r/CHSinfo

27 y/o male here. I’ve been using THC for about 2.5–3 years, mostly carts because they’re discreet. I know I shouldn’t only do carts, but my wife doesn’t like me smoking, so carts have been my go-to. It’s easier than concealing the odor from sparking up a joint or packing a bowl.

This past Thursday I ended up in the hospital. I woke up around 6 AM with a migraine on the left side of my head (I get them 2–3 times a month), then shortly after started vomiting everything I’d eaten the day before. Normally I throw up once with a migraine and I’m done, but this time it just wouldn’t stop. Eventually I was only bringing up bile, couldn’t even keep water down, and went through cycles of intense dry heaving, sweating, feeling clammy, getting a few minutes of relief, then starting all over again.

I think it could be CHS, but everything I’ve read online—and even posts in this subreddit—has me questioning it. This isn’t the first time I’ve had an episode like this. The first time, I had no idea CHS existed and went right back to smoking. The second time, I found out about CHS and quit for about six months. Eventually I smoked again and… nothing happened. I was completely fine, so I slowly started using again. I recently moved to a state where THCA is legal, so I went back to using carts pretty regularly.

What confuses me is how quickly I recovered. On Thursday I was in the hospital hooked up to IVs getting Zofran, promethazine, and pain meds because I couldn’t stop vomiting. By that evening—about 12–14 hours after it started—I was feeling much better. The next day I was eating a light BRAT diet, and by the day after that I was basically back to normal.

Everything I’ve read says CHS episodes usually last days, not half a day. Has anyone here experienced CHS that resolved this quickly, or does this sound more like a stomach bug that happened to coincide with my cannabis use?

I’d love to keep smoking, but I’m honestly afraid of going through something like that again because it was absolute hell. I’d really appreciate any opinions from people who’ve experienced CHS themselves.

20 year old male, been smoking weed consistently for 2.5 years and starting smoking daily this summer, usually only at night though. 2-3 days ago I had like very slight nausea during the day with less appetite, no big deal, ended up drinking that night and then nausea got bad. The next morning I have bad nausea for hours, it goes away but comes back after I nap. I decide to skip weed that night. The next morning I have the same morning nausea but I don’t get the evening flare up after my nap anymore. I know it’s only been legit 2 days of morning nausea but I’m anxious af man

I had my first episode of non stop vomiting when I was 19 in 2012. It eventually got to the point where I would have one or two episodes a month of non stop vomiting and going to the ER and feeling like i was dying. I was diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome at about 21-22. I kept smoking. I eventually got hooked on opiates at 22-23 and stopped smoking just because all my money was going to percocets and then I eventually moved to heroin and fentanyl. Ive been clean off drugs for a little over 2 years. The only reason I figured out I had chs is because when I quit smoking because I wasnt buying it anymore and my episodes stopped happening and I eventually figured it out. I still have cravings of opiates every once in awhile when I can't sleep even after 2 years. Im in a state where its legal to grow weed. Im currently growing a couple plants of a cbd strain that is only about 4 percent thc because i want to smoke a night once or twice a month when I have cravings to keep me from relapsing. My question is, since I havent smoked in well over 7 years and if I smoke once or twice a month with very low thc cannabis, do you think the chs will come back. I know I wont go back to smoking everyday. I just realized once how much smoking can help when I have these cravings. My counselor at my addiction center said these cravings can last for up to 3 years or so. I only get them at night once or twice a month but I absolutely hate them. I was just hoping to get some info on my situation and if anyone thinks chs will come back since its been almost 8 years since ive smoked and if I smoke a very low thc strain at most twice a month. Thanks for anyone who helps!!

I am 183 days sober from smoking weed.

I really never thought I would get to a point of not smoking ever again. Hell I even figured out how to smoke when I was in different countries. In the times I’d stop smoking for up to a couple weeks my withdraw was never very serious, mostly just a loss in appetite for a couple days. I always thought I could quit if I wanted to, but that there wasn’t any reason to since it wasn’t interfering with my school performance or personal life. Still, I never really wanted to come to terms with my emotional/social attachment to pot though. That’s the side of substance dependency most people like to avoid.

