Hi
@TheRightStuff ,
I am so sorry, because I know "discomfort" is a bit of a light term for what you're feeling, most likely. There's a variation of kidneys stones, which also means various things can cause them... So if you pass one, do get it to a lab to check whether it's an calcium-oxalate stone, a ureum stone etc... For me, they were ureum stones: I ate a carnivore diet for a while, and that made my urine more acidic than my body could handle, and crystals formed. They were very sharp, little bundles of razors stuck together, so yeah.. Not good. Whole tribes are fine on a carnivore diet, I am decidedly not: I turned my right kidney into a gravel-pit. But since it took months for that first passed stone (which I did in hospital, stoned on oxycodone because NSAIDS did nothing at all) to be typed, I was told to go from the assumption that I had calcium-oxalate stones, which are most common.... Which made no sense, because oxalates are present in plants, and I hadn't been eating any for over half a year by that time. There are more types, but those two are the ones I know about, and how to handle them.
So... What has your diet consisted of? Foods high in oxalates are
spinach (Very high!), soy products, tomatoes etc....
https://www.nutritionadvance.com/high-oxalate-foods/ lists a whole bunch of them, and online you can find many, many lists on high oxalate foods. What oxalates are? Well, plants don't want to be eaten. They're a bit of a natural defence system, and while most people can handle them just fine.... Some lucky souls can't. Trick is to have calcium (milk, cream, cheese) at the same time as an oxalate rich product, so it binds to calcium long before it ever hits the kidney, and it leaves the body through stool rather than urine, or, you know... Cut the oxalate rich foods, drink plenty of water. And no Vitamin C supplements, whatever kind you end up having: supplements are too much in one go, which can be very problematic for kidneys. Calcium-Oxalate stones can't be entirely dissolved through foods or drink, but you can either pass them of have it zapped, maybe shrunk a little with lemon juice in your water.
I went through the process of having my biggest stone (Little over half a centimeter in diabeter) zapped, but due to it's location, more than a year or so later it's still coming out in bits and pieces. No new stones are forming far as I am aware, just debris from that last one. And ureum stones can be, up to a point, dissolved. Which is why the biggest stone I passed since all this started, came out with a massive sigh of relief, because by that time it was a nice round ball of about 4mm. Kind of like a marble, even. The sharp edges had come off. Still too big to comfortably pass through the pipes, but it didn't cut me up on the way down, and as I was in a café having a capucchino when it decided to come on out, it was nice to be able to just walk home after, with it in my pocket. (I knew something might be coming, so yes, I took a little tea-sieve and a plastic bag with me to the washroom, just in case... And there it was!).
So, if you've been more carnivore than herbivore, then ureum stones are likely. Relatively easy to check, as there are teststrips available that can tell you whether your urine is too acidic. (
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Simplex-Health-Strips-Saliva-STRIPS/dp/B01N9X5GNO/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3QPR38FP467YN&keywords=urine+ph+test+strips&qid=1706766712&sprefix=urine+ph,aps,294&sr=8-7 ) If your test strips come back red/orange/yellow, you might want to pop in a few capsules of sodium bicarb three times a day, two per time, because then ureum stones are likely. (No more than that, and keep testing urine so you don't over-do it!) Mind you, in the morning practically all urine is acidic, so you want to test during the day. Aside from sodium bicarb you might also want to try things like Alkaline Tea (Example:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yogi-Tea-Organic-Alkaline-Herbs/dp/B07LB5L9QX/ref=sr_1_8?crid=FYHMHY7JF3W1&keywords=alka+tea&qid=1706766890&sprefix=alka+te,aps,300&sr=8-8 ), or just simple water with lemon juice in. Yes, it's sour, but it makes urine more alkaline than acidic, so... I always have a little squeesebottle (actually, make that three or four) in my fridge.
is short and may be of interest, regarding that. You might also want to read up a little on an alkaline diet as well:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/the-alkaline-diet-myth#p-h When a stone is stirring, maybe skip very cold water, because anything colder than luke-warm would make me hit the ceiling.
For me, this also meant that I had to find something else to drink other than massive amounts of black tea and coffee, try not to forget to take sodium bicarb, adjust my diet a bit more to suit diabetes, kidneystones, rheumatism, and migraines, and due to the residue of that larger stone, I always carry oxycodone with me. Don't dare leave my home without it, because it's usually when I'm out and about, being active, that a shard'll stir itself and head for the exit. (Or when my physical therapist shakes me about when mobilising my shoulder, for instance.)
So basically, you need to find out what kind of stones you have. Your diet can be a big hint, and a test strip can tell you whether your urine is acidic or no... Then go from there. But all in all,
as long as nothing gets blocked and you're able to urinate, drink, drink, drink... The thinner your urine is, the less likely the formation of whatever kind of stone. Dilute it as much as you can, and drink a LOT. You want a very light to no colour, rather than straw yellow or even coca cola brown.
Of course, if you find yourself in pain and
not able to urinate, get thee seen, as soon as possible, because blockages do happen and can turn nasty right-quick. Stop drinking, because if you are clogged, that water is not going to do you any favours. Just follow the same rules of thumb you would do with ketoacidosis:
if it even seems like it, act on it. Better to cry wolf a few times over nothing than to be in real, serious trouble.
Good luck!
Jo
).
