Aa
Pot warning ... extremely long post
I'm writing this in the hopes it may help someone & they can avoid going through what we've gone through. My 17-y/o son smokes pot. It's something I was very upset by & had argued about. My son is he is very honest & respectful. If I ask him something, he will answer honestly. And when he answered yes to my question of "Were you smoking?" he would answer yes despite knowing there would be some consequence.
In late July he got a sinus infection & had a bit of nausea. The doc gave him amoxicillin & the sinuses cleared up but still wasn't feeling great. Often nauseas & had a diminished appetite, though he was eating, drinking & still going to the gym & to the muay thai class he takes.
We went to the Cape for a long weekend, in part to see his girlfriend (who was his first love and unfortunately she broke up with him last week & he is so brokenhearted in addition to what's going on with him physically.) While at the Cape, he went off with her to do some things in town. He called me & said he was feeling really sick to his stomach & it was getting bad. I asked him if it was bad enough to see a doctor or should we wait until we got home, & he said he didn't want to home but there was an urgent care in town &we went there.
The doctor thought the nausea was related to the antibiotic, though I told her it had started before taking it. She told my son the pot probably was helping so don't stop that. (I'm like, "Really? Did you really just say that?" She suggested an OTC antacid, which we tried & it helped a little.
We get home & he's no better. The appetite is gone & he's not going out much. He's spending less time at the gym & the mixed martial arts class. We head back to the doctor a few days later & she suggests a change in the antacid & thinks the nausea is due to a combination of likely a stomach bug that was aggravated by the antibiotic. Through all this there wasn't much vomiting but the nausea was pretty much 24/7.
Now he's getting weaker & not eating much. He's still drinking fluids but is definitely looking unwell. Back to the pediatrician who now decides this is going on too long. She orders blood & stool samples & adds culturelle. That was last Thursday. By this point he's not eating but was still drinking fluids.
Friday morning things were worse; he couldn't even tolerate drinks. Took him to the ER. Within a 1/2 hour the doc admitted him. Blood & urine samples taken & nothing by mouth to give his stomach/bowels a rest & will get GI consult. Also had bad adominal pain. Was given Zofran IV for the nausea, though it didn't help as much. GI ordered a CT scan & endoscopy. I asked about something for pain but it seemed like no one wanted to prescribe anything. The pediatrician & GI agreed that Toradol was not an option due to possible stomach bleed. They felt a narcotic was no good due to bowel complaints. I was sort of aggravated because he was in a lot of pain & he's not a kid who complains. (As an aside, he told me he was planning to quit smoking pot on 9/4, the first day of school. I asked why wait & he said he wanted to enjoy the summer, etc. I did believe he wanted to stop on that date & he's always been a kid who when he says he's going to do something, he does it & he gives it his all.)
Saturday morning more IV Zofran & also gave him IV Ativan as he was increasingly nauseas, the pain was worse & he was definitely anxious. Ativan seemed to help the Zofran w/the nausea & for a few hours felt slightly better. The pain was bad & the doctor ordered a small dose of morphine. That helped a lot. The morphine wore off & now they're trying to get him to do the drink for the CT scan & the vomiting starts. The pain & nausea are back full force. The doc comes in with/the nurse. She's quite smug & had an attitude. She sits down & I ask what her plan was & was told again about the scan & endoscopy. I told her he was having trouble getting the drink down for the scan but he said he'd do his best. I asked what they would give him in the meantime for pain until we knew what was going on & was told she was not inclined to give any pain meds. I asked why & she very smugly told me he tested positive for marijuana. I told her I wasn't surprised & he had stated that in the ER. I was very clear that I had never approved of his smoking. I told her despite the positive pot screen, I felt he still needed a workup & help for the pain. She's still copping an attitude with me. I am worried, frustrated, and exhausted. She changed the Zofran to a stronger antacid & said he could have a dose of IV Ativan & melatonin to help him sleep. She stated the cause of all this was pot.
I was very surprised. I told her, in a nice way, I had never heard of that & I was under the impression, like a lot of people I think, that pot often helped nausea. She told me this is a very common thing, marijuana use causing the stomach trouble & in fact, they had four people inpatient for it this month.
