As of right now, there isn’t much proof that marijuana can harm kidney health in general or cause kidney stones in healthy individuals. In fact, cannabis may help ease the pain and nausea that kidney stones frequently cause as well as make it easier for the stones to pass through the urine. Chronic kidney disease (CKD)-related inflammation may also be treated with medical cannabis. Before beginning to use marijuana for medical purposes, we recommend that you first speak with a marijuana doctor. After reviewing your case, the doctor will determine whether marijuana is helpful for you.
How Kidney Stones Are Formed
Kidney stones are hard deposits of different minerals and salts that resemble pebbles. When certain substances are present in high concentrations in your urine, they develop in the kidneys. Severe pain, nausea, and vomiting are common side effects of kidney stones.
Kidney stones can occur in anyone. However, the risk is increased by certain factors. A blocked urinary tract, chronic bowel inflammation, cystic kidney disease, gout, and obesity (caused by diet) are some underlying conditions linked to kidney stones. The risk is also raised by some drugs, such as calcium antacids and diuretics. Finally, genetics may also be involved.
Kidney stones come in four primary varieties:
- The most prevalent kind of stones are calcium stones, which form when calcium gets lodged in the kidneys rather than being eliminated through the urine.
- Long-term ingestion of foods high in uric acid is usually the cause of uric acid stones.
- Struvite stones typically develop following an infection of the urinary tract.
- When an amino acid called cysteine enters the urine, which frequently happens as a result of a genetic condition known as cystinuria, cysteine stones form.
Conventional Treatments for Kidney Stones
It is possible for very small kidney stones to pass through the urinary tract painlessly without any treatment. For many kidney stones, however, this is not the case.
The majority of conventional kidney stone treatments involve surgery. Kidney stones are broken up into small pieces by shock wave lithotripsy so they can be passed through the urinary tract. Prior to surgical removal, a cystoscopy entails examining the stone through the bladder or urethra. Similar to this, a ureteroscopy entails a medical examination of the kidneys and uterus prior to the surgical removal of the kidney stone. Lastly, a tube is inserted into your back during a percutaneous nephrolithotomy to remove large kidney stones.
How Marijuana Affects the Kidneys
The kidneys have cannabinoid receptors, just like many other organs in the body. Cannabis can therefore affect renal health and a number of kidney functions, including renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate (glomerular filtration rate), fibrosis (tissue thickening), urine protein content, and renal tubule function.
The kidneys may respond negatively or favorably to stimulation of the endocannabinoid receptors.
By influencing the endocannabinoid system, cannabis is believed to have therapeutic benefits for managing the symptoms of end-stage renal disease and chronic kidney disease.
It is encouraging that the kidney experiences anti-inflammatory effects when one of the endocannabinoid receptor types is activated. This was demonstrated to be a therapeutic target for lowering renal inflammation in a mouse study.
However, the distribution, kind, and timing of receptor activation are crucial factors, and if any of those are not functioning properly, the endocannabinoid system is more likely to have detrimental effects on kidney health.
Thankfully, in healthy individuals, cannabis does not appear to have an impact on kidney function. Specifically, there is no proof that CBD has any negative effects on the kidneys. Nevertheless, it is advised that cannabis not be smoked and that those with chronic kidney disease still be closely watched if they use it. Additionally, due to its immunosuppressive qualities, CBD may interact with medications administered to kidney transplant recipients.
More marijuana exposure has been linked in some studies to a lower glomerular filtration rate ten years later in young adults. Those who already have kidney disease may be more susceptible to this association. According to some researchers, this may eventually cause toxicity or impair kidney function. Research in this field is still scarce, though.
Exploring the Link Between Cannabis and Kidney Stones
Studies on humans that directly link cannabis to kidney stone development and/or treatment are scarce. As of right now, there is no evidence linking cannabis to kidney stones.
Cannabis has been used in the past to help small kidney stones be excreted. Furthermore, cannabis is likely to have indirect benefits even if it doesn’t directly treat kidney stones. This is because of cannabis’s well-known analgesic (pain-killing) and muscle-relaxant effects, which are mediated by the endocannabinoid system.
Cannabis may help control the pain, nausea, and muscle spasms that kidney stone sufferers experience. Furthermore, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs can also relieve renal colic, a form of pain that arises when kidney stones obstruct the urinary tract, indicating that medical cannabis may be used to treat these symptoms.
Summing Up!
It has not been demonstrated that marijuana causes kidney stones in the majority of young, healthy individuals. However, before drawing any conclusions, more investigation and clinical trials involving human subjects are required.
According to some research, marijuana may help treat kidney stones rather than cause them. This is because cannabis has well-known anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, and muscle-relaxing properties. If you wish to include marijuana in your treatment plan for kidney stones, you must have a medical marijuana card in Boston.
