Cannabinoid hyperemisis syndrom

[Stressedoutaboutinlaws]

Has anyone ever heard of this, or experienced it?

Dp has been a weed smoker since he was about 13 (had a tough childhood, to the extent that he hasnt told me the full story as all too painful to talk about)

He also periodically suffers from really sore abdomnial pain, sever vomiting which has resulted in hospital visits for severe dehydration/pain. Most recent one (first one that ive witnessed myself) i posted about on here under a different name.

Lots and lots of investigative work found no cause. Hes never hidden the fact that he smokes weed from medical staff when investigating but was never thought to be a cause.

After the most recent bout of it (which luckily didnt need a hospital visit but is still not nice) dp decided he needed to stop the weed. So 2 weeks off it now and although i think he is struggling a bit, hes doing amazing given how regular its been for the last 18 years of his life.

Started googling about withdrawel etc to have an idea of what to expect akd how i can best support him, and came across cannabinoid hyperemisis syndrom which neither of us had ever heard of. And it was actually scary how exact it is to what hes had, even to the point of a hot bath being the only relief.

But it doesnt seem to be that common? Does anyone else have any experience of this? Or even just some general advice on how to get through the cravings etc?

no experience but surely you just stop the weed if its caused it?

is this rocket science?

Well obviously that what hes doing... Thanks for the feedback...

Was more looking for someone that might have some more knowledge than a google search, or perhaps a personal experience of supporting someone stopping it, but thanks for stopping by 👍

your welcome.

im not sure why the navel gazing if youve diagnosed the cause?

weed is so unregulated . good luck with your search.

oh and i do have more than a google search. i work in this area. an i didnt think it worthy of a google search tbh,

Or you could try reading the OP hellenback where she quite clearly says he HAS given it up.
Jeez - you've got no experience of this and you're compelled to make a shitty remark having not even bothered to comprehend the OP.

Thank you @MyFokMarelize , wasnt sure if i was being a bit touchy by being annoyed by the message.

Dp has used this as a coping mechanism for the last 18 years and is now motivated to stop, i just want to try and make the process as smooth for him as possible.

The reason hes not made the connection before is that multiple doctors investigating the stomach issues have known about the weed and not seemed too concerned, so he just thought it couldnt possibly be the cause.

2 weeks ago he decided himself to stop for other reasons, and its only today that we discovered that the illness in the title actually exists.

Wrong on both counts but on that note shall say no more and while I do have some experience that might help I'll leave you to it . !
Best of luck .' Getting off it is always a good thing.

Sorry if my earlier post appeared snippy.

Best of luck to him.

I’m a doctor and had never heard of this until I read your post, I made a mental note to look it up and then picked up the BMJ I’d been procrastinating reading by being on mumsnet and came across an article about it
According to the article it is a new diagnosis so that explains why it’s never been mentioned before!

Hmm strange.

A friend I used to have when I was young although we fell out a long time ago was (I assume still is) a very heavy weed user, she had regular "attacks" which included severe very foul smelling vomit, vomiting that she described as like bringing up her own fecal matter but from her mouth accompanied by extreme stomach or midsection pain to the point of being unable to move and at times she said she thought she was dying it lasted a day to three days.

I was unable to ever get her to seek medical advice as she said she couldn't move to get to a doctor during these attacks and i was so worried I said she was to call an ambulance and they would literally carry her to the ambulance but she would avoid me until better and only ever tell me after an incident.

As she always recovered I concluded that if it was something very serious eventually she would be forced to seek medical intervention but thought due to the reoccurrence it may possibly be food poisoning but I wasn't ever able to clarify anything with her.

I wonder though if it may be this.

I'll never know obviously as we are no longer friends and I'm not getting sucked back in just to check!

Happy, its sounds likely that it is/was this! From what i read about it it can clear up fairly quickly (which makes it seem not so serious) but can start back again once the weed hits the system again.

It was so horrible when dp had his most recent episode, he was being sick for so long he was severely dehydrated, i had to take him to a & e where he needed a wheelchair cos he couldn't walk, and was given an IV straight away because they were so concerned about his condition.

But i think without having the link that weed was causing it, it was a vicious cycle. As i think weed can ease nausia feelings, so he would go to hospital and obviously not be able to have any. With morphine/iv fluids he would recover fairly quickly and get out and go home. When he was feeling a bit sick as part of recovering he would have a joint to ease it, and the cycle continued.

Im so proud of him for coming off it, i know it might not be totally plain sailing, but it was his decision to stop it rather than mine, and hes being open with me abour craving it etc.

Do the cravings ever go away? I have very little personal experience with weed, never mind the extent that hes been having it most of his life.

Should add that we dont have kids, in case anyone is concerned about home environment etc.

PearPicking thats crazy that you read this then saw an article!

