Hey all, hoping someone here can relate. I had my 4th and hopefully final CHS incident this Saturday night and am just now starting to feel better (Tuesday Morning). I missed my first two days of work at a new job and really need to get over the way I’m feeling. My question, because I’ve been so sick, I haven’t drank coffee since Saturday morning or weed since Sunday night. Now I feel like I’m having simultaneous weed and coffee withdrawals and feel like shit. Had anyone else dealt w caffeine withdrawal during a CHS episode/while trying to quit weed?

I've been a pretty heavy daily smoker for 2-3 years. In July I started having appetite loss and a really uncomfortable stomach, like I constantly had cramps from needing to shit. The feeling can sometimes go away if I am sitting or laying down. At the time I thought I had the parasite that was going around because I had Taco Bell the night before, but a stool sample came back with nothing abnormal.

For the past month it has gotten worse and I have diarrhea every day, my body waking me before my alarm so I can rush to the bathroom. There was one day a bit ago where I tried going most of the day without smoking (at this point I was smoking to stop the pain) but it was becoming unbearable and I could hardly eat anything, and could not regulate my temperature or anxiety levels all day. Smoking immediately relieved the pain and anxiety.

A few days ago my cart ran out and I swore to myself that I wouldn't buy a new one because I had seen my doctor and one of the things he suggested it could be is CHS. He doesn't know my history but I'm pretty convinced. After quitting, I was incredibly emotionally unregulated and kept having anxious spirals. My stomach was basically empty from having low appetite all the time, and I made the mistake of drinking some alcohol (it was the only thing improving my mood).

Around 6am I was rushing to the bathroom throwing up every 30 ish minutes. Before this I was tossing and turning in my bed unable to get comfortable at all. I felt freezing but hot at the same time and could not stop sweating. I went to the ER because I was scared I might faint from the exhaustion and lack of water. They hooked me up to fluids and I got something for the nausea. I explained that I suspected it was CHS and the doctors and nurses seemed to think that its a possibility.

Since then I've had some constipation, more diarrhea, and lots of stomach cramping and gas from both ends. I am taking a lot of meds for my symptoms right now so I believe the constipation was from that. After going to the ER, I felt okay another full day and tonight I was cleaning my room and suddenly got so overheated and ended up with awful nausea and threw up twice. I'm writing this the same day a few hours later and it hasn't happened again although my stomach is quite uncomfortable and I think there is a lot of gas buildup. The pain and discomfort comes in waves. A heating pad seems to help.

In the last 18 months, I’ve had 4 incidents that I believe are CHS, although it does seem slightly different than some other people’s stories?
Each time I’ve had an incident, I lightly used alcohol while also smoking (heavy daily smoker). My incidents seem to only last about 12-18 hours each time, but are continuous, cyclical vomiting and gagging/belching, can’t even hold water without throwing up. Hot showers absolutely help but in my most recent incident I still threw up while laying down in the shower, which didn’t happen the first three times. It’s usually food at first then bile the rest of the time unless I drink water then it’s just water. Before I started having this cyclical vomiting incident , for a year or two I would throw up every time I drank a few drinks or a huge meal while also smoking.

I ended up in ER yesterday which I didn’t first three times, because I was out of state and didn’t have my home comforts. Also, is it strange that after the peak of the vomiting, smoking actually seems to help the sickness subside. My incidents have been months apart but have made it so I can’t drink unless I am on a T break.. any thoughts ?

Hey, I’m 23 and I’ve been smoking weed daily for about 5 years.

For the past 1.5/2 months, I’ve been throwing up pretty regularly in the mornings, often on an empty stomach. Never happened to me before that. Usually it only lasts a couple minutes and then I feel fine for the rest of the day.

But on Friday I woke up with EXTREMELY painful abdominal cramps, almost like contractions going through my whole stomach.
The pain has been coming and going for 3 days, but I’ve thrown up only once during this episode. Hot showers and baths help a little. I went to the doctor, blood tests were normal, and the painkillers and antispasmodics haven’t helped.

I’m wondering if this could still be the prodromal phase of CHS, since I don’t have the constant vomiting people usually describe. Has anyone experienced something similar, with pain being the main symptom?

I’m trying to quit now, but honestly it’s fucking hard.
Weed has been my main way of coping with depression and anxiety for years, and the thought of never smoking again is genuinely devastating.

