I didn’t know where else to post this, so I’m hoping I can get some help or insight!
To give some back story I have been smoking (mj) about every day for three months (before this I only smoked about ten times in my life, I’m not a long term user), my dad and my younger sister are type one diabetics. I have been constantly ill for about a month and a half maybe even two months. Constant naseua, constant back and lower stomach pain/cramping, threw up maybe once or twice in the span of me being sick, urine retention (difficulty peeing), constantly tired/out of breath, close to no sleep, dizziness and feelings like I’m going to pass out, forgetting almost everything, but the biggest symptom I’m having is I can’t eat. My stomach is full after a few bites; I’ve lost over 10lb which I can’t afford because I was already underweight, was 106lb now I’m 94lb, 5’3.
I’ve been to the doctors once so far to have blood work taken and all I know so far is I have major vitamin deficiencies; which was expected as I haven’t been able to eat really anything for almost two months. I also am not pregnant.
I’ve researched about CHS, but I’m not a long term user. I’ve also looked into Gastroparesis as type one diabetes does run in my family and my sister developed an early stage of Gastroparesis before, but I don’t really have issues using the bathroom.
I know you guys aren’t doctors and I will be getting further testing, but I’m really just looking for someone to relate to or give me some kind of clue as to what’s going on. It’s been very debilitating and I can’t even work because of how awful I feel on a daily basis. I know this was a lot to read but if you took the time I genuinely appreciate it!
This a major clue that it might be gastroparesis. GP can be present without all of the GP symptoms. My major issue was nausea. Your Doctor should request a stomach emptying test which will measure how quick food leaves your stomach and is used to help determine a diagnosis.
How long have you had diabetes, what have your A1C’s been and what has your overall control looked like?
I am a pediatric nurse and have seen many teens/college kids hospitalized with extensive GI medical work ups all to reveal they have cannabis hyperemesis. which I think is really a diagnosis of exclusion, since all of the diagnostic tests usually are negative. But gastroparesis can be caused by CHS. What I’ve seen is not related necessarily to the length of time you’ve been using but to the frequency. And most of the patients I’ve seen are in denial about the cause. I wouldn’t convince yourself that it’s not related and most doctors don’t even know about it and for those doc’s that do know, most patients don’t tell their doctor they’ve been using everyday.
Most kids I see with this are using marijuana to self medicate for stress, anxiety, etc. So if that’s your story maybe seeking help to manage those things in a different way and stop smoking. And have your doctor help you also with supportive care for your symptoms.
I’m glad you got some pediatric nurse info there.
From more of a layman’s perspective, we all know that MJ effects hunger, so if I was smoking it and having gastric problems, the first thing I would do is stop smoking for a month.
You might find your symptoms improve.
If you feel like you can’t quit, you can get treatment for it.
A lot of people smoke now. I live in California where it is legal to use recreationally. So there is a huge increase in the ER s for all kinds of cannabis issues.
I hope you can get this figured out soon, you won’t be able to smoke at all if you get sick enough to be hospitalized.
I totally agree. I stopped smoking nicotine and weed today and I’m gonna try my best to stay off for atleast a month to see if that’s the root of my problems. I have an appointment tomorrow for more bloodwork and tests so we will see what happens.
Yeah I’m trying to avoid as much of the extensive research as possible. It sounds like that could my issue then because I have been smoking it every day for about three months. I’m going to cut it off for awhile to see if it helps and if it does then I’ll go back to only using it as a fun thing here and there. I wasn’t exactly trying to “self medicate” but I was smoking HIGH percentage dispensary stuff and using it every day as a crutch. After doing a lot of research I think I may have a form of dysautonomia with all of the crazy symptoms I’ve been getting, but I think the smoking nicotine and marijuana are causing everything to amplify and may even CAUSE some of my reactions! I included a picture of the symptoms of been showing.
Is any of this vaping? My high-school age daughter immediately wacked out on too much nicotine repeatedly and had almost all the same symptoms you are reporting but times 5.
We took her to the ER and they pretty quickly clued on that she had done crazy amount of vaping without her ever admitting or realizing it. I’m not an expert on smoking anything myself but I get the impression from the docs that vaping leaves you almost completely unaware of how much quantity is entering your bloodstream.