Kidney stones; any words of advice?

[FrankenFretter]

I seem to have chronic kidney stones. Since October of last year, I've had at least three (the one I'm working out now may or may not be the same one that was bothering me last month). I recently got a list of no-no foods and beverages that I have been adhering to with only one exception: Coffee. I don't drink that much of it, and I don't want to fall asleep on my drive to work, so that's not an easy one to cut out.

Does anybody here have some words of wisdom for me? This is extremely painful, and very inconvenient. I don't want to miss any more work, and I certainly don't want this pain to rear it's ugly head on a regular basis, which at this point it kind of is.

Thanks!

[Eric]

I had one or two once, maybe 4-5 years ago, and I think they were from running and not keeping properly hydrated. Point being (though I don't have much actual knowledge about kidney stones), I would make sure you drink tons of water.

It's important to keep well-hydrated for other reasons too (energy, appetite, etc.), but I think that in general, dehydration probably increases your chances of kidney stones. So drink that water!

[Rockermann]

I have chronic kidney stones. Suffered with them on and off for over 10 years now. Just underwent ureteroscopy to remove one that was too large to pass. No fun, let me tell you. Beside the diet, one thing I think helps and my doctor agrees is lemon juice. I make up a concoction that has about a 1/3 cup of lemon juice, water and some artificial sweetener (Splenda). I drink that daily. The acidic content helps dissolve the stones as they form.

And as previous mentioned, DRINK A TON of water.

[sumitomo]

I'm gunna chime in and also saw DRINK LOT"S OF WATER!!.I had a kidney removed(A fine working kidney) 3 yrs ago,because it had a tumor.I got real scared,I drink a quart of alkline water first thing in the morning,as the same as the lemon water it helps to raise the bodies PH (along with a good diet)cancers and tumors do not thrive in a PH of 7 or more,I'm not perfect with this water and diet but I will tell ya I feel better that ever.Hope this helps.Sumi:D Oh yea people think lemons are acidic but in our bodies they are alkline.

[Bloozcat]

When the body forms stones in the kidneys and/or gall bladder it's usually a sign of toxicity in the body.

In the case of the kidneys it can be related to an underfunctioning kidney that fails to empty thoroughly through normal urination. The retained waste that's not eliminated sits and putrifies in the kidney and the stones are formed. A toxic system exacerbates the problem as the waste urine is usually higher in toxins than is normal. Again, this promotes the formation of stones.

The organs responsible for removing waste from the body are the colon, the kidneys, and the liver. Detoxifying these organs is key to eliminating toxicity in the body. Detoxifying is done by use of a flush or flushes (multiple).

Here's a site that explains this topic pretty well:
http://www.the-natural-path.com/toxic-cleansing.html

I can attest to the effectiveness of these flushes through my wife's experience. When my wife and I were married she had a very toxic liver/gall bladder/colon. Because of this she had a great deal of difficulty digesting and eliminating foods. The MD's told her that she had so many gall stones that gall bladder removal was the only solution to her problem. The trouble with this diagnosis was that the MD's "solution" didn't address the underlying problem that caused the gallstones in the first place - the toxicity in my wife's system. And gall bladder removal meant a life of drug dependancy as well.

So, I dragged my wife (almost literally) to a Holistic doctor who first worked on her toxic colon (which was quite bad), and then he had her do a liver/gall bladder flush. To cut to the chase, at the end of the flush my wife passed hundreds (yes, hundreds) of gall stones from her body. It was incredible. Not only was her gall bladder free from gall stones, but her whole digestive system finally began to work properly. Her overall health and well being increased dramatically, and her ability to lose weight naturally went way up. My wife today is so conscious of how her system works/is working that she is in the best shape of anyone I know at her age. Because diet is so important in why our systems become toxic in the first place, she has altered what she eats to promote the health of her system. And, she doesn't suffer because of it. She still eats things she enjoys, just not often or in large quantities for the "bad" stuff. Without a concerted effort to specifically lose weight, my wife has dropped 2-1/2 dress sizes since when we first met.

In my wife's case her kidneys were functioning properly - which is surprising with what we now know. But, as part of the "triad" of organs responsible for the removal of waste, the kidney can be treated similarly.