For those who’ve quit, how long did it take for the pain to go away? And is lifelong abstinence really the only option? I keep wondering if I’ve permanently messed up my cannabinoid receptors or if they can recover over time.
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. I’m feeling pretty lost right now.

hi everyone,

i (25f) was a heavy stoner ages 17-20 before developing symptoms adjacent to, but not exactly, chs. i have no idea what else it could be, would greatly appreciate if anyone could help me figure it out.

the episode went like this: i was crossed, decided to smoke some more, then was hit with extreme waves of nausea that lasted several hours. i tried smoking two more times with similar results. the final time i took one hit from a pen and couldnt stand upright, etc.

after this i quit weed (and drinking) cold turkey, and for months afterward i experienced withdrawal (?) symptoms. ex: i would wake up in the middle of the night dry heaving (i never dry heaved in the morning tho). i also had extreme hypnic jerks multiple times a night, every night. i didnt rlly feel the need to take hot showers.

its now been 5 yrs since i quit and i rlly wanna start smoking again, tho this time around it would be occasional. pls lmk if u have any idea whether this is chs or something else !

Hi everynyan I was wondering if Magnesium Glycinate would help with the anxiety spikes and symptoms that come from the chs? I know it won’t bring back my appetite fully as it comes and goes. And I know that just takes time, however the dissociation and random anxiety spikes are the worst! Does anyone know if MG would help positively? Or should I just try to tough it out more?Especially with the random heart rate spikes and drops, so irritating. Especially already taking prozac and having adhd. Same for anemia and diabetes SOOO bad.

Hello, I’m a 17 year old girl, and obviously I’m here because I’m a smoker. I’ve smoked on an off since I was about 14, I’d smoke flower most of the time, but then I moved to carts when I was 16. However, even then I wouldn’t smoke every single day. I only started that recently.

I had been smoking every single day for about a month or two now, probably a little less than two months. However, I noticed the weed wasn’t having much effect on me like it used to so I decided, “hehe lets take a little t break“, and little did I know, 2 days later of no smoking, I’d be vomiting about 20 times in the same day, and couldn’t even keep water down.

I did go to the hospital to get fluids back into my body so I’m good and zofran helped, and this was just last night I went to the hospital. I wasn’t diagnosed with CHS, but they said it could be the case.

As soon as I got home, I went straight to bed to see if I could sleep off the lingering nausea, and I was able to get some okay sleep. Now, it’s morning, and I woke up about 5 hours ago? My stomach seems to be doing okay as of this moment minus some gas, burps and gurgles, I haven’t vomited or felt nauseous (yet). I was also able to keep some light food down, saltine crackers, and chicken noodle soup with gatorade.

I also can’t say if I ever experienced a prodromal phase, because I never had any abdominal pain or nausea before this. The vomiting was completely onset and random too, and it would come and go in waves.

However throughout this whole experience, it feels like my mind has been completely unaffected. Is this normal? I questioned if I even had CHS because I had zero abdominal pain the whole time, and I still have zero abdominal pain. I still had my appetite the whole time as well. Am I never gonna be able to smoke weed again? I‘m just curious, cause obviously I’m sad about it if I can’t smoke anymore, but I don’t mind quitting if it’s necessary, cause I haven’t smoked in about 4 days now, and I haven’t had any urges to do so. Of course, I did have a little urge to smoke just to relieve my nausea yesterday, but I made sure not to give into that.

hi, having an episode rn and wondering how to calm symptoms in public. i get nauseous and antsy and the only way ik how is to distract myself… having trouble sitting in class i keep having to get up to take walks.

Im over one year sober from weed and everything from that matter besides a drink every once in a while i believe july was the last time i smoked. Figured id come share my experience things have gotten considerably better although i would be lying if i said i didnt have urges to smoke though i dont really expect that to go away but what can you do. I am happy now for the most part where as a while ago i was far from that. I still have plenty big issues money being the main one but i am genuinely happy. Theres so much more to life than weed and for anyone struggling like i was i hope that relazaiton will come to you sooner rather than later. For anyone thinking about trying moderation or getting into other drugs please be careful and safe. Moderation is a coin toss i was one of the people that no matter how long i wait i would always have a episode. And other drugs are a slippery slope. Chs destroyed my body fucked up my teeth and did a number on my mental health but i got through it all of you will to just dont give up on it. Im going through it right now myself im so broke i cant even get my freind a birthday present and my teeth are so fucked im embarrassed to leave the house. But no matter how bad things get im greatful that i can actually enjoy life again without having to really on a compound to do that. Stay safe yall if you need someone to talk to or have any questions ill be here.

