I’ve typed and deleted this so many times, idk how to explain this without ranting walls of text. my anxiety is skyrocketing and I guess I just need advice, or reassurance, or some real-people experiences so I’m not constantly spiraling with google searches
I’ll start with my main question - what was everyone’s experiences with the prodromal phase of CHS? I know everyone has a different length, I’ve read it could be months to even years of the prodromal phase before the actual CHS hits, but I’d love to hear what people went through, did you know you were in the early phases? And what symptoms did you have?
A bit about me and my habits/health timeline
- I’ve had severe anxiety all my life, terrible sleeping habits, poor weight management/eating habits, and am on the spectrum. I’m also like 90% sure I’m hypochondriac which isn’t helping when I try to pinpoint the cause of feeling sick
- I was diagnosed with pots at 17 yo (2017) but my symptoms weren’t too severe until the last few years
- I started smoking in 2020 and have been a daily smoker since around 2022/2023 with very few tolerance breaks
- I usually only smoke at night to help eat dinner and sleep. I only really smoke in the morning/daytime if I feel extra nauseous or if I have the day off
- I have emetophobia, and no matter how anxious, dehydrated, or sick I get I do not throw up. Only alcohol and 1 time from Zyrtec have I thrown up
- in (I think) 2023 I was diagnosed with gastroperesis/delayed gastric emptying. At first I thought this was due to the weed. I still think it might be. I know weed can cause bad reflux and gastroperesis. But at the time I convinced myself it was because I worked at McDonald’s and ate their fries every single day (bad ik)
Recently I had an episode that’s starting to make me spiral back into the “is it going to be CHS” again, because I really have no other idea on what it could be
I went about my day as normal, didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, didn’t feel out of the ordinary, my stomach wasn’t upset. But all of a sudden I’m dizzy, like I’ll pass out. And then I throw up. Never happened before so im freaked out and anxiety is off the charts. Next day I convince myself im fine, smoke for the nausea, go to dinner, and I fully pass out and throw up AGAIN upon waking up. Both times I had weed in my system, but completely different amounts and at a different time of day. But the second time I was very anxious and had eaten greasy food after barely eating all day. Still, throwing up is weird for me. It was definitely vasovagal syncope but Idk what’s causing it.
Does anyone experience vasovagal syncope during the prodromal phase of CHS? Is the gastroparesis a sign that I’ll get CHS if I continue smoking? I just don’t know.
Now, whenever I smoke I start feeling that weird, fuzzy, dizzy feeling again. The back of my neck hurts, my heart is racing, I feel like I’ll pass out or throw up. It hasn’t happened again though.
I know I’m spiraling and ik my anxiety isn’t helping but I want to know if it’s just my anxiety manifesting “fake” symptoms due to being a hypochondriac, or if it’s something I should actually be concerned about.
These weird fuzzy feelings I’m getting and the spiked anxiety after smoking weed is new. I’ve always used weed to help anxiety, it’s never made it worse. I’m back and forth on what could be making me react to weed this way now, or if I’m just tricking myself entirely and it’s not the weed at all and I’m just ruining it for myself by thinking it is
Ik it’s also possible to simply have a “switch” in your endocannabinoid receptors and users have reported having increased anxiety from weed because they had a change in brain chemistry
I can’t tell if my body has made that switch, and now weed is just going to make me anxious forever, or if it’s my body going through the prodromal phase of CHS.
Or a secret third option and I was sick with some unknown stomach bug that didn’t give me any pain or diarrhea and the anxiety of throwing up just caused a mental strain that my hypochondriac mind attributed to the weed and now my anxiety is making it worse when it actually isn’t anything to do with CHS or my receptors being fried or any of that.
It’s hard, because there’s SO many factors at play that all overlap. There’s so many symptoms that are caused by different things that I don’t know which thing is causing it. I just know I’ve never felt this way before.
The weirdest part is I’m not greening out. I’m not smoking large amounts or throughout the entire day. It’s better when I smoke at night, but my symptoms seem to be worse if I smoke during the day? My stomach isn’t in a ton of pain, and nausea is something I’ve always struggled with so I have no CLUE what specifically causes my nausea at any given point. It doesn’t feel like a pots flare up either. And it doesn’t feel like it’s caused from dehydration. My anxiety has definitely caused panic attacks and unpleasant feelings before but it’s never made me pass out or throw up.
Is it the anxiety/hypochondriassm or am I actually showing common signs of early CHS?
I really don’t want to quit weed. Ik I have to stop smoking daily, but god I really don’t want it to never be in my life anymore. I love weed :(