Boston hospital warning of serious cannabis side effect
Boston hospital warning of serious cannabis side effect
Updated: 4:36 PM EDT Jul 7, 2023
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EFFECT. WE SEE A LOT OF COLLEGE KIDS AROUND HERE, A GASTROENTEROLOGIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER IN BOSTON, DR. STRANGE HEARS PEOPLE COMPLAIN EVERY DAY ABOUT FEELING SICK TO THEIR STOMACH. BUT HE SAYS THE YOUNGER PATIENTS HE STARTED SEEING WERE DIFFERENT. THEY HAD WEEKS AND MONTHS OF NAUSEA, VOMITING, SYMPTOMS, AND THEY WERE OTHERWISE HEALTHY. SINCE DOCTORS TYPICALLY WANT TO KNOW A PATIENT’S SOCIAL HISTORY, HE WOULD ASK, DO YOU SMOKE? DO YOU DRINK ALCOHOL? DO YOU USE CANNABIS PRODUCTS? AND MOST PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY FAIRLY FRANK ABOUT TELLING ME WHAT WHAT THEY DO. SO THEY TOLD HIM A LOT OF POTS FOR A LONG TIME. THAT’S WHEN DR. YOUNG THOUGHT CANNABIS HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME OR CSE. THE SYMPTOMS PEOPLE EXPERIENCE ARE NAUSEA, VOMITING AND STRANGE SYMPTOM WHERE THEY FEEL BETTER AFTER THEY TAKE HOT SHOWERS. DOCTORS STILL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT THE CONDITION AND WHETHER IT CAUSES ANY LONG TERM EFFECTS. THAT’S BECAUSE CSE HAS ONLY BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A DIAGNOSIS SINCE 2004. PATIENTS TEND TO DEVELOP THIS AFTER USING CANNABIS FOR YEARS AND YEARS. IT’S NOT SOMETHING YOU’RE GOING TO GET AFTER USING IT OCCASIONALLY OR ONCE OR TWICE. A RECENT STUDY FOUND 6% OF PEOPLE WHO VISITED AN E.R. FOR VOMITING EPISODES WERE LATER DIAGNOSED WITH CSE. BUT TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM IN BOSTON, DR. JUNJIE AND HIS COLLEAGUES REVIEWED TUFTS ADMISSIONS RECORDS AND FOUND NEARLY ALL HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR OCCURRED AFTER LEGAL IZATION. PATIENTS WERE NOT ONLY PRESENTING MORE COMMONLY AFTER 2016, BUT THEY WERE PRESENTING WITH MORE SEVERE SYMPTOMS. AND ONE THEORY IS THAT IT’S BECAUSE THE DRUG ITSELF HAS CHANGED. PEOPLE ARE USING IT, MORE PEOPLE HAVE MORE ACCESS TO IT, AND THE POTENCY OF THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT, THC, HAS INCREASED TREMENDOUSLY IN THE LAST 2 OR 3 YEARS. THE SAME IS TRUE FOR COST. A REVIEW OF HOSPITAL RECORDS SHOWS A 150% INCREASE IN THE BILL FOR TREATING. IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE PATIENTS NEEDED TO STAY LONGER IN THE HOSPITAL AND THEY NEEDED VARIOUS DIFFERENT SERVICES. IN SOME CASES, SYMPTOMS CAN GET SO SEVERE THAT THEY ACTUALLY END UP IN THE ICU. RIGHT NOW, THERE’S ONLY ONE CURE. STOP USING CANNABIS. BUT DR. YANG SAYS THE REACTION TO HIS ADVICE IS MIXED. SOME PEOPLE WILL FEEL RELIEF THAT WE KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND THEY FEEL MOTIVATED TO STOP USING ANY SUBSTANCE THAT MIGHT BE DOING THIS. OTHER PEOPLE ARE CONVINCED THAT’S NOT THE CAUSE AND THEY TRY TO MEDICATE THEMSELVES BY USING MORE CANNABIS. THEN THEIR SYMPTOMS GET WORSE AND THEY CAN GET SICKER. YOU KNOW, DOCTOR JUNKY THAT YOU SAW THERE SAYS PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM NEED TO STOP USING CANNABIS PRODUCTS OR AT LEAST FOR AT LEAST A MONTH OR SO TO START FEELING BETTER. AND IF A PATIENT IS WORRIED ABOUT WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS, THERE ARE MEDICATIONS THAT CAN HELP.
Boston hospital warning of serious cannabis side effect
Updated: 4:36 PM EDT Jul 7, 2023
Cannabis has been legal to smoke, eat or vape since 2016. But since then, at least one Boston hospital says it’s diagnosing more people with a serious — and sobering — side effect.
Cannabis has been legal to smoke, eat or vape since 2016. But since then, at least one Boston hospital says it’s diagnosing more people with a serious — and sobering — side effect.
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