Kidney stone makers

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I’m new here but just wondered if there is anyone that has a kidney stone issue. When I do diets, I often get stones and thought it would be good to network with others for snack suggestions, etc

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  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
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    My poor brother was already predisposed to them genetically (he had his first one when he was about 19), but after he had bariatric surgery, he's had a horrible time with them - seems to keep them almost constantly now, and the last two he had to have blasted. Before he had the surgery, he made sure to stay super hydrated and that did help, but he can't drink nearly the amount of liquid now that he did then, which is exasperating the problem.

    The hydration was the only trick I know about that he did that seemed to help.
  • Justin_7272
    Justin_7272 Posts: 341 Member
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    What are your "diets"? My initial thought is if this is a trigger, it's likely due to a nutritional deficiency(ies) caused by whatever you're doing (i.e. preventable).
  • willsreb
    willsreb Posts: 48 Member
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    Fellow stone maker here. I am also predisposed to them, and passed my first stone when I was 17 (when I was scanned, there were 9 stone across my kidneys!) I have been under the care of a urologist ever since – ten years this summer.

    My kidney stones are calcium oxalate stones, so my comments may be unhelpful if you suffer from a different type.

    I exclude alcohol and acidic drinks from my diet, and make sure I keep myself hydrated. My urologist offered me potassium citrate (you drink it every day for the rest of your life) but it isn’t something I could keep up because of the side effects. Is this something you could try?

    Here is a good source of information regarding diet with stones (this is for calcium oxalate stones in particular but there is info on the site for other types of stones too): https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/calcium-oxalate-stone

    Hopefully the link above will be some help :)
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited May 2020
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    It depends what kind of stones you have but most people have calcium based ones.

    What I recommend to my patients is primarily to stay well hydrated at all times by drinking lots of water. Avoid an excess of protein or any diuretics, especially dark soda, coffee, and alcohol. I have specifically noticed a correlation with dark soda, although this isn’t usually mentioned in medical literature.

    Oh, I just read the link above after I posted my post and noticed a lot of the same advice.

    I would see a Urologist if you have recurrent stones. Also, ask for a strainer basket to catch one and have your stone analyzed if you haven’t already.
  • BigMamaLynsey
    BigMamaLynsey Posts: 390 Member
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    I've had kidney stones and I'm almost 100% sure it was down to lack of fluids. I am such a terrible drinker, I swear there was days I've just a few sips of water or juice here or there. My body was not telling me I was thirsty so I usually just forget. Then the kidney stones came along. I've had them on and off for years now, I am drinking more than I did but even now it's not the best still. I'll drink maybe a bottle of water, a diet coke, a cup of tea per day. It's still not enough but I cant seem to force drinks down me. Thankfully they havnt come back since my last operation of removing them. Definitely just drink & drink. I need to listen to my own advice really! Avoid nuts well that's what my doctor said so havnt touched those.