My background:

I grew up in a pot growing family, and became a daily smoker by 14. For almost nine years I smoked weed heavily. Bong rips mornings, afternoons, and nights. A period of rolling up to 8 blunts a day. Dabs. Carts. Joints.

For me it was both medicinal and social. I struggle with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, etc that made me turn to smoking. As my mental health worsened I would smoke more. I always preferred sativa dominant strains because it made me feel energetic, happier, and more capable of getting through the day. Growing up in California meant it was a big social activity for me and my friends too. I was also a straight A student with a good head on my shoulders so I never saw any issue with my daily use, and eventually neither did my parents who also smoke daily.

Where my journey to CHS diagnosis begins:

When I was in high school there were maybe 2 instances when I was hung over and cyclically vomited for hours. I just thought those were bad hangovers, but they were probably an early warning sign of CHS.

About 5 years ago I got my belly button pierced and I passed out for the first time in my life. On my way home I ended up throwing up and that triggered another cyclical vomiting event. That moment was a turning point for my awareness that something was changing with my health. A few months later I passed out again, and was starting to become concerned that there was something seriously wrong.

Over the course of those past five years I had episodes of cyclical vomiting, resulting in hospitalization, roughly twice a year. Each and every episode it was not directly linked to pot smoking, so I didn’t make the connection. (Nor did I want to). Sometimes it was car sickness turned cyclical vomiting, hangovers turned cyclical vomiting, medication/anesthesia turned cyclical vomiting. Basically each trigger was random/ not smoking related at all. Sometimes it would even be 12+ hours or even days after the last time I smoked.

TW: emetophobia (description of episode in paragraph below)

Each of my episodes would last 6-12+ hours with vomiting every 10-30 minutes to the point where I’d eventually empty all my bile and just dry heave. I would get sick, become cold, lie down, get hot, get sick again. It would become so painful and excruciating that I would be wailing in the hospital begging for help. Doctors would administer up to the allowed dose of zofran and it wouldn’t work sometimes. They’d give me a cocktail of migraine meds, anti-anxiety meds, and nausea suppressant and it wouldn’t still continue for hours. Even during the start of episodes if I’d take zofran as soon as possible it wouldn’t kick in fast enough before the next cycle hit. I became a pro at managing the episodes and doing what I could to make it stop. No water for at least an hour after the last time I get sick. Ice chips to start after over an hour. BRAT diet for next 24-48 hours. But so frequently I’d still end up in the hospital due to dehydration.

I never once got nauseated or sick directly after smoking weed. This is the biggest reason it took me a long time to come to terms with this diagnosis (and I honestly still am). People that I knew that ‘clearly’ had CHS were those that threw up/ greened out right after smoking. I always wrote it off as something else because I wasn’t informed that cyclical vomiting can still be a result of CHS hours, days, weeks after last smoking.

I naturally developed emetophobia because of the trauma of these episodes. I start to panic when I get nauseous, or if I’d see someone else get sick. I was very fearful but also too young and turnt to commit myself to lifestyle changes (lol).

I was so embarrassed and humiliated each time it got to the point of hospitalization. Especially when alcohol was the trigger and I’d only had 2-3 drinks. I knew I could handle my liquor (I don’t get drunk easily at all) so I’d always feel blindsided by the disproportionate reaction my body was having. I felt immense guilt and shame because of the burden it placed on my parents, and occasionally friends. The attitude from doctors made it worse too. Like I was some idiot who got over served. I felt like they never listened to me and it always bothered me when they’d say it was CHS and I’d have to explain I didn’t smoke that night, or it was hours/days after smoking. Nobody cared to explain to me how complicated CHS was.