When ive been trying to research it, its been medical articles etc that ive been finding online, so i did think it might be quite new. I dont think theres any point in going to the doctor for a diagnosis though, as it seems to have a very uncomplicated treatment of stopping weed.

With any drug withdrawal the physical cravings don't last long but it's the psychological craving that is much more difficult to overcome. many years of reaching for a joint to relax when stressed or to calm down after a disagreement, association with social life and friends who smoke, these are the difficulties.

I have worked in the area of drug and alcohol recovery and have never heard of it. Definitely something to research and make colleagues aware of if it's fairly new. In regards to managing cravings and relapse prevention, I think it's important to look at alternative coping strategies. If he uses cannabis to cope then it can be tough to take it away and not have anything else to replace it with. Does he have hobbies, like exercising or things that he likes to use as a distraction. They will be a good place to start. PP is right that a physical craving doesn't last long, so a distraction to get through it can work well. But further support may be a good idea to address why he used cannabis in the first place. Good luck to him.

Thank you ☺ we are currently doing up the garden so putting time and energy into that as a distraction. Eg yesterday we were at a loose end and the weather was crap so we drove to the garden centre to just have a look for ideas etc.

He stopped smoking normal cigarettes a few years ago, and uses a ecig vape thing now. But he has a box of normal fags in just n case he needs that extra 'hit' of something, which i think hes only done twice, so not too bad. I know its not a good idea to start smoking again but thought its better than the weed, amd it has only been 2 in 2 weeks.

I need to start getting to the gym again so will try and get him to come with me as well, good idea ☺

Very first question is what were they taking ?

Unless it was home grown then nobody has any idea about whether it was even "cannabis" - let alone what levels of cannabinoids it may (or may not) have contained.

If it was bought on the street it could have any number of adulterants - ketamine being a favourite.

Watch out for cannabis withdrawal induced psychosis. It can be utterly terrifying and very dangerous, the person is at risk of harming themselves or others in the grip of psychosis. It's not a sign of weakness or whatever, it's a physical response to coming off cannabis. Stay safe.

It was bought rather than home grown, but from friends where theres a pretty good idea of the chain where it came from and the quality.

No psychosis or anything, hallucinations that that sort of thing was never a side affect he had, but will keep an eye out, thank you!

It was bought rather than home grown, but from friends where theres a pretty good idea of the chain where it came from and the quality.

But what strain, when was it harvested, and how well cured (if at all) ? Even if it was a known strain the exact genetics can be highly variable between any sativa and indica traits - which can lead to a wide spread of effects.

Also was it vaped, smoked pure, or mixed with tobacco ? Tobacco can really mess things up if you are a non-smoker.

No idea about strain or anything like that.

It was smoked mixed with tobacco, hadnt realised that would make a difference!

It may not help at all, but has your DH considered CBD oil, or the capsule form that you can buy from Holland & Barrett’s? As I say It may not help, but I suffer terribly from anxiety, I would smoke once a week to help calm me, but when I decided to start a family, I stopped. I have been taking CBD capsules ever since. It works for me.

Yes i read the BMJ article a couple of weeks ago I think, I hadn't heard of it before then.
The health issues caused by cannabis are vastly underestimated I suspect.

Missy i totally agree. Its not something id ever done until recently with dp, but always just thought of it as something not ideal but not too bad either. Really shocked that it can cause such health issues.

Luckily it doesnt seem to be permanent, anything i can find says that it goes away if you stop the weed, but it does make you think what other sort of unknown damage it could be causing.

It was smoked mixed with tobacco, hadnt realised that would make a difference!

Well tobaccos not very good for you ....

THC and CBD should come as a matched set - they work on different receptors in the brain and are generally found balanced in nature. However because the UK has outsourced the manufacture and distribution of cannabis to a bunch of profiteering criminals then high-THC strains have become much more common. However generally THC and CBD have more psychoactive effects that physiological. So wouldn't necessarily cause emesis - and certainly not when not being used.

If it had happened when he was smoking it, I'd say it was a "whitey". Which are quite unpleasant (especially the first time) but just that - unpleasant, nothing to worry about in the long run. Annoyingly, still a mystery - like a lot of prescription medicine side effects.

A lot of non-smoker cannabis "smokers" I know have switched to vaping. Not the noddy stuff you get from "vape shops" but proper herb vaporisers that can adjust the temperature they work at. Which means you can experiment with the best setting, as different compounds come out at different temperatures.

The health issues caused by cannabis are vastly underestimated I suspect.

it's one of mankinds oldest cultivated crops - specifically for it's medicinal properties. So millennia of use should provide ample examples of it's drawbacks. Given the LD50 of cannabis is in the Kilos - if at all.

Meanwhile the health issues surrounding alcohol and tobacco are clearly well known. And still they sell.