A different doc saw him Sunday & he confirmed this illness was due to pot & it's getting more & more common. He felt the endoscopy would be the test that would tell us what was going on. He decided to let my son have some juice and could try some bland food and he was able to get a small amount of food down. The GI doctor came back & concurred this was likely due to pot use. By now I've done some research & though there's not a ton of info(that I could see that was current & there were different opinions about it but at this point I am convinced this is very real. My son was still doubting that he could become that ill due to pot use.)
Monday had endoscopy. That department confirms they're seeing more of this, mostly in males in the upper teen years to around age 30. Endoscopy showed substantial damage to esophagus & stomach. Was given a script for Prilosec &discharged. We get home & talk & he is still not convinced pot is the cause of. He's feeling better though still has some pain and slight nausea. He went out w/a friend & he felt really sick when he came home, nearly as bad as when he was admitted. Being a teen who knows everything, he had to test things out & he smoked a bit of pot while he was out. Now he has had a huge turnaround. He is convinced this illness was was at the very least exacerbated by the pot and most likely was the cause of it. He has told some of his friends (who of course don't believe it.) He told them he hopes none of them get sick like this and it is so not worth it.
Despite his pot smoking, he was a kid who was very anti-drug. He didn't consider pot to be a drug. My son drew a big distinction between pot & other drugs. Now he does believe that pot is dangerous & says if he had known, he never would have tried it. He has a long way to get his health back. This has scared him & I'm concerned for him as well.
He has to make big changes in his life. I wrote this because I'm sure lots of people don't know about it & even a lot of doctors are unaware of it. But it really did some serious damage to him. The GI doctor who did the endoscopy said he had severe esophagitis and severe gastritis and the damage she saw on endoscopy was consistent with what she has seen in other patients with this. (I think it's actually called cannabinoid vomiting syndrome.)
I hope anyone reading this understands how serious this can be. Smoking pot isn't as innocent as it seems. It has a lot more dangers than a lot of people thought.
In late July he got a sinus infection & had a bit of nausea. The doc gave him amoxicillin & the sinuses cleared up but still wasn't feeling great. Often nauseas & had a diminished appetite, though he was eating, drinking & still going to the gym & to the muay thai class he takes.
We went to the Cape for a long weekend, in part to see his girlfriend (who was his first love and unfortunately she broke up with him last week & he is so brokenhearted in addition to what's going on with him physically.) While at the Cape, he went off with her to do some things in town. He called me & said he was feeling really sick to his stomach & it was getting bad. I asked him if it was bad enough to see a doctor or should we wait until we got home, & he said he didn't want to home but there was an urgent care in town &we went there.
The doctor thought the nausea was related to the antibiotic, though I told her it had started before taking it. She told my son the pot probably was helping so don't stop that. (I'm like, "Really? Did you really just say that?" She suggested an OTC antacid, which we tried & it helped a little.
We get home & he's no better. The appetite is gone & he's not going out much. He's spending less time at the gym & the mixed martial arts class. We head back to the doctor a few days later & she suggests a change in the antacid & thinks the nausea is due to a combination of likely a stomach bug that was aggravated by the antibiotic. Through all this there wasn't much vomiting but the nausea was pretty much 24/7.
Now he's getting weaker & not eating much. He's still drinking fluids but is definitely looking unwell. Back to the pediatrician who now decides this is going on too long. She orders blood & stool samples & adds culturelle. That was last Thursday. By this point he's not eating but was still drinking fluids.
Friday morning things were worse; he couldn't even tolerate drinks. Took him to the ER. Within a 1/2 hour the doc admitted him. Blood & urine samples taken & nothing by mouth to give his stomach/bowels a rest & will get GI consult. Also had bad adominal pain. Was given Zofran IV for the nausea, though it didn't help as much. GI ordered a CT scan & endoscopy. I asked about something for pain but it seemed like no one wanted to prescribe anything. The pediatrician & GI agreed that Toradol was not an option due to possible stomach bleed. They felt a narcotic was no good due to bowel complaints. I was sort of aggravated because he was in a lot of pain & he's not a kid who complains. (As an aside, he told me he was planning to quit smoking pot on 9/4, the first day of school. I asked why wait & he said he wanted to enjoy the summer, etc. I did believe he wanted to stop on that date & he's always been a kid who when he says he's going to do something, he does it & he gives it his all.)