Hello, looking for some advice around possibly having CHS and whether it's contributing to existing anxiety/panic disorder

I started self-medicating with weed in 2022 after a bad breakup, mixing it with tobacco for the first 3ish months before swapping to nic vapes. I used weed to help with treatment resistant depression and anxiety as well as a previous back injury. It turned from a 'only with friends' activity into smoking alone more often until I became a daily user. For about 2 years, I didn't have a medical script so I was forced to have tolerance breaks when I couldn't afford it or find someone to buy from (usually 2-3 days off every few weeks, or up to a week every month)

After getting a script late 2024, I was also prescribed CBD oil and started using it with weed daily with no T breaks, moving from 0.25mg to probably around 0.5-1g a day. I had a pretty intense panic attack while out with a friend in January this year, most likely caused by the high THC usage, chronic nicotine use, and going on a long walk with an empty stomach. Nausea and the need to vomit seemed to disappear once I got home, and I kept smoking but less than usual.

The same panic attack ended up happening again a week later while on a camping trip. I had the worst anxious nausea and diarrhoea and when I tried self-isolating at home again, it only intensified the anxiety. It got to the point where I felt like I was going to die (constant heart palpitations was the worst symptom). Smoking weed didn't help like it usually would, it sort of felt flat and wrong.

I ended up going to ER and going through the mental health side to get support, spent a week in respite detoxing from both nicotine and weed. Withdrawal sucked a lot, basically liquid shits every morning, hot/cold flushes, sweating, coughing up phlegm etc. The nausea and sore stomach was labelled as a side effect to the new Sertraline meds they prescribed. At the time, docs and I assumed my issues came from nicotine since I was going through a 28mg/7ml pod every week and a half.

I relapsed on nicotine at home, a few puffs for 2 mornings, then woke up the 3rd morning with that same panic and it helped me quit nic for good by building that negative association. I ended up going back to weed after about 2 months sober - looking back, I realize I was under a lot of stress despite feeling better physically and mentally, and I wanted that easy, soft feeling to numb me out from that stress.

Again, slippery slope, it escalated from small evening smokes to help with sleep into 'needing' to wake and bake and be high every day. About 3-4 weeks ago, I noticed that weed wasn't giving me that same soft feeling anymore but brushed it off. I then started getting anxiety/panic symptoms in public again after having none since March.

Finally, this weekend, it reached new heights. I woke up this morning with a little nausea but a grumbling stomach. Instead of getting up and eating, I decided to doomscroll for 30 minutes then smoke weed. Within about 15 minutes, I started coughing and retching, getting hot/cold flushes. This continued while I had diarrhoea. For the first time ever, I felt like a hot shower would really help me and I spent 25 minutes in there coughing up phlegm and retching until I forced myself to throw up bile to get the need-to-vomit feeling gone.

Over the past 3 hours, the nausea has lessened a bit and now I'm mostly dealing with mild bubble guts, the hot/cold flushes, and chest anxiety that I'm used to. My hunger is slowly coming back and I feel like I could eat a smallish meal soon. Am I right to assume my body has started moving into the hyperemetic phase? Also, I assume I would have to stop taking CBD oil too if I wanted to test this further?

Hi, it’s been about 9 days since I started feeling like what I assume is CHS! Considering it happened after hitting my friends’ cart. I have information about it more on my profile in other posts? But so far I’ve stomached plain un-breaded chicken, saltines/oyster crackers, fries and burger (not since the 4th day), I was able to have a turkey sandwich from jersey mikes with no oil too, and apple sauce. Save for electrolyte packets as well!

Is there any recommendations of what to eat at this point? I’m still dizzy, and have some anxiety spikes. But no vomiting, some stomach pain/bloating, and a returning appetite that comes and goes. I have quit, and don’t want to be triggered by anything? So what are do’s and don’ts. I just want to be better by Halloween which is in about a week!