There's plenty of good info on the web for you to check out, FrankenFretter. And I'd highly recommend finding a good Holistic doctor near you to help you along. In our household we see our Holistic doctor first when a medical problem arises...short of anything requiring heroic medicine (broken bones, lascerations, etc.). My wife is a healthy living example of the benefits of the holistic approach.

[Eric]

When the body forms stones in the kidneys and/or gall bladder it's usually a sign of toxidity in the body.

In the case of the kidneys it can be related to an underfunctioning kidney that fails to empty thoroughly through normal urination. The retained waste that's not eliminated sits and putrifies in the kidney and the stones are formed. A toxic system exacerbates the problem as the waste urine is usually higher in toxins than is normal. Again, this promotes the formation of stones.

The organs responsible for removing waste from the body are the colon, the kidneys, and the liver. Detoxifying these organs is key to eliminating toxidity in the body. Detoxifying is done by use of a flush or flushes (multiple).

Here's a site that explains this topic pretty well:
http://www.the-natural-path.com/toxic-cleansing.html

I can attest to the effectiveness of these flushes through my wife's experience. When my wife and I were married she had a very toxic liver/gall bladder/colon. Because of this she had a great deal of difficulty digesting and eliminating foods. The MD's told her that she had so many gall stones that gall bladder removal was the only solution to her problem. The trouble with this diagnosis was that the MD's "solution" didn't address the underlying problem that caused the gallstones in the first place - the toxidity in my wife's system. And gall bladder removal meant a life of drug dependancy as well.

So, I dragged my wife (almost literally) to a Holistic doctor who first worked on her toxic colon (which was quite bad), and then he had her do a liver/gall bladder flush. To cut to the chase, at the end of the flush my wife passed hundreds (yes, hundreds) of gall stones from her body. It was incredible. Not only was her gall bladder free from gall stones, but her whole digestive system finally began to work properly. Her overall health and well being increased dramatically, and her ability to lose weight naturally went way up. My wife today is so conscious of how her system works/is working that she is in the best shape of anyone I know at her age. Because diet is so important in why our systems become toxic in the first place, she has altered what she eats to promote the health of her system. And, she doesn't suffer because of it. She still eats things she enjoys, just not often or in large quantities for the "bad" stuff. Without a concerted effort to specifically lose weight, my wife has dropped 2-1/2 dress sizes since when we first met.

In my wife's case her kidneys were functioning properly - which is surprising with what we now know. But, as part of the "triad" of organs responsible for the removal of waste, the kidney can be treated similarly.

There's plenty of good info on the web for you to check out, FrankenFretter. And I'd highly recommend finding a good Holistic doctor near you to help you along. In our household we see our Holistic doctor first when a medical problem arises...short of anything requiring heroic medicine (broken bones, lascerations, etc.). My wife is a healthy living example of the benefits of the holistic approach.
Wow, cool story! I really like hearing about things like that, where issues actually get resolved, not just covered up and the symptoms treated.

[poodlesrule]

I had lithotripsy treatment, the breaking up of stones in small chunks via ultrasound.
Not a big deal at all, if you need it.

The remains are mostly there still, small, even though a recent CT scan (other, bigger story... a good excuse for GAS attacks) showed one chunk growing a bit.

[Bloozcat]

Wow, cool story! I really like hearing about things like that, where issues actually get resolved, not just covered up and the symptoms treated.

Then there's the infected heart valve story, a.k.a. "the silent killer" as it's known in Holistic circles. In the MD world it should be called the "MDuh! Disease" because they're clueless that it exists let alone knowing how to cure it. Doesn't show up in their expensive "tests", wasn't taught to them in medical school, doesn't exist. That's their MO, straight from the horses mouth.

My wife had it, the operative word being "had". It is an infection that settles in the valves of the heart and doesn't show up on any known test that MD/Cardiologists run. It's not clear where the infection comes from. Its symptoms mimic those of a mild heart attack - chest pains, numbness in one limb, breathlessness. Of course. my wife went to the cardiologist (whom we know) and went through the usual battery of tests. Nada...no problem...nothing there. But, there was definitely something there.

So, to the Holistic Dr. we went. The holistic doctor utilizes extensive blood tests to diagnose problems like this. Where the MD's see nothing out of order in the blood tests, our Holistic Doc finds the culprit. I can't recall everything that the Holistic Doc had my wife do, but primary in the treatment was Omega 3 fatty acids from pure, cold water, arctic fish. Where I take two of these capsules a day, the Doc had my wife taking six. The Doc told my wife that it would take a few months to completely clear up the infection. After the first month there was dramatic improvement and by the end of three months the infection was gone.

