Most people who quit using cannabis experience no more CHS symptoms within 10 days, but sometimes it may take weeks or months for symptoms to stop. Symptoms of CHS likely won’t return if you’ve completely stopped using cannabis. Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a rare condition that develops in people who use cannabis frequently over a period of several years.
What are the symptoms of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome?
Patience, self-care, and professional guidance can make a significant difference in regaining health and wellness. In older patients, especially those with hypertension, cardiovascular illnesses such as aortic pathology and atypical coronary artery syndromes may present as vague abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Individuals who have used cannabis at least weekly since adolescence seem most at risk. Symptoms of CHS don’t appear for many months or even years after protracted heavy cannabis use. Only about 32 out of 100,000 patients who come to the emergency room for nausea treatment are diagnosed with CHS.3 However, anyone using cannabis should be aware of the signs. As long as you don’t use marijuana, your symptoms shouldn’t return.
- When it comes to initial management in emergency settings, the focus is on symptom relief and preventing complications.
- Hot baths or showers may temporarily relieve symptoms, but they are not a long-term solution for CHS.
- First, doctors treating people with CHS advise them to stop using marijuana.
- People in the hyperemetic phase can take up to 12 hot showers or baths during the day to relieve symptoms.
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Treatment Guidelines
Some people with drug addiction treatment CHS require pain relievers if abdominal pain is present. As people with CHS often only consult their doctors during the hyperemesis stage, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the treatment of people during the prodromal stage. Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis of CHS do not currently exist. Some researchers have published their findings from their personal experience with the condition in clinical journals. In CHS, receptors that bind to the different components of marijuana can become altered.
- When you use marijuana for many years, it can start to slowly change how the receptors in your body respond to the cannabinoid chemicals.
- Acid-suppression therapy with a proton pump inhibitor should be used as esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) usually reveals mild gastritis and esophagitis, as in our patient.
- It is considered as a variant of cyclical vomiting syndrome seen in cannabis users especially characterized by compulsive hot bathing/showers to relieve the symptoms.
- However, certain patterns can help doctors identify CHS more accurately.
- One study found that 32.9% of self-reported frequent marijuana users who came to an emergency department for care met the criteria for CHS.
Treatment / Management
People who use marijuana long-term — typically for about 10 to 12 years — are at risk of developing CHS. But not every person who uses marijuana, even long-term use, develops CHS. This is the first and most crucial step in the recovery process. Once cannabis use is stopped, the symptoms of CHS will gradually start to subside.
What are other impacts of cannabis use?
- But remember, folks, your doctor isn’t there to judge you – they’re there to help.
- Still, others fault cannabis products themselves, suggesting that excessive THC or commercial pesticides might trigger the condition.
- Medical tests and examinations are often used to rule out other potential causes.
- Yet, with the evolving comprehension of CHS, there is a likelihood that some cases attributed to CVS might actually be undiagnosed instances of CHS, marking it as pathognomonic.
It causes severe symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. While cannabis is often used to relieve nausea, in the case of CHS, it has the opposite effect, making symptoms worse. Cannabinoids are compounds in the Cannabis sativa plant that bind to cannabinoid receptors in your brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract and other body tissues. Examples of cannabinoids include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
They also experience episodes of vomiting that return every few weeks or months. Nutritional counseling and dietary what is chs adjustments can also play a role in managing CHS. Some people find that certain foods trigger their symptoms, while others struggle with maintaining proper nutrition due to frequent vomiting episodes. A nutritionist can help develop a diet plan that supports recovery and overall health. When it comes to initial management in emergency settings, the focus is on symptom relief and preventing complications. This often involves intravenous fluids to combat dehydration (because let’s face it, when you’re vomiting non-stop, you’re losing fluids faster than a leaky faucet), anti-nausea medications, and sometimes pain management.
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. The hot temperature affects a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which regulates temperature and throwing up. Heat exposure from hot showers may stimulate the transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1 (TRPV1) receptors on sensory nerve endings in the skin. This mechanism implies that the analgesic and sensory effects of TRPV1 receptor activation might contribute to the relief experienced during hot showers for CHS patients.