My daughter was diagnosed a week into her first week at University of Oregon with Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome. She had been sick for a year with chronic vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite. We’d taken her to a Gastro doctor, a neurologist, and she was in therapy. We knew the marijuana use was a contributing factor but it was something that very slowly got worse and we didn’t realize quite how seriously sick she was. A week after starting her first year of college, she called crying that she couldn’t stop vomiting. Couldn’t even leave the dorm bathroom. We had her taken to the Emergency Room where she was officially diagnosed with CHS and told that if she didn’t quit, she would continue to be sick, that it was not sustainable and that it would kill her. She was severely dehydrated, malnourished and had lost over 30 pounds in a year. She did not have bulimia, and was not anorexic but she definitely had an eating disorder brought on by weed. She was also diagnosed with AFRID (avoidance food restrictive intake disorder) which was brought on by the extreme loss of appetite caused by CHS which led to her only being able to tolerate a few select, very specific foods. I flew out that day and it took a week in a hotel room, getting her through withdrawal before she was stable enough to handle a 2 hour flight home. She withdrew from college for the first term but was able to return to school for term 2. I feel very grateful that we were able to get her the help she needed, although it was barely in time.
I’m so sorry about your son. I admire your strength in telling your story. Unless someone has experienced the insidious side effects of weed, it’s assumed to be an innocent drug like alcohol, but like alcohol, it affects everyone differently, and it can be very dangerous.