Saturday morning more IV Zofran & also gave him IV Ativan as he was increasingly nauseas, the pain was worse & he was definitely anxious. Ativan seemed to help the Zofran w/the nausea & for a few hours felt slightly better. The pain was bad & the doctor ordered a small dose of morphine. That helped a lot. The morphine wore off & now they're trying to get him to do the drink for the CT scan & the vomiting starts. The pain & nausea are back full force. The doc comes in with/the nurse. She's quite smug & had an attitude. She sits down & I ask what her plan was & was told again about the scan & endoscopy. I told her he was having trouble getting the drink down for the scan but he said he'd do his best. I asked what they would give him in the meantime for pain until we knew what was going on & was told she was not inclined to give any pain meds. I asked why & she very smugly told me he tested positive for marijuana. I told her I wasn't surprised & he had stated that in the ER. I was very clear that I had never approved of his smoking. I told her despite the positive pot screen, I felt he still needed a workup & help for the pain. She's still copping an attitude with me. I am worried, frustrated, and exhausted. She changed the Zofran to a stronger antacid & said he could have a dose of IV Ativan & melatonin to help him sleep. She stated the cause of all this was pot.
I was very surprised. I told her, in a nice way, I had never heard of that & I was under the impression, like a lot of people I think, that pot often helped nausea. She told me this is a very common thing, marijuana use causing the stomach trouble & in fact, they had four people inpatient for it this month.
A different doc saw him Sunday & he confirmed this illness was due to pot & it's getting more & more common. He felt the endoscopy would be the test that would tell us what was going on. He decided to let my son have some juice and could try some bland food and he was able to get a small amount of food down. The GI doctor came back & concurred this was likely due to pot use. By now I've done some research & though there's not a ton of info(that I could see that was current & there were different opinions about it but at this point I am convinced this is very real. My son was still doubting that he could become that ill due to pot use.)
Monday had endoscopy. That department confirms they're seeing more of this, mostly in males in the upper teen years to around age 30. Endoscopy showed substantial damage to esophagus & stomach. Was given a script for Prilosec &discharged. We get home & talk & he is still not convinced pot is the cause of. He's feeling better though still has some pain and slight nausea. He went out w/a friend & he felt really sick when he came home, nearly as bad as when he was admitted. Being a teen who knows everything, he had to test things out & he smoked a bit of pot while he was out. Now he has had a huge turnaround. He is convinced this illness was was at the very least exacerbated by the pot and most likely was the cause of it. He has told some of his friends (who of course don't believe it.) He told them he hopes none of them get sick like this and it is so not worth it.
Despite his pot smoking, he was a kid who was very anti-drug. He didn't consider pot to be a drug. My son drew a big distinction between pot & other drugs. Now he does believe that pot is dangerous & says if he had known, he never would have tried it. He has a long way to get his health back. This has scared him & I'm concerned for him as well.
He has to make big changes in his life. I wrote this because I'm sure lots of people don't know about it & even a lot of doctors are unaware of it. But it really did some serious damage to him. The GI doctor who did the endoscopy said he had severe esophagitis and severe gastritis and the damage she saw on endoscopy was consistent with what she has seen in other patients with this. (I think it's actually called cannabinoid vomiting syndrome.)
I hope anyone reading this understands how serious this can be. Smoking pot isn't as innocent as it seems. It has a lot more dangers than a lot of people thought.
this is a load of bulls--t. You may be clouded by the aspects of getting a potfree kid. It almost seems like this is the answer you wanted. Blame the pot. I do not smoke pot, I haven't in many years but I much rather see the young people of today do that then drink and drive. Moderation is key. Your son is probably not suffering from puke-the-pot disease. There is something going on please find out the real culprit. The area your in is so anti-drug they force patients to suffer in extreme pain, which can be even more dangerous. They labeled you a drug supportive mom, that is plain crazy. Go to another area and get a second and third opinion. Don't even mention this cockamamie diagnosis. I am positive you will get another answer. One that isn't so off the wall. Best of luck.
Oh Mary...this is a nightmare...