I was also told a lot of conflicting information that made me further reject the idea of it being CHS. Since the episodes were sporadic and I’d end up going to different hospitals I was told a lot of other theories. I was told it could be a form of stomach migraine. I thought this was a likely answer since I do experience migraines sometimes. I was told CVS (cyclically vomiting syndrome) can sometimes be idiopathic. I would just experience this sometimes for no apparent reason. I thought that was possible too, since I’d always had a sensitive stomach, extreme vulnerability to motion sickness etc. and the episodes appeared random with different triggers. (Like I would drink more heavily one night and wake up totally fine, but then one night a year would trigger an episode). It was hard to pinpoint.

My last episode was on Thanksgiving. Too much food, a couple drinks, and smoking earlier in the day. I threw up at home for 5 hours and ended up in the hospital at 4am, determined for this to be the last time. After years of suffering and questioning things on my own, I was finally able to arrange an appointment with a gastroenterologist. The appointment was set for February of this year so I decided I wanted to go into that appointment with several possible triggers contained. So I started to wean off smoking and drinking so by the time the new year started I could fully abstain from both. By the time I had my appointment I was over a month without drinking or smoking.

My appointment with the GI is when FINALLY a doctor properly explained the nuances of CHS to me. She explained that CVS doesn’t have to come immediately after smoking, and that rather the various causes (drinking, meds, car rides) are triggers for the underlying destabilization of my vomiting reflex (caused by cannabis).

She told me that it would need to be at least 6 months no smoking for cannabis to no longer be in my bloodstream and for her to make a proper diagnosis. Basically if I cyclically vomited after that point then maybe it was something other than CHS. I slowly started drinking (socially, 1-2 drinks on occasional weekends) again and never got a crazy cyclical vomiting episode again. I’ve thrown up in a normal way twice from drinking since I quit smoking. (by normal I mean one and done rather than disproportionate and endlessly). I haven’t been hospitalized since Thanksgiving.

I’m officially two days over the 6 month mark and I think it’s safe to say it was in fact CHS. I haven’t had my follow up appointment yet (expensive, health insurance changes, the fact it takes months to schedule) but it became clear within 2 months of stopping smoking that weed was in fact the underlying cause.

I reallyyyy hated to admit it, and it’s still hard when I live in such a pro-pot family and surround myself by stoners. But it’s gotten a lot easier. Now I think about my health first and I no longer miss or crave it as much. Ive already gotten through some challenging days. My first birthday in years without smoking. I even attended 420 as a sober person lol. I guess I still hope that maybe some day in the future I could smoke on special occasions but I definitely don’t see myself ever going back to smoking in the way I used to. I’m also okay with the possibility of never going back to smoking either.

I know this is such a TLDR ass post but if you did read, thank you. I hope this at least reaches one person who might be in a similar situation who maybe continues to disbelieve the possibility of it being CHS because they were uninformed on how it truly works or how long it can stay in your system and be triggered by other things.

Anyways the grass is a lot greener on the other side, even though there is no more grass🥲. At least I’m saving a lot of money on weed and hospital bills!

While I am not asking for medical advice nor a professional opinion, I am curious as to if anyone has been diagnosed with CHS and been able to quit weed for a period of time to let the body heal before getting back into it.

Ive been doing weed for a few months and I have recently upped my Cannabis use and seen symptoms of CHS in the early stages. Today I have chosen to make the best choice for myself and work towards healing before smoking again to best preserve my health. I am optimistic that in the future (after having healed) I will be able to get back into the occasional use of Cannabis.

Let me know your thoughts, opinions and experiences or any tips you have for increasing recovery time. And to those experiencing the same thing, Hope you all heal in the near future!

Hi, i'm pretty certain I was in prodromal stage of CHS for the past few months. was experiencing morning nausea, stomach pain, and most noticeably I was almost constantly burping. I'm now 1 month clean of weed, and my nausea has almost completely cleared. However, i'm still burping just as much as I was before recovery. Those with burping as a symptom, how long did it take to go away after quitting? Thanks!

