Do you ever throw up after smoking several bowls?

Have you heard of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome?

Allen and colleagues bequeathed this bizarre, dare I say questionable “condition” with its formal title in 2004. It’s considered a relatively new phenomenon since the advent of medical cannabis and the greening of our nation.

About a month or so back a sad young woman posted in my Illinois Medical Cannabis Facebook group that her doctor vehemently disavowed her request for a medical marijuana card. Her doctor told her that her intense puking is the result of her illicit marijuana use already, and that marijuana causes many people to violently puke and become ill.

The group gave a collective eye roll.

If there is one thing cannabis has been known for through the ages and seldom questioned about, it is its anti-nausea qualities. Even the FDA itself approved a synthetic cannabinoid called Marinol for the treatment of nausea.

Doctor refuses cannabis card to woman who vomits

Then, just a few days back, a very likable fellow posted about dabbing and heartburn. He wondered had anyone else had that problem, and I said I did.

This smart fellow, and I do say smart, because as simple as it is to find medical research on Google Scholar, many people don’t use that resource. At any rate, he posted a scientific paper on Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome.

I’ll quote:

“Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is characterized by chronic cannabis use, cyclic episodes of nausea and vomiting, and frequent hot bathing,” the researchers declare. “Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome occurs by an unknown mechanism.”

An “unknown mechanism.”

I don’t doubt that the mysterious condition is real, and I am not a doctor. I’m just a medical cannabis patient trying to help others. But I do know a few other things related to cannabis use could make you nauseated, too.

There have been times myself where I have almost thrown up while smoking too much cannabis.

Three easy tips for staying regular with cannabis

The avid pot smoker can prevent nausea by taking three simple steps to keep yourself regular.

1. The munchies isn’t true for everyone. Indeed, for many of us, cannabis can have an opposite effect, and we don’t eat. (Raising my hand) Always eat a little something, a healthy something, every few hours, even if you don’t feel hungry. An apple, string cheese, Greek Yogurt, nuts…whatever your pleasure.

If you have not eaten since the apple you had when you got up at 4 a.m., and at 1 p.m. you think you are going to vomit, then you need a Power Bar or something. If you don’t eat, you’re going to become nauseated.

2. If you don’t eat right, your bowels will get backed up. Take it from me. I used to have the other problem, but now I’m eyeing the stool softener still in the hall closet left over from when my dad was alive. When your bowels are backed up, that can cause nausea.

3. Drink plenty of water. Cannabis can dry you out. That’s going to back your bowels up.

Mystery illness or lack of common sense?

Clearly this scholar never has been stoned or he would know that showering and bathing, while always pleasurable, is particularly nice when smoking weed.

The scientists, of course, have elaborate explanations for why people who smoke lots of weed may be having gastrointestinal distress, whereas most people (who eat regularly and hydrate properly) do not.

“Delayed gastric emptying appears to be particularly resistant to the development of tolerance,” the authors declare. “Additionally, intermittent administration of THC results in hypersensitization of the delayed gastric emptying effect. THC’s effect on gastric motility is a paradox, as a delay in gastric emptying would be expected to promote nausea and vomiting.

“However, nausea and vomiting do not (usually) occur with cannabis use, likely due to the anti-emetic properties of THC on the central nervous system.”

Authors note second bizarre vomiting ‘condition’

Or you can stay hydrated, eat regularly, and keep fiber in your diet, exercise, and see if that helps your bowel problems before blaming it on the weed.

The authors also distinguish between CHS and cyclic vomiting syndrome, or CVS. The latter may be more to the point of what the young woman I referenced in the beginning of this piece was demonstrating.

“Confusion exists in the medical literature secondary to a failure to recognize chronic marijuana use as a source of vomiting,” they write.

“Although both conditions share an astonishing similarity, there are several significant differences …. CVS patients usually have important psychological comorbidities including depression and anxiety … high prevalence of migraine headaches … gastric emptying rates in patients with CVS are often accelerated rather than delayed.”

Researchers pity those seeking relief with hot showers

“The most effective treatment during the hyperemetic phase of CHS is the use of hot showers by patients. The effects of this learned behavior are temperature-dependent, fast acting, but short lived. Hot showers improve symptoms of nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite…”

You can read this research for yourself if you like. It’s published in the journal Current Drug Abuse Review by a gastroenterologist (gut doctor) at Temple.

I ask everyone that today, have an apple, or an orange, or go ahead and have that piece of coconut cream pie with your cannabis.

Drink plenty of water, Mio drops makes it tastier. You must put something in to push something out, and of course water helps with the process. We know this.

Otherwise, you might become nauseated.

Just be sure to eat a little something with your bowls of marijuana.