I Smoked Weed and Nearly Died

Alright so first off I didn’t nearly die, but I did end up in the hospital numerous times due to dehydration and malnutrition brought on by a little known disease known as CHS, or Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome.

What is CHS?
CHS, or Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is a deadly disease that causes uncontrollable nausea and vomiting followed by immense abdominal pain that can be life-threatening if left untreated. Symptoms usually include loss of appetite, excruciating abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Another good indicator of CHS is taking hot showers to ease the pain. And when I mean hot, I mean BLISTERING HOT water. Some people I’ve spoken to have had severe burns as a result of trying to ease their pain.

So, what causes CHS?
There is no definitive answer yet as to what causes CHS, but for the most part, consuming THC or CBD seems to be the main culprit that we know of. Strangely enough, only a small percentage of users are affected by this disease.

I started smoking marijuana when I was 14 years old. I fell in love with this beautiful plant because it helped me escape my brutal reality and gave me peace where there was only chaos. I kept smoking throughout my teens and well into my adulthood. But when I was 20, I began to feel the onset of CHS. At first, it started with nausea in the mornings, waking up feeling bloated, uncomfortable, and with a slight pain in my belly. Since everyone was saying how marijuana could relieve pain and increase appetite, I would smoke as soon as I woke up and my symptoms would disappear for a couple of hours until the effects wore off and I found myself smoking again.

Over time the symptoms got worst, and I began to develop constant nausea, vomiting episodes, and extremely hot showers were the only thing that gave me relief. When I was 21, I ended up in the ER, severely dehydrated, and underweight. I was 125lbs at the time when I should have been 140lbs. The doctors had no idea what was wrong, they thought it was CVS, Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome. I had an endoscopy done to see what was wrong, and still, the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with me. This continued for another 5 years. During that time, I would continue smoking thinking that it was helping me, little did I know, it was actually poisoning me.

One night, I discovered a group on Facebook that would finally give me the answers that I was looking for. A little group called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Awareness where people were going through the exact same thing as I was. People were talking about marijuana being the cause of the problems. At first, I was doubtful until I tested the theory that cessation would eliminate the pain. So I quit smoking weed for about 6 months and my pain slowly disappeared.

But I had a strong emotional attachment to marijuana and letting go wasn’t as easy as I thought. Shortly after getting better, I was back on the wagon, smoking like a chimney. I figured it was something temporary, that I just needed to take a break. As time went on, I began to develop the symptoms again, this time it got worst faster. Before long, I was back in the hospital, thinking I was dying, wishing for the pain to go away.

I’m now 31 years old. Life has changed a lot for me. I’ve since become more active in my sobriety and made some drastic changes to my life to make sure I never go back to that place again. The only thing that cured me was quitting. I still love marijuana, I think it’s an amazing medicine that works great for many, but sadly, not for me.

This is a cautionary tale to those of you who consume. Be aware of the symptoms and make sure you take care of it. Doctors are now becoming more aware of the dangers of CHS, if you believe you have this awful disease, talk to your doctor and try to quit for a few weeks to see if the symptoms subside. If they do, there’s a strong chance you have CHS without even knowing it.

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