I had a question regarding the stages of CHS because tbh outside of this subreddit i cant find much information about this specifically. But what qualifies as entering hyperemesis im not too sure if i have hit a stage 2 i am a heavy smoker i often experience nausea in the mornings sometimes it causes me to throw up. I also have trouble eating without smoking. I most recently stopped because a few hours after smoking one day i started throwing up around 6pm about 4 times and then stopped. The next day i did not vomit but felt nausea. The day after that i woke up, nausea. I vomited but only once at 7 and then had stomach cramping and consistent waves and dehydration until about 3pm. I drank liquid iv which was the only reason i think i didn’t take a trip to the ER. Today i have woken up and thrown up again at 7 again. Compared to others experiences i feel as if mine is very flip floppy i also feel that there are others out there that experienced way more bouts of vomiting than me so im not sure where im at.

I’ve been smoking live rosin/resin carts for 11 months straight everyday now and I’ve been starting to get worse and worse CHS morning symptoms as the summers started. Over the last 3 days I’ve gone from smoking in the morning and throughout the day to only smoking after 9pm and I’ve reduced my intake from about 10-15 hits to 8 then 6 then 5 over the last 3 days. I’m wondering does anyone know if continuing to reduce my intake help with my symptoms or am I going to have to quit completely for a few days?

my bf (24m) is currently going through his fifth chs episode and i honestly just wanted to share our story because i think we always hear from the person with chs, but not so much from the partner taking care of them.

he started smoking daily around 16 and, besides a few tolerance breaks that never lasted more than a month, weed has basically been part of his everyday life ever since.

after every single episode he would tell me “never again”. and i truly believed him every time because after days of nonstop vomiting, hospital visits, iv fluids and not being able to eat, who wouldn’t? but after enough time passed and life felt normal again, he slowly went back to smoking until he consumed enough to end up in hyperemesis again (always lasted 10-12 days).

this is now the fifth time i’ve watched it happen.

i love this man so much. that’s why i stayed up for nights making sure he was still breathing, cooking soups and safe foods, making fruit purees, rubbing his feet because it was one of the only things that relaxed him, wiping him after vomiting, washing his hair while he sat in the bathtub, helping pay for iv fluids because he couldn’t keep anything down, constantly checking if he was dehydrated, researching medications and trying to make every single day a little easier for him.

i don’t regret taking care of him.

what i do struggle with is the guilt i’ve been feeling because after five episodes i realized i’ve built up some resentment towards the situation.

not towards him as a person. but towards this cycle.
every time he said he was done forever, i believed it. every time i hoped this would be the last time i’d have to watch someone i love suffer like that. every time i hoped i wouldn’t have to become nurse, cook, cleaner, researcher and caregiver all over again.

i’ve cried in secret because i didn’t want him to feel guilty while he was already so sick.

if you’re reading this and you have chs, please know that the people around you are usually suffering too. not in the same way, but they are carrying a lot. they love you enough to do it, but it takes a toll.

and if you’re a partner or caregiver reading this, i just want to tell you that it’s okay to feel exhausted. it’s okay if you’re scared every time they say they’ll smoke “just once”. it’s okay if you feel guilty for being frustrated. loving someone and feeling worn down by the situation can exist at the same time.

i really hope this is finally the last episode. i hope one day we can both look back at this as something we survived together instead of something we’re destined to repeat.
to everyone currently going through chs, whether you’re the one vomiting or the one sitting beside the bathtub holding their hand, i’m genuinely wishing you strength. i wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

my last joint was on may 23rd, the day all this started for me. since then i've been throwing up on and off, but when i did research it said vomiting episodes last 24-72 hours. is this normal for chs or could it be something else?

Longtime cannabis smoker (13-42, currently) quit last year because of bad CHS episode and diagnosis. Got back into it, became a problem again.

Today's my first full day without anything. Been thru this ringer before. Hungry, can't eat anything, trouble drinking, ER visits, some ER Ativan and saline and sent back home.

