence of cannabis use disorders (i.e. cannabis dependence, cannabis abuse) has continued to rise 4. Risk factors for developing cannabis use disorders include male race, lower income, living in a Western culture, and being separated, divorced, or widowed 5. Multidisciplinary care may be necessary for management and diagnosis. Patients may deny cannabis use as a cause of their symptoms and fail to follow-up or seek medical care at other facilities resulting in repeated testing and resource utilization 8. Therefore, substance abuse experts should be involved when the diagnosis is made. Given the relatively new recognition of CHS as a clinical syndrome, diagnosis and treatment practices vary widely.
- To make a diagnosis, your healthcare provider will conduct a thorough physical examination and ask you about your past health and current symptoms.
- The effects of cannabis and its interactions on the various organ systems were elucidated further with the discovery of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) 1.
- CHS is a relatively new disorder that is not only difficult to diagnose but to manage.
- This may include providing information about potential cognitive, psychiatric, and physical harms of cannabis use, plus clear patient-centric recommendations.
- Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a rare problem that causes constant vomiting.
If you need help quitting, speak to a healthcare provider or connect with your local addiction treatment services. The only proven way to prevent cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome cannabis hyperemesis syndrome is to avoid cannabis (marijuana). Some people call certain symptoms of CHS “scromiting.” The term combines “vomiting” and “screaming.” You may have intense pain, which causes you to scream while you vomit. Similarly, reviewers identified treatment modalities proposed for CHS. For each treatment modality, reviewers explored the evidence and the study design.