First of all, having lived and worked in your area for many years, I'm not surprised by his treatment and the biases of the medical staff. It's wrong and it's unbelievable that all those provincial attitudes still exist..it's shameful.
Seriously consider taking him into Boston for an evaluation. The minds are more open in the city...If its alright with you, I'm going to call my brother and ask him what he thinks and what he's seen recently. He's now at Beth Israel and not much gets past him in this area...
I do agree with the possibility of pot being the culprit here. No question about it and for various reasons which Ben and Rick touched on. We've all seen many untoward reactions over the years...and I have to admit, although I never liked pot myself, I've been a strong advocate of legalization for this reason: better control and purity of the product. Oh happy days! If only the rotten crap was "weeded" out ... there's a lot of poison out there...
I'm proud of you and your due diligence. Keep it up and check into some dietary measures or better yet contact a nutritionist. But I would sure continue this saga in Boston... I'll be in touch. Much love-
First of all, having lived and worked in your area for many years, I'm not surprised by his treatment and the biases of the medical staff. It's wrong and it's unbelievable that all those provincial attitudes still exist..it's shameful.
Seriously consider taking him into Boston for an evaluation. The minds are more open in the city...If its alright with you, I'm going to call my brother and ask him what he thinks and what he's seen recently. He's now at Beth Israel and not much gets past him in this area...
I do agree with the possibility of pot being the culprit here. No question about it and for various reasons which Ben and Rick touched on. We've all seen many untoward reactions over the years...and I have to admit, although I never liked pot myself, I've been a strong advocate of legalization for this reason: better control and purity of the product. Oh happy days! If only the rotten crap was "weeded" out ... there's a lot of poison out there...
I'm proud of you and your due diligence. Keep it up and check into some dietary measures or better yet contact a nutritionist. But I would sure continue this saga in Boston... I'll be in touch. Much love-
Genetics and the amount used are more or as important as the experiences we have with the substance.
just want to add as others already have, that you SMOKE MJ. AND MOST SMOKE IT IN A ROLLED PAPER WHICH DOESN'T HAVE A FILTER SO THIS IS VERY HARSH ON THE BODY. People freely disapprove pf cigarette smoking, but MJ smoking is much much harder on the lungs and body. Just sayin...
I'm sorry that your son went through this, but I have to call BS on the Doctor blaming Pot for a digestive problem. They obviously have no proof and are just guessing. Pot is not perfect and some people hate it when they try it, but it's the most benign drug known to man.
It sounds as if there are a few Doctors out there that are anti-marijuana, and see that the public is finally coming out of the ether of "Reefer Madness", and are doing all they can to continue demonizing the weed.
Perhaps if your son was smoking out of a water-bong that had dirty water in it, and some of that water got in his mouth while the water was "bubbling" while taking a hit-maybe that dirty water had some bacteria in it that got into him and caused that problem. Could explain that he got to feeling better after some anti-biotics. Other than that, I don't know. Maybe he was smoking some Mexican brick-weed that had been sprayed with pesticides by either the growers or Police forces, and that caused the problem.
It is not the Marijuana. I have smoked for 30 years (only occasionally these days, since I got addicted to opiates) and have NEVER heard of ANYONE having these problems. I think it's a case of unscrupulous Doctors attempting to create any negativity they can about Marijuana, since the good herb has had a pretty good track record the last 4,000 years.
Glad that your son is doing better!!
It sounds as if there are a few Doctors out there that are anti-marijuana, and see that the public is finally coming out of the ether of "Reefer Madness", and are doing all they can to continue demonizing the weed.
Perhaps if your son was smoking out of a water-bong that had dirty water in it, and some of that water got in his mouth while the water was "bubbling" while taking a hit-maybe that dirty water had some bacteria in it that got into him and caused that problem. Could explain that he got to feeling better after some anti-biotics. Other than that, I don't know. Maybe he was smoking some Mexican brick-weed that had been sprayed with pesticides by either the growers or Police forces, and that caused the problem.
It is not the Marijuana. I have smoked for 30 years (only occasionally these days, since I got addicted to opiates) and have NEVER heard of ANYONE having these problems. I think it's a case of unscrupulous Doctors attempting to create any negativity they can about Marijuana, since the good herb has had a pretty good track record the last 4,000 years.
Glad that your son is doing better!!
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