Right Now I'm close to feeling as shitty as I did last year, just squirming around not able to get calm, yakked a few times already. Anyone have any quick fix remedies to get out of this? It's a long shot but I'm desperate right now. I'm doing the tapping and some breathing exercises to no avail just yet. I need to be done with this stuff forever man

Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!! We'll all get through this

Cannoli

Does anyone know if terpenes will cause a reaction? I just bought a blue lotus vape from Bliss Market Wellness. It’s advertised as completely THC and CBD free online. When I received it, the ingredients state it’s Blue Lotus but also contains cannabis derived terpenes. Anyone know if this is still safe or should I return it? I have personally had luck smoking Blue Lotus flower in the past or making tea out of it but I don’t want to push my luck.

Hey sub! It’s been exactly 4 months since my first (and last) CHS episode and I’m now 4 months sober from weed. Trigger foods no longer bother me, I’m eating well again, and overall quality of life is great!

I’m going to a festival with some friends over the weekend and I’ve been feeling so left out of everything by not being able to drink and now smoke especially. I definitely don’t want to risk any progress so honest answers only please but what is everyone’s experience with alcohol after you’ve recovered? I’d only be interested in trying one drink, maybe a seltzer, to at least blend in for an hour lol.

i’ve had roughly 5 episodes (i know it’s bad) and each time afterwards my period gets delayed for a few weeks to a month. sometimes i have spotting in episodes. anyone else?

I started smoking daily my Junior year of college. Well, nightly.

I never felt like I really smoked THAT much. Just one session at the end of the day. A dry herb vaporizor that I never filled up even half way to its capacity.

By age 26 I started feeling anxious when I smoked. Quit for a month, tried to smoke again, and it felt better.

Then about 8 months of smoking nightly later, I started getting this tight feeling on the left side of my chest when I smoked. And not just when I smoked. Any amount of nicotine or caffeine gave me that uncomfortable tightness. I quit weed for 3 weeks, and the tightness did NOT get better at all.

Went to a doctor, got EKG exams, went to a cardiologist and got bloodwork done, wore a heart monitor for a week, tried beta blockers, 3 different kinds of acid reflux meds. Nothing helped and the doctors said nothing seemed wrong with me.

So I started smoking again. And about a year later, it started to bother me less. Even when I was smoking. I thought whatever it was, maybe it was going away for good.

Well, in April of this year the chest tightness came back. Really bad. Kept smoking up to June 10 and then decided it was so unpleasant that it wasn’t worth doing anymore.

Haven’t had weed in 3 weeks. No withdrawal symptoms. Not even any insomnia in the first few days. Goes to show you how LITTLE I was smoking.

I don’t feel any better. My chest still feels tight periodically througout the day and every time I have coffee or tea or nicotine.

Everyone with CHS seems to have nausea. I never felt nauseous with weed ever.

If this is CHS, how long do you have to quit THC before the symptom improved??