It's not even known how many people die each year from these infections as there is no clinical diagnosis in the main stream medical community. When someone does die from it, it's just listed as an "unexpected cardiac arrest" resulting in "sudden cardiac death" or SCD. It seems that this condition is more prevelent in women and may account for those sudden heart attack deaths among women with no history of heart disease.

The more you learn, the more it makes sense. The more it makes sense, the more you want to know.

[FrankenFretter]

Wow. I didn't really expect much of a response to this post, for some reason. What a surprise. A very nice surprise.

Thank everyone so much for the stories and input. Bloozcat, I especially thank you for sharing your wife's experience with us. I agree that conventional medicine is reactive rather than proactive, and holistic/natural medicine makes more sense to me. I guess I've fallen into the HMO trap, since that's what my insurance covers. I don't go to the doctor unless it's something I absolutely can't take care of myself. Shingles, kidney stones and migraines are pretty much it, but since I started wearing glasses, I very rarely get migraines.

The hydration thing here is probably one of the biggest problems: I'm a field technician, and company policy dictates that we're not to ask to use a customer's bathroom unless it's absolutely unavoidable. The other factor, at least for my first stone, is the fact that I was taking handfuls of Tums for my constant acid indigestion. I've switched to an acid reducer similar to Pepcid, so that shouldn't be contributing anymore.

I do use the lemon water mix, as suggested by the urologist. I haven't been doing it long, and I sometimes forget to drink my two glasses a day, but I'm hoping it starts to pay off soon. I don't smoke (well, an occasional cigar, but I don't consider myself a smoker by any means), and I drink in moderation. I'm not exposed to much second hand smoke, and I don't work in a toxic atmosphere. That said, I do live in the Willamette Valley, and this place was called The Valley of Sickness by the Native Americans long before we got here and started using fertilizer in the fields, and all the other nasty stuff that pollutes the environment.

I may try some of those cleanses, BC. It couldn't hurt. Edit: I just looked at the kidney cleanse, and it includes apple juice; apple juice is on my no-no list. Interesting.

Sumi, I'm sorry to hear about your kidney, but glad you're feeling healthy these days. Hey, at least your father didn't steal it from you (random Lost reference...).

Thank you all again. I very much appreciate it.

[sumitomo]

There is a lot of good info for you here bro,if you do a detox and are planning to go to work do a very mild one,what i mean is when you first start you feel great and a week later after you have loosen all those toxins that have stored in your bod,your gunna feel like crap,maybe if you take a vacation you can do a good detox but stay at home or a place you can relax rest and heal.You will be amazed on how good you will feel,just by cutting out crappy food and drinking lots of water.YOU CAN DO IT!!! Sumi:D

[Bloozcat]

There is a lot of good info for you here bro,if you do a detox and are planning to go to work do a very mild one,what i mean is when you first start you feel great and a week later after you have loosen all those toxins that have stored in your bod,your gunna feel like crap,maybe if you take a vacation you can do a good detox but stay at home or a place you can relax rest and heal.You will be amazed on how good you will feel,just by cutting out crappy food and drinking lots of water.YOU CAN DO IT!!! Sumi:D

Good advice sumitomo...

If your system is toxic, which it probably is if you're contemplating a flush, you will feel like crap for 1-3 days, depending on degree of toxicity. It's a positive indicator that the flush is working!

[Bloozcat]

And speaking of water...

http://www.watercure.com/

Lots of great info from this MD...yes MD.

His two books: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty and Your Body's Many Cries For Water are great.

We forget that before the 20th century people drank mainly water to quench their thirst. There were few "soft drinks" until they started appearing in the mid/late 19th century. All carbon based life needs water to survive and we, with the biggest brains at the top of the carbon based food chain, don't get enough of it...by choice.

[piebaldpython]

I had 2 bouts of kidney stones, in 1992 and 2000. My diet created my stones. No need to go further as others have given a fabulous dissertation on how the whole thing works. I with lithotripsied both times with success.

[poodlesrule]

We forget that before the 20th century people drank mainly water to quench their thirst.


Beer for breakfast in colonial days, I read.

Which was brewed by women, in the home.

