Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome: Causes, Treatment, and More

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. Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) happens Substance abuse when you have cycles of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain after using cannabis (marijuana) for a long time.

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To lower the morbidity, CHS is best managed by an interprofessional team. As CHS is a new diagnosis, the manufacturers of these drugs did not design them for treating CHS, but a doctor may opt to prescribe them for this use. Another doctor reported using a combination of injectable lorazepam and promethazine, another antinausea medication. Doctors can provide hydration in the form of intravenous (IV) solutions if the person cannot tolerate oral fluids. Researchers have identified two receptors called CB1 and CB2 to which marijuana molecules attach. Receptors are specialized cells that respond to specific stimuli or changes in the environment.

Symptoms and Causes

Continuing to use cannabis despite CHS can lead to potentially life threatening complications. Neither the psychological treatments nor the pharmacological treatments seem to be that effective,” he said. Ultimately, the only way to guarantee health is by totally abstaining, he added. If the patient quits cannabis consumption, vomiting due to CHS largely subsides. It’s possible that with lower amounts or lower frequency, patients might be able to use cannabis again, but the science is unclear.

What causes cannabis hyperemesis syndrome?

However, many experts consider these treatments to be ineffective for managing nausea and vomiting in people with CHS. Many people with CHS go to their doctor or an emergency room (ER) for treatment. However, doctors may find it challenging to diagnose the syndrome because people tend not to report their use of marijuana. They also experience episodes of vomiting that return every few weeks or months.

• The first reports came from doctors treating regular users of marijuana for nausea and vomiting in South Australia.
• Further, these behaviors could also be noted in CVS, preadolescents, and adolescents with no prior exposure to cannabis 8.
• Not everyone with the condition seeks medical help or tells their provider that they use marijuana.
• Scientists do not know much about the function of the CB2 receptors.

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a form of functional gut-brain axis disorder characterized by bouts of episodic nausea and vomiting worsened by cannabis intake. 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. CHS was reported for the first time in 2004, and since then, an increasing number of cases have been reported. With cannabis use increasing throughout the world as the threshold for legalization becomes lower, its user numbers are expected to rise over time. Despite this trend, a strict criterion for the diagnosis of CHS is lacking.

• Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a very unpleasant — and potentially dangerous — complication of long-term marijuana use.
• Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a condition that sometimes develops due to the long term use of marijuana.
• Drugs with an anticholinergic effect may likewise block medullary mediated vomiting, though they may have minimal impact on visceral stimulation, including the crippling abdominal cramping pain that patients with CHS experience.

• Cannabis is the most commonly abused drug in the United States (US).
• The ECS is composed of ligands, receptors, signaling, and enzymes (its regulators and inhibitors) 22.
• Most people with CHS who stop using cannabis have relief from symptoms within 10 days.
• In one 2018 study, a group of researchers surveyed 2,127 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 49 at an emergency department in New York.
• CHS is unique in presentation, because of the cannabis’s biphasic effect as anti-emetic at low doses and pro-emetic at higher doses, and the association with pathological hot water bathing.

As CHS is a newly described condition, many doctors may find it challenging to diagnose and what is chs treat. Researchers have tried to explain what causes CHS, but further study is necessary. At this time, the only known way to cure CHS is by quitting cannabis.

• Within 10 minutes, nausea and vomiting stopped, and the person no longer felt abdominal pain.
• As CHS is a relatively recently recognized and studied phenomenon easily confused with other diseases, there is a paucity of sizeable randomized control studies.
• CHS is a relatively new disorder that is not only difficult to diagnose but to manage.
• Researchers need to study CHS in more detail to make it easier for doctors to recognize and treat the condition.