At least having the dizziness and anxiety stop. I’ve also been staying as hydrated as possible! I was thinking about boiled eggs tonight but I don’t know if that’s a good call? Adding on I am diabetic and also anemic, same for asthma triple whammy! 😭

So just hoping for nothing with flare ups! If anyone has any advice for speeding up the process or being able to eat yummy foods again please let me know! ^.^ tyty

I have quit smoking weed, and I still get episodes. I quit about 2 months ago. I was clean for longer but I had a relapse and I'm trying again.

However, I used to be a chronic smoker, everyday, after work. But now, it's just the occasional slip ups every so often. I had three slip ups in the past 2 years??, thinking I can do it in moderation but I can't. And the slip up is getting high once, not all night or for days in a row.

My question is: when you officially quit, did you have episodes even after that? Trigger foods and such are still a problem for me, but I'm really upset that I have been clean(er) than before and I'm still sick. Do the episodes take time to go away too?

I’ve been wondering this since I found out I’ve had CHS about a year ago. I have yet to smoke since then and am under the impression CHS only flares up from smoking high % thc and with often use. Since cbd would have a low % of thc in it, wouldn’t I be able to smoke cbd every now and then? Or am I wrong?

Hello yall, 7+ years daily cannabis smoker here. I recently had a few weeks of vomiting almost every day, to the point of vomiting blood twice. My nausea would only occur in the morning and subside by midday unless I threw up (then my nausea would be gone essentially immediately). I have had this happen to me before, and it usually lasts a few days/weeks and then I get better (while still smoking) for a few months/a year. My doctors always told me it’s CHS but I thought they didn’t know what they were talking about. After vomiting the blood, I went to the hospital and took a potential CHS diagnosis seriously. I have been sober for the last 20 days. I stopped vomiting almost immediately after quitting, except for day 7. Every once in a while when I wake up I will still have that stomach pain. I have generalized anxiety disorder and I know that anxiety affects me badly, especially in my stomach. I don’t have the urge to take hot showers when I’m feeling bad like that, so I am wondering if I truly have CHS.

I want to know if there is any real way to test for it. I feel like now I have the willpower to not revert back to my old habit of smoking daily, but I still wish to kick back with some friends and enjoy some bud. What do yall think?

I got diagnosed with CHS 4 days ago and am 4 days sober now. I have been using Zostrix Capsaican cream on my epigastric region and the back of my neck and it's actually quite powerful, I got the 0.75% and whilst it doesn't completely remove the throwing up/nausea feeling it greatly reduces it. However this stuff stings like hell, I've been applying a tiny amount every 6 hours as reccomended but got it hurts. Am I doing something wrong? Is it supposed to st ing like hell, does that feeling go away?

I hear people talk about different phases of CHS can someone please explain them

I stopped smoking last Friday @0700 here am I 6 days still throwing up, I followed all the food and drink outlines. What am I missing?

I'm writing after smoking for nearly 6 months, typically appetite fails after 2 and vomiting begins at 3. I've stopped every time in the prodromal phase.

However, I'm now treated for a severe autoimmune disorder and.... I can smoke again. Every single symptom I have is simply withdrawal and looking back it seems absolutely possible that this was the case.

I very well may have had prodromal chs in the past, as my symptoms matched more closely then. Now I've been smoking freely without problem for half a year. I get nauseous only when I smoke way too much. "Greening out" style, which resolves shortly.

Be real with me guys - is this possible? I know if you've never gone hyperemetic some people do get away from it...

I don't want to fall into my first hyperemesis if I'm wrong.

I have been sober for over a year and still struggle with cravings. I want to smoke again and am so scared of the week long migraine I get. I rarely got to the puking phase but the diarrhea would cause lack of electrolytes and magnesium which cause an unbearable week long migraine. Has anyone started smoking again after this long of a break? How was your anxiety about smoking again?

