Can Cannabis Strains Help with Thyroid Conditions?

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland, at the base of your neck, which is responsible for coordinating many of the body’s activities. This gland manufactures hormones that regulate the body’s metabolism. There are several different disorders that can arise when there are problems with your thyroid. The most common disorders include Graves’ disease, hypothyroidism, goiters, Hashimoto’s disease, postpartum thyroiditis, and thyroid nodules. Addressing these disorders through proper medical care and maintaining thyroid health are very important factors in order to prevent potentially serious health complications. 

The thyroid gland is part of an intricate network called the endocrine system. This system is responsible for regulating and producing hormones in the body, though there are more organs that play a role including the pituitary gland, ovaries, testes, adrenal glands, and the pancreas. Together these organs and glands help your body maintain its metabolism, growth & development, sexual function, appetite, blood pressure, and sleep cycles.

The thyroid’s primary job is to help dictate how your body uses or stores energy.  Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for this little power plant to have problems.  At any time and any age, it is possible to develop a thyroid condition in which it is unable to function properly without outside help.  In fact, women are five times more likely to develop thyroid problems than men.

Thyroid conditions can be broken up into two groups: (1) hyperthyroidism which is too much hormone production and (2) hypothyroidism which is when there is not enough hormone production. There are several subcategories of each depending on the cause. Thyroid issues can also come from secondary causes like an underlying autoimmune disorder, medications, surgery, iodine deficiency, radiation, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and more. 

With either hypothyroid or hyperthyroid symptoms, your provider will need to do blood testing to check hormone levels and possibly look for the presence of antibodies. If there are physical abnormalities present, then further workup using ultrasound, or even potentially a biopsy may be necessary. These tests can help rule out thyroid cancer and other serious conditions. Always talk to your provider first if you are worried about thyroid symptoms or any health concerns before taking cannabinoids.  Keeping all of these details in mind, let’s take a look into how your thyroid can muck up your body by causing hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.

Hyperthyroidism 

Hyperthyroidism conditions are caused by an overactive thyroid gland. Graves’ disease is the most common of these conditions and it can be very dangerous if untreated because it can damage the heart and other important organs. Though we don’t know why the thyroid can overgrow and cause thyroid nodules, doctors know that nodules can also cause the gland to become overactive. Only in 5% of cases do the nodules actually contain cancer.  Goiters, which is additionally another type of thyroid overgrowth, can also cause health issues, though we know that they can be caused by not eating enough iodine which is often found in iodized table salt. 

Common symptoms of an overactive thyroid include:

• Weight loss
• Restlessness
• Nervousness
• Racing heart rates
• Irritability 
• Increased sweating
• Shaking 
• Trouble with sleep
• Brittle hair and nails
• Muscle weakness

Hypothyroidism

These conditions are caused by the thyroid’s inability to produce enough of its hormones. Most cases of these conditions are mild unless it occurs in children and teens. The benefits of medically treating mild or “subclinical” hypothyroidism in adults are still unclear, aside from possibly reducing the risk of a heart attack. However, in Hashimoto’s disease, also called chronic autoimmune lymphocytic thyroiditis, autoimmune antibodies cause damage to the gland causing it to underproduce thyroid hormone. It is very important to talk to your provider about the potential benefits and risks of any treatments you are considering, including traditional thyroid medications and cannabis. 

Common Symptoms of an underperforming thyroid include:

• Fatigue
• Dry skin
• Increased sensitivity to the cold
• Memory problems
• Constipation
• Depression
• Weight Gain
• Slowed heart rates
• Coma

An important consideration is that both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism patients can experience anxiety, depression, pain, inflammation, and even enlargement of the gland as well as nausea and vomiting. 

Cannabis and Thyroid Conditions

Now that we know a bit about what can happen when the thyroid isn’t working properly, we can talk about how the cannabinoids found in cannabis can potentially be used as an effective treatment for your symptoms. Since you can have a variety of symptoms stemming from the endocrine system, you need a medical solution that will target as many of those symptoms as possible with minimal side effects and that is exactly where cannabis may be effective for your personal wellness goals.

Researchers from the European Journal of Endocrinology believe that cannabis can affect the thyroid after it is consumed by how it interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS). They found in rats that cannabis can activate CB1 cannabinoid receptors, which are able to modulate thyroid hormones T3 and T4. Though this has yet to be reproduced in a study on people, this is a strong indicator that medical marijuana can have a positive influence on the thyroid hormone levels through the ECS.

A different study examining data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) also found some interesting correlations regarding the production of thyroid hormones and cannabis use.  Though the data did not show a correlation between thyroid dysfunction and cannabis use, using cannabis was shown to have a significant correlation with lower thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.  This information requires more research in order to clearly show if the correlation is related to actual marijuana use and how this information plays into our understanding of using it for treating thyroid-related symptoms. 

Cannabis Strains for Your Thyroid Condition

With the research still coming in about using medical cannabis for thyroid disorders, many patients anecdotally recommend its use to others. Different cannabis strains that you may find helpful to try along with the primary symptoms they target are listed below. Please remember that using cannabis cannot replace the advice from your endocrinologist or other specialized providers.

As you can see, cannabis most likely plays an important role to play in maintaining overall wellbeing and thyroid health. Cannabis may not be able to cure you of thyroid conditions but it may minimize symptoms. Adverse effects are common but tend to be mild and temporary. They may include dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, fatigue, somnolence, euphoria, vomiting, disorientation, drowsiness, confusion, loss of balance, and hallucinations. More time and research will tell if cannabis may even reduce the need for pharmaceutical medication for thyroid conditions.