After some consideration I have decided to write about has been, and is the matter with my youngest son. As you will see this is not something I feel particular good about, but if we can help one other person not go through what he has had to endure ,and may well have to for another three weeks, then it's worth writing about.
He has not been given his diagnosis by the hospital, they are clueless about what has caused this endless vomiting. The gastroscopy was clear, as I knew it would be. The blood tests are all negative, as I knew they would be. It's been put down to an infection that has miraculously cleared itself, three times.... yeah right!
So what is the matter with him? Well it's called Cannabinoid hyperemesis, which means unstoppable vomiting after the long term and chronic use of cannabis.
I was put onto this syndrome by my friend who's just come back from Australia, where her friends had told her about it. And just by chance the first night A was in hospital I was due to go round for supper to hear all about her holiday. Instead she told me what she knew. This was followed by my eldest son and my sister looking it up on the computer.
The symptoms are muscle spasm, followed by reflux, followed by uncontrollable vomiting. Only eased by the taking of endless hot baths or showers to help relax the body. The sufferer does not respond to anti-emetics as away to stop the vomiting. All three times A has been ill, this is what he has done, up to 10/15 times a day. There are no other symptoms. There is no cure, except waiting for the cannabis to work it's way out of his body. And then never to take it again..... YES!!!!!!
The only reason to go to hospital is to rehydrate the body. Of course, the hospital as it doesn't know about this syndrome, did not connect what I was saying about A coming of the cannabis twice as having any relevance.
These 'attacks' come on for no food reason, he could eat curry or a milk pudding, he could keep either down of throw either up, it is all to do with his muscles spasming.
I obviously by now have read up all there is on the computer about this syndrome, and am therefore as informed as anyone can be about it. I have looked up cannabis sights, which discuss the vomiting associated with cannabis, and the general opinion from them is that it takes 30 days to get out of the system. But I also know that when I was married, my first husband worked in a profession that did random drug testing and he always said that it was six weeks to leave the body. This means that the 30 days are up next Tuesday or there is another further two weeks on top of that he could get another onslaught of this vomiting.
I am however taking action so that he does start hypervomiting again I can give him some stuff to relax him outside of the hot baths, which might mean that he'll be able to keep the fluids done long enough to stay hydrated, and therefore not need another bloody hospital admission.
This syndrome is as yet, apart from one article in the BMJ ( British medical journal) which sighted the work done in Australia, is not known about in the UK. It will in time of course become known I believe. As I think more and more people will present with this hyperememsis and some bright spark will start connecting the dots.I
think because the strength of cannabis is increasing, that more people when they try to come off the damned stuff will find their bodies going through this.
And make no mistake, chances are that if your child lives in the UK he or she will try cannabis, whatever they say to you. I have known for years that A. smoked it, but I also knew who amongst his friends also smoked it,as he told me! Their parents didn't and don't, and wouldn't believe that their little darlings would do such a thing.
Of course there could be people thinking that I'm just saying that cause of what has happened to my son and I'm trying to spread the blame. I don't think that is true, I just know that most of the people in the two high schools in this town have tried it. And I live in a sleepy little town which takes a while to catch up with the big city boys.
What I'd like to happen now is the word to be spread,it is a horrible way to learn that you can't smoke cannabis again, and such a serious and frightening lesson that any sufferer would be an absolute fool to try.
And fortunately my son is not that.
Ok I know the picture is a poppy, but I don't strangely have any pics of cannabis plants!!!