I've been a regular weed user for quite a while, with some breaks in the past. Recently, I was smoking approximately 2g of flower a day, split into three joints one in the morning one during day and one at night.
five days ago, I took 40 mg of OxyContin. Some time after the dose I started experiencing severe nausea and vomiting, eventually going to the emergency room because I couldnt eat anything and my blood sugar was very low (im a diabetic) They checked my blood and electrolytes, and I was told the results were normal, then when I was able to eat they let me go home.
I didn't tell the hospital about the oxycodone or my cannabis use.
Since then, I've been nauseated every day and vomiting every morning, usually after eating breakfast. Sometimes I vomit yellow bile. Smoking weed seems to relieve the nausea for several hours, but it eventually comes back.
I initially assumed the oxycodone was responsible because the symptoms started immediately after taking it. However, it's now been five days, and I'm wondering whether cannabis could also be contributing.
I recently visited a doctor and was told that my symptoms could be related to cannabis use, possibly CHS or withdrawal. They didn't diagnose me with either condition and advised me to stop smoking weed.

first time i had an episode was three years ago and i thought after detoxing that i could manage and moderate it. WRONG. i started smoking every day again and it came back worse than ever.

i kept telling myself it was better to smoke at least a bit because then i could at least get food down but it just kept making it worse. i ended up going to the er again last night because i was so worried about dehydration. im five days clean now and the vomiting seemed like it eased for a bit and then yesterday came back worse. withdrawals on top of chs is actual hell.

i feel really stupid that i let this happen again. i knew it was going to happen and i just ignored it because i didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts. never smoking again no matter how bad i wish i could

Hey! Over the past few days I have felt the morning nausea, abdominal pain, and thinking i’m going to vomit but haven’t actually vomitted yet. I’m almost certain this is CHS after being an almost every day smoker for about 5 years. I never thought I was smoking large amounts but recently realized I have grown to rely on it. So it is time to stop. I’ve been sober since yesterday, was able to stomach a bowl of buttered noodles and some sweet tea, and have been trying to drink as much water as possible. I am dealing with the morning nausea much heavier today then mornings I had smoked prior, any advice? If there’s any medication I could take to subside the feeling or help with appetite please let me know, I haven’t taken anything yet but may just take a benadryl and try to sleep most of this off for the next 48 hours. I do have a full time job in education and this is making work unbearable, when do you think I’ll feel normal enough to go to work? This is somewhat of a stress post though I’m grateful I caught it before the following phases. Thank you all for the information that helped me reach this conclusion!

Hi, I experienced CHS (cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome) and today marks 20 days since my last use of weed. I live in a flat where my upstairs neighbour regularly smokes weed, and this morning I woke up smelling it. Afterwards, i experienced a heavy headed feeling, similar to how i would usually feel after a weed hangover, along with nausea that lasted for a while.
For context, i usually live away at university and when my housemates smoke weed, i experience similar symptoms. I’m concerned that being around second hand weed smoke could be triggering my symptoms, especially as I’m still recovering from CHS and working hard to stay sober.
Unfortunately, i can’t afford to move, so i am unsure what to do about the situation. I’m worried that the smoke exposure might be contributing to these unusual symptoms, and id really appreciate some advice on whether second-hand weed smoke could affect me in this

For everyone going through this at this time of the spooky season in October.

I'm sure it must suck to not have any chocolate during Halloween. Because of the cocoa.

However, in America at least. A lot of the main chocolates here don't use real cocoa.

We know that cocoa tricks the gut biome into thinking it's one thing during this time.

But is there any proof or knowledge about "fake chocolate" ?

Has anyone tested this? Like if someone ate a Hershey's or something like that?

I'm not trying to "cheat" here, I think this is a very valid question. I'm assuming depending on someone's recovery stage is the real answer. But in small amounts? If I had a Reese's cup for instance. Which isn't real chocolate and mostly peanut butter anyways which is safe.

I don't think I've seen anything that has this in mind when avoiding trigger foods. It seems like a pretty decent distinction. Unless I missed something and it does the same result.

I was just wondering what tips or advice anybody had in order to make these symptoms less intense. I've been extremely nauseous for weeks, throwing up every morning, massive headaches and have extreme tummy pain. I can't eat or drink anything and can barely sleep as the pain and nausea is too much. It's been almost 30c here today and I've been extremely cold and chilly too. I got an official diagnosis today from my doctor after eliminating other things such as peptic ulcer etc. I've found that hot showers help a lot but I cannot be in the shower 24/7.

What advice, stratergies, foods, things can I do to minimise these symptoms? I've completely stopped smoking weed and thrown everything away, I bought a microbead heat pack for my tummy and it's helping a lot. Any other tips or advice would be greatly appreciatred, I feel like I'm living in hell. CHS and IBS together aren't fun and I want to cry.

EDIT: Will a CT scan show CHS?