Charlie Sheen -- Paramedics Called for Extreme Food Poisoning

12:17 PST: Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Charlie was taken by ambulance to a local hospital after complaining of chest pains. He was treated for dehydration and released after an hour and a half.

Charlie Sheen had a medical emergency Monday night ... paramedics were called to his home after getting a call the actor had a bad case of food poisoning.

We're told Charlie (or one of his people) called the fire department directly at around 11:00 PM Monday. It's curious why they didn't call 911 directly, which by the way, automatically records the conversation.

Sheen's people tell TMZ it was nothing more than a really, really bad case of food poisoning and the actor was treated in his home and that was that.

We're told Charlie's doing fine.