What Most Doctors Don’t Know and You Should: Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) causes recurrent and debilitating vomiting. It is often mistaken with cyclical vomiting syndrome. It is said to affect only 5% of heavy smokers. I want to share the story of my four-month journey having this syndrome.

Now my case was a particularly interesting case. I actually did not smoke marijuana for five and a half years. Before this time I was a heavy smoker and I made a goal to quit smoking for five years. I chose the goal of five years because I realized I was smoking for almost half my life. I figured it would take at least five years to reclaim my identity apart from being a stoner. I also remembered one of my friends from high school did a paper on the effects of smoking. He told me that after five years there would be no evidence of smoking in the lungs. So five years it was. I'm happy to say I achieved my goal without one slip-up.

Halfway through 2015, my girlfriend was 3 months pregnant. I decided I wanted to try smoking a few bowls to see how I felt before I had the responsibility of a child. A few weeks later is where my story begins.

One night in mid-November of 2015 I woke up out of my sleep And found myself running to the toilet to purge Everything in my body. It was a brief but violent period of continuous retching. Even after the contents of my stomach stopped coming up I was bound to the toilet, dry heaving. The episodes passed after about 15 minutes and I went back to bed. I thought nothing of it except that it was very strange because I had no reason to be sick.

"There were plenty of jokes made about me having morning sickness symptoms along with my pregnant girlfriend."

Shortly after this first episode, I began having these attacks multiple times a day. They were the most violent in the morning; acting as my alarm clock. it became very hard to eat food other than a few pieces of bread. I developed a compulsive habit of taking the hottest showers possible. The water never even felt warm. When I wasn't having vomiting attacks, I developed extremely painful stomach cramps and occasionally feel freezing cold. CHS heavily affects the hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature. It was like the heat dropped right out of my body. I could be in a wool sweater, a down jacket, basking in the sun on 95-degree day and still be cold and shivering. All of a sudden I would warm right back up and feel okay. As a pretty positive person, I tried not to let it get me down. There were plenty of jokes made about me having morning sickness symptoms along with my pregnant girlfriend. People assumed I was sick because of the stress of having a baby. I knew deep down that was not it, I was so excited for our baby. Other people thought I was making it up, especially with my story about shivering on the ground on a hot day in two jackets desperately trying to get warm.

"In retrospect, it was a classic catch-22. When I felt sick, I’d keep smoking until I felt better. The marijuana would be compounded in my system at toxic levels. Once the antiemetic effects wore off, I’d feel sick again so I would smoke and start the cycle over."

The only thing that would keep my cramps at bay, and slightly mitigate the frequency of vomiting attacks was smoking a ton of marijuana. Marijuana has antiemetic effects. That is why it is prescribed to chemotherapy patients for nausea. Emetic means (of a substance) causes vomiting. With CHS the cannabinoid system is overloaded with marijuana toxicity which affects the hypothalamus, causing a 'hyperemetic' effect. In retrospect, it was a classic catch-22. When I felt sick, I’d keep smoking until I felt better. The marijuana would be compounded in my system at toxic levels. Once the antiemetic effects wore off, I’d feel sick again so I would smoke and start the cycle over. This was a day to day pattern for me for four months. I Previously worked in a CNC milling shop and I worked with led, aluminum, and steel. I began to think I had heavy metal poisoning. I went to multiple doctors, had a stool test, blood test, h.pylori test, urine test, Ultrasound, and an endoscopy. Every test said I was fine.

"I felt taken advantage of and duped for a large sum of money."

I ended up visiting a naturopath, she put me on a device that tests the skin’s galvanic response. In an emotionally vulnerable and fearful state, my critical thinking wasn't on par. She told me that the device was FDA approved so I assumed it would be accurate. I tested positive for every single malady she thought I had. Upon returning home I did some research on the machine. It turned out that the machine is FDA-approved for detecting a galvanic response. It is not approved by the FDA for measuring any type of substance in the body. I felt taken advantage of and duped for a large sum of money. Since I believed I was full of heavy metals, I underwent multiple colonics and a chelation cleanse that included multiple hot baths with clay and oatmeal per day, pills that she gave me in a baggy that supposedly consisted of supplements and probiotics. Over the course of the next couple weeks, my skin was pampered but all of my symptoms were still there.

"...he never mentioned how long it would take to see positive results. At first, I didn't believe that marijuana could possibly make me feel this way."

A different doctor referred me to get an endoscopy and the results were inconclusive. While researching the web for a solution I found a new doctor that mentioned cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome to me. He suggested that I take a break from smoking marijuana but he never mentioned how long it would take to see positive results. At first, I didn't believe that marijuana could possibly make me feel this way. I tried taking his advice and I quit for two days. During those two days, the symptoms got worse and worse. I was in agony and all I wanted was to smoke a bowl. Sure enough, I felt better after smoking it. Another couple weeks went by and I began to notice the pattern of when the attacks would come. I decided to reconsider the doctor's advice after doing research on CHS. CHS was discovered in 2004 and the first paper was published in 2006. Through my research, I learned one may have to abstain from marijuana for up to a month before symptoms disappear. I decided to bite the bullet and risk it. The following week was the worst week of all. After I received my endoscopy I was given three doses of the antiemetic medication which did nothing for my nausea.

"It turns out, I much rather prefer being sober than being high all of the time. I remember hoping that I would be able to be sober in my child’s life."

I remember that after abstaining from marijuana for two weeks, my girlfriend and I were so full of mirth because I was able to eat my first whole meal in under twenty minutes for the first time in months. When the CHS symptoms began I was 208 pounds and after it went away I was 155 pounds. I was fully recovered a month after I had stopped smoking marijuana and our baby daughter, iLy (I like to type it like this), was born two weeks later. I was lucky to have a relatively easy experience with this. I had read about cases where people have had part of their digestive system surgically removed because of CHS. My girlfriend and I had both been stressed that she would have to care for me and the baby. It turns out, I much rather prefer being sober than being high all of the time. I remember hoping that I would be able to be sober in my child’s life. It feels like chunks of my life are taken out of my memory from the all the years in my life that I had heavily smoked marijuana. With the way memory works, I am not positive marijuana is to blame for that.

"I had read about cases where people have had part of their digestive system surgically removed because of CHS."

If you made it all the thank you, and I hope this never happens to you.