Hey guys, so after 10 months of quitting weed, I started smoking like three months ago (my mental health just couldn’t take it anymore) and to add to my mistake i I found a shop near my house which sells those goddamn pens (jungle-boys) which is about 70% pure plant.To be honest guys these 3 months I was using it like crazy like I never ever stopped like it didn’t almost kill me last year. The really crazy thing is that from the moment I started using the pens they plant was not hitting as it used to and I couldn’t believe it.Needles to say for 35€ a pen I spent everything I had on those things(about one or one and a half pens a freaking day..ISN’T THAT CRAZY) which ofc lead to being the only thing in my mind,you know the feeling “if I don’t get at least two hits nothing mattered” such an addict mindset and I thought i could control it. Long story short I got in hyperemesis in about 3 months,I suffered,everyone around me suffered, I thank god to be honest that it happened again because it shook me so so bad especially dissapointing my mother which I love so much ❤️.With the help of a psychiatrist I managed to stand up on my feet in about four days, but for those four days I suffered so so much, I don’t wish it upon anyone , but you know what it had its circle with me and
I wanna live a clean life,a good life with nothing in my mind thinking “oh if I don’t smoke,what’s the point?”
No that’s not the right way, last year unfortunately was a very bad year for me besides the harshest episode I ever lived and I was fighting my demons for 5 freaking months in such a depressive state.Now what to i do?
I WILL LIVE MY FREAKING LIFE WITH ITS GODDAMN UPS AND DOWNS,I ll do anything in my power to find the real me,even if it means I’ll walk alone but god has given me such amazing people in my life to help me with anything so I won’t disappoint them.I now know for good that my body isn’t made for it and I am glad because it was controlling me and made me dull in life.
To everyone out there with chs trust me you guys if you don’t control it now it will eventually control you.Ofc I don’t judge anyone who does it’s just that it feels so good realising who you really are,ITS YOUR DECISION if you wanna live life to the fullest.I think everyone here wishes they had a Time Machine so they could warn their younger self’s for what it’s about to come,and whoever said to me when I was 16 that the plant isn’t addictive oh this oh that F*C* YOU,I was so happy when I was young and I really thought I was controlling it.MANNNN F*C* that plant ,I respect it helps millions of people but goddamn I AM GLAD I GOT YOU OUT OF LIFE ONCE AGAIN AND I SWEAR FROM NOW I WILL RAWDOG THIS AWESOME LIFE BECAUSE NOW AM 24 AND WANNA EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING ❤️
good luck to everyone who can’t take it,stop it because in our case it’s a never-ending cycle and you never know where you might end up.. both knowing you will not end up in a good place.FIND THE STRENGTH TO PROTECT YOUR FUTURE SELF FROM PAST WRONG DECISIONS ITS NEVER LATE IF YOU
DONT. GIVE. UP. (we are all humans in the end of the day and we make mistakes,You my friend reading this,you’re built for greatness it’s just a plant,move on it never really helped you in anything you couldn’t handle yourself or at least thats my opinion!)
#Cheers

Hi there I am looking for the opinion of people who have had at least one episode, and who drank well within the 90 day recovery period. I had an episode two weeks ago and have had zero symptoms since coming out of hospital, other than maybe slight ccasional soreness when tummy is empty.

However, I have a holiday booked for a few days time and wondering if I could have a few beers or something and not be triggered? It's hard enough being in withdrawals after making the tough decision of compete cessation smoking cannabis (after 12 years daily use) without also having to stop alcohol, chocolate, caffine etc it feels very restrictive and limited and I dont feel as though I will enjoy the holiday at all if I cannot even relax with a simple drink.

Has anyone here had alcohol within 2 or 3 weeks of an episode and if so, were you able to tolerate it? I also can't cancel the holiday. Any help appreciated, please share your experience.

I (26M) got high for the first time summer of 2022 with no prior use of any kind, this was edibles. Didn’t
again until new years that year (smoked flower), and then bought my first disposable around summer 2023. Used pretty regularly until late 2024, then quit. Smoked on vacation of summer 2025, and then bought disposables from about October 2025 until early June this year when I had what was ultimately decided as a CHS episode. In my most recent use period, it was chronic as could be. Wake up, hit, and hit before I go to bed with plenty in between.

Seeing as most people with CHS were using for much longer periods of time, and seeing as I’m on vacation with someone who smokes regularly, I’m curious to know if anyone had insight about me using again. I don’t plan to, unless there’s an overwhelming amount of stories of people who had success returning (big doubt), but just want some insight since I feel I wasn’t using for that long. Thanks and all comments are appreciated.

Since quitting, has anyone experienced feeling nauseas at simply the thought of weed? If I have a craving, I almost immediately start feeling like I’m about to yack until I make the conscious decision not to smoke.

I had my last chs episode 2 years ago and have not touched any cannabis products since then at all, I am talking to someone right now who uses carts and smokes daily. Is kissing them a concern for episodes or possibly giving me symptoms(referring to making out not just a peck)?