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 marijuana addiction the digestive tract, for a proper diagnosis.
CHS Phases and Timeline
- That’s because hot water can help ease cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome symptoms like nausea.
- You may have symptoms and side effects of CHS for a few weeks after quitting cannabis.
- The only treatments available to people with CHS are those that restore hydration and help control nausea and vomiting.
- Researchers have tried to explain what causes CHS, but further study is necessary.
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.
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Once cannabis use is stopped, the symptoms of CHS will gradually start to subside. There’s no cure for this syndrome, with the only known, surefire treatment being abstinence from marijuana. “I basically spent that week laying in bed and just sipping slowly on water or sipping slowly on my Pedialyte, trying to get as much electrolytes and nutrition as I could,” recalled Brittany, 27, who today is sober.
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Experts also aren’t clear on what causes CHS, or why some people develop it while others don’t. Since it was first identified in 2004 in Australia, researchers have looked at the effects of cannabis on the vomiting centers of the brain. The diagnostic criteria for CHS were ill-defined prior to the establishment of the Rome IV criteria of 2016.2223 Per the Rome IV criteria, all 3 of the following must be met to be diagnosed with CHS.
No, continuing to use cannabis in any form can exacerbate the symptoms of CHS and delay what is cannabinoid syndrome recovery. The most effective treatment for CHS is to stop using cannabis. If cannabis use is resumed, symptoms of CHS can return, often heralding a return of the hyperemesis many weeks or months later. Neither the psychological treatments nor the pharmacological treatments seem to be that effective,” he said. Camilleri also said that cannabis use is positively correlated with anxiety and depression, and noted that doctors should treat the whole patient and not just the disorder.