[sumitomo]

We forget that before the 20th century people drank mainly water to quench their thirst. There were few "soft drinks" until they started appearing in the mid/late 19th century. All carbon based life needs water to survive and we, with the biggest brains at the top of the carbon based food chain, don't get enough of it...by choice.[/QUOTE]


We forget that the water was OK to drink before the 20th century!I have been using a Micro lite water purifier and alkline filter for the last 3+ years now,and have been expermenting with solar water purification.I have a place in South America and last time I was there I got amebas,so I'm trying to develop cheap water purfication.If any of you guys have ideas I'm all ears.Sumi:D

[Bloozcat]

Sumi,

There is a new nano-technology process that's just been developed that uses elemental or "zero-valent" iron (Fe) to purify water. The iron is a by-product of iron and steel production and costs $.40 a pound ($750.00 a ton). It removes 99.999% of viruses from water. Viruses are much smaller and more difficult to remove than bacteria, so this is considered a real break-through in water purification.

What led researchers to this discovery was the study of ground water around the world. Areas that had soil with higher concentrations of iron oxides and aluminum oxides had ground water that was more pure than areas where the soil lacked these metals.

I don't know if there are any commercially available systems that utilize this technology, but it sounds like it's worth researching.

[Commodore 64]

What about uric acid kidney stones? The are different than the calcium carbonate ones. My dad has a uric acid problem related to rheumatoid fibromyalgia and arthritis, and the medications they give him to prevent uric acid cause bad side effects (Muscle and joint pain) that incapacitate him sometimes.

[FrankenFretter]

What about uric acid kidney stones? The are different than the calcium carbonate ones. My dad has a uric acid problem related to rheumatoid fibromyalgia and arthritis, and the medications they give him to prevent uric acid cause bad side effects (Muscle and joint pain) that incapacitate him sometimes.

I hadn't heard about those types of stones until now. I feel awful for your dad; my fiancee has fibromyalgia, so I know second-hand about how painful that is. Paired with arthritis, that must be very hard to deal with, and then the kidney stone threat on top of that. Ouch.

Mine are likely calcium carbonate; the first stone I had back in October of last year was following my heavy use of Tums. I'm pretty sure that's one of the major factors in that particular stone.

Does your dad have to follow a specific diet to help avoid the uric acid buildup, or is that something that only medication can do?

[Bloozcat]

What about uric acid kidney stones? The are different than the calcium carbonate ones. My dad has a uric acid problem related to rheumatoid fibromyalgia and arthritis, and the medications they give him to prevent uric acid cause bad side effects (Muscle and joint pain) that incapacitate him sometimes.

Uric acid is a waste product that is normally found in the blood as a result of the breakdown of purines in the system. Uric acid is benficial in maintaining healthy arterial structure and function (as well as other functions), but excessive amounts can cause kidney stones and gout.

And just where is the excessive uric acid supposed to be removed and excreted from the body? In the kidneys, that's where. So again, it is very much related to toxicity in the system that affects various organ functions, including kidney function.

I don't even want to get started on Fibromyalgia except to say this: Fibromyalgia was not even defined as a disease until the late 20th century. It was a non-existent "disease" when I was growing up. It is known as a "wastebasket" diagnosis due to it encompassing numerous symptoms rather than limited, specific symptoms as in most clinical diseases. Look at the increase in the number of cases of Fibromyalgia and then look at the proliferation of Aspartame in drinks and food at the same time. The growth in Fibromyalgia diagnoses mirrors the growth in aspartame use. Arthritis has also been linked to (but not exclusive to) both aspertame and toxicity (aspertame is a neuro-toxin). Don't take my word for it, though. Do the research as I have.

[oldguy]

Look at the increase in the number of cases of Fibromyalgia and then look at the proliferation of Aspartame in drinks and food at the same time. The growth in Fibromyalgia diagnoses mirrors the growth in aspartame use. Arthritis has also been linked to (but not exclusive to) both aspertame and toxicity (aspertame is a neuro-toxin). Don't take my word for it, though. Do the research as I have.


And here's a link. I think it was Spudman who posted a warning about this originally. Thanks, Steve.
This isn't chicken little "the sky's falling" stuff people...... we're poisoning ourselves because it tastes good, we're told to, and it's fashionable.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6551291488524526735&ei=tWlHTJn0GtialAfzqbQ1&q=sweet+misery+a+poisoned+world#