Doctors in the United States are seeing a sharp rise in the number of chronic cannabis users experiencing potentially devastating vomiting symptoms.
Doctors say “scromiting,” so-called because patients in distress “scream and vomit” as they seek medical help, is becoming an all-too-familiar scene in emergency rooms. .
Medically known as cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), this condition is not fully understood by doctors, but it can cause seizures, kidney failure, and even death.
Experts believe that symptoms appear after using or ingesting large amounts of cannabis over a long period of time, about 10 years.
One doctor said CHS has become so common that doctors now refer to it as a “bread and butter” diagnosis. Another said he watches it “every week, if not every day.”
Doctors say “screams” are becoming a familiar sight in emergency rooms, with patients “screaming and vomiting” as they call for help.
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Marijuana proponents often claim that marijuana is a safe drug because it is “natural.”
However, scientists have previously suggested that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
A New York Times investigation found that doctors are seeing “increasing numbers” of cases of CHS, which doctors say is now a “common” problem.
Symptoms of CHS include severe abdominal pain with repeated vomiting and nausea.
“The patients look very sick,” said one Ohio doctor, describing them as “writhing around in pain.”
One telling aspect of this condition, which is not yet understood, is that hot water often relieves the symptoms.
Ironically, however, this can itself cause injury, as patients spend hours in scorching hot baths or showers to calm their symptoms, sometimes to the point of burning themselves.
A similar effect has been observed when using capsaicin, a special compound found in chili peppers that produces a pungent medical cream.
We’re still learning how long CHS lasts or how long it takes to develop, and why it develops in some people and not others, but early signs suggest it can last for years. It may continue.
This later progresses and people suffer from a penile stage, which can last for several days before it disappears. However, you can go back.
The only known way to stop CHS from relapsing is for users to stop using cannabis products.
Although experts are unsure what causes CHS, the condition is commonly found in adults who have used marijuana since they were teenagers.
Current theories as to why this condition occurs in the first place include that long-term exposure to the drug overstimulates some of the body’s receptors, resulting in an unstable gag reflex. Masu.
The increasing potency of cannabis products has also been cited by some doctors as a potential factor in what appears to be an increase in cases.
However, while doctors are unsure exactly how many people are suffering from CHS, they have observed an increase in the number of cases in states where marijuana has been legalized.
Complicating the situation is that some patients do not disclose their drug use when seeking help.
However, since CHS was first identified in 2004, at least eight people are known to have died from complications of CHS in the United States.
In June, a chronic marijuana user died from a fatal heart rhythm disorder.
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The 22-year-old woman, who was treated in Canada, began using cannabis at the age of 14 and had suffered multiple attacks of severe CHS over a three-year period.
When she was hospitalized with vomiting and abdominal pain, she developed a unique, life-threatening arrhythmia called torsade de pointes, which caused her heart to stop.
Although doctors were able to restart her heart, her brain had already suffered a catastrophic lack of oxygen and she was declared brain dead four days later.
Researchers estimate that up to a third of heavy marijuana users, or about 6 million Americans, may experience this condition.
The woman from Elgin, Illinois, US, turned to the drug in her 40s in 2019 after her doctor recommended it to her to treat severe migraines.
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So every time Jennifer Macaluso felt a headache coming on, she would smoke a marijuana vape pen or ingest an edible version of the drug.
But a few months later, she told The New York Times that she felt abdominal pain.
She claims that a pharmacy employee advised her to increase her intake, and that she eventually began using the drug almost every day.
Within a few months, symptoms of nausea and vomiting developed and she became so weak that she was forced to quit her job.
Cannabis use has increased rapidly over the past decade, with 24 states now offering legal recreational use.
Meanwhile, laws regarding the medical use of cannabis were relaxed in the UK six years ago.
This allows specialists to prescribe drugs made from the drug to some epilepsy patients and to treat vomiting associated with cancer treatment and multiple sclerosis symptoms.
In June, a chronic marijuana user died from a fatal heart rhythm disorder. A CT scan of a woman’s brain shows the extent of the damage caused by oxygen deprivation when severe vomiting caused a fatal arrhythmia. The folds of the brain became flattened and the whole brain swelled.
The woman’s heart rate was erratic, sometimes very low and other times very high. The photo above is an example of arrhythmia.
THC stimulates areas of the brain involved in mood, attention, and memory, as well as triggering the release of dopamine, the hormone responsible for feelings of reward and pleasure.
Research shows that small, infrequent doses have few long-term effects.
However, with regular use over a long period of time, signals in these important brain areas may start to become abnormal.
Research shows that frequent cannabis use can increase the risk of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, as well as insomnia, social anxiety disorder, and suicidal thoughts.
A 2019 study by researchers at King’s College London also found that daily use of high-potency cannabis can increase users’ risk of psychosis by five times.
Cannabis remains the most popular drug among 16- to 59-year-olds in England and Wales, according to the latest statistics.
Official figures show that last year usage was highest among 20 to 24-year-olds, with almost one in six people in this group using the service.
Weeds killed 32 people in England and Wales last year and around